One of my favorite things I’ve overheard in a bookstore was one shopper hand selling a Katee Robert book to another shopper by saying, “they are a chaos peddler of joy and smut!” No lies detected. Katee Robert’s books are fun. They are a good time and they don’t make me feel bad about enjoying them because Robert is intentional in their writing. Desperate Measures, the first in Robert’s Wicked Villains series is being rereleased with a change to the main character’s name, lots of footnotes, and some artwork. I didn’t appreciate it when I first read it, I think Desperate Measures was the first Katee Robert book I read, but it’s the book where they really let themselves off the leash.
This was the first book that I wrote out of spiteful joy, incorporating all the things I loved but that 2018 traditional publishing told me I couldn’t do and be successful.
Yasmina’s father has undervalued her and essentially sold her to Ali in a strategic marriage. Jafar, her father’s second in command, has over thrown her father and claims Yasmina as his prize. But first, he asks for her safe word. Desperate Measures is filled with consensual non-consent, some light daddy kink, and power struggle fought partly through sex. Robert is one of the authors I point to when I talk about moving plot and character development forward through sex scenes.
I love hanging out in the worlds that Katee Robert writes. I really enjoyed the footnotes at the end of every chapter. If you haven’t read any of Robert’s books yet, this is a great place to start. If you have, this is a good edition to have on your shelf.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.