Cruel seduction

The electrifying fifth romance in Robert's blockbuster Dark Olympus series (after Radiant Sin) returns to the dystopian city of Olympus, ruled by a council of 13 politicians whose titles and roles are derived from the ancient Greek gods. To keep the peace in unstable Olympus--where political assassinations are becoming ever more common--enemies Aphrodite and Hephaestus enter into a political marriage, despite the fact that Aphrodite is in love with Adonis. At first the feuding duo go out of their way to provoke and anger each other--Aphrodite sleeps with Hephaestus's best friend, Pandora, and Hephaestus seduces Adonis--but all four become a tight unit after an attempt is made on Aphrodite's life. As they endeavor to protect one another, the quartet settles into a high-heat polyamorous relationship. The steamy sex scenes are punctuated by escalating danger culminating in a knife attack that could take one of the four out of the group forever. Robert's celebration of both kink and nontraditional relationship structures sets this apart, and her ability to paint morality in shades of gray makes for complex and enjoyable conflict. This sizzling story will spark readers' desire for more erotic fare from the Dark Olympians. (Aug.)

Securing his title as one of the Thirteen--despite earning it through murder--means that newly crowned Hephaestus must marry Aphrodite. Despite enjoying their marriage bed, they hate each other and turn to gossip as a weapon. Hephaestus tries to use Aphrodite's ex, Adonis, to annoy her, but their attraction is undeniable. Pandora, Hephaestus's best friend, seems like an easy target for Aphrodite to seduce, but instead she's feeling inconvenient emotional attachment. A spate of assassination attempts on the Thirteen forces all of them together, but surviving the killers might be easier than showing vulnerability to lovers. Robert makes the stakes even deadlier in this latest installment of the "Dark Olympus" series, after Radiant Sin. Hephaestus's struggle between duty to his foster father, who wants a ruined Olympus, and the realities of seeing others suffer drives the plot. The polyamorous bisexual quad that emerges feels both natural and tentative, and the novel handles levels of fidelity swiftly and without judgment. Hephaestus's disability affects his mobility realistically throughout. Robert masterfully writes characters who are physically intimate but emotionally withholding, and this novel is no exception. VERDICT This retelling of Greek myth is a delicious polyamorous enemies-to-lovers romance.--Katherine Sleyko