One of my favorite subgenres of romance is the myth/fairy tale retelling. I particularly like the myth retelling. This week’s book is a very loose retelling of Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus. This week’s review is Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert. It is part of her Dark Olympus series. Before starting the review, I want to explain what I mean by loosely. This is not a retelling of the Battle of Troy. Yes, there are characters in the book that fall in line with the myth of Troy. This book is entirely its own story.
Ares has died, and it is time to pick a new one. The competition is a chance for the winner to earn their spot in The Thirteen, the counsel that rules Olympus. Helen Kasios is the daughter of the former Zeus. Her whole life, she has been in a gilded cage. The Ares competition is her chance to break out of the cage. She’s going to take this chance and run with it. Achilles has decided that he will be the next Ares. He’s Athena’s second in command and already has the arrogance for the Ares position. Patroclus is Achilles’ partner in every way. His goal is to make sure that Achilles succeeds in the competition.
This book was very good. One of the things that helped me is what I mentioned in the beginning. I didn’t expect this to be a true retelling of the myth. I was able to enjoy the story for what it was: a very smutty romance. Cause this book is smutty. This is a male/female/male (m/f/m) book. If you do not like smut scenes with two guys, this is not for you. Aside from that, this book covers the competition from beginning to end. The author does an excellent job of writing the fight scenes and doing character development. It was an excellent read.
Adorkable Musings 
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