WICKED BEAUTY REVIEW
A GREEK-MYTH INSPIRED STORY WITH REAL DIVERSITY
Wicked Beauty is all about how three incredibly attractive people fight for power and freedom, but come together in a way that no one expected! It is the 3rd book in Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series. Keep reading to see a very in-depth Wicked Beauty Review.
Some of the main topics, tropes, and themes in this wickedly good book include:
- ROMANCE
- ACTION
- STRONG FEMALE LEAD
- GREEK MYTHS
- BATTLE FOR POWER
- LGBTQ+
- ALTERNATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
- SMUT
- TRIALS
- FAMILY DRAMA
Honestly, this list could go on, but you should read the book for yourself. I don’t want to spoil everything for you!
SUMMARY
In Olympus, you either have the power to rule…or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city’s inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning.
Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize…or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way.
Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give to away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can’t keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?
THE GOOD - WICKED BEAUTY REVIEW
As in all books, there are good and bad things… things that we love or hate.
Some of the BEST parts about Wicked Beauty include the Greek Myth inspiration, diverse characters, and the solid balance between romance and plot.
GREEK MYTH
Let’s be real, Greek Myth stories are amazing! But there aren’t nearly enough books inspired by Greek gods and goddesses and monsters and lore. This book references the major thirteen Gods and Goddesses in a way that I, as a greek myths lover, have never seen before.
Without giving away too many spoilers, I will say that these are NOT the Gods and Goddesses. They don’t have powers or eternal life or anything like that. People inherit the title and name of a Greek God or Goddess. So, each character all has their real birth-given name, plus the title of the deity that they are connected to. It can get a little confusing since most of the characters have two names, but there is a super convenient chart at the front of the book to help you navigate.
The one-of-a-kind Greek Myth retelling is the best part of the book!
DIVERSITY
If you don’t like diversity, then this book isn’t for you.
There are people of color (Black, White, Asian, Brown, etc), LGBTQ+ characters, and alternative relationship styles (open relationships, polyamorous relationships, marriages, partnerships…).
What I think is even better about this book is how CASUAL the diversity is. There are no moments where the author or a character says something homophobic or racist. There are a couple of brutish characters that look down their nose on the strong female lead, and other minor sexist moments. However, none of it felt really over-the-top or pushy.
romance and smut
This book has romance… but mostly it has smut. The parts that I REALLY want to share with you, because they are so amazing, contain a lot of spoilers. Therefore, I won’t share them here, but feel free to head over to the Books 4 Movies Instagram page to join the book discussion.
One thing I will say about the romance and smut is that it is realistic. Even if the type of smut isn’t your style, the connections between the characters are real and honest. They talk and bicker and cuddle and do completely normal things before and after their bedroom activities. That is one thing that lacks in a lot of romance novels, and something that I really appreciate in this book and in Katee Roberts writing style.
THE BAD
Are you the kind of person who wants to read the bad stuff before picking up a book? Of course you are, that’s why you read reviews.
The top three things that bothered me the most while reading this book were the confusing names, simplistic description of “white” for all of the white characters, and the multiple POVs.
CONFUSING NAMES
Despite the convenient chart at the start of the book that shows each of the character’s roles, names, and connections, I still got very confused.
Most of the main characters have two names, and both names are used interchangeably throughout the book. There is a strong attempt to keep it focused. The main character, Helen, will say a characters name out loud and then internally say their other name. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen all of the time, and I still got confused.
"WHITE"
This was a huge pet-peeve right from the start! I love that there is race diversity amongst the characters, but there isn’t any diversity in their DESCRIPTIONS.
Every single white character is described as “white”. It gets very annoying, very fast. Writing is an art form, but there was no art to how these characters are described. No one has “cream-colored skin” or “skin as light as the moon” or “a face the shade of vanilla cream”. Nope. They are all just “white”. Very boring and basic description.
I’m going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and hope that this was done on purpose. This book pushes the boundaries of what has been acceptable reading material in fiction/fantasy books. Let’s face it, fantasy books with REAL diverity are not popular. Not yet, anyway. Wicked Beauty would definitely get banned in schools and other countries, which is totally a good thing! I hope that the basic “white” terminology was a choice and not a lack of creative writing skills.
POVs
I normally don’t like reading books with multiple POVs. It’s mostly my fault, I never read chapter titles, so I miss when it says the POV changed. But I’ve also found that the character’s voices all sound the same. It’s hard for one person to write in different voices.
There are three POVs in Wicked Beauty, and they tend to blend together.
Helen and Achilles both have the same head-strong and slightly selfish attitudes, and their end-goals are the same. Achilles and Patroclus are in a relationship and they also have the same career, so their chapters, especially in the beginning, sound very similar. Helen and Patroclus actually do sound very different, because they are different people. Their only similarity lies in their deep emotions and ability to think far in advance while making plans.
RATING - WICKED BEAUTY REVIEW
3.5/5
If you’ve seen any of the other Books 4 Movies reviews, you know that the rating system is based on five main characteristics:
1- PLOT… Is it interesting and original?
2- CHARACTERS… Is there diversity? Are they relatable? Would I want to be a character, or date a character?
3 – WRITING STYLE AND QUOTES… Is there creativity and art in the writing? Are there quotes that will stick with me forever?
4 – ADAPTABILITY… Can this become a good Movie or Tv Show?
5 – RE-READABILITY… Will I re-read this book?
For this Wicked Beauty Review and rating, I will be looking at the plot, characters, writing, adaptability, and re-readability.
PLOT
So one thing that I did not mention before is the not-so-subtle Harry Potter in the Twi-wizard tournament vibe. The idea of a person going through three or more trials is not new, and Harry Potter did not create it, but J.K Rowling did popularize it. Also, there is a maze. Any 3rd trial with a maze might as well be straight from the Goblet of Fire story.
However, I’m not taking any points away for it. The maze scene is done very differently, and it is more for adults. It is kind of like a Twi-Wizard tournament combined with The Hunger Games – three trials to win glory, but you are fighting for your life and have to physically fight the other competitors. Also, temporary teams are totally allowed.
Besides the influence from other popular books, the plot of this book is very original and interesting. The Greek Gods influence is great and I love that the characters aren’t actually Gods, they just hold the names and titles is cool. Fighting for power and a position on the council of thirteen members is exciting. The three main characters working together and the enemies-to-lovers troupe is a big highlight!
CHARACTERS
The characters in Wicked Beauty do have a lot of relatable traits. None of them have lives or jobs or family dynamics that I can connect to, but their personalities and motivations are realistic.
Also, I would love to be the female version of Patroclus. He is attractive, smart, good with people, patient, and all around a great person!
WRITING
As previously mentioned, the “white” description of characters was a big pet peeve.
I also found moments with the they-them character to be difficult to read. There were a few sentences that really stuck out to me because they were written in a way that used the words “they” or “them” more often than you would normally read for she/her or he/him characters. I’m only being this nit-picky because I would really love to see more of this in fantasy books, but it also needs to be done in a way that non-LGBT humans can understand and easily flow with. The flow of those sentences was a little forceful and difficult to read.
Wicked Beauty lost half a star because of the difficult-to-read moments.
However, this book gets to keep the other half of the star because there are great lines and quotes, and the rest of the books writing is great.
ADAPTABILITY
Books with a heavy amount of smut and romance are not good for adaptations, so Wicked Beauty lost a star for that.
Also, I HATE to say this, but a movie adaptation won’t do well just because of the diversity. The world we live in is still very close-minded and there are too many people who won’t watch Wicked Beauty: The Movie just because of the poly, gay, lesbian, and open relationships. Maybe in 10 years, when our world becomes more accepting and open to alternative lifestyles, this will work. But for now, this book as a movie adaptation would be a flop.
RE-READABILITY
I will absolutely be reading this book again! I loved it so much that I will be reading the other Dark Olympus books. Hopefully, #4 will come out soon, and I will most likely pre-order it.