If you want spice.....Katee Robert is your girl and this book is no exception. I have read all of this series up to date and it just keeps on yelling me in. I can not wait to see what happens next.

Katee Robert brings it once again in this latest installment of the Dark Olympus series! Undeniably fun, steamy, and addictive, Dark Restraint is a must read this summer!

3.5 rounded up to 4
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the plot finally outweighs the smut in this one. I was expecting some absolutely wild and kinky nonsense (since, you know, the Minotaur is apparently the baddest, most ruthless, murderous mf in the series?) but the smut was just…vanilla. Like after the puppy play in Midnight Ruin, Ariadne and the Minotaur (Asterion)’s love scenes were disappointingly dull. In fact, Ariadne and Asterion as characters really didn’t seem to have much depth or development. There was no angst with their “forbidden romance” and Ariadne just kind of *realized* about halfway through that Asterion loved her. I mean true but lol what? Where is the DRAMA?? The pieces were there for an incredible romance, but it felt rushed and ultimately was not the focus of this installment.
That being said, we FINALLY get some answers and progression with the overall plot with the barrier coming down and the no-longer-mysterious Big Bad coming to Olympus to make some war. I loved seeing more of Hera and Hermes, and actually seeing Poseidon getting in on some action instead of just knowing he’s out there running the shipyard was fun. Ultimately, the ending sets up book 8 incredibly well, and I’m very much looking forward to both the action and the romance to come for Poseidon and Icarus.

I have loved every single book in this series and this one was no different. Easily one of my favorite series. I’ve been waiting to hear Ariadnes story and this was perfect. This book was heavier on the political side of things but honestly I enjoyed hearing about it all. And the spice is like an added bonus in all of her books. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ easily

Ariadne has always been a pawn in her father's political games, but finally has a reason to run. Seeking an abortion, she runs to the Olympians, her father's bitter rivals for sanctuary. To earn her freedom, she must agree to an arranged marriage and is inevitably drawn into a tangled web of intrigue. To make matters worse, she is desperately in love with the Minotaur, but her father has tasked the Minotaur with Ariadne's murder. The two lovers must find a way to keep one another safe and evade the political consequences of their choices.

Readers will be drawn into the dark, alluring world of Olympus. This entry in the series features a strong, determined heroine navigating a treacherous web of power and desire, while themes of trauma and forbidden love are echoed in the complex, passionate relationship between Ariadne and the Minotaur.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I love Katee Robert, and even though this storyline isn’t normally my thing, I had gotten sucked into this series from the first book and jumped at the chance to read this book! I agree with some other reviews that this seemed to have a lot more politics in it than the others, but it was in line with how the rest of the series has gone. I devoured this in one sitting and loved it! The ending is so open, I am anxious to see what comes next!

Maybe 3.75 stars?
Not my favorite, but not the worst by a long shot

On the politics-to-smut balance for this book, we tip heavier to politics again. The war has just about started and there are lots of alliances made and broken over the course of the book.

This is the most “dark romance” of the entire series. It’s a personal preference for me not to read much dark romance. The spice was mostly good, but some specific things gave me the ick. If you’re a dark romance fan, you’ll love it.

Not sure how excited I am for the next book with Poseidon and Icarus 🤷🏻‍♀️ Lol is it terrible that I wish we’d get one more throuple before the end of the series?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I barely had ANY restraint waiting for this book!!

As always, Katee Robert knows exactly how to tease us and leave readers salivating for more. The end of Midnight Ruin had me DESPERATE. I was clamoring for the chance to get to read this story and figure out how the Minotaur and Ariadne were going to find each other. Especially after the events of Midnight Ruin. However, I was not expecting all the things that happened in Dark Restraint.

The action starts pretty immediately as well. There is a very spicy scene that lays the land of how the Minotaur and Ariadne are going to interact and then it picks up immediately where Midnight Ruin left off. I enjoyed this one, but did have a slightly higher expectation when it came to Ariadne becoming more of a player in her own life. I think that my biggest struggle was wanting to see her take more accountability for her decisions and to fight back against some of the things that happened. The Minotaur's take-charge attitude did help, but I felt like it could be slightly red flag-ish at times. The spicy scenes were also spectacular but that is truly the brand of a Katee Robert book!

All in all, fans of this series are going to REJOICE reading this book. The political intrigue is next level. And the inclusion of other characters shows that this series is coming to a boiling point! It is about to be a bloodbath and I cannot wait! Now I’m just desperate to have Poseidon and Icarus in my hands! But alas I’m waiting until APRILILLL!!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca for granting my wish to read this! I loved it!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

this should have been a novella or something, a novella to get the plot going because the couple was so bland i cant even. I wanted to skip so many of their scenes and Ariadne felt like a pointless character to be there.
i get their history but i wasn't feeling their romance as adults it felt like it just happened, barely any backstory and development to be honest.
It was the plot that kept me engaged, and its such a great set up for the following book.
Quite sad that Ariadne and the Minotaur didnt have a love story as worthy of reading as the other couples.

WHAT DID I JUST READ!!! So much happened. Ariadne and the Minotaur might not be my favorite couple from the series, but this was hands down my favorite book so far. We find out so much information that we're just (my) guesses up until now. Also I don't know how to feel about what was revealed about my absolute favorite character...
August 6th you know where you need too be (the book store grabbing your copy!!)

4.5 stars. I think this is my new favorite in the series! This is exemplary morality chain, and the world building was the best it's been in the series, in my opinion. Can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to source books and NetGalley for an early epub of this book. I did enjoy this book and thought some parts of it were great. I was however not the biggest fan of the couple in this book, I thought they had there moments but they weren’t my favorite couple out of the series. I did love the political plot and seeing more of what was happening in the city. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book with how everything is going.

I love Katee Robert's Neon Gods series and was very excited to read this book in advance. I was not disapointed. The story of Ariadne and the Minotaur was a little different than the previous ones but nonetheless very exciting and suspensefull. What gets me the most though are the tiny hints and clues for the overarching storyline around the fate of Olympus.
I can only recommend this series and cannot wait for the next installment.

Katee Robert has done it again with another great installment in the Dark Olympus series. I’ve been a bit nervous with the series given I haven’t loved a few of the later installments as much as earlier ones but this was a strong addition to the dark Olympus line up.

I said it for ages: The Minotaur is gonna be SO HOT!! all my friends thought I was nuts, but KR proved me ABSOLUTELY right!!
Dark Restraint is probably my second favorite of the series so far (Can't beat Electric Idol). I also found a new love for Dionysus!

“If I’m to be a victim to my own foolishness; then he damn well will be, too”
~~~~~
Hi, yea…this one. Freaking loved every ONCE…every comma of it. I loved this pairing and this story. ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITE ELEMENTS IS IN THIS BOOK! I freaking died at it!
And what’s even better with this book is IM GOING TO MEET KATEE FOR THE RELEASE IN MILWAUKEE, WI IN AUGUST!!!!!🥹🥹🖤❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
Was given an eARC copy through NetGalley. Obtained a physical copy by trading my soul.

✨Book Review✨

Dark Restraint - Katee Robert

📖 In this latest installment of the Dark Olympus series we are following Araidne and The Minotaur. Ariadne has traded her secrets for protection after leaving her father’s clutches, but will it be enough to truly keep her safe? The Minotaur has always done whatever Minos asked, because Ariadne was supposed to be his reward. Now that she’s marrying someone else in Olympus he won’t allow what’s his to be taken away. The outside force working to destabilize Olympus has just gotten started, is anyone really safe?

📚 OKAY. Katee Robert blessed me with an Advanced Reader Copy of Dark Restraint and I am in an absolute chokehold with where this book ended! So many believable and gut wrenching moments in this book. The relationships - perfect. The chaos being sewn by those desiring to take down Olympus - excellent. The inner chaos of the 13 being divided and only self-serving - brilliant. I will be waiting with bated breath until April when the next book comes out!

🌟 In true Katee Robert fashion there will be lots of streamy and outright explicit bedroom content, and I am SAD for closed door readers who won’t be able to experience the anticipation and excitement that comes with this plot. Katee has outdone themselves with this one.

Thank you x485237 to Katee and @netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of this book. I am so invested in this world that continues to develop.

#BookReview #DarkOlympus #Araidne #Minotaur #DarkRestraint #KateeRobert #BookRecommendation #Bookish #BookLover #Bookstagram

Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the chance to read early!!

While I did have a good time reading this one, it is sadly my least favorite in the series so far. This couple was already a bit of a tough sell for me coming into the book, as I hadn’t really formed any sort of connection to them in the previous books, but after reading I do think they had so much potential. An issue I am continuing to have with these books is that the political landscape of Olympus is taking the front seat in the latest additions, leaving me feeling like I needed and wanted more from the romances.

All that being said, I will absolutely be reading the rest of this series- KR never misses with the spice, and I am genuinely so intrigued to see how she will be wrapping everything up in the last three books.

While this wasn't my favourite romance of the series so far (although I ended up liking the Minotaur more than expected), it was one of my favourites for the overarching plot of the series. Things are getting tense and it was exciting to see a glimpse of how different members of the Thirteen are handling the threats.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the e-ARC!

Dark Restraint seventh book in the Dark Olympus series by Katee Robert. This wasn’t my favorite book of the series and maybe even my least favorite. The previous book, Midnight Ruin, was such a big hit for me that I couldn’t help being a little disappointed by this one. Don’t get me wrong, it had good things going for it but it wasn’t enough for me to rate it more than the three stars that I gave it. And it’s a fair rating, in my opinion for this book.

This instalment features Ariadne Vitalis and Asterion who is also know as The Minotaur. In the story Ariadne is announced to be engaged to Dionysus while loving Asterion but seeing as he’s her father’s henchman she didn’t see any way forward with that. This is a very simple explanation of the romantic plot but I just didn’t love Asterion and Ariadne as some of the other couples in the other books. The spicy scenes were hot, yes. Katee Robert can write very intense and steamy romantic scenes. But with these two, I just didn’t feel it as much.

If anything, the overarching plot with the Olympus politics and everything was more interesting to me than the romance between Ariadne and Asterion. It’s not like I hated them or anything. They were okay characters but in the end I wasn’t as much invested in them. I ended up liking, like I said, the overarching plot more and also loved the secondary characters like Dionysus, Hera and Psyche (from book 2, Electric Idol) who made an appearance as well, more than the main couple.

The book did a good job to set up for the series slowly ending, which I might cry about because I don’t think I’ve ever read a long series like this one where I’ve consistently have been reading it. It’s going to be a 10-part series so we should be getting three more books. And I’m really looking forward to reading those as I’m really interested to see how it’ll all end and for the stories of the couples in those books. Book 8 will be about Icarus and Poseidon which I’m really exited about since we haven’t seen much of Poseidon yet. I wonder what their vibe is going to be. Book 9 will be about Hera and Zeus. I’m the most excitedly about them with everything I know. And the 10th and final book will be about Hermes and two characters but we don’t know who those will be. I’m hoping for at least Dionysus since he was in Dark Restraint and I really liked him but we shall see!