I went into this blind and I have to say, Katee managed to fit a lot into a novella!
I preferred Wicked Pursuit - I’m a big fan of a stalker romance. I liked Wolf a lot, and didn’t see the twist coming at all (not sure if I liked it). Ruby was frustrating, I’m all for promiscuity but I didn’t realise this book had cheating. Whilst I’m a big fan of a possessive male love interest…cheating takes away from the hot-ness for me.

Divine Intervention had a lot more world building and a lot more characters. I think it was trying to do too much as it got confusing at times. I got past the papa bear stuff and really enjoyed the scene with Elias. Overall, this one felt like hard work to read, I didn’t feel the connection as well and it wrapped up so quickly.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert, 5 stars:
WOW I missed this world! I devoured this story in one sitting, and could not put it down! I LOVED Ruby's story and am sitting in anticipation for the continuation of Wicked Villains, next gen.

Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues, 3 stars:
I wanted this to be so much better than it was. The premise of a fight between angels and demons, mixed with a heist and why-choose romance had me hooked, but the execution was off. I think too much was trying to be accomplished within the space of a novella. I felt like there was a lot of background information that needed to be provided to set the scene, but it was extremely wordy and drawn out- it almost lost my attention immediately. If I had picked this up as a standalone novel, rather than bound in a duology, it almost certainly would have been a DNF. Additionally, I know that this was supposed to be a goldilocks retelling, but the use of "papa bear," especially at the beginning, came off extremely cringey. By about 60%, the plot picked up and the story was more bearable (pun intended), but it took a week of forced reading to get me there.

I have not written off RM Virtues, and I still plan to pick up more of their work, but I don't believe I will follow this series.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review. My rating for the overall duology is an average of the two ratings.

4.5 ⭐️ 5🌶️ for the Wicked Pursuit half of the book.

VERY Spicy! Spicier than I thought 😂 lots of stuff explored. My first dark romance read and it’s by my favorite author Katee Robert 🖤!! Read the content warnings. I loved the Red Riding Hood and Wolf concept, it made the book very interesting and made the hunter / prey concept make more sense. Additionally, all of the side character had substance and felt real. The plot was very fast paced and integrated the topics very well.

A mob princess named Ruby starts acting bad and gets the attention of a stalker who starts unaliving anyone who touches her. She is curious about this stalker, Wolf. She plays with him taunting but how far will she go to piss him off. And how far will he take it when he’s pissed off. WOW!! 🖤

This book is about:

💀 Stalker romance
💀 Hunter & Prey
💀 LGBTQ+ scenes
💀 Touch her and you d!e!
💀 Mafia romance

---

3⭐️ for the Divine Intervention part of this book.

The topic of this book was super interesting but the events itself had me a bit bored and lost. Maybe it’s me. But I was excited to read a poly, dark romance with angels 🪽 I loved Tlalli and all of the back story about the angels.

You will like this if you like:

🪽 Angels
🪽 War
🪽 Age Gap
🪽 Polyamorous

I loved the Black Rose Auction! I think it’s really cool that a lot of authors are writing a collection together.

Thank you NetGalley, SourceBooks Casablanca, Katee Robert & R.M. Virtues for this ARC read.

This was my first taste of this author… and if all her books are like that, I will completely devour them.

This one is a little red riding hood dark retelling. If you like spice, you’ll love this one.

Ruby has a jealous and possessive stalker that want her to assist to an auction… as something to be auctioned off. Something he wants to buy and claim her as his.

You’ll love this one if you like:
- mafia heirs
- touch her and die
- stalker romance
- masked man

TW for cheating, blackmailing, stalker, murder, blood, attempted assault (ish)

Many thanks to the publisher for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.




A war rages between Heaven and Hell. Angels and demons are caught in it, but there's a truce for the weekend, to attend the Black Rose Auction and retrieve... the same artifact.

Add an adult who acts like a petulant child, his father, his ex, his... well like he feels like he's its babysitter, and you have an explosive cocktail.

I'm experiencing with my romances this year. I keep my options open. I didn't read the synopsis before reading the book though, not the tags, nor the TW. I like to jump blind into a book. Well... I was surprised.

It's spicy as hell (see what I did there), and if you like supernatural, age-gap and polyamorous romances, you'll love this one.

TW for stabbing, poisoning, grief (death of a mother and a wife, off-page)

Many thanks to the publisher for the complimentary e-copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wicket Pursuit **5 Stars
The first installment of this series hooked me from the beginning. Starting with a set of novels with Katee Robert isn't exactly playing fair. Katee's writing made Ruby's character feel over the top and very relatable. From the very first chapter I was rooting for her to get out of her vanilla relationship and find something better! And when she did....

10 stars! I would happily take 10 more sequels to Ruby's story.

Divine Intervention **3 stars

I wanted to love this one a lot more than I did. Especially coming off of Wicked Pursuit. Unfortunately, the story didn't grab my interest. The characters were fun but a little cringe. The Papa Bear parts kinda ruined it for me.

Wow. I’m amazed and excited and hot and bothered to be fair. This collection of two books in this brand new series of dark romance books from different authors was amazing !!!! I got the amazing opportunity of reading the first two through NetGalley and what an experience it was !!! I’m absolutely shook!!! Wild, spicy, exciting, forbidden and sinning … if you’re in the mood for something like this, then you couldn’t find something better. The first book by Katie Roberts is a dark stalker romance book with mafia tropes and an MMC who is obsessed. And there’s also a Little Red Riding Hood retelling in it … because duh, this author is the Queen of this kind of things!!! And the Wolf … he will have you salivating before the end of the book!!! Short enough to not get bored but long enough to enjoy the action between the characters, iykyk. And the second one is from RM Virtues and it’s a ex’s daddy and polyamorous relationship with angels with an MMF configuration … wild, dark, spicy and with amazing black characters. And the daddy/good girl trope … perfection !!! Again short but not too much. I enjoyed it completely !!!! I read them both so fast I have no idea what to do with my time !!! So so good

I loved my visit to the Black Rose Auction! Katee Robert crafts a scorchingly hot Little Red Riding Hood remix. Katee Robert always takes readers on a darkly romantic and unputdownable adventure. I loved Ruby and her chase with the Wolf.

R.M. Virtues writes a complex and spicy remix of Goldilocks. Once I understood the world-building and previous history between the characters, I really enjoyed this! RM Virtues writes steamy romance and a heist gone wrong very well. I’m excited to read the rest of the stories from the Black Rose auction!

Thank you to Katee Robert, R.M. Virtues, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

I have been eagerly anticipating this set. I absolutely love Katee Roberts and have been looking forward to reading this second gen story. Absolutely loved it, and it’s everything you expect from her stories. (Great banter and lots of steam) I am less familiar with RM Virtues, but I enjoyed the second story as well.

Wicked Pursuit

Give it up for the Wolf

Ruby and the Wolf were absolute perfection. Wolf had a hold on me too from the start and I was like ‘Yeah, break-up with your boyfriend!’ I didn’t feel like the auction over shadowed the story but enhanced it in all of the best ways.

There were so many layers bundled within the 277 pages of this story.

Now I also want to know Ruby’s parent’s backstory. They too have peaked my interest. I need more of this family.

Divine Intervention
Tangle of Taboos

This story will definitely appeal to readers who love angels and demons. I felt the auction was very much a background feature amongst the elements of this story.

It is written well and would not traditionally be one that I would be naturally drawn towards. The scenes were vivid and utterly enjoyable. I enjoyed the magical incorporated and relationship aspects that brought more depth to the relationships.

I received a copy of this book from Katee Robert and R.M. Virtues. I am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions are my own.

Perfect short reads! Wicked Pursuit is a stalker romance, I love Katie Robert but ended up actually having a hard time reading this one but do love the concept. Divine intervention was amazing I loved it, some of the tropes is not may usual type but still fun. These are fun little stories to read if you like dark romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Fairytale retellings with an auction twist by two of my favorite authors. Need I say more? Delicious, steamy.

It was a very hot and steamy read, but the characters felt a little underdeveloped. There were also too many character names mentioned to keep track although it helped that they didn’t show up on page.

OMG!!!! Hands down loved these two books and they are retellings of two amazing characters Goldilocks and Red Riding Hood. I was on a ride and I loved every moment of it. the plot of both stories kept me hooked to bother stories.

These two stories in this collection were fun but with the throughly of the Black Rose Auction I had expected a cohesive shared universe between them despite having different authors.

Instead what you end up receiving are stories intertwined with their respective previous works. I really enjoyed Katee Robert's Wicked Pursuit but found myself feeling like I was missing a lot of enjoyment that someone who has read her Villains series would have. Same thing with R. M. Virtues's Divine Intervention.

The worldbuilding is too intensive and entirely different from Carver City. I couldn't honestly believe that they were connected beyond the auction.

I'd say if you like these authors beforehand you'll probably have a fun time, but if not maybe do your "homework" before and take a look at their past titles.

Wicked Pursuit - 3.75/5

First time I’ve ever seen such an immersive reading experience with the use of music and footnotes in story. Used it the whole way through and loved it, super different and immersive.

Ruby was an… interesting character. Maybe she goes on about being an heir a bit much which I found does tend to take you out the story a tiny bit, but overall a likeable character. She had a lot of fire, which you don’t see enough of from the women in the Italian Mafia stories I’ve read so far (although fairly limited).

Casimir was clearly completely obsessed with Ruby from the first text, who doesn’t love a simping man? Moments before the big reveal I was wondering “how mad would it be if it was actually Luke?” mainly as a what if to myself, yet it was still a shock to find out who Casimir was.

Honestly, I couldn’t really get my head around a lot of it, I completely get he was trying to sneak his way into her life unsuspectingly, but there were some points that didn’t quite add up to me. Her family met him but did not recognise him as a key member in the Russian mafia equivalent. They knew him by his pseudonym, surely given high-level security surrounding their family, SOMEONE would have noticed who he was? Or the new boyfriend to the heir would’ve been vetted? Some other plot points/comparisons that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but overall I’m so glad it was indeed him, made for a great story overall!

Katie ALWAYS delivers on some of the best written smut scenes I’ve ever read and this was no exception. She made some of the most depraved scenes a fun read, and for that I’d never turn down a chance to read her stuff!

——

Divine Intervention - 3.25/5

I’m kinda torn on my feelings on this one… I absolutely loved the backstory of the angels vs demons with the angels teetering towards being the bad guys, potential war, etc. Had so much potential and depth I wished there was a full novel explaining the this political landscape, the backstory with Elias and the rest of the fallen angels.

I appreciate it was supposed to be a goldilocks retelling/adjacent, but “papa bear” is NOT a cute/hot/sexy name for your sexual partner. After three or four times of this repeated in the bedroom I wanted to drop the whole book, but Mumma didn’t raise a quitter so I preserved.

There’s a fair bit of repetitive inner monologue, maybe too much for a novella, I definitely think those pages could’ve been better spent on more of a build up or explanation about all the things that weren’t explained in much depth, would have probably taken it up a star or two in my ratings.

The characters individually were all pretty interesting and this little novella really did leave me wanting to read more about them all. Overall an entertaining read.

3.5 stars - I really wanted to love this book and I think if stalker romances are your thing you probably will love this book. I read the Wicked Villain's series a few years ago and it was nice to be back in that world with the next generation. The stalking was thrilling to the point of making me anxious. I don't think I would have made and single decision that Ruby did in this book which is fun for escapism but still made me sick to my stomach. I'll still be tuning in for the next one though.

Thank you to Net Galley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OMG this was better than I could have imagined. I knew for sure I wanted to read this when I saw Katee Robert. I had not read R.M. Virtues yet, but this was so good I need to go add more to my tbr. I think Wicked Pursuit was my favorite, only because I was familiar with the characters. I was instantly hooked into both books right away, and could not put them down. LOVED IT.

Katee Robert is, in my opinion, the reigning author in this genre. Wicked Pursuit is exactly what I would expect from Katee: spicy, well written, developed plot and characters, inclusive and well worth the read. Her books tend to be perfectly paced and balanced with hot chemistry and some great plot twists. 5-Stars!

R.M. VIrtues is a newer author for me. They proved a story that was unique and interesting enough to get me to the end of the book satisfied. The book's pacing was a bit off; I honestly can't identify what exactly it was. In the end it just wasn't as believable and developed as I would like. Perhaps this is because it is a shorter book. It would not stop me from trying another (longer) book from this author. 3-stars

I'm a huge fan of Katee Robert and I loved this book, R.M. is new to me but not any less loved. These story's are dark, delicious and unhinged like we like it. Cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy and tell all my friends to read this spicy retellings!

Wicked Pursuit & Divine Intervention
by Katee Robert; R.M. Virtues deluxe


WICKED PURSUIT by Katee Robert
4⭐️ I love the premise of the story. It’s a little red riding hood retelling where the nicknames for the main character is red and wild. LOVEE it. I felt like the pacing was perfect and I love myself a fictional stalker! There’s a lot of kink exploring and it is pretty spicy. Katee did a great job incorporating consent in the book. This was so much fun to read and I devour this part of the book so quick.

I felt like the ending was a little rushed and I would have liked a little more but I think it’s because I didn’t want it to end yet haha.


DIVINE INTERVENTION by R.M. Virtues
2⭐️
This is the second book in the Black Rose auction series and I think if it wasn’t being sold and market together as a book then I would have skipped/DNF it. I was not a fan of the characters, the names, and all the backstory.

The world building seems quick, like the author is in a rush to set it up so you feel a little lost and confuse for the beginning of the book.

I think the writing is ok and the spice is spicing but this story overall was skipable. Kinda a let down after reading the first one.

I wasn’t a fan of the whole Papa Bear and some of the characters names. It just felt like there was too much going on and I couldn’t get into the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This is part of a new duet version being released with a special edition version.