Dark Olympus Archives

5 Reasons Why I Loved Electric Idol

Jan 27, 2022

Last year I read and adored Neon Gods by Katee Robert, the first book in her Dark Olympus series. I knew immediately that I had to keep on reading this series. So as soon as Electric Idol arrived in-store at work, I got it. And pretty much started reading it right away. And it came as no surprise to me that I absolutely adored Electric Idol. While I love writing full reviews, I also love sharing with you the reasons why I love a book. So today I thought I would share the 5 reasons why I loved Electric Idol.

If you haven’t checked out my Neon Gods post from last year, you can now. I also shared why I loved reading it so much. Now let’s get right into this post.

Electric Idol (Dark Olympus #2) by Katee Robert

Pages: 384
Publish date: January 18, 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 9781728231761
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

He was the most beautiful man alive.
And if I wasn’t careful, he was going to be my death.*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Psyche and Eros that’s as sinful as it is sweet.*In the ultra-modern city of Olympus, there’s always a price to pay. Psyche knew she’d have to face Aphrodite’s ire eventually, but she never expected her literal heart to be at stake…or for Aphrodite’s gorgeous son to be the one ordered to strike the killing blow.Eros has no problem shedding blood. But when it comes time to take out his latest target, he can’t do it. Confused by his reaction to Psyche, he does the only thing he can think of to keep her safe: he marries her. Psyche vows to make Eros’s life a living hell until they find a way out of this mess. But as lines blur and loyalties shift, she realizes he might take her heart after all…and she’s not sure she can survive the loss.

Electric Idol:

Trigger and Content Warnings include abuse (emotional, financial), body shaming (ch 1, 3, 31), murder (off-page), guns, explicit sex.

Electric Idol follows the story of Eros and Psyche as they try and navigate the world of Olympus. When Aphrodite becomes jealous of Psyche she tasks Eros to take her heart. But he can’t do that, but you know what he can do? Marry her. Now married Eros can protect Psyche in more ways than one. And what started out as a bargain turns into something much more dangerous. As one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I had very high hope and you know what? Katee Robert delivered.

The romance is hot!

The romance in Neon Gods was spicy. It’s off the page hot. I’m not just talking about sexy time. I’m talking about everything from the tension between Eros and Psyche to the small little things that they do for one another. From the start, the reader is able to see there is something between these two. They just hit it off with one another so well. It’s this great sense of our mothers hate one another, but hey you are hot. And then Eros is sent to kill her, but hey he can’t do that, so let’s just marry instead. And that creates this fantastic chemistry between the two of them that I didn’t want to stop.

It was steamy and sexy and just so right. Eros is feral but in a good way. I don’t know how to explain it, so it doesn’t sound weird. But he hasn’t felt love for any of this life. He has been trained to kill and do his mothers dirty work. But Psyche just grabs him and he is gone before he even knows it. The sexy time in Electric Idol is very different from the first book, but still very spicy and sexy. It’s this perfect combo of being kinky and heartwarming at the same time.

Photo by Tuva Mathilde Løland on Unsplash

Plus-size heroine

One of my favourite things about this book is that Psyche is plus size. I absolutely adore seeing plus-size heroines in my romances and Katee Robert has just made it so good. She doesn’t hide away from Psyche having insecurities about her body, but she also explores Psyche owning her body. It’s this fantastic combination that just works so damn well for me. The reader is also able to see Psyche grow more confident with her body and own it even more. While Eros isn’t the one to help her see it, he shows her how to love her body even more, by loving it himself.

I also really enjoyed that she was an influencer. I normally hate when any of the main characters are influencers in a novel. But it was really well done here. It didn’t take over the storyline. Psyche wasn’t made to be entitled and it actually fit very well with the story as a whole. Another thing that adored was that Psyche embraced fashion while also criticising it.

I have been told to kill you but I can’t, so let’s marry

Okay so I love a lot of different tropes and Electric Idol has a lot that I love, from a fake relationship to a marriage of convenience, and let’s try and make this look real. But one that I haven’t seen a lot that worked wonders here is ‘I’ve been tasked to kill you, but I can’t so let’s marry. It’s such a specific trope and oh was it done well.

Eros does a lot of what his mother tells him to do. And for most of his life, he never questioned it. But this time, he is told to take the heart of a woman that hasn’t done anything wrong. And when it comes to it. Eros cannot kill Psyche. And the only other way that he can think that might keep her safe, even for a little, is to marry her.

I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics of these two together. Not only did Electric Idol use the trope of fake relationship/marriage of convenience, but there was also forced proximity, I don’t like you, but you are hot. Let’s only have sex but only while we work this out. And they all just worked so well together.

Photo by Ash Edmonds on Unsplash

World Building

I talked about this before, but I loved the world that Katee Robert has built for this series. While it isn’t a classic retelling, I feel it still has the feel that I want from a retelling. But it’s not even that part that made me love the book. It’s the way that Robert has created this modern Olympus where the gods aren’t actually true gods. They are decedents or a person that the previous ‘god’ has chosen as heirs. It’s a really interesting concept that leads the novel to have a lot of court and political intrigue. which if you didn’t know I absolutely love.

We get to see it so much more in this book and I can’t wait to see it expanded as the series goes on. In the first book, everything is starting to build. But it hits some bumps in this book and we get to see more interactions with different gods.

Eros

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about Eros. I could have loved him, I could have hated him. What I didn’t expect was for him to be sort of soft. While he is a hard ass and has done a lot of horrible things on behalf of his mother, he has missed out on a lot of things. And it isn’t until he is with Psyche that he is able to see that. I think I loved his character development the most. The reader is able to see someone, who has done everything that his mother has told him to do, to finally stand up for not only others but himself. It took a lot of power to turn against his mother. And it wasn’t an easy trip. It took a lot out of him.

One of my favourite things about Eros is seeing how much he cares and how protective he is of Psyche. It’s the touch her and I will kill you kind of protection and I loved it. There is a scene where Psyche is getting some hate comments on her social media post and his reaction – damn!

Photo by zelle duda on Unsplash

Overall, I loved Electric Idol by Katee Robert. It’s hot, sexy and everything that I wanted it to be. Eros and Psyche are one of my new favourite couples and just make me smile. They lit up the page and I wasn’t able to put the book down. Electric Idol adds another layer to the Dark Olympus world and I cannot wait to see where it’s taken in the next few books. If you are looking for a Greek Mythology inspired series that is sexy and smutty, while also being very sweet. I’m so excited to continue this series that is for sure.

5 Reasons Why I Love Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Aug 15, 2021

I didn’t want to just do a normal review for Neon Gods by Katee Robert. I wanted to share my love for it in a different way, so I thought I would share five reasons why I love reading it.

This has been on my tbr ever since it came out and I finally got around to it recently. And while I don’t regret that I didn’t pick it up sooner, I hate that I have to wait for the next book. Neon Gods is seriously a fantastic modern Greek Mythology retelling of Hades and Persephone. I just want to say I will never get sick of a Hades and Persephone retelling but this one does stand out above the rest.

Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1) by Katee Robert

Pages: 380
Publish date: June 1st 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 9781728231730
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

He was supposed to be a myth. But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell… he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth… a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.

I just want to make a quick note. This book will not be for everyone, it is a romance but it does come with a few warnings. This includes triggers for Abuse, Parental death (historical, off-page), assault/attempted assault, explicit sex, guns, blood. It also includes content warnings for exhibitionism and BDSM.

1. The Romance

I love Hades and Persephone together in most retellings, but the romance in this one really does stand out. They are sexy, adorable and hot together. I pretty much smiled throughout the whole book because of these two. They were brilliant together and made the reading experience even more enjoyable.

From the start, the reader is able to feel and see the spark between the two – even before they admit it. And what starts off as a fake relationship turns into something much more. I just couldn’t deal with these two, at all. I adored them.

As I said in the content warnings there is exhibitionism and BDSM included in this book. So please this is another warning before you jump in. I really enjoyed how this was intertwined into the book and it didn’t feel out of place at all. Not only did it explore the relationship between Hades and Persephone more, but it also introduced some very interesting characters. And I’m intrigued by this and looking forward to seeing where it’s taken in the future.

Hades and Persephone were hot together, they were fire and these scenes just added to it. And it’s not just the scenes that they do, but when they are alone you can see that they truly do care for one another, even if they don’t want to admit it.

Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis on Unsplash

2. It’s Sexy

This book isn’t just smutty and spicy it’s sexy. And I was thinking this before any of the real sexy things started to go down. I don’t know if I can explain this right and make sure that it makes sense. Not only are the characters sexy, but the writing is as well. The way that everything comes together just works brilliantly. Together Hades and Persephone are just sexy. They could be talking about nothing, but their interactions alone are sexy.

One of my favourite conversations in Neon Gods – is when Hades and Persephone are talking about consent and safewords. Not only does it make me happy that this conversation takes place, but it adds to the sexiness of the book.

This concept is just so hard to explain and maybe if you have read the book you can see where I’m coming from. There is heat before any sexy time. There are these fantastic conversations and Hades and Persephone bring the heat.

3. Hades is a Cinnamon Roll

Hades is a puppy dog. I don’t think that is something that you would hear very often, but he really is. On the outside, he has this grumpy exterior that we all know Hades to have, but Persephone sure does break him down.

From the start of Neon Gods, we can see that there is more than meets the eye with him. We can see that he isn’t just that hard god of the underworld, but something way more than that. And slowly as the novel goes on readers get to see that. And it’s not something that stands out, it’s the little things. The conversation about consent. Making sure that Persephone is taken care of. Making sure that Persephine is eating. And my favourite way – Hades and the puppies. I seriously couldn’t contain myself.

Hades is badass don’t get me wrong and he won’t take shit from anyone – but Persephone turns him to pudding and it’s just fantastic to witness. I also loved that everyone around him just watched it happened and laughed.

Photo by Praveen kumar Mathivanan on Unsplash

4. Fantastic Retelling

Another reason I loved Neon Gods so much was the retelling aspect. I think that Katee Robert intertwined so many different elements of the original tale into this modern story. I love how the small things were just slowly intertwined into the story. And if you don’t know the story well then you might not have picked it up.

The fact that pomegranate was the safe word, the names of characters and their jobs. It just all worked fantastically. Another aspect of this that I really enjoyed was how Persephone came to Hades. It was a clever way of doing it and the fact that she went willingly is a massive tick for me.

The concept of the world is also really interesting and how Gods and picked for their role. How the thirteen are chosen. It wasn’t hard to really understand, everything made sense, but I’m also excited to learn more about it.

I’m really excited for the rest of the books in the series, there are some really interesting retellings picked for the rest of the series so far and that just makes me even more ecstatic. I just want the rest of the series now. Electric Idols is set to come out in January next year. With Wicked Beauty set for mid-2022.

5. Imagery and Writing is Fantastic

I’ve read a few Katee Robert books now and each one of them has such fantastic imagery and the writing is excellent. Sometimes in romance novels, the writing can lack a little, but that is not the case here in Neon Gods. And while this is traditionally published, I have read Katee Roberts indie-published romances as well. And they are still to this standard.

I find that I sometimes struggle when delving into a new world, but I never felt out of place here. I always knew what was going on, what was happening and how things looked. As well as struggling with new worlds, I sometimes can’t imagine how the world or characters look. And while I did have a little trouble at first, it wasn’t long before I was pretty comfortable with where I was.

I was fully immersed in the world from the start of Neon Gods and I didn’t want to leave. It was pretty epic and I loved the combination of the traditional elements of Greek Mythology while also still being very modern.

Photo by Echo Wang on Unsplash

Overall, I adored Neon Gods by Katee Robert. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s sexy, smutty and just so addicting. I couldn’t put it down, and all I wanted to do was keep on reading. Hades and Persephone are fantastic together, they just made me smile and I didn’t want it to stop. Like the rest of the book, they have this great balance of being sexy, smutty and absolutely adorable. This is my fourth Katee Robert novel and I think she might just become an auto-buy author for me soon. Eek. I’m so excited for the rest of the series and picking up some more of her books.

If you are looking for a fantastic modern retelling that is spicy, then pick this up if you haven’t. You will not be disappointed.

Have you read Neon Gods by Katee Robert yet? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What is another Katee Robert book that I should pick up? Let’s Chat!