I picked up this book because I needed a really fluffy read for my tired eyes, and because the fanfic-ish premise, based on my favourite Disney movie, sounded so fun. This novel astonished me by being so genuinely good and emotionally complicated.

First I have to lay out what its premise is -an AU multiverse Disney erotica in which characters from multiple Disney movies frequent the same BDSM sex club. If you read that description and cringe out of your skin, well, it’s probably just not for you. I myself struggled a bit with random appearances by… Sexy Capitan Hook and Tinkerbell? Then sexy Jasmine and Jafar, protagonists of book 1 about the mafia or something, make an appearance? And the settings in book 2 are kind of like a sexual room of requirement, random but conveniently always available and empty of other people; and the character introductions are very outfit centric; and I found the descriptor “medium brown” to describe every POC a bit off-putting. There’s not much effort put into making the world of the characters plausible, but I don’t consider that hugely necessary, because none of us are going to read this for its congruence to reality. It is pretty obviously a work about erotic scenarios between established characters reimagined in another context that basically functions as a fantastical no-place for them to meet each other. There’s definite Kushiels’ Dart vibes in reference to Hades’ “deep game;” “The man in Black” from Westworld gets a shoutout for some reason, and I don’t think I will ever find it not funny that Meg’s ex is named “Declan.” But you know what? Those aren’t really critiques because this book is set in a pop-culture melting pot, so why wouldn’t he be named Declan?

But neither is this novel pure smut without purpose. Each of the erotic scenes advances both character journeys and the relationships between them. And holy shit, the emotions involved. We have an established BDSM couple who are drifting apart, and the balance of their relationship is upset by the super hot waiter the Dom sends his partner off to seduce and fuck while the pair are dining out at a restaurant. This waiter eventually joins their underground sex club Hades owns by tracking then down and pleading his way into a very binding employment deal, which grown-up fans of the original Hercules might enjoy for its congruence with the original. AU Meg and Hades have their relationship dynamic upended and reinvigorated by Herc’s completely artless emotional openness. They all want each other and the negotiation of how it plays out is surprisingly realistic (if I can claim that about an AU BDSM Disney fic), tender, and compelling.

Each of them are powerful over the other members of the triangle. The dominance and submission isn’t so much about raw power as the nature of desires that are intrinsic to the characters. Hercules is very much an equal in the bedroom, even as a completely inexperienced submissive paired with an experienced Dom and switch. There are plenty of power games at play, and hurt feelings, especially on Meg’s part, but the arc is one of reconciliation, renewed honesty and love rediscovered.

Most of all, I appreciated how cleverly the book revisited the themes of the movie. Hercules offers himself up bodily as a sacrifice to save Meg just as in the film, but also discovers what he wants out of love in the process. The big bad villain of this book is not Hades, but Zeus – who here is taken to task for his treatment (in mythology) of Leda and other women, who uses them cruelly and casts them away, who threatens Meg’s life in the last-minute plot machinations before the HEA (he’s not much of a villanous presence in the rest of the book, when he really ought to be). The plot by which Hercules (not in the Disney film, but in mythology) loses his wife and family is instead given to Hades, explaining his calculated control to protect the ones he loves.

I adored the vision of the characters presented here, which to me seemed very true to the film’s portrayal. And the three of them together are such a fascinating mix: Hades aloof and controlled but ultimately caring and affectionate; Meg playful and tough but emotionally fragile; Hercules cutting through the poor communication between them with his sweetness and earnestness. He is certain of his own personal worth despite his naivete and inexperience. Each of them is a prize, each of them is in a necessary balance with the others, all of them are madly in love. It can be difficult to make a reader believe in a HEA menage, but it completely won me over.

The BDSM is never truly cruel. It is emotionally gentle, the contrivances of the dominance and submission scenes enacted out of a desire to see the other person in a state of naked want that reveals a deep understanding of who they are. And I was a bit giddy over specific things that happen in the sex acts between members of the trio without being considered emasculating or humiliating. Basically, there’s pegging, and it’s awesome.

I don’t know that I want to read a whole series of sexy AU Disney villains after this, but this book has me curious about Katee Robert’s other work. Well done!

Originally published on Goodreads on November 23, 2021