Dark Olympus Book 5: Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

 

Dark Olympus Book 5

He was my enemy. My lover. My husband. 

And the one man I swore by all Olympus I would destroy. 

Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she's not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus's enemy number one, the new Hephaestus. She has a wicked plan to keep her deadly new husband off-balance, seducing the one person he seems to care about most in this world: Pandora, a woman as beautiful as she is sweet. 

Two can play the seduction game, however, and Hephaestus is all too happy to put his new wife in her place. Her ex, Adonis, seems like he'll do the trick. It doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous in the way of fallen angels, either. 

The only problem with using seduction as a weapon? Hearts are all too quick to get involved. With Hephaestus and Aphrodite trading venomous strikes that feel a whole lot like foreplay, lines become blurred and emotions entangled. But a broken heart may be the least of their worries. With unrest in Olympus reaching new heights, these bedroom games may have deadly consequences for themselves, their city, and everyone they've come to love.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63065383-cruel-seduction

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

With each new book, the stakes are higher and higher in this series. The last book left us with a new Hephaestus, formerly known as Theseus as he followed his foster father’s plan to become part of the Thirteen. Meanwhile, the rest of the Thirteen decided they needed to a way to keep him in check. This leads to Eris, also known as Aphrodite, to step up. She’ll marry the enemy and find a way to bring him down. Though things are never quite that easy. This story has a poly relationship and it gets a little complicated. Eris broke up with Adonis. Though their relationship was never perfect, the two still love one another. But she had to break his heart to marry Theseus. Theseus’s best friend is Pandora. They have been best friends since they were children who endured terrible things before and after Minos took them in. Theseus will do anything for Pandora, but the two of them have never been more than friends. What may start as an idea to use those closest to them against one another, the idea sours for both of them pretty quick. Theseus finds himself falling for Adonis in a way he never imagined, while also falling for his new wife. Adonis is starting to fall for Theseus but his feelings for Eris are still present as well, despite the heart break she had caused him. And Eris can’t deny to the pull she feels toward Pandora and vice versa. And Eris still has feelings for Adonis while also developing feelings for Theseus the more the two begin to understand one another. 

The four of them together is different than anyone can understand, but it somehow has the power to work for them. If they can live long enough to seize that. There is a lot at stake. First to get past the hurts and the lines that make them enemies and then there is the fact that there are those threatening to assassinate Eris and Theseus at every turn. However, these things may be the push they need to finally break free of the chains that have held them down for so long. I really liked this story! I had no idea how their relationship was going to work when I first picked it up. Complicated was an understatement. But their relationship took this new form that was super intriguing to see and made sense for them all. You can’t help but cheer for all of them. Even for Theseus and Pandora who are considered the enemy at first. We get more insight to Minos’s plans while catching up with a few others. This series just keeps getting more and more interesting and I can’t wait for the next one!