Katee Robert and R.M. Virtues kick off The Black Rose Auction series with a major bang!

Each book takes a fairy tale (Little Red Riding Hood & Goldilocks and The Three Bears) and brings it into the world of The Black Rose Auction. A place where anything, and anyone, can be sold for a price. I loved the world building between the two books and two authors added variety to the series. I will say that this is Gen 2 for Katee Robert and having some prior knowledge of her world building is needed, but trust me, you'll want to read their books anyway.

I can't wait to see where this series goes!

I was so excited for this series and the first two stories did not disappoint.

Katee Robert is a long time favorite of mine and to no ones surprise hit all the marks with this story for me. Returning to the world of wicked villains was a treat, but I'm happy that while we got glimpses of past characters the new characters got to really shine.

R.M. Virtues was a new author to me and did not disappoint. Queer characters at the forefront of a story where they get to embrace sexuality and just be queer is a refreshing take I hope to see more of in the ever changing romance world.

A fun, sexy, and well paced start to a promising series. Can't wait to have it in store.

These were fun. I liked the first book much more than the second. I am not entirely sure why. Dark romance for me is all about the vibe and I just couldn't mesh with the vibes in the second book, so I am giving the set three stars as an average. Alone, the first book probably would have been four stars. I do love a good spicy retelling, so thanks for writing them.

Katee Robert is a total auto-buy author for me. If she’s writing it, I’m reading it because she’s always writing something fresh with unique characters that always brings on the good spice!

I love everything about the Black Rose Auction series, a connected series of six books that interweave danger and spice, that brings together some of the best steamy authors in romance.

The fact that this was a Little Red Riding Hood stalker romance was just icing on the cake.

If you had asked me to read a stalker romance where the possessive hero would kill whoever touched the woman he considered his, I probably would have passed on the book, but knowing Katee Robert wrote it, I knew that I was in good hands.

This was the perfect, steamy romance that I could dive into in one sitting and just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s a quick read that isn’t high on character development or storyline but gives just enough to hook you into it and have you curious to know who is this stalker, what is Ruby going to do about it and where will it lead them?

If you love good girls gone bad stories, and possessive heroes who have their own voyeurism and jealousy kinks, then this is the book for you. It will have you eager for more Wicked Villains’ offspring stories and wishing you got even more of Ruby and Wolf.

I could sense where the twist was going and loved how it turned out. Now to binge-read the rest of the series!

Thank you for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

These are steamy and delicious. I enjoyed both stories and feel like I’m missing something because I want more from these characters and their stories.
A must read for romance steamy lovers

Thank to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an ARC of both "Wicked Pursuit" by katee Robert and "Divine Intervention" by RM Virtues.
Wick pursuit: 4.5 stars
I really enjoyed the wicked pursuit book. It was a fun read. Hot stalker romance done right. It was suspenseful and sexy. Only problem with this book was that at the beginning of book, the FMC was cheating which gave me a bit of ick.
Divine Intervention: 2.5 stars
I must admit , I didn't enjoy "divine intervention" as much as I have enjoyed the first book. The writing was a bit confusing to me and the plot was not my cup of tea. Though, there were parts of the book that I really enjoyed.

I have discovered that I am loving when a book has two authors especially when it is dark romance/ romance etc and this one was done really well. I loved the style of writing, I loved the story line and the characters, Loved the spice. I just loved it

I have already loved everything Katee Robert writes and this book is no exception. What I wasn’t expecting was to find a new favorite author with R.M. Virtues. Their book was truly divine. I loved everything about both books and can’t recommend them enough.

Full Goodreads review pasted below and link provided!

*Thank you to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this! Per usual, my opinions and review are 100% my own*

This is technically two books in one, so each will get their own review! Overall, I LOVE this and will definitely be reading the other books in this series written by some other amazing authors! Overall this gets 4 stars from me and alllll the chili spices. The world was semi-familiar to me as an absolute stan of all of Katee Robert's work.

Wicked Pursuit
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

Katee's books will almost always just HIT for me. I was frothing at the mouth when I learned it was Beast/Gaton/Belle's daughter! I will say that I guessed at least a bit of who the masked stalker was, but the TRUE identity?! I did not see that coming and I legitimately squealed.

If you've not read Katee's original Wicked Villains series (particularly the Beast, which is the origin story of Ruby's parents), I think this story will still make sense, but I don't think it'll have the same impact. Me knowing the background characters, particularly the parents, but also all of the other territory leaders really added to full impact of this storyline. Especially since these are all novellas, there's not a ton of time to go into all of the backstories.

This series is HIGH on the spice. Wicked Pursuit in particular is a stalker romance (but she can't stop talking to him), possession and chasing, primal play, and so much more. Read your content warnings if you're not comfortable with k!nk in general!

Divine Intervention
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I was on a high from Wicked Pursuit and this one sadly fell a bit short for me. I love me an angels vs. devils vibe, and this is a loose dark retelling of Goldilocks, but somewhere just fell a bit short. I do definitely think that you need to have read at minimum Wicked Pursuit to not feel lost in this one. Still VERY high on the spice: ex's dad, age gap, CNC, fallen (and falling) angels and witches.

I personally was a bit thrown off having read the complex web that is all of Katee's books (won't go into which ones all link here since that will spoil some things if you haven't read those books), but all of them are strictly magic-free. So reading about witches and angels and demons from the get-go threw me off my game. Just for me personally I would have preferred this to have been a plain old heist with potentially some mafia or assassin groups instead of angels vs. demons. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and perhaps due to the short nature of this story, didn't even feel the level of hatred for the villain of this story. The result was that I liked the book, but didn't ultimately love it.

Another super hot book by my favorite Katee Robert! I'm a goner for all her books.

Super sexy and hot! And the plot was really good! That's what I love about her books - spice and plot. And characters are so lovable.
Katee did kink exploration so fun!

Also this idea with retellings is briliant! Will recommend to everyone!

Mind blown. Two VERY VERY spicy stories with plenty of very intriguing plot. While both being set around the same auction they are entirely different story lines.
I was salivating for another look into Robert 's series and the next generation did not disappoint. Can I just say that "Uncle Hook" even being mentioned makes me want to circle back and read their story again ! Ruby is the best kind of reckless and I may have unlocked some new fantasies. Didn't see the plot twist coming until it was already there and I love when a book can surprise me
Virtues was an unknown author to me but will be added to my TBR ASAP. Mixing in some heavy spice with a variety of tropes and fantastic plot like a master. I don't fluster easily but I had to put this away a few times to come back to it in a more private setting. If you're looking for great storytelling and character development with a heavy hit of physical these are your books. Can't wait to dive into the rest of this series.

Wicked Pursuit is everything I knew I would get from Katee Robert and the twist.. this book is excellent

Divine intervention’s world building is quite confusing but I was honestly here for the smut and that wasn’t not a disappointment. I wish we got more of the three

This was my very first Katee Robert book and I was well equipped with the knowledge before diving in that she is one of the absolute queens of spice! This lived up to that hype completely. What I also enjoyed? The spice and the story and the characters were all hand-in-hand; none of those elements suffered from the others. But man, three cheers for the spicy bits. They knocked my socks off in the best way.
At the big plot twist— I was genuinely shocked. I loved just how much the MMC saw our FMC; saw, understood, and accepted her. Love love love.

The ending of the story caught me completely off guard, though. The end felt more like the middle to me! I read this via ebook and I didn't pay attention to the length of the book before coming up to the end and it absolutely left me wanting more. It felt like so much good tension was built and then ironed out very abruptly. The epilogue helped sate that feeling of wanting more a bit but I feel like we missed out on what comes next.

Hopefully the remaining books in the series propel the overarching story forward because I was really getting into the greater world-building! (I will absolutely be reading the rest of them!!!)

OKAY! Excuse me?! What in the Hell did I just read with this second book???

This was nothing like what I expected to get myself into and I'm so happy about that because it ended up being so much MORE! There's a lot of world-building elements to sift through in Divine Intervention that felt a bit dry for me in the beginning of the book. I kept setting down my kindle and felt pulled out of the story a lot in the beginning. But man, it really ended up getting deep and pulling me right in! I loved the characters — I love the larger world setup — and I really, really look forward to *hopefully* getting the chance to enter back into it again in the future!

I thoroughly enjoyed the themes in the story and the spice was super spicy with a ton to enjoy there. I have to be honest and say that this story very much felt like it was written from a more masculine headspace; sometimes the intimate scenes felt more for the masculine gaze. (Especially any oral sex scenes; it felt incredibly rough on the FMC.) But honestly? The deeper I fell into the story and into the characters the more it all made sense to me and I was able to enjoy it for what it was.

I loved this story. Can't wait to read more Black Rose Auction stories but specially really hope to get more Elias, Talli, and Cahuani in the future from R.M. Virtues!

Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for the arc!

**2.5 stars** There are two books in this edition, set in the same world. While not my favorite, many beloved dark romance authors have collaborated in this new series and those who are looking for a smutty dark romance series will probably enjoy these.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert is a stalker romance inspired by Little Red Riding Hood set in NYC, in the mob world. And Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtue is a fantastical story loosely inspired by Goldilocks where a witch works with her ex’s father to steal a magical chalice.

I rated the first book 1.5 stars while I gave the second book by 2.75 stars. While I love a good dark romance (fantasy or not), I enjoy them more if there is a solid foundation of world and character building. These books are relatively on the shorter side, so not a lot of attention to the finer details. Since these books (and the upcoming) are not interconnected and might have some crossover, they serve more as standalones. Once we are finally connected with the book’s characters, new ones are introduced in the next.

The main problem I had with WP, is the writing. I haven’t read a lot of Katee Robert’s books; I dnf’d Neon Gods mainly due to the writing style. We spend too much time in her inner dialogue that I wished we read more about the surroundings instead. Fans of H.D. Carlton’s “Cat & Mouse” duology will probably enjoy this.

I preferred DI because it had more substance other than smut. I like that it was an urban fantasy and the messiness of the relationships that transpired. I like the war between the angels and demons and I do think the smut in this was better written. (Even though it was wild. Lol.)

(I am also really not a huge fan of the playlists!! It makes them so cheesy for me!!) Otherwise, read these books for the smut. They are short reads that don’t require brainpower and will probably leave some panting.

Katee Robert means you can expect something extremely k1nky and filthy and forbidden. But Wicked Pursuit definitely exceeded all my expectations! This is twisted and sexy beyond my imagination and I am here for it. Katee Robert has set a standard for dark retelling but she has changed even that! This Little Red Riding Hood retelling will test your limits and cross your boundaries and will leave you a mess!

* Little Red Riding Hood retelling
* Dark mafia/ organized crime romance
* stalker romance
* enemies to lovers
* BDSM
* Touch Her and d1e
* forced proximity
* brought her in auction...
* FFM/ MMF/ sharing
* read the trigger warning carefully
* every kind of k1nk

Ruby is the heir of her family's organized crime empire in Calver City. But she is tired of the responsibilities. She wants to be reckless. She craves thrill. That comes in form of a sta]ker who caught her having sex with a stranger in bar and "cheating" on her boyfriend Luke. She splits up with Luke soon but her stalker wants a lot of things from her. The Wolf blackmails her to make her participate in Black Rose Auction and buys her there. But when the mask comes off and his identity as her family's enemy is revealed, everything goes crazy. Ruby is such a bada&&! She is fierce and she isn't afraid of reaching for her desire. It was so twisted that I cannot even tell you the level. The Wolf and Ruby are definitely made for each other. She isn't any protected mafia princess only. She has lots of fire. Wolf's identity shocked me because it's not his Russian mafia connection only. It's the way he claimed Ruby piece by piece without her knowing anything. He is insanely possessive but to make her fantasies come true, he will let her play..only to own her in more intense way after that. Their dynamics is so f*cked up. So crazy. But it also makes perfect sense.

As soon as I read the tropes and the trigger warning at the beginning, I realized I am venturing into an uncharted territory for me as a romance reader. And that got me so excited. New to me author. New k1nks and tropes. Divine Intervention was nothing less than a sexy action packed intense adventure for me.

Ex’s dad
supernatural polyamorous romance
Black romance
Two spirit leads
Witches, angels and demons
CNC / primal play
Enemies to lovers

Thalli has had enough of the games if the Archangels. She was used and betrayed and given to a man who has no business being an angel. The Black Rose Auction and the mission of stealing the chalice gives her a chance to escape the Heaven and the Dominion. She finds an unexpected guest here. Her ex's dad Cahuani who has the same ancient magic as her and is part of the Puri aka the demons. She stole from him once but he is her last hope to get out. He isn't like his evil son after all. But what about another angel who came here with her? Elias is certainly a very powerful and ancient one but he has been disillusioned too. With a war between the Dominion and the Puri on the horizon, these three have to make some savage decisions.

Tlalli is a very strong character. Not only magical power. The way she is constantly fighting to not bow down to the Dominion but had to play their games too. She is fierce and sensual and sassy. Cahuani didn't want to trust her initially but her pleading melted his heart. He knows that she isn't responsible for his son's corruption
And he cannot deny he feels something very deep and intense for her. Elias has been like friend to her and he always tried to ignore the wrongdoings of the Dominion but now he is at cross hairs and he has to take a side. And they both chose Tlalli. It was so spicy and dark and twisted. Make sure to stay dehydrated because oh my god it was hotter than the sun. I have never read anything with this kind of supernatural leads and it was fascinating. Cahuani and Elias both were extremely protective and possessive and they both had a dangerous side when it came to enemies. A lot of moving pieces were here and the ending was epic.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

Thank you to Netgalley and the Sourcebooks Casablanca for the arc of these books. Both of these books are part of the Black Rose Auction series. Katee Robert is one of my favorite authors. Wicked Pursuit gives us the next generation of one of the Wicked Villains series and ties to another series which I won't mention as its a spoiler. This book is fairly spicy with a very good plot and a nice twist. I loved this book. Book two is Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues. This is my first book by this author. This book takes place at the Black Rose Auction. This book is also spicy and the plot is interesting. I recommend giving this book a read especially if you enjoyed any other book by Katee Roberts. This will not disappoint.

Wicked Pursuit and Divine Intervention by Katee Robert & R.M. Virtues are amazing twists on classic tales we all know and love. Spicy, gripping, and all-consuming. These stories will pull you into the world of a fairytale based Mafia underworld and a war between Heaven and Hell. Both novellas contain diverse characters which I thoroughly enjoy seeing the representation of different cultures, relationship dynamics, LGBTQIA+, as well as disabilities and/or mental illness. They created a safe space through these stories where I can truly disconnect from reality for a bit.

Wicked Pursuit is a Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf retelling where the Wolf gets the girl. Ruby is a good girl with a decent boyfriend, but when the pressures of being a Mafia heir drive her to relish in being bad, Ruby gets herself thrown to the Wolf. This mysterious, masked, and murderous figure makes her discover more things about herself than she thought was possible. Is it possible he knows her just a little too much?

Divine Intervention is a paranormal Goldilocks retelling where Papa Bear gets the girl... Plus one more to make things just right 😉. Tlalli, an archangel regretting the transgressions Anthony (Little Bear) made her pull against ‘Papa Bear’ Cahuani, a descendant of demons. Tlalli finds herself stuck in Cahuani’s orbit once again, and she’s not the only one that is being pulled into orbit. Elias, another archangel with a mysterious past and begrudgingly Anthony’s babysitter, slowly starts falling for the both Tlalli and Cahuani. Can they make it without breaking the truce between Heaven and Hell? Or is it sometimes worth it to raise a little Hell and break the rules for the greater good?

Wicked Pursuit by @kateerobert

Releases - February 25th

Rating:

Review: BITCHHHH. Bitch. I’ve read so many Katee Roberts. Katee was actually my top author last year (I read 18 Katee Roberts in 2024, okay). I’ve loved them all. BUT there was something about this one. It grabbed me by the throat and did not let go. Not for a single second. There were so many moments that I loved, so many that made my jaw drop, and so many that made me think “oh, am I into this?” Also, listening to the playlist throughout the book? Chef’s kiss. There’s one specific song (body in my bed by Verite) that has been on repeat for daysss. My actual only complaint about this book is that it was short. I would have devoured a full length book of these two. A full series. (Hint hint). I finished this days ago and still have not recovered.

Synopsis: For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where nothing is off the table and everything―and everyone―can be had for the taking.



Divine Intervention by @rmvirtues

Releases - February 25th

Rating:

Review: This was my first RM Virtues read and will definitely not be my last (Sing Me to Sleep, I’m looking directly at you, babe). I loved the way the three characters interacted and I loved the way that the demons and angels were interwoven into the story. And the tension? Cut it with a butter knife so we can all breathe easier (but also don’t because I love it). I thought this was super inventive and a really cool Goldilocks remix. Definitely worth checking this one out!

Synopsis: In this Goldilocks remix, a witch must work with her ex's father (who she betrayed) and an angel to steal a magical chalice from the auction floor. But things get scorchingly complicated when all three agree that revenge is best served in the bedroom...

My rating for this book is a bit complicated. This review will be two parts due to two separate books within this.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert's- Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Katee was one of my favorite author regarding the world of Hades and Persephone. I had heard of her other novels but hadn't read any of them since the gods series. This story was incredible! I didn't know that I needed to read about Disney villains or their children. I loved how the story developed between Red and Wolf. This story had me on my toes at all times. It also had the classic Katee Robert's Spiciness. This short story makes me now want to read the villains series and I cannot wait!

Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues- Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I've read some of the previous reviews and I can definitely see where people could give this part of the book lower ratings. It was a good story with spice, plot, and drama but it was very different compared to Katee's story that was read first. I feel like if I would have read this one first I would feel completely different about it. This book is about angels and demons with a little bit of witch magic. I would love to read this story as a standalone with more plot and spice. The writing was good and I liked the characters except for our villains.

A huge thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, NetGalley, Katee Robert's, and R.M. Virtues for the amazing opportunity by letting me read this book ahead of time!

"Wicked Pursuit" offered an engaging world, great characters, and an intriguing twist with Wolf. The smut was well-executed, and I appreciated the inclusion of subspace and subspace drop, which felt fresh and added depth to the dynamics. Ruby’s character stood out, and I found myself wishing for more of her story. There was a lot of untapped potential here, and I think both "Wicked Pursuit" and "Divine Intervention" could have benefited from being longer, as I was left wanting more.

"Divine Intervention" had a unique premise that blended angels, demons, and witches in an interesting way, all tied to the Black Rose Auction. I enjoyed the concept but felt it was underdeveloped. The world-building and magic system could have used more exploration, and the storyline felt rushed, especially towards the end. Tlalli, in particular, was a character who could have easily carried her own series. The poly romance was a nice touch, though the development felt too quick for my liking, and I didn’t connect with one of the characters as much as the other.

My biggest issue with this collection is the lack of cohesion between the two stories. The only link was the Black Rose Auction, and even then, the worlds felt very disjointed. Introducing a new magic system in "Divine Intervention" without the proper setup in "Wicked Pursuit" made it feel almost out of place. These stories might have worked better as two separate books.

The writing in both stories felt limited due to the short format, which made it hard to fully invest in the worlds and characters. Despite the promising premises, both stories left me feeling like they didn’t reach their full potential.

Overall, while I enjoyed both stories for what they were, the lack of connection between them and the rushed pacing prevented this from being a higher rating. That's why this colection gets 3 ⭐ from me.