Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert is part of the Black Rose Auction anthology, a set of books written by different romance authors all featuring the same luxurious high stakes annual auction. Wicked Pursuit also is a continuation of my favorite Katee Roberts series, Wicked Villains, this time featuring the grown children of the original characters. This book, hopefully the first of many, stars Ruby, the daughter of Belle, Beast, and Gaston from The Beast.
Little Red Riding Hood is being chased by the Big Bad Wolf, except in this romance retelling Red is the daughter of three of the most formidable Mafia members in Carver City and the Wolf is the man who is stalking her.
The book opens with Ruby cheating on her boyfriend in a seedy bar because she’s sick of being good all the time. She’s hopelessly bored and just wants something bad, exciting, and a little dangerous. But Ruby gets a little more than she bargained for when hours after the encounter she starts receiving messages from an anonymous number, blackmailing her with photos of her cheating.
The messages don’t stop, and Ruby is being watched. Her stalker is not going to give up, and Ruby secretly loves taunting him. The plot is fast-moving, which is a necessity given that this book is short and spicy. It doesn’t feel rushed, though, and it is thoroughly engrossing.
There is a crazy, wonderful plot twist that I had only just started to suspect a page or two before it happened. Said twist was super fun, and I was absolutely giddy as it came about.
With characters like Ruby, a bored mafia princess who craves danger and excitement, and Wolf, an unhinged, dangerous stalker who knows how to take care of what’s his, this book was a guaranteed smash hit. It delivered. The cameos from the original Wicked Villains characters like Uncle Hook and Aunt Tink were just icing on the cake.
The second generation of Wicked Villains characters understandably avoid the Underworld — the central location in the original series. No one wants to get wild at the sex club where their parents hang out. But that doesn’t mean these characters don’t have their fair share of kinky fun.
Wicked Pursuit is definitely high spice, and these characters are not particularly bothered about sticking with the safe, sane, and consensual. There is a whole primal hunt moment, and dubious consent is all over the place. Don’t worry; there is still a certain respect involved and no crossing of any hard limits, so the end result is unspeakably hot.
I loved Wicked Pursuit. I opened this book the moment it showed up on my porch and devoured it in hours. This was such a fun, violent, and exciting romance. The plot kept me hooked and proved that, so far, I love the second generation of Wicked Villains just as much as the originals.
Leave a Reply