This is a spicy Disney retelling of Jafar as a mob boss and Yasmina (Jasmine) as a mob princess. When Jafar overthrows Yasmina's father he takes her for his own as a symbol of his new power. There are major trigger warnings from the first chapter for consensual non-consent and bdsm so make sure you're OK with them all before you head into this one.

Yasmina is a strong, wilful heroine that has been caged all of her life. And although she has been transferred to a new cage with Jafar, it comes with small freedoms she never thought she would have. This helps her to find the courage to fight for her rightful place as queen. Jafar is dark and dominating with a special obsession for Yasmina. It was always his plan to overthrow her father but his timescales were moved up because of his need for her.

I love the enemies to lovers trope and adding a twist on Disney magic really drew me into this book. I think it would have been better to see the suspense build up between them in the years leading up to this book instead of it just being referred to but I still enjoyed the story. And the ending was everything!

I enjoyed this book. Katee doesn't disappoint.

My only gripes are that it seems to start in the middle of a major plot point and that it was long enough for my taste.

Ahhh Jafar is incredible sexy! I love the chemistry built between Jasmine and Jafar. The story is well written and very dark, there is so much spice in this book ( who’s b I LOVED)). Kate’s never disappoints me! . Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and you never go wrong with her books. Please check your trigger warnings as it may contain some tropes that might be too much for some readers.
One of my favorite reads so far!

A solid book from Katee Roberts earlier writing career. This is actually one of the first books of hers that I read way back when. I loved the addition of annotations and additional scenes. I don't have the physical copy to see the beauty of it in person, but I love the new cover and artwork. Overall still a solid and fun book to read and worth the re-read.

I love everything I have read by Katee Robert. That being said, this one wasn't my favorite. I liked most of the characters and the general direction of the story. There were parts that simply felt rushed when they could have been fleshed out a bit more. The reader wasn't allowed to sit in the suspense long enough. I'm still looking forward to the next book in this series, though!

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert is a perfect book for a spicy mafia romance.

✅ mafia/ mafia’s daughter
✅ plot twist
✅ sheltered princess
✅ marriage arrangements
✅ angst
✅ action
✅ suspense
✅ high sexual tension
✅ plenty of spicy scenes: intense and explicit 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (bdsm,virginity, exhibitions, anal, 3some)

I’ll definitely need to read the next book by Katee Robert.

This was actually my first Katee Robert book, and not only was I really curious to see what her rwriting looked like, but I was always very excited to read this take on Disney villains.
Spoiler alert, I loved it !!
Honestly, it was a fast and fun read ; the perfect book to distract myself during a tough weekend !
The MCs were great together and I loved seeing their relationship evolve and how they both come into themselves, no matter what we expected in the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adore a good Katee Robert book. This is the first book in the Wicked Villians series, it’s a dark ‘retelling’ of Aladdin. I enjoyed the story and the development of the relationship, but whenever there is a Daddy kink mentioned it throws the book off for me. I did enjoy it but it lowered the rating. Solid opening to the series though.

Desperate Measures was my very first Katee Robert book back in 2019, and I was so excited to see it being updated and rereleased. It's the first in the Wicked Villains series and explores an alternate take on Aladdin, where Jasmine falls in love with Jafar instead. It jumps head first into the spice, right out of the gate, and it doesn't really let up. This new version has illustrations, too, which are somehow both swoony and alluring, and which perfectly capture how I imagined the characters in my mind.

If this is your first time reading Katee, be prepared for some serious spice. And a ménage à trois. And a special kind of club. And cameos from other Disney-ish characters, heavily smut-ified. If you grew up watching Disney movies but also love dark romance, you HAVE to pick these books up. You 100% won't regret it.

Check out trigger warnings, though, if you're sensitive to violence, because it can get a bit intense.

Wicked Villians indeed! This was definitely a super spicy dark romance with the retelling of Jafar and Yasmina. It was really cool with the deluxe version because Katee Robert actually has written in footnotes about their thought process while writing and re-reading it. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Quite the kink classic, only improved with the author's comments, which are truly entertaining. Underworld machinations, betrayals, power plays, and more than a little domination (and submission). Some very fun epilogues, almost as fun as the book itself.

One of the best things about this book is it knows what it is.

It's a smutty book with a bad ass female character who overcomes her circumstances to be the queen she is ment to be.

And I am here for it.

While this wasn't my first katee Roberts book. It was mh first time with this series and I loved it. The characters and the writing are both excellent examples of escapism.
However I didn't like the footnote additions at the end of chapters as k felt like it took me out of the story and into the writers heads headspace and u didn't want that. I enjoyed the flow of tjr story and this derailed it

However if it was a re read o would understand it

I always know exactly what I’m getting with a Katee Robert book, and this definitely delivered!

I wasn’t a returning reader to this story, so the footnotes and extras might not have meant quite as much to me as they may have to others, but I still had a TON of fun getting into Katee’s head throughout the story. This is a very spicy story about a Jasmine x Jafar AU, and while it’s really wildly different (obviously) I really did enjoy the little nods and the brand new take on these characters, as well as the other Disney characters who arrived as side characters and who have books of their own later in the series. This is a quick read with immaculate spice, a FMC who goes on an emotional journey, a princess who saves herself, and an unexpected partnership that makes sense in the end. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for this eArc!

Katee Robert has done it again. I am so happy for them to have the chance to rerelease this series. The covers are gorgeous, the extras are fun, and the footnotes throughout are fascinating. Yasmina and Jafar have a great story to kick off the series, and it's just in time for the second generation. A fun twist on a classic that does not disappoint.

Desperate Measures is a dark, spicy retelling that takes the Disney magic of Aladdin and douses it in unapologetic, grown-up heat. If you’re here for complex power dynamics, forbidden attraction, and scenes so steamy they might just fog up your Kindle, Katee Robert delivers exactly what you’re craving.

This is not your childhood Jafar. He’s brooding, manipulative, and downright sinful, yet somehow impossible to resist. Opposite him, Jasmine sheds her sheltered princess persona for a fiercer, more cunning side as she fights to take back control of her life—both from Jafar and the gilded cage he’s built around her. Their chemistry is electric, crackling with tension, and the spice? Oh, it’s downright incendiary. This book leans fully into its dark romance label, so expect plenty of morally grey decisions and more heat than heart.

The plot, while engaging, feels secondary to the push-pull dynamic between Jasmine and Jafar, and that’s fine—it’s clear the focus here is the fiery, boundary-pushing relationship. That said, a bit more emotional depth or development in the story would’ve added an extra layer of complexity to the characters and their choices.

3.5 stars for sultry, no-holds-barred romance that isn’t afraid to tread into darker waters. If you’re in the mood for a story that blurs the line between love and power, Desperate Measures will give you the escape you’re looking for. Just make sure to turn up the AC before you start.

This was the perfect little spicy book I needed at the time!

I love Katee Robert and how they write spicy scenes, and how we can always expect the characters to be queer in some shape or form.
There was not too much of a plot in the book, sure there is a red line we follow throughout the book but I would say this book is mostly about the spice and the relationship between the two main characters, Yasmina and Jafar.

It was also interesting to read this after having read the Dark Olympus series because I could so clearly see the very beginning of that series shining through at certain points during this book.

Overall I had a fun time with this book, the spice was magnificent as per usual. The writing and the plot line was nothing amazing in my opinion, but even though I am rating this 3.25 stars it does not mean that I think that this was a bad book. It did its job, and that was spice and a fun time!

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I've been wanting to read this series for forever. I just love her Dark Olympus series the most so I was excited for some spicy Disney. I'm hoping the rest of the series will become available as arcs soon. I love a good villain and the dynamic between Jafar and Yasmina is hot and powerful. I love how she eventually becomes strong and fierce and stands her ground. She makes it known that she's tired of being in a cage and that she is in charge. I loved that we also got to see a little of Meg and Hades throughout the book because you know I'm a sucker for Hades. With this deluxe edition we got to see Katee's thoughts throughout which I loved to read the behind the scenes stuff. I loved the short stories at the end and the photos throughout the book were great too. I'm excited to see where the rest of the series goes.

Desperate Measures is a new, spicy and unique take on the Aladdin story centered on Jasmine and a budding relationship with Jafar. While it sounds offputting in theory, it's an interesting take. I especially enjoyed the notes from the author, which provided better insight into the thoughts and processes used to write the story.

While I liked the premise of this book and the spice, it felt like so much of the relationship development was left off page and happened before the book even started. The story was also lacking in plot, but I was rooting for the characters.

Soooooo........ I just finished "Desperate Measures", and whew, let me tell you—it’s definitely not your childhood Aladdin story! This is an erotica/BDSM retelling with Jafar as the hero (yes, THAT Jafar), and honestly, I was intrigued from the get-go. I’d give it a solid 3.5-4 stars, so let me break it down for you.

The story centers on Jasmine and Jafar in a sort of vaguely modern, vaguely magical world. Jasmine’s dad is this powerful, controlling figure, and Jafar stages a coup to overthrow him—not just for power but also to claim Jasmine. The twist? They’ve apparently been into each other for *years*. Things heat up quickly, and since they’re both into consensual non-consent, they conveniently have a safe word ready to go. (A little odd given their history, but I rolled with it.)

What really stood out for me was the concept of this series. The idea of villains taking center stage is SO fun, and the world-building—while not super fleshed out—is intriguing. A city full of these morally grey characters hanging out at a sex club owned by Hades? I mean, come on, how can you not love that setup?

But the heart of this book is Jasmine. Her character arc is fantastic. She starts out as this sheltered, powerless pawn in her father’s game, valued only for her ability to be married off. But as the story progresses, she finds her voice, her desires, and her strength. You can’t help but cheer for her as she transforms into her own person (while also enjoying some very spicy moments with Jafar).

The ending was a pleasant surprise—unexpected but satisfying in a way that felt true to the story.

If you’re into steamy, boundary-pushing romances with a dash of fairy-tale darkness, this is worth checking out. Just go in knowing it’s not heavy on plot or world-building—it’s more about the heat and the dynamic between the characters. If that’s your vibe, you’re in for a wild ride. 😉

#DesperateMeasures #NetGalley #KateeRobert