I was asked why I wanted to read Katee Robert’s Wicked Beauty and I said it was because I wanted to see a Helen who wasn’t a pawn, and definitely a Helen who got better partners than Paris and Menelaus. Wicked Beauty delivers that with a Helen who is determined to dictate her own future, and finds herself in a competitors to lovers relationship with Achilles and Patroclus.
Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series is less a retelling of Greek mythology and more in the style of a fanfic alternate universe. Helen has a past unhappy relationship with Paris and Achilles and Patroclus are in a relationship, but there is no Briseis, there is no Trojan War. Olympus is a city and the pantheon are titles taken on by people and passed on either through heredity or competition. Helen is the daughter of the past Zeus and sister of the current Zeus. The city of Olympus thinks she is a vapid party girl, but now that the office of Ares is open, she plans to win the title. Before she can reveal her intention to compete, Zeus announces that the person who wins the role of Ares will also win Helen’s hand in marriage. Helen is incensed and more determined to compete and win.
I’ve read a lot of Katee Robert’s books now, and I’ve got a good idea what to expect. The heat will be high and the se will be plentiful. There will be no bi-erasure. In addition to consent, there will be agency. I am enjoying reading these characters I know from mythology take charge of their lives without the gods or fate intervening.
Robert tends to emphasize vibe over plot in her books, but Wicked Beauty is more plot-centric. More focus on plot means it took a little longer to set up the competing goals and motivations for Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus. And while there was plenty of sex as plot development, the driving force of the book was Helen’s desire to win the title of Ares and claim her right to self determination, versus Achilles’ desire to win the only kind of real power in Olympus, and what will happen when one or both of them have their desire thwarted. The vibes are also strong. Achilles and Patroclus have been in a committed, but open relationship for 10 years, and Helen threatens to change that, either by splitting them up, or by solidifying the open pair into a close thruple. Messy feelings and attraction derail all of their plans. There’s also a poisonous ex boyfriend, the threat of malicious outsiders, and family turmoil.
There’s a discussion going around about the necessity of sex scenes in romances. I think it depends on the writer and the story. I’ve enjoyed plenty of fade to black romances and plenty of high heat explicit romances. I have a hard time imagining Wicked Beauty without the sex. Robert uses the sex scenes to move the relationships forward. Helen’s ex used the vulnerability of sex to shame and manipulate her. The way Achilles and Patroclus treat her during and after sex does more to build trust than the conversations they have around the table. Katee Robert’s merch store offers a t-shirt that says “Banging is the Plot.” Robert is one of the authors who excels at writing sex and I celebrate her for it. If necessary I can talk for 20 minutes about how she uses sex to reveal character and tell story in some of her more vibe centric books like that feral banger, Your Dad Will Do.
I really enjoyed Wicked Beauty. Katee Robert reliably puts out an entertaining book, and I would put this in her top 5 best books.
CWs: violence, injury, assault, blood, attempted murder, slut shaming, emotional abuse, discussion of past murder of parent, domestic violence, and miscarriage.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the NetGalley. My opinions are freely and honestly given.
