Book Review
Title: The Beast (Wicked Villains Book 4) by Katee Robert
Genre: Retelling, Romance, Erotic
Rating: 5 Stars
As I mentioned in my Desperate Measures review I am skipping my re-read of Learn My Lesson and A Worthy Opponent because I didn’t really enjoy them the first time around but I am reading the short stories that go with these two books before jumping into my re-read of The Beast. We get to see in the short stories the public scene between Hercules, Hades and Meg which was interesting but I was disappointed yet again that Hades wasn’t a more active participant in the sex scenes. We also get to see a lot of Tink and Hook but I didn’t feel these stories added much to their story or characters apart from the one where they discuss their fears of becoming parents due to the way they were raised. We also get a brief story following Aurora who has issues with Malone which I am sure is featured in the last book but it focuses more on her relationship with Gaeton as they both try to cope with their respective issues. Obviously the next story is the one that follows Isabelle, Beast and Gaeton and I couldn’t wait to get back into their story. From what I remember I wasn’t keen on the first portion of The Beast but when you really get to know the characters and their history it really heats up especially since this is one of the only books that features a good m/m sex scene and relationship.
Before you even get into the meat of this novel you have to understand the history between the three characters. Isabelle used to date both Beast and Gaeton although not together after being together for so long, Gaeton leaves Isabelle and within a month she had left Beast and the reason for this comes out later on. Beast and Gaeton also have a complicated relationship as they have always fought for power and influence under Isabelle’s recently deceased father, who was a like a father to both of them and they are all mourning his loss. The deal starts out as a way for Beast and Gaeton to give Isabelle a taste of her own medicine but very quickly both realises that this isn’t the case. Beast notices it first when Gaeton bottoms for him and he realises how their hate has actually been lust they denied, Gaeton isn’t far behind but he has a tendency to deny the truth similar to Isabelle. In between all this we get some of the hottest scenes in the series in my opinion as I doubt anything will top this trio, we also get to see Isabelle’s two sisters and their genuine concern for her. Cordelia is willing to abandon the whole plan and risk war in her territory to prevent Isabelle being used by Gaeton and Beast but Isabelle knows that she wants this and placates them for now.
We soon learn that this isn’t going to be an easy ride for any of them especially Gaeton who was especially hurt by Isabelle and we are going to find out why soon. I also just realised that Katee Robert has tied two series together because Beast formerly “Samson” is from Sabine Valley and she has another series set in Sabine Valley so we might find out more about Beast’s past from that series. As we follow Beast, Gaeton and Isabelle we get to know them as people as they discuss what went wrong in their previous relationship and how no one person can be blamed for how they ended. We also see Beast leading the relationship as he wants them all to be together even though he hasn’t voiced it yet, but when a disguised threat from Ursa is directed at them they know even though they have 12 days left of their arrangement they might not have that long before the Sea Witch stars pressing their borders harder than she has been already. I really liked watching the emotionally struggle the trio have when it comes to figuring out what they all want and how to get it in a way that won’t hurt them all again. While that can’t be guaranteed Beast makes a convincing argument and even confesses his love for Gaeton in order to prove to him as he is the most guarded of the three that this arrangement can work for them. The scenes that come after that were some of the hottest so far as we get to see them coming together out of love rather than obligation but the scene the following morning where Isabelle’s sister-in-law, Muriel busts down the door in order to retrieve her had me in stitches. Muriel is a short Dominican woman taking on these two huge men and effectively reduces them to cowering puppies because they know what she is capable of and I found that to be hilarious, the same way they cower from Tink and Aurora when they are angry.
Seeing how the ending of The Beast directly leads into book 5, The Sea Witch was interesting and I will be getting into that soon despite the fact I don’t really like Ursa but Alaric seems interesting given his interactions with Isabelle in this book. I also read the three stories around this throuple and they were all divine. The first was the wedding between the three of them and that almost made me cry followed by them playing seven minutes in heaven with Aurora. However, the final story was the most interesting as six months after their marriage Beast finds out that his ex-Cohen is still alive in Sabine Valley and just never contacted him. This hurts Beast as he mourned Cohen and he does mention potentially speaking with Cohen again but he tells Gaeton never to doubt his love for him and Isabelle. This story was also interesting as Isabelle never appears she is only mentioned and there is a wonderful sex scene that takes place between Beast and Gaeton but for the first time Beast bottoms which was delightful. Overall, The Beast has to be my favourite in the series as it features a really diverse cast of characters and it is the only book in the series that has some proper m/m sex scene where the characters aren’t shy about admitting that they love each other and working together unlike the way Meg, Hades and Hercules operate. Highly recommended.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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