Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for the arc!

**2.5 stars** There are two books in this edition, set in the same world. While not my favorite, many beloved dark romance authors have collaborated in this new series and those who are looking for a smutty dark romance series will probably enjoy these.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert is a stalker romance inspired by Little Red Riding Hood set in NYC, in the mob world. And Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtue is a fantastical story loosely inspired by Goldilocks where a witch works with her ex’s father to steal a magical chalice.

I rated the first book 1.5 stars while I gave the second book by 2.75 stars. While I love a good dark romance (fantasy or not), I enjoy them more if there is a solid foundation of world and character building. These books are relatively on the shorter side, so not a lot of attention to the finer details. Since these books (and the upcoming) are not interconnected and might have some crossover, they serve more as standalones. Once we are finally connected with the book’s characters, new ones are introduced in the next.

The main problem I had with WP, is the writing. I haven’t read a lot of Katee Robert’s books; I dnf’d Neon Gods mainly due to the writing style. We spend too much time in her inner dialogue that I wished we read more about the surroundings instead. Fans of H.D. Carlton’s “Cat & Mouse” duology will probably enjoy this.

I preferred DI because it had more substance other than smut. I like that it was an urban fantasy and the messiness of the relationships that transpired. I like the war between the angels and demons and I do think the smut in this was better written. (Even though it was wild. Lol.)

(I am also really not a huge fan of the playlists!! It makes them so cheesy for me!!) Otherwise, read these books for the smut. They are short reads that don’t require brainpower and will probably leave some panting.

Katee Robert means you can expect something extremely k1nky and filthy and forbidden. But Wicked Pursuit definitely exceeded all my expectations! This is twisted and sexy beyond my imagination and I am here for it. Katee Robert has set a standard for dark retelling but she has changed even that! This Little Red Riding Hood retelling will test your limits and cross your boundaries and will leave you a mess!

* Little Red Riding Hood retelling
* Dark mafia/ organized crime romance
* stalker romance
* enemies to lovers
* BDSM
* Touch Her and d1e
* forced proximity
* brought her in auction...
* FFM/ MMF/ sharing
* read the trigger warning carefully
* every kind of k1nk

Ruby is the heir of her family's organized crime empire in Calver City. But she is tired of the responsibilities. She wants to be reckless. She craves thrill. That comes in form of a sta]ker who caught her having sex with a stranger in bar and "cheating" on her boyfriend Luke. She splits up with Luke soon but her stalker wants a lot of things from her. The Wolf blackmails her to make her participate in Black Rose Auction and buys her there. But when the mask comes off and his identity as her family's enemy is revealed, everything goes crazy. Ruby is such a bada&&! She is fierce and she isn't afraid of reaching for her desire. It was so twisted that I cannot even tell you the level. The Wolf and Ruby are definitely made for each other. She isn't any protected mafia princess only. She has lots of fire. Wolf's identity shocked me because it's not his Russian mafia connection only. It's the way he claimed Ruby piece by piece without her knowing anything. He is insanely possessive but to make her fantasies come true, he will let her play..only to own her in more intense way after that. Their dynamics is so f*cked up. So crazy. But it also makes perfect sense.

As soon as I read the tropes and the trigger warning at the beginning, I realized I am venturing into an uncharted territory for me as a romance reader. And that got me so excited. New to me author. New k1nks and tropes. Divine Intervention was nothing less than a sexy action packed intense adventure for me.

Ex’s dad
supernatural polyamorous romance
Black romance
Two spirit leads
Witches, angels and demons
CNC / primal play
Enemies to lovers

Thalli has had enough of the games if the Archangels. She was used and betrayed and given to a man who has no business being an angel. The Black Rose Auction and the mission of stealing the chalice gives her a chance to escape the Heaven and the Dominion. She finds an unexpected guest here. Her ex's dad Cahuani who has the same ancient magic as her and is part of the Puri aka the demons. She stole from him once but he is her last hope to get out. He isn't like his evil son after all. But what about another angel who came here with her? Elias is certainly a very powerful and ancient one but he has been disillusioned too. With a war between the Dominion and the Puri on the horizon, these three have to make some savage decisions.

Tlalli is a very strong character. Not only magical power. The way she is constantly fighting to not bow down to the Dominion but had to play their games too. She is fierce and sensual and sassy. Cahuani didn't want to trust her initially but her pleading melted his heart. He knows that she isn't responsible for his son's corruption
And he cannot deny he feels something very deep and intense for her. Elias has been like friend to her and he always tried to ignore the wrongdoings of the Dominion but now he is at cross hairs and he has to take a side. And they both chose Tlalli. It was so spicy and dark and twisted. Make sure to stay dehydrated because oh my god it was hotter than the sun. I have never read anything with this kind of supernatural leads and it was fascinating. Cahuani and Elias both were extremely protective and possessive and they both had a dangerous side when it came to enemies. A lot of moving pieces were here and the ending was epic.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

Thank you to Netgalley and the Sourcebooks Casablanca for the arc of these books. Both of these books are part of the Black Rose Auction series. Katee Robert is one of my favorite authors. Wicked Pursuit gives us the next generation of one of the Wicked Villains series and ties to another series which I won't mention as its a spoiler. This book is fairly spicy with a very good plot and a nice twist. I loved this book. Book two is Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues. This is my first book by this author. This book takes place at the Black Rose Auction. This book is also spicy and the plot is interesting. I recommend giving this book a read especially if you enjoyed any other book by Katee Roberts. This will not disappoint.

Wicked Pursuit and Divine Intervention by Katee Robert & R.M. Virtues are amazing twists on classic tales we all know and love. Spicy, gripping, and all-consuming. These stories will pull you into the world of a fairytale based Mafia underworld and a war between Heaven and Hell. Both novellas contain diverse characters which I thoroughly enjoy seeing the representation of different cultures, relationship dynamics, LGBTQIA+, as well as disabilities and/or mental illness. They created a safe space through these stories where I can truly disconnect from reality for a bit.

Wicked Pursuit is a Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf retelling where the Wolf gets the girl. Ruby is a good girl with a decent boyfriend, but when the pressures of being a Mafia heir drive her to relish in being bad, Ruby gets herself thrown to the Wolf. This mysterious, masked, and murderous figure makes her discover more things about herself than she thought was possible. Is it possible he knows her just a little too much?

Divine Intervention is a paranormal Goldilocks retelling where Papa Bear gets the girl... Plus one more to make things just right 😉. Tlalli, an archangel regretting the transgressions Anthony (Little Bear) made her pull against ‘Papa Bear’ Cahuani, a descendant of demons. Tlalli finds herself stuck in Cahuani’s orbit once again, and she’s not the only one that is being pulled into orbit. Elias, another archangel with a mysterious past and begrudgingly Anthony’s babysitter, slowly starts falling for the both Tlalli and Cahuani. Can they make it without breaking the truce between Heaven and Hell? Or is it sometimes worth it to raise a little Hell and break the rules for the greater good?

Wicked Pursuit by @kateerobert

Releases - February 25th

Rating:

Review: BITCHHHH. Bitch. I’ve read so many Katee Roberts. Katee was actually my top author last year (I read 18 Katee Roberts in 2024, okay). I’ve loved them all. BUT there was something about this one. It grabbed me by the throat and did not let go. Not for a single second. There were so many moments that I loved, so many that made my jaw drop, and so many that made me think “oh, am I into this?” Also, listening to the playlist throughout the book? Chef’s kiss. There’s one specific song (body in my bed by Verite) that has been on repeat for daysss. My actual only complaint about this book is that it was short. I would have devoured a full length book of these two. A full series. (Hint hint). I finished this days ago and still have not recovered.

Synopsis: For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where nothing is off the table and everything―and everyone―can be had for the taking.



Divine Intervention by @rmvirtues

Releases - February 25th

Rating:

Review: This was my first RM Virtues read and will definitely not be my last (Sing Me to Sleep, I’m looking directly at you, babe). I loved the way the three characters interacted and I loved the way that the demons and angels were interwoven into the story. And the tension? Cut it with a butter knife so we can all breathe easier (but also don’t because I love it). I thought this was super inventive and a really cool Goldilocks remix. Definitely worth checking this one out!

Synopsis: In this Goldilocks remix, a witch must work with her ex's father (who she betrayed) and an angel to steal a magical chalice from the auction floor. But things get scorchingly complicated when all three agree that revenge is best served in the bedroom...

My rating for this book is a bit complicated. This review will be two parts due to two separate books within this.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert's- Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Katee was one of my favorite author regarding the world of Hades and Persephone. I had heard of her other novels but hadn't read any of them since the gods series. This story was incredible! I didn't know that I needed to read about Disney villains or their children. I loved how the story developed between Red and Wolf. This story had me on my toes at all times. It also had the classic Katee Robert's Spiciness. This short story makes me now want to read the villains series and I cannot wait!

Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues- Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I've read some of the previous reviews and I can definitely see where people could give this part of the book lower ratings. It was a good story with spice, plot, and drama but it was very different compared to Katee's story that was read first. I feel like if I would have read this one first I would feel completely different about it. This book is about angels and demons with a little bit of witch magic. I would love to read this story as a standalone with more plot and spice. The writing was good and I liked the characters except for our villains.

A huge thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, NetGalley, Katee Robert's, and R.M. Virtues for the amazing opportunity by letting me read this book ahead of time!

"Wicked Pursuit" offered an engaging world, great characters, and an intriguing twist with Wolf. The smut was well-executed, and I appreciated the inclusion of subspace and subspace drop, which felt fresh and added depth to the dynamics. Ruby’s character stood out, and I found myself wishing for more of her story. There was a lot of untapped potential here, and I think both "Wicked Pursuit" and "Divine Intervention" could have benefited from being longer, as I was left wanting more.

"Divine Intervention" had a unique premise that blended angels, demons, and witches in an interesting way, all tied to the Black Rose Auction. I enjoyed the concept but felt it was underdeveloped. The world-building and magic system could have used more exploration, and the storyline felt rushed, especially towards the end. Tlalli, in particular, was a character who could have easily carried her own series. The poly romance was a nice touch, though the development felt too quick for my liking, and I didn’t connect with one of the characters as much as the other.

My biggest issue with this collection is the lack of cohesion between the two stories. The only link was the Black Rose Auction, and even then, the worlds felt very disjointed. Introducing a new magic system in "Divine Intervention" without the proper setup in "Wicked Pursuit" made it feel almost out of place. These stories might have worked better as two separate books.

The writing in both stories felt limited due to the short format, which made it hard to fully invest in the worlds and characters. Despite the promising premises, both stories left me feeling like they didn’t reach their full potential.

Overall, while I enjoyed both stories for what they were, the lack of connection between them and the rushed pacing prevented this from being a higher rating. That's why this colection gets 3 ⭐ from me.

A fun, dark take in the world of Katee Roberts’ Dark Olympus, which I know well. But I was unfamiliar with R.M. Virtues. What the stories have in common is that they are set at the Black Rose auction - where the rich can literally buy anything and nothing is off limits.

As usual, a sexy dark world with lots of sex scenes and trigger warnings are present at the start of each book. I liked the different styles of each - Virtues was a little more fantastical, which was interesting. But both were equally sexy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title.

I have been highly anticipating this series forever! Fairytale retellings that are dark and sexy? Gotta love it.

I think my favorite of these two was Wicked Pursuit. I just had so much fun with what Robert's did with Little Red Riding Hood. I think the stalker romance was the perfect twist on this fairytale. I loved both characters and the romance was hot! Super enjoyed!

I liked Divine Intervention too. I really liked the world. It was unique and filled with supernatural elements. The poly romance was sexy too. I think I just needed more build up between the characters for the romance to hit it out of the park for me.

If you love fairytale retellings and dark, sexy stories, give these a try!

I gave these two books a combined score of 4 stars. That being said, Wicked Pursuit was a 5 star for me whereas Divine Intervention was a 3 star.

First let's start with Wicked Pursuit.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TW!

I am a HUGE fan of the traditional fairytale retellings! This being Little Red Riding Hood is amazing! A stalker that kills anyone you...*cough cough*...It is very similar to Haunting Adeline in that way...but not the same AT ALL! The elements of suspense were amazing and created perfectly. I have read many other of Katee Robert's books and she works these topics perfectly! **CHEFS KISS** I struggled a bit with the character development; however, this book is HOT HOT HOT!

Now - Divine Intervention:

Once again, traditional fairytale retelling! This time with Goldilocks! I have read very FEW books about her. Unfortunately, it was not my favorite. First, the use of the "Papa Bear" phrase - total ICK. Not a fan. I recognize that there is a Goldilocks retelling with a Spicy twist, yet this did NOT work for me. The world building in this story was extremely confusing. While I did not LOVE the story line, I did enjoy the writing and would consider looking into more works by this author in the future.

not quite sure how to rate… averaging

Wicked Pursuit- 5 stars:
this was feral and i loved it. def has some darker themes but it was so damn hot. my only complaint is that it’s not longer, i just want more! i will say i saw the twist coming but it was still really enjoyable

Divine Intervention: DNF 1 star:
dnf this is not enjoyable. hard to follow, she calls him papa bear… ick, and it just DUMPS info at you but it’s not the info you want or need. i tried to jump ahead to see if it got better and it didn’t.

Overall, I'm quite interested in the full series. I would love to read the others. It's an excellent introduction to the authors. I absolutely enjoyed Wicked Pursuit. A five-star read from me. However, Divine Intervention received only one star. It overcomplicated the book's huge storyline. It was annoying and detracted from the remainder of the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. (Though I also listened to the audio for Wicked Intentions from the library).

3.5 stars for Wicked Intentions

So this was my first stalker romance. I’m generally not a dark romance reader, but I like Katee Robert AND I wanted a glimpse of the throuple from The Beast, so here I am.

This absolutely pushed the boundaries of what I’m comfortable with. But it was disturbingly hot. I actually really appreciated the twist of who The Wolf was. Ruby wasn’t my fav FMC, but I’d be interested in reading more 2nd gen Villains books. I think if you’re a dark romance fan, you’d like this one.

Quick DNF for Divine Intervention. “Papa Bear” gave me the immediate ick so badly there was no way to move forward.

I was highly anticipating this series and it certainly did not disappoint! The Black Rose Auction series is full of debauchery and sin and everythig you want from a modern and sexy retelling series penned by some of the best romance authors suited for the job. Wicked Pursuit was experything I wanted(and more!) from a sinful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Katee Robert always does due dilligence and provides safe and accurate explorations into the world of kink that don't make a mockery of the lifestyle many people are active participants in. Divine Intervention was a wonderful retelling of Goldilocks and perfectly suited to follow Wicked Pursuit. The characters were cheeky and entertaining and the spice was giving me LIFE. I am planning on *running* to the bookstore to get a copy of this on release day, it was that good and I cant wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

Despite being paired together and part of one larger series, these books are two very different entities and should be taken separately.

Both are very well written and I appreciate that both refuse to be boxed into the "typical" romance slots. If you don't like love that is untraditional (Queer, non-monogomous) then neither of these books are for you (probably the whole series). But if you are looking for books that take dark romance into new parts of the LGBTQ spectrum, look no further. Wicked Pursuit pushes that mafia romance and stalker romance into new heights and it was a wild ride that I would trust few authors besides Katee Robert to properly execute (no pun intended). Divine Intervention was a fascinating mix of angel/demon mythology with Native mythology that spotlighted a two spirit main character in a way that was refreshing and true and also not the point of the story. In both books I loved that we get a Happy Ever After that doesn't look like a "traditional" HAE, but is true for the characters and shows that everyone deserves that HAE (as well as the darkest of romances).

I do think that both books would have benefited from being longer than the 200-ish pages. The world building in Divine Intervention took me a bit to get used to and I think would have better balanced in a longer book. I would have also appreciated a slower turn for Elias (both the romance and other plotline) to be more realistic instead of compacted into the three days of the story. And for the record this isn't a heist book - it's more like a spy thriller than heist in my opinion (which is fine, but changes expectations). For Wicked Pursuit, the biggest twist for me was a bit ruined because we were introduced to so few characters the answer could only be one person but I think in a larger book it could have been masked a bit better. I also wish that each section was a bit longer to truly dig into each part, especially Ruby's motivations which were more surface level than Robert usually shows.

As they stand though both books are worth the time, and were great books that show the fuller diversity of love and partnership. I can't wait to read the rest of the series because I am sure that there are more shades of Dark Romance to explore with this talented group.

ARC obtained through NetGalley - thank you to the author's and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

Wicked Pursuit:
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my goodness, now Katee Roberts is one of my favourite authors so when I see this on netgalley, I snatched this up right away.

Wicked pursuit is little red riding remix - a mob princess with a taste for doing things she shouldn't acquires a stalker who will kill anyone who touches what's his. Now this little short story blew me away, I loved it from the beginning, there's a plot twist that I did not see coming! If you liked Haunting Adeline then this little short story is for you.

There's stalking, mafia lifestyle and kink play....

Divine Intervention:
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now I did struggle a little bit with this one probably because I jumped straight from Wick Pursuit into this but I did enjoy it nonetheless. There's a lot of world building which wasn't my favourite but I loved the storyline with heaven and hell and games.

This one is a goldilocks re-telling with angels & demons and forbidden love.

I do feel like this short story would of been better as an actual full length book.

But I would recommend both of these books if your in a reading slump or just want to read a short story!

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Black Rose Auction collaborative series as it has many of my favourite authors, but, OH MY GOD! I was not expecting to love these as much as I did! Thank you so so much for this ARC opportunity I had an absolute blast reading these. And I desperately need this book for my shelf. Can’t wait to get my hands on the other stories because this series is so much fun. I also had the chance to read Shattered Innocence (Cinderella remix) from the series.

Katee Robert came out Sa-wiiiiing-in and knocked it out of the park with Wicked Pursuit. This might be my favourite one by her yet. A second gen spin off of the Wicked Villians series. I am OBSESSED with Red and Wolf. A dark fairytale remix of Little Red Riding. Stalker romance. Mob Princess. Masked man. Twists. Safe space for k!nk exploration. I really enjoyed every minute of this. It is so well written, I loved the full story arc and now want to dive into the Wicked Villains series (picked up Desperate Measures today)

RM Virtues is a new to me author and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read their work. I really enjoyed the writing and the third person POV felt smooth. It was cool to see the connection to the other stories but with magic as it’s only been eluded to previously. The PNR take was fun and I always enjoy an angels/demons set up. Goldilocks remix with age gap. It was a little world building heavy for a novella but still super enjoyable. I could see how this could easily be a full length. Overall enjoyable.

Thank you SO much for this opportunity this may be one of my favourite ARC reads yet.

The Black Rose Auction is a place where all sorts of debauchery can occur. Luckily the queen, Katee Robert, is here to start us off on this sexy and fun journey.

Wicked Pursuit was experything I wanted from a Little Red Riding Hood retelling. Katee’s ability to provide a safe place to explore kink and taboo topics allows the reader to explore thought and feelings that may not have arised before. One of my favorite aspects was the usage of safe words within the concept of CNC to further push the importance of consent of any sexual act.

Divine Intervention was a bit more difficult to get into, but I think that would happen to any novel to follow Katee Robert. I was a bit confused by the use of third-person and felt like I would have felt more connected to the characters if it was told in first-person. I did enjoy the the spicier scenes and the way the author uniquely remixed themes from Goldilocks.

I definitely plan to read more of the Black Rose Auction series!

Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the eARC for review!

Wicked Pursuit is the first title in the Black Rose Auction, novella one is written by Katee Robert.

*Red vs. The Wolf
*Secret Identity
*Second Gen characters

This is absolutely one of the spiciest novella’s I have ever read, from page one to the very end!! Would not expect anything less from Katee Robert! 😍

Divine Intervention is the second novella in the Black Rose Auction series, this title is written by

*Goldilocks x Papa Bear
*Angels & Demons
*Forbidden love

This is my first book by this author, and I enjoyed the Goldilocks theme and the spicy scenes with “Papa Bear.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Little Red & the big bad wolf retelling - but put us back into Katee Robert’s carver city. This appears to be the grown children of the fairytale characters in previous KR books. Add in the mafia and a human auction. This was fast paced, loads of smut and a bit dark. Would recommend.