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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Elliott Rose is the queen of morally grey cowboys (who I eat up every time) and with the upcoming release of Macabre Gods I felt like it was time for me to read Vengeful Gods.
Now secret societies are not my usual go to but I do love a why choose so I felt confident and as usual Elliott Rose didn’t let me down.
The spice in this book is absolutely 🥵 and I mean 🥵. It’s constant but the character development is also really good. I really liked the three MMCs, in particular Ky and Ven. I would have loved more of their story (maybe it comes in the next book, who knows).
The female FMC, I must admit I did want a little more from. A badass tattoo artist with lilac hair is a FMC I am going to like but she kind of frustrated me a little bit with how she just kind of went along with everything and didn’t really challenge anything at all.
This series isn’t going to replace the Crimson Ridge series for me (Daddy Colt and Uncle Storm are always going to top secret societies for me) but I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Elliott Rose is the queen of morally grey cowboys (who I eat up every time) and with the upcoming release of Macabre Gods I felt like it was time for me to read Vengeful Gods.
Now secret societies are not my usual go to but I do love a why choose so I felt confident and as usual Elliott Rose didn’t let me down.
The spice in this book is absolutely 🥵 and I mean 🥵. It’s constant but the character development is also really good. I really liked the three MMCs, in particular Ky and Ven. I would have loved more of their story (maybe it comes in the next book, who knows).
The female FMC, I must admit I did want a little more from. A badass tattoo artist with lilac hair is a FMC I am going to like but she kind of frustrated me a little bit with how she just kind of went along with everything and didn’t really challenge anything at all.
This series isn’t going to replace the Crimson Ridge series for me (Daddy Colt and Uncle Storm are always going to top secret societies for me) but I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.
I really wanted to love this book. Elliot Rose is an auto read author for me, and Vengeful Gods had so many elements that should have been a win—reverse harem, obsessive men, swords, a secret society, and tattoos! But somehow, it all fell flat.
Let’s start with the positives: the spciy scenes were hot. If you’re here purely for smut, you’ll probably enjoy that aspect. But for a book this long, I expected way more from the plot, the character development, and the relationships. Unfortunately, this was a case where the story didn’t add anything to the smut—it was just filler between sex scenes.
Here’s where it lost me:
1️⃣ The romance made zero sense. How did we go from "we literally hate you and wanted to torture/kill you" to "we love you and can’t live without you" with no development in between? The only thing bridging the gap was sex.
2️⃣ Almost no character interactions outside of sex. There was no tension building, no getting to know each other, no moments that made me believe in the relationships.
3️⃣ The FMC was supposed to be this tough, independent tattoo artist who escaped her criminal family, but she spent the entire book just going along with what everyone else told her to do—whether it was the love interests, other women, or the bad guys. Not a single escape attempt, no resistance, nothing.
4️⃣ The secret society plotline was confusing and felt detached from the actual story. It was like, “Oh, right! There’s a secret society stealing children! Back to the smut.”
5️⃣ The ending was anticlimactic. The "secrets" revealed were just meh, and the twin switcheroo twist? So predictable.
6️⃣ Calling this a Beauty and the Beast retelling is a stretch.
7️⃣ Shortening Raven to Ven pulled me out of the story every time. It just sounded silly, and not fitting for her and the things she did (or did not do).
Overall, I did finish the book, so there’s that. But for me, it was way too long for a story that didn’t add any real substance to the steam. If you’re looking for dark romance with a solid plot and compelling character dynamics, this one might not hit the mark.
Would love to hear from someone who did love it—what was your favorite scene that wasn’t a spicy scene? Because I genuinely can’t think of one.
Let’s start with the positives: the spciy scenes were hot. If you’re here purely for smut, you’ll probably enjoy that aspect. But for a book this long, I expected way more from the plot, the character development, and the relationships. Unfortunately, this was a case where the story didn’t add anything to the smut—it was just filler between sex scenes.
Here’s where it lost me:
1️⃣ The romance made zero sense. How did we go from "we literally hate you and wanted to torture/kill you" to "we love you and can’t live without you" with no development in between? The only thing bridging the gap was sex.
2️⃣ Almost no character interactions outside of sex. There was no tension building, no getting to know each other, no moments that made me believe in the relationships.
3️⃣ The FMC was supposed to be this tough, independent tattoo artist who escaped her criminal family, but she spent the entire book just going along with what everyone else told her to do—whether it was the love interests, other women, or the bad guys. Not a single escape attempt, no resistance, nothing.
4️⃣ The secret society plotline was confusing and felt detached from the actual story. It was like, “Oh, right! There’s a secret society stealing children! Back to the smut.”
5️⃣ The ending was anticlimactic. The "secrets" revealed were just meh, and the twin switcheroo twist? So predictable.
6️⃣ Calling this a Beauty and the Beast retelling is a stretch.
7️⃣ Shortening Raven to Ven pulled me out of the story every time. It just sounded silly, and not fitting for her and the things she did (or did not do).
Overall, I did finish the book, so there’s that. But for me, it was way too long for a story that didn’t add any real substance to the steam. If you’re looking for dark romance with a solid plot and compelling character dynamics, this one might not hit the mark.
Would love to hear from someone who did love it—what was your favorite scene that wasn’t a spicy scene? Because I genuinely can’t think of one.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Thank you for sending me this ARC! @elliottroseauthor
Merged review:
Thank you for sending me this ARC! @elliottroseauthor
Merged review:
Thank you for sending me this ARC! @elliottroseauthor
Merged review:
Thank you for sending me this ARC! @elliottroseauthor
Merged review:
Thank you for sending me this ARC! @elliottroseauthor
dark
Finished Vengeful Gods tonight. @elliottroseauthor has come up with another plot that that just works and incudes 3 MMCs, 1 FMC and so much spice.... the plot though...back to the plot... bad boys kidnap a good girl that ran from a bad family and situation and they bring her right back to the world she left. So good, scenery descriptions were great. I would give anything to live in a glassed fortress in the middle of the woods.
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense