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A review by prettyflyforascienceguy
Dark Restraint by Katee Robert
3.5
Let me start this by saying Katee Robert is one of my auto-buy authors. I've read and devoured dozens of her other books, including those in the Dark Olympus series. Dark Restraint did not hit as hard as I wanted it to for me, but I genuinely believe that it is a *mostly* great book, that many people would enjoy.
The good, first of all: It is really refreshing to see two protagonists outside of the "Thirteen" and I enjoyed the perspective. I think the plot and story of this book were the most interesting so far, and I felt like it had the highest stakes. I loved seeing a different side of Dionysus, and I am absolutely feral for Hera.
The not-as-good: I really did not vibe with the "spark" between Ariadne and Asterion. A lot of their tension was diffused in the first few chapters. I didn't really buy their love for each other, because a lot of it happens off-page, in their past. I wanted more "will they won't they?" personally.
My biggest pet peeve was that in the first sex scene(which happens on like, page 2 by the way) they are BITING and drawing blood from each other. This is sexy MAYBE in a vampire novel, but in a contemporary-style erotica, I could NOT stop thinking about how dangerous human bites are. A human bite is gonna get infected and you're gonna need like a million shots. . It really took me out of the sexy moment and kind of put me in a weird spot for the rest of the book.
Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I think anyone who loves the Dark Olympus series will like it. Personally, I just did not find it to be the strongest in the series.
The good, first of all: It is really refreshing to see two protagonists outside of the "Thirteen" and I enjoyed the perspective. I think the plot and story of this book were the most interesting so far, and I felt like it had the highest stakes. I loved seeing a different side of Dionysus, and I am absolutely feral for Hera.
The not-as-good: I really did not vibe with the "spark" between Ariadne and Asterion. A lot of their tension was diffused in the first few chapters. I didn't really buy their love for each other, because a lot of it happens off-page, in their past. I wanted more "will they won't they?" personally.
My biggest pet peeve was that in the first sex scene
Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I think anyone who loves the Dark Olympus series will like it. Personally, I just did not find it to be the strongest in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent