Radiant Sin
by Katee Robert
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book 4 in the Dark Olympus Series
There's nowhere more dangerous than Olympus...and no one more captivating than its golden god: Apollo. Keeper of secrets, master of his shining realm...and the only man I am powerless to deny.
As a disgraced member of a fallen house, Cassandra Gataki has seen firsthand what comes from trusting the venomous Thirteen. But when the maddeningly gorgeous and kind Apollo asks her to go undercover as his plus-one at a week-long party hosted by a dangerous new power player…Cassandra reluctantly agrees to have his back.
On one condition: when it's all over, and Apollo has the ammunition he needs to protect Olympus, she and her sister will be allowed to leave. For good.
Apollo may be the city's official spymaster, but it's his ability to inspire others that keeps him at the top. Despite what the rest of Olympus says, there's no one he trusts more than Cassandra. Yet even as their fake relationship takes a wicked turn for the scaldingly hot, a very real danger surfaces… threatening not only Cassandra and Apollo, but the very heart of Olympus itself.
Genre
Triggers
Violence, Murder
I really, really, liked this book.
It's funny, because I don't love Katee Robert's books - they always have felt rushed and incomplete to me - but I really enjoyed Radiant Sin.
I mean, I won't add it on a top 10 list or anything, but it was good.
Hot.
I just love a boss/employee trope.
I don't know why, I just do.
I didn't have high hopes for Radiant Sin. I'm invested enough in the series that I'm continuing to read it - I'm really excited for Zeus and Hera's book - but it's not something I buy the day of release, and put down everything else to read. I use it as a bit of a palate cleanser, I guess.
The hardest thing with these books is that it's very character driven. While each book has it's own story, the overall plot of the series spans the entire series - and with very little information on what it going on, and what is/will be done about it.
These books are very much about the characters, and all their sexual escapades and romances. While I do love that, I also want substance, which some of these books lack.
Radiant Sin stood out to me because unlike some of the other books, the story and the romance are equal.
I felt like I learned a bit more how this city works, and what is on the horizon for Olympus.
The characters - Cassandra and Apollo - were also fun to read. I was able to jump right into their relationship because it didn't feel like insta-love. They've known each other for years, and the chemistry between them actually reflected that, something Katee misses the mark on at times.
Radiant Sin is probably one of my favorites of the series so far - or is a close second to Wicked Beauty. It has plot, it has romance, and it's sexy as hell. What's not to like?
Alexandra: “Do something nice for yourself, Cass. Promise me.”
Cass: “I promise.”
It’s even the truth, though I expect Alexandra wouldn’t consider an early evening with a book, a bubble bath, and a jumbo glass of wine something nice. But then, my sister likes people. I don’t.
What Hermes does isn’t magic, though anyone who’s walked into a locked room and found her rooting through their shit might believe otherwise. Most people don’t pause long enough to realize breaking and entering is basically her love language and that she only does it to people she likes, but if I say that, then I have to explain how I would know such a thing, and I’m not about to get into my exes with anyone, let alone Apollo.
Apollo: “I won’t require you to be nice to people.”
Cass: “I wouldn’t even if you asked me.”
Hera: “You have style, but that’s obviously from the sales rack. Appearances matter, and we can’t have you showing up looking like—”
Cass: “Like Apollo is fucking someone he picked up in an office,”
Hera: “Just so.
Cass: "If I show up in one of the dresses I already own, I’ll get turned away and you’ll be laughed out of the building. How does that help anyone? Maybe you have a humiliation kink, but I don’t.”
Apollo: “Kink shaming, Cassandra? Really?”
Psyche: “Callisto,”
Psyche hisses.
Psyche: “Be nice.”
Callisto: “Are you going to tell her to be nice?”
I raise my brows.
Cass: “I can hear you.”
Callisto: “I know.”
Apollo: “Order what you want.”
I should leave it at that, but the strange anger steals my best intentions.
Apollo: “And to be perfectly frank, fuck anyone who acts like you need to change your body to fit some bullshit beauty standard. You’re stunning.”
Cassandra might not have the commonly sought-after body type in this city, but I don’t see how that matters. Beauty is beauty in whatever shape it comes in. Cassandra is so beautiful, it takes my breath away.
Dionysus: “You have a knack for seeing what’s really there instead of what the peacocks want you to see.”
Cass: “Dionysus, you’re one of the peacocks.”
He chuckles.
Dionysus: “And a splendid one at that.”
Apollo: “I did have a plan. It was a very good plan, but then you put on those pajamas.”
He clears his throat and subtly adjusts his pants. Holy shit, Apollo is hard. For me.
Apollo: “Now I’m having a hard time remembering what it is.”
Apollo: “I’m going to touch you now.”
I exhale shakily.
Cass: “You don’t have to narrate every move before you do it.”
He gives me a sharp look I can feel despite the shadows.
Apollo: “You squirm so beautifully every time I do. I like it.”
Cass: “You want me so badly, you’re shaking.”
I kiss down her jaw and nip her earlobe.
Apollo: “Are you expecting me to deny it?”
I hold my breath as she guides my cock to her entrance.
Apollo: “Now, be a good girl and take this cock.”
She shivers.
Cass: “I hate that I love that so much.”
Apollo: “No, you don’t.”
Cass: “Was this always a sitting room or is this another converted kinky one?”
Hermes: “A lady never tells.”
Apollo: “I can be rather dense about those sorts of things.”
I snort. I can’t help it.
Cass: “Yeah, well, you didn’t notice me making eyes at you for five years so I guess that statement checks out.”
Cass: “Am I going to be worshipping tonight?”
Apollo: “No, love. You’re going to be the one worshipped.”
Cass: “You should take your pants off.”
Apollo: “When I’m ready.”
I shake my head.
Cass: “I want you to have a good time, too, Apollo. This can’t all be about me.”
His eyes go wide and then narrow.
Apollo: “Cassandra.”
Gods, I love that firm tone he takes when I’ve done something to test him.
Apollo: “Tonight I’ll have my hands on your naked body. No matter what else happens, I’m having the time of my life.”
He nudges my thighs wide and exhales shakily.
Apollo: “Now I can finally see you properly.”
Cass: “Apollo—”
Apollo: “Hush.”
I lift my head and give him an incredulous look.
Cass: “Did you just hush me?”
He doesn’t respond with words. Instead, he drags his thumbs up the outside of my pussy, spreading me, and gives another of those deliciously shaky exhales. I bite my bottom lip.
Cass: “I suppose I can be hushed if you keep doing that.”
Apollo: “I appreciate your obedience,”
he says in a distracted sort of way.
Apollo: “I don’t care!”
I stop short and lower my voice.
Apollo: “I do not give a fuck, Cassandra. I will not risk you.”
Not for Olympus. Not for anything.
Apollo: “I love you, and I will let this city burn before I intentionally put you in harm’s way.
Apollo: “I realized I loved you that day with the printer.”
I instantly know exactly what he’s talking about. It wasn’t a good day. It was the anniversary of my parents’ death, and my sister and I had a fight that afternoon when I’d taken her out to lunch. My emotions had been riding too close to the surface, boiling and ugly and awful. When the ancient printer went haywire, I’d lost control completely. But that means…
Cass: “You’re joking.”
Apollo: “I’m not.”
Cass: “Apollo, that was four years ago.”
I stare.
Cass: “You can’t have loved me that long.”
Apollo: “You were my employee, and you’d made your thoughts on the Thirteen and Olympus very clear from the start.”
He shrugs and winces a little.
Apollo: “I wasn’t going to be just another selfish person in your life putting my needs and desires above yours.”
Against everything, tears prickle at the edges of my eyes.
Cass: “I took an office chair to the printer that day. Anyone else would have fired me.”
Apollo: “It was an old printer. I’d been meaning to replace it for a while, and you gave me the excuse to do so.”
Cass: “Apollo…”
His smile falls away.
Apollo: “Up until that point, you’d been very careful with me. Walking on eggshells. After that day, you didn’t bother. You gave me the real you.”
He trails his fingers down my cheek.
Apollo: “You’re beautiful and complicated and the smartest person I’ve ever met. How could I not love you?”
Cass: “I feel so fucking owned by you when we’re like this.”
I roll my hips.
Cass: “Taking what’s yours.”
Apollo: “No.”
He tightens his grip and drags me down to seal us together completely.
Apollo: “You’re taking what’s yours.”
Cass: “I’ll drown, Alex. The waters are too deep.”
Alexandra: “So learn to swim. You’re the smartest person I know. If anyone can do it, you can.”
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