Tender Cruelty
by Katee Robert
The only way to review a book this late in a series is in a lightning review. There’s only so much you can say without spoiling the entire series. Suffice to say, spoilers for the preceding eight books lie ahead.
It is finally Zeus and Hera’s turn! PRAISE BE! I was one of the chumps who thought this would be book 3. Anyone else?
Can you believe?! Things are happening!
The threat of Circe has been hanging over Olympus for ages now and there hasn’t been much movement in the Circe plot. In Tender Cruelty, so much is revealed. We learn some of the truth about Hermes and we meet Circe. I’ll say no more than that outside of spoiler tags.
First, the plot. Circe’s plan to destroy Olympus is gaining traction. The entire city has been evacuated to the countryside because of the sea blockade. After the sea blockade fell apart in the previous book, the Thirteen are left floundering and trying to find Circe because they know she’s in the city.
The romance between Hera and Zeus involved a pleasing thawing of relations between the two. Although it is SHOCKINGLY revealed very early on that the two have sex in the dark every night and have done so for their entire marriage! I’m not sure if I’m on board with marital relations from the start or if I wanted their enmity to be even more all-consuming. Although how you get more intense enemies than the many-book-spanning ‘active plot to kill’, I’m not sure.
I would have liked more time with Hera and Zeus in their lovey dovey stage so I could relish the sweet tenderness a bit more, but the bigger Circe plot had different demands.
Don’t even attempt Tender Cruelty unless you’ve read the others in the series. I’ve been awaiting this story since early in the series, and if you read nothing else, please know that I really enjoyed Tender Cruelty (mostly because THINGS HAPPEN) and it brings me joy that I can recommend it to you.
Looking ahead to the final installment in the series, I believe we are offered drama of the highest order. I can’t wait.
– Lara
I was his wife. His lover. His sworn enemy. The ice queen to Olympus’s most hated king.
*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Hera and Zeus.*
The barrier that’s protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy’s breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they’ve sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren’t at each others’ throats instead.
Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystalizes into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.
Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married—the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she’s been wrong about Zeus all these years…and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.
Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
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Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! I’m so far behind on this series that I didn’t dare open the spoiler box, but maybe it is time to catch up.
@C
I would say it’s worth catching up. They’re all quick, easy reads so the meh books in between fly by. I would spread out the catch up a bit though as too many of them in a row can get a bit dull as they hit many of the same notes.
I too felt bamboozled for Zeus and Hare to be introduced in book 2, only to not be the focus of book 3. I have been waiting for this story for eight books! I wonder if this will cross Wicked Villains and Dark Olympus.
@C, I’m not fully caught up, but the books all (at least, the later ones did) have a brief edition of the in-world MuseWatch blog that skates over the recent events enough to get an idea of where things are. I didn’t care too much about the politicking or Olympus to this point, so I could just roll with the romances, but Tender Cruelty made me want to know everything that’s going to happen in the finale.
I! Am! So! Thrilled! it’s finally here. I have loved how much they loath each other. I skipped a few books in between and I’m hoping the MuseWatch blog intros that @Jill mentions are enough.