Another hit in the Dark Olympus series. I absolutely love this series. Every time I finish a new book t=it always leaves me wanting more of this universe. I love the characters and the storyline. Highly recommend this series for a great escape.

I absolutely love going back to Olympus in Katee Roberts books.

This one did not disappoint!

The narrators continue to amaze me in being the story to life and making me feel like I’m a part of everything that is happening with the Thirteen!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook. This is my honest voluntary review.

Jump back into Dark Olympus - where the stakes and spice are steadily rising each and every book.

While I loved being back in this universe, this wasn't my favorite in the series. My primary issue with this book was the number of relationships Katee tried to develop within 384 pages. I genuinely think this would have been a lot better if only it had been a bit longer.

That said, I definitely still recommend this book, as it is very important for the overarching plot of the series and I am very excited to see where this ends up going.

---3/5 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 5 in the Dark Olympus series and probably the most ambitious in terms of characters and relationships. There are four different main characters in a poly relationship and they all have different POVs that get narrated. It’s kind of a lot but I loved it.

There are some major plot developments to the over arching story of the series but they don’t really get fleshed out that well in this book.

Instead, this book focused more on the relationships between Aphrodite, Theseus, Pandora, and Adonis. Katee does a fantastic job of writing poly relationships and making them feel authentic. She makes sure to tie all of the characters together with genuine connections.

Some readers complained about it getting confusing with too many names but I checked one of those charts of all the characters that Katee posted and then didn’t have any problems.

Also just to add - the spice was great! She really played with the possibilities of the poly group and there were scenes that hadn't yet shown up in the Dark Olympus series.

I also was super happy with the audiobook quality and narrators. It was a fun listen and I was able to get immersed in the story.

Katee is able to do some magic with their writing, managing four different POVs in a book under 400 pages. It probably could have been developed a little bit more, but I was involved enough in the story that I don’t think the shorter length vs number of POVs affected the story.

Cruel Seduction, book 5 in the Dark Olympus series, follows Eris, Theseus, Pandora and Andonis. This book had more behind the scenes and political plot points to move along the series compared to some of the others that focused on different parts of Olympus.

Eris (Aphrodite) and Theseus (Hephaestus), recently married for political gains, are pretty much sworn enemies. They work for different sides and have different agendas. In a little bit of revenge/take from you drama, both decide to seek out companionship from someone close to the opposite spouse. This eventually all works out though because they enter a polyamorous relationship with one another that isn’t necessarily explicitly discussed, but is mentioned.

Katee is great at developing poly relationships, and while this one could have been developed a bit further, was still enjoyable.

The audiobook narrators, as always, did a fantastic job in making the story feel so real. They’re easy to follow and bring something different to each character. I highly encourage checking out this series in audio if you haven’t yet!

This series is full of ups and downs. This was the nastiest book, but a big down in intrigue.
I think I'm just still reading this series because I enjoy the writing and author. I don't know anything about the myths or greek gods so I start to get turned off when I'm struggling to remember who is who and what characters were in past books.

This book was trying to do poly, but I dont remember a hard convo about it so it felt messy and that is a reason why I was confused.

I will keep reading these, but oof I want one to slap as hard as Neon Gods and Wicked Beauty did.

I liked this one a little better than the previous installment, mainly because of the multiple POV's and the multiple love interests.
We have Aphrodite, Adonis, Pandora and Hephaestus all involved in a messy multi partner situation and their connections to each other just make it even more so.
However, I found myself not that interested in the romantic shenanigans, but rather impatiently trying to figure out the subplot of who is trying to destabilize the power structure in Olympus and how they are going to achieve their nefarious goals via Minos.

I really enjoyed the first 4 books but I didn't connect with this one for some reason. I'm not really sure why but it is sad

Another installment in the Neon God's series, and I was not disappointed.

The larger plot revolving around a growing threat to Olympis is more in the foreground than it has been in other books. We get more of a look into Zeus and his sisters relationship, but the focus is on the newly marries Aphrodite and the new Hephaestus.

Both are determined to use their marriage and proximity to the other to gain the high ground and get information and control. Both seem to be using seduction as a means to get there.

The only problems is that it gets messy when the sex isn't just part of the job anymore, and with Aphrodite's Ex Adonis and Hephaestus' best friend Pandora being caught in the crossfire, keeping straight who the enemy is and who is between the sheets with eachother becomes very difficult to keep separate.

First I have to say that Alex Moorcock and Zara Hampton-Brown make a great duo on this series. I prefer listening than reading these books. However this particular installment just had too much going on in the love department.
We had Aphrodite who used to be with Adonis but is now married to the new Hephaestus. She finds herself still attracted to Adonis but also her new husband. She planned to use her husbands close friend Pandora as a pawn to get influence over Hephaestus but lo and behold, Aphrodite finds Pandora attractive too.
Then all four of them just started this romance musical chairs. It didn’t hold my attention as much as the mystery of who was behind the plot to topple Olympus. Whoever it is has been working diligently since book 1 and each book gives us a piece to the puzzle. Trying to see who is betraying the 13 is so much more intriguing than the bed games played by those four who aren’t really that interesting as characters.

This wasn’t one of the better stories in the series but it sets up the next book quite well. I look forward to the unmasking of the mastermind.

As a big Katee Robert fan, I really enjoy the Dark Olympus series and was excited to dive into this one. Following Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Pandora, and Adonis; this is their love story and in typical Katee fashion, it's dark, spicy, and romantic all in one.

While this was not my favourite Dark Olympus book it definitely was a lot of fun to read, and Katee did an incredible job at telling their story in a way that it felt like no one was ever left out of the relationship or storyline. I definitely felt that there was room for this book to be longer purely because there are four characters who all have to go through their own conflicts to resolve by the end but overall, Katee does a good job at wrapping things up as nice and tidy as Katee does.

This was a fun book, and I really liked it!

Thank you NetGalley for an audio eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I again enjoyed both narrators. I’ve listen to two previous installments in the Dark Olympus series both prove with Cruel Seduction that they both can handle narrating multiple characters and spicy scenes well. Every now and again I would lose who Alex was narrating male character wise, but it wasn’t enough of an issue to be off putting.
For the book itself, I enjoyed it but it didn’t feel like it had as much plot movement as previous installments. This isn’t a negative or a positive point, just an fyi. I would say the positive side effect of this was that we got to know all four characters a bit better. I personally found the Aphrodite Pandora aspects of pairing the most engaging. Potentially the source of the slower movement is what I feel has been a more intrusive “telling”more so than “showing”, something I’ve encountered more often in the last three installments. Not so much as the first half of Wicked Beauty (I almost opted out of the series then but the second half was excellent so I’m glad I pushed through). However this may be a me problem and sign that I’m simply just not into pining. Regardless I’m still excited to continue the series and I’m very much looking forward to the next chapter.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape for the chance to read an early copy, especially an audiobook copy. Audiobooks have completely revolutionized how I’ve been able to enjoy reading over the last year and making audiobooks available for early copies has meant the world to me.

This book was hot! 🥵 I really enjoyed the audio version, the narrator was on point.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review.

Just when I was getting back into these books, this happened. Don’t get me wrong, I did like it, but I was also annoyed by the amount of POVs it had. It basically gave enough for them to say they were still in love with each other and then that they were fighting each other and other people, and that was it. That was the whole book. Even when someone tried to kill them it was at the end of the book. Idk, it was a lot lol

Ok so this is a great representation of a poly romance. This was my first one and I was a little intimidated. But I think this ended up being a good one for me to start with. There’s not too many people and they all had different personalities. It was good for me to tell who was who. What I didn’t like about it tho was the way most of the book was about me getting to know them separately and them together. I wasn’t worried about it until I realized the book was over and nothing had really happened lol

I gotta say, this one was mostly about the spice. I don’t feel like there was much plot to it. That’s not something that bothered me, but just a heads up for anyone else who might want it. But this also annoyed me because by the time this got really good, it was over. I wanted to know who tried that thing on the end and what they all ended up doing together. And I really was interested in seeing a little more of them finally being on the same page. They spent most of the book fighting it and being together in couples here and there, but I thought it would show us some time with them together and not fighting it. But it showed just the aftermath of them in a hospital room.

As a character driven reader and this being #5 in the series, I was ok with not having the world-building and only getting to know the characters via their relationship. I know it’s going to come up again. Katee is good about bringing up other things in the next book of a series. So I’m not sweating this at all. And because Aphrodite was bad ass and wasn’t taking shit from anyone, so I know she’s going to come up again when everyone starts healing.

The narrators of this were also good. I remember at one point I wasn’t a fan of Alex, but he’s since pulled it together and he’s gotten really good at this. He still needs a bit of help when doing women’s voices during his chapters, but he’s doing a lot better than he was in the very beginning. Otherwise, this duo has been really good together and I can’t wait to see or hear rather, more of them together.

This wasn’t my favorite of the series, in fact I thought it was mid. It introduced me to something, but I wanted more action and fighting. Very different from what I normally want, but I think it’s because I’ve become used to it in her books. But I think if you’re used to going in to these books for the spice, you won’t be disappointed. I liked this for the things it taught me about polyamory, but not for what it gave me on the fantasy and fighting side.

It took a while to get into and while I don't think its my favorite of the series it's a sold 3.5 to 4 stars. The story is clearly not complete I'm excited for the next chapter whenever that might be.

Katee Robert has done it again! I adored this journey back to Dark Olympus. I loved the narrators and they are the best for this series. Spicy scenes would simply the best and this was one fun read.

Just like her other books in the Olympus series Cruel Seduction will not disappoint you. This is full of steamy sex and a mystery that surronds Aphrodite, Hephasestus, Pandora, and Adonis. Could not put this one down!

This might be one of my favorite books in the Dark Olympus series! I was giggling and kicking my feet.
I didn’t read the synopsis before reading it because I genuinely would read Katee’s grocery list if she published it, but I’m so glad I went in with 0 context. I was pleasantly surprised by how the romance worked itself out and the first half of the book I couldn’t guess how it was gonna go. I was also pleasantly surprised by both Eris’s and Theseus’s individual storylines. This also might have had the most toe curling spicy scenes I’ve ever read and since I’ve read most of Katee’s catalog that’s really saying something.

The only critique I have is that the pacing and cadence of every book in this series is starting to feel too similar. A lot of the characters feel interchangeable. I’d love to see more contrast added to the overall series.

Cruel Seduction is quite a story! So much is happening with this group together and separate. As with the prior books I enjoyed the mythological references, the spice and everything in between. I so look forward to what comes next in this series!

This is book five in the Dark Olympus series.

The book picks up in the aftermath of book four but it follows Aphrodite's path.

I have loved this series as a whole since it started. I love that each book is next in the overarching story but follows different gods or goddesses. This story and plot follows this same path as the others and it is what keeps me drawn in each time.

I know going into her books there is going to be a heavy amount of spice. I felt like in this one, it just didn't flow that well into the story. There were multiple spots where I felt it didn't transition well and it was just there to be there.

I am not sure how Katee Robert can write a character that you hate so much in one book but then go into the next one where you end up feeling the exact opposite. I love how she does this but you still feel like all of your feelings were justified. This is how I feel about Hephaestus. This just shows what a phenomenal writer she is.

I did listen to the audio book for this one (thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC).
It was narrated by Zara Hampton-Brown and Alex Moorcock. They do such a great job narrating this book. I feel like their voices always flow well together with their tone and their diction as they speak are very similar. It was smooth transition during the different POV and I really enjoyed listening to it.