Dark Olympus #2
Mass Market Paperback, Sourcebooks CasablancaAuthor: Katee Robert
Eros has been his mother Aphrodite’s “fixer” for as long as he can remember. He’s the most beautiful man in Olympus and probably the deadliest. So, when he arrives late to a party held by Zeus, hurt and bleeding, the last thing he expected was to kindly be taken care of by the luscious Psyche.
Psyche lives a “highly curated” life as a social influencer. As a plus sized woman, she developed a thick skin, and is used to spinning things to her favor, but getting on the wrong side of the psychopathic Aphrodite came totally out of the blue. And now Eros’s mother wants her heart on a platter… literally, delivered by him.
When the time comes for him to “do the deed”, for reasons he can’t yet comprehend, he just can’t do it. There’s only one way out of this situation and he offers it to her: marry him.
In this re-imagining of the Greek myth, we go back to the world of power-hungry and morally corrupt Olympians and the intrigue is everywhere as usual. I loved how Psyche embraced her body (and oh so did Eros!!) but we see the struggles of a fat woman in a size zero world. I particularly enjoyed when Psyche explains to Eros she can’t just “enter a store and buy clothes” and how baffled he is by it.
Eros is more villain than hero, but we get to see him find his humanity again through his love for Psyche. (The scene of him looking at the family photos broke my heart…)
A badass heroine (low-key, but really badass!) and a redeemed villain. Yup!
I loved how we also get a Snow White and the Hunstman vibe too. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, people, it’s “inspired” by the myth, so accept the artistic license and deviations from the original. They work.
Rep: both MCs have been in relationships with partners of the same sex and that seems to be the norm in Olympus / heroine is fat / race diversity
Possible triggers: highly toxic mother/son relationship; manipulative parent; attempted murder; bullying (online and in person); fatshaming
