THE KRAKEN’S SACRIFICE
KATEE ROBERTS RETURNS TO THE WORLD OF A DEAL WITH A DEMON
The Kraken’s Sacrifice is the second book in author Katee Robert’s A Deal with a Demon monster romance series. It features a grumpy-sunshine romance between a human and a kraken.
BOOK REVIEW
The Kraken’s Sacrifice is the second book in New York Times bestselling author Katee Robert’s A Deal with a Demon series. The first book in the series, The Dragon’s Bride, was one of my favorite reads last year so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations for it.
Now, to be fair, I had to stop reading this one shortly after it released due to the loss of my brother and I couldn’t bring myself to pick it—or any book—up for months. So, I had a bit of a gap from when I started this book to when I finished it. But I remembered what happened in this one and so picking it back up and reading it from where I left it wasn’t the problem.
The problem, for me personally, was the characterization of Thane, our Kraken hero that didn’t feel much like a hero. In fact, he was pretty much the opposite of a hero for like three-fourth of the book. He was cold, distant, and he made the worst choices for Catalina, a woman he was charged with protecting and causing no harm to come to for the seven years of her stay with him.
Yet she was harmed, albeit indirectly, by his negligence and his lack of forethought. Oh, he made sure to take care of her physical needs, but if he stopped to notice someone other than himself, he would realize just how lost and lonely Catalina felt.
Catalina was a heroine with pretty low self-worth, especially when it came to how those she cared about treated her. She didn’t think she deserved nice things, so she did and said outrageous things. Things that weren’t always in her own best interest. Which, in essence, was essentially a disillusioned young woman crying out for help and no one really hearing her.
Now, that’s not to say the book wasn’t well-written or that the characters weren’t interesting to read. Because they were. But Thane was truly flawed, both riddled with grief and afraid to live life. This made him the cold, distant hero he became. So, while I get it, I also feel like he was a little too harsh for me and Catalina was a little too tolerant in terms of how others treated her. She just accepted that she would be mistreated, or that she somehow deserved the mistreatment, and when you combine who she was with who Thane was, it made for a bit of a toxic relationship. For well over half the book.
Did things get better with Thane and Catalina? They did. And I liked how the author wrapped things up with them. But there were still problems in the story that I didn’t like. Enough of them that I don’t think this book was for me, though it wasn’t a bad read. At all. Just not my cup of tea at the moment. I have to say, though, that not enjoying this book won’t stop me from reading the next book in this series because on a whole, I do enjoy this author’s work and her out-of-the-norm characters.
THIS BOOK CONTAINS TRIGGERS SO BE AWARE AND READ THE AUTHOR’S CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS STORY.
BOOK INFORMATION
The Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert Series: A Deal with a Demon #2
Published by Trinkets and Tales on October 11, 2022
Genres: Monster Romance
Pages: 180
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon Purchase
Buy: Amazon | Goodreads
RATING:
Also in this series: The Dragon's Bride
Catalina only made her deal with the demon because she had nowhere else to go. The world has kicked her every chance it got, so she’s all too happy to leave the realm she knows behind. What’s the worst that could happen?
She doesn’t anticipate being auctioned away to a kraken.
Thane is cold and distant…but he’s not unkind. Isolated as they are, Catalina finds herself seeking his company again and again. And when she finally agrees to uphold her portion of the bargain?
That’s when things get really interesting.
But she only gave the demon seven years, and when the time is up, she’ll have no choice but to leave behind the kraken who’s stolen her heart and return to the world that doesn’t want her.
Author’s Note: For all tropes, tags, and CWs, please check the author’s website.
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