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Goddess of Pain
The first man blew up my car.
The second shot at me on my morning run.
The third man cornered me after work.
And the fourth? He just watches me from the shadows.
On the night of the blood moon, I get my memories restored and learn that I'm not human - I'm the Goddess of Pain.
And the men who tried to kill me? They just might be the loves of my immortal life.
What's an "I love you" compared to an assassination attempt?
Someone paid these men to kill me, and if I don't find out who this person is, I'll lose everything and everyone I ever loved.
But they underestimated me.
I don't just endure pain - I make it. And the people who tried to hurt my family?
They'll suffer for what they've done.
This is a paranormal reverse harem romance stand-alone and part of the shared Blood Moon Rising world. This book contains psychotic alpha males who will do anything for their woman. It also contains strong language, violence, and sexual situations. Reader's discretion is advised. Be prepared to meet a take-no-prisoners Goddess and her killer men.
The second shot at me on my morning run.
The third man cornered me after work.
And the fourth? He just watches me from the shadows.
On the night of the blood moon, I get my memories restored and learn that I'm not human - I'm the Goddess of Pain.
And the men who tried to kill me? They just might be the loves of my immortal life.
What's an "I love you" compared to an assassination attempt?
Someone paid these men to kill me, and if I don't find out who this person is, I'll lose everything and everyone I ever loved.
But they underestimated me.
I don't just endure pain - I make it. And the people who tried to hurt my family?
They'll suffer for what they've done.
This is a paranormal reverse harem romance stand-alone and part of the shared Blood Moon Rising world. This book contains psychotic alpha males who will do anything for their woman. It also contains strong language, violence, and sexual situations. Reader's discretion is advised. Be prepared to meet a take-no-prisoners Goddess and her killer men.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2020
920 people are currently reading
563 people want to read
About the author
Katie May
99 books2,622 followersKatie May is a romance writer of numerous genres! She writes everything from horror to fantasy to contemporary. #whychoose
She has a gorgeous tabby cat who she adores, and she’s obsessed with coffee and horror movies.
She has a gorgeous tabby cat who she adores, and she’s obsessed with coffee and horror movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
October 13, 2023
Not enough focus on the main storyline.
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚❤️
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗
World building: 🌏🌍🌏
Character development: ☺️🙃😳
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The heroine: Emily - she grew up in a male dominated household and learned how to fight at an early age. She could both throw and take a punch like any man; she is also a black belt who is trained in hand-to-hand combat. So, when she is out one night and is followed on the street, she is not too worried. Emily is an english major with an emphasis on journalism and lives with Avery, her older brother’s best friend, and now hers. She makes it home but doesn’t mention her stalker. She takes a bath and ruminates on all the deaths that have happened in her life, that all happened to people that treated her bad and all happened on the day after each person did something to her.
The Story: Emily has a stalker, then a few nights later when she is about to get into her car, she spots a bomb and sees a man standing a little bit away about to press a button. She barely escapes and sees the man nod at her before walking away. The next day on her run, someone shoots a gun at her in the middle of nowhere. Days later when she is leaving work late at night, someone in a ski mask attacks her. That night she has a dream and her memories return; she remembers she is the Goddess of Pain and has five mates and lived in a kingdom in the realm of the gods.
The Heroes: Avery - has blond hair and is the golden God of Death. He protects the Goddess of Pain.
Arsin - he is the God of Flames and is pure fire. He is a bit insane, has messy blond hair and is cunning.
Desmond - he is the God of Combat, and he moves like an agile sexy dancer.
Tate - he has a silver tongue and a witty sense of humor, and he is the God of Deception.
Helio - He has pitch black hair, a scruffy beard and is the biggest of the men. He is also the God of Karma. He enacts vengeance when darkness overtakes the light.
Things don’t go quite as well as you would think once Emily remembers her men. She wakes up with Helio in her room and he doesn’t remember her but has taken a job to kill her. Though he couldn’t go through with it, he wanted to protect her instead. He is the best assassin in the US and can’t figure out why he won’t kill her. Each of her men are in a similar situation. It is up to them to figure out what happened to them and who was responsible.
The story was different, there was a lot of steamy intimate scenes (too many) so the focus definitely was not on the story about finding out why they were sent to the Earthen Realm enough form my tastes. I am not sure I liked the whole amnesia/born again plot, but it did keep my attention. I did like the fact that Emily has a nemesis, called Athena (not the greek goddess), but the actual Goddess of virtue, which is an ironic title, since she isn’t virtuous at all.
There was a best friend Rebecca, and on Earth Emily has three brothers that appear quite often. I liked the characters but there was just too much hanky panky going on in this one for my tastes. It was like every other scene for a while there. Also, there were flashbacks to when they were in the Godly Realm so it was sometimes hard to tell if a scene was in the past or the present.
This audiobook was told in multiple points of view via dual narration. It was narrated by Connor Crais and Vanessa Edwin. Connor Crais has a nice deep voice, which I really enjoy, and he is an experienced narrator and after this is one of my new favorite narrators. Vanessa Edwin has a very soft, feminine voice and she is terrific, showing emotions through her voice.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚❤️
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗
World building: 🌏🌍🌏
Character development: ☺️🙃😳
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The heroine: Emily - she grew up in a male dominated household and learned how to fight at an early age. She could both throw and take a punch like any man; she is also a black belt who is trained in hand-to-hand combat. So, when she is out one night and is followed on the street, she is not too worried. Emily is an english major with an emphasis on journalism and lives with Avery, her older brother’s best friend, and now hers. She makes it home but doesn’t mention her stalker. She takes a bath and ruminates on all the deaths that have happened in her life, that all happened to people that treated her bad and all happened on the day after each person did something to her.
The Story: Emily has a stalker, then a few nights later when she is about to get into her car, she spots a bomb and sees a man standing a little bit away about to press a button. She barely escapes and sees the man nod at her before walking away. The next day on her run, someone shoots a gun at her in the middle of nowhere. Days later when she is leaving work late at night, someone in a ski mask attacks her. That night she has a dream and her memories return; she remembers she is the Goddess of Pain and has five mates and lived in a kingdom in the realm of the gods.
The Heroes: Avery - has blond hair and is the golden God of Death. He protects the Goddess of Pain.
Arsin - he is the God of Flames and is pure fire. He is a bit insane, has messy blond hair and is cunning.
Desmond - he is the God of Combat, and he moves like an agile sexy dancer.
Tate - he has a silver tongue and a witty sense of humor, and he is the God of Deception.
Helio - He has pitch black hair, a scruffy beard and is the biggest of the men. He is also the God of Karma. He enacts vengeance when darkness overtakes the light.
Things don’t go quite as well as you would think once Emily remembers her men. She wakes up with Helio in her room and he doesn’t remember her but has taken a job to kill her. Though he couldn’t go through with it, he wanted to protect her instead. He is the best assassin in the US and can’t figure out why he won’t kill her. Each of her men are in a similar situation. It is up to them to figure out what happened to them and who was responsible.
The story was different, there was a lot of steamy intimate scenes (too many) so the focus definitely was not on the story about finding out why they were sent to the Earthen Realm enough form my tastes. I am not sure I liked the whole amnesia/born again plot, but it did keep my attention. I did like the fact that Emily has a nemesis, called Athena (not the greek goddess), but the actual Goddess of virtue, which is an ironic title, since she isn’t virtuous at all.
There was a best friend Rebecca, and on Earth Emily has three brothers that appear quite often. I liked the characters but there was just too much hanky panky going on in this one for my tastes. It was like every other scene for a while there. Also, there were flashbacks to when they were in the Godly Realm so it was sometimes hard to tell if a scene was in the past or the present.
This audiobook was told in multiple points of view via dual narration. It was narrated by Connor Crais and Vanessa Edwin. Connor Crais has a nice deep voice, which I really enjoy, and he is an experienced narrator and after this is one of my new favorite narrators. Vanessa Edwin has a very soft, feminine voice and she is terrific, showing emotions through her voice.
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September 18, 2020
This was an ok read. The premise was nice but the execution is were it went messy. I also don't like when the harem is already formed by the time I am reading the book, I prefer to see them happening in real time and though we had flashbacks of the initial meetings , it was not satisfying enough.
The villain was boring, I expected something more and that further played a part in my rating.
The villain was boring, I expected something more and that further played a part in my rating.
August 31, 2020
I’m not gonna lie, I’m obsessed with this author. It’s like she went in my brain took all of my favorite things and threw them into every book. Emily is a badass heroine Goddess, the Goddess of Pain to be exact. What does that mean exactly?! Well Emily is not afraid to dole out pain and revel in it. In fact even her own pain only fuels her power more. Throw in some badass God mates and one in particular with a few screws loose (sue me, I like the crazy ones) and you’re in for one hell of a ride 😏 What really gave me life though was the epilogue. It was just E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G and I’m so happy with the insight into their lives a bit into the future. Given that they’re immortal and don’t age, perhaps KM can be convinced to give us more of these characters in the future, I’m not against begging.
October 29, 2021
3 Stars
Well, I’m still not sure if I liked it or didn’t. So 3 stars it is. The ending was cute. It was wholesome, and I approved.
Endings always make me weak. They normally make me change my rating of the whole freaking book, just because of a few cute pages. But today I didn’t let that happen jeje. Today I became a lil more stronger towards that regard juju.
Honestly, in my opinion, this book didn’t have much of a story. It was just a bunch of smut. You know I love smut, I believe most of the population does, but I also like balance.
It hurts me to say it, but this book had too much smut. Like, I didn’t see any relationship building. The author was like "oh they’re together. Thas it". Like what? We get little back story, and because of this (in my humble opinion) I didn’t truly feel a connection between Emily and her harem.
Also, the smut wasn’t even that good. It’s not like it was so freaking amazing for me to want to read it every. single. page. It wasn’t freaking amazing. Honestly it was kinda average.
I also felt Helio and Arsin were being thrown to the side. Kinda like ignored. The worst thing is they were two of my faves in the harem, but wtv. I got over it.
Now, why didn’t I hate this? Well, it made me laugh and Arsin. This book was pretty funny sometimes, and the character of Arsin was gold. That crazy ass fudger was pretty amazing.
It was not bad, but it was not good. It was a quick read tho. If you wan't to read welp, go ahead! Bye bye! *Jazz fingers*
Well, I’m still not sure if I liked it or didn’t. So 3 stars it is. The ending was cute. It was wholesome, and I approved.
Endings always make me weak. They normally make me change my rating of the whole freaking book, just because of a few cute pages. But today I didn’t let that happen jeje. Today I became a lil more stronger towards that regard juju.
Honestly, in my opinion, this book didn’t have much of a story. It was just a bunch of smut. You know I love smut, I believe most of the population does, but I also like balance.
It hurts me to say it, but this book had too much smut. Like, I didn’t see any relationship building. The author was like "oh they’re together. Thas it". Like what? We get little back story, and because of this (in my humble opinion) I didn’t truly feel a connection between Emily and her harem.
Also, the smut wasn’t even that good. It’s not like it was so freaking amazing for me to want to read it every. single. page. It wasn’t freaking amazing. Honestly it was kinda average.
I also felt Helio and Arsin were being thrown to the side. Kinda like ignored. The worst thing is they were two of my faves in the harem, but wtv. I got over it.
Now, why didn’t I hate this? Well, it made me laugh and Arsin. This book was pretty funny sometimes, and the character of Arsin was gold. That crazy ass fudger was pretty amazing.
It was not bad, but it was not good. It was a quick read tho. If you wan't to read welp, go ahead! Bye bye! *Jazz fingers*
September 1, 2020
Without knowing what this book was going to give me.. I didn't hesitate to dive into this once someone asked to do a BR of it. It's not like I was bored and didn't have any BR's to dive into.. because I did and I'm a little sad at myself for going rogue/ghosting them. Eh, there's always next month - right?
Goddess of Pain was surprisingly pretty good. Definitely flew through it and I wouldn't be upset if I happen to dive into another one of Katie's books. In it, you will meet Emily and she is pretty much a badass. Especially once she realizes that she is the Goddess of Pain. Along the way her memories come back and she realizes that she has some mates out in the world.
They, of course, go through the same memory movie and find their way to her. It also doesn't hurt that they were all randomly hired to murder her either. However, nothing happens once they realize who is who.
Other than that, the romance was on fire and I loved it all. The little twists and turns were pretty good and had me guessing on who was behind everything. Then there's the adorable epilogue - ugh, I just loved it.
Goddess of Pain was surprisingly pretty good. Definitely flew through it and I wouldn't be upset if I happen to dive into another one of Katie's books. In it, you will meet Emily and she is pretty much a badass. Especially once she realizes that she is the Goddess of Pain. Along the way her memories come back and she realizes that she has some mates out in the world.
They, of course, go through the same memory movie and find their way to her. It also doesn't hurt that they were all randomly hired to murder her either. However, nothing happens once they realize who is who.
Other than that, the romance was on fire and I loved it all. The little twists and turns were pretty good and had me guessing on who was behind everything. Then there's the adorable epilogue - ugh, I just loved it.
August 28, 2020
Meh. I really wanted to like it but it was kind of boring.
August 31, 2020
Well some parts of this was 4 or 5 stars but i had to give it a 3 because in the beginning I was so lost and it wasn't until around the 75% that I really knew what was going on. I liked the guys they were all crazy and fun and there was some great humor in it but at some parts they were too crazy. The ideas were good but not messed together too well. I think we needed more building of the world and the characters.
July 21, 2024
I just loved this one. It was so much fun to read and funny.
January 13, 2021
It had everything I love.
There are so many mixed reviews, I almost DNF'ed this book. The first two chapters started out slow and didn't inspire me to keep reading. I'm not very patient. And besides, that's the blessing of KU - you don't have to commit. But one particular review convinced me to keep reading. I'll put the link here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It's tricky to say too much without spoiling all the good bits. I usually spoil these types of plots for myself because I hate reading something that could include cheating, pointlessly long separations and frustrating miscommunications. But once I found out that everyone had been faithful and that our heroine was not the only one who didn't know what was happening, I dove in head first. I loath when the heroes know everything and only the heroine is left in the dark. Not cool.
I was also looking for a RH with a strong heroine. And at first, I was afraid Emily would be a sensible, good girl who was afraid to go after the man she loves. THAT's when I went back to check out reviews and see if this was worth reading. Turns out, her memories being erased and having a fake life implanted has a lot to do with it. Emily is very strong and powerful as both a human and otherwise. She defends herself and figures out how to get her men without cowering or bending to anyone.
All the men have their own personalities. Believe me, in RH, that's hard to truly find. They're not just physically different either. They're crazy, psychotic, lovable as*holes. I'm shocked this author convinced me to love even the extreme alphahole of the group. In fact, there must be something wrong with me because I typically HATE this character.
Another special thing about this RH is that it's not a harmonious, picture-perfect harem. They argue and bicker with each other. They fight and get jealous of each other, and I found this super interesting and hilarious. This group is not watching Disney+ on the weekends and cuddling on the couch. Instead, they're pulling pranks on each other, beating each other up and killing people who even glance at their woman. It's different and it adds humor to a genre like this.
It's not for everyone, but it certainly worked out for me.
No virgins
Slight and complicated separation
Nobody with anyone else after meeting
There are so many mixed reviews, I almost DNF'ed this book. The first two chapters started out slow and didn't inspire me to keep reading. I'm not very patient. And besides, that's the blessing of KU - you don't have to commit. But one particular review convinced me to keep reading. I'll put the link here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It's tricky to say too much without spoiling all the good bits. I usually spoil these types of plots for myself because I hate reading something that could include cheating, pointlessly long separations and frustrating miscommunications. But once I found out that everyone had been faithful and that our heroine was not the only one who didn't know what was happening, I dove in head first. I loath when the heroes know everything and only the heroine is left in the dark. Not cool.
I was also looking for a RH with a strong heroine. And at first, I was afraid Emily would be a sensible, good girl who was afraid to go after the man she loves. THAT's when I went back to check out reviews and see if this was worth reading. Turns out, her memories being erased and having a fake life implanted has a lot to do with it. Emily is very strong and powerful as both a human and otherwise. She defends herself and figures out how to get her men without cowering or bending to anyone.
All the men have their own personalities. Believe me, in RH, that's hard to truly find. They're not just physically different either. They're crazy, psychotic, lovable as*holes. I'm shocked this author convinced me to love even the extreme alphahole of the group. In fact, there must be something wrong with me because I typically HATE this character.
Another special thing about this RH is that it's not a harmonious, picture-perfect harem. They argue and bicker with each other. They fight and get jealous of each other, and I found this super interesting and hilarious. This group is not watching Disney+ on the weekends and cuddling on the couch. Instead, they're pulling pranks on each other, beating each other up and killing people who even glance at their woman. It's different and it adds humor to a genre like this.
It's not for everyone, but it certainly worked out for me.
No virgins
Slight and complicated separation
Nobody with anyone else after meeting
June 29, 2024
I swear Katie May never misses!! I’ve missed her writing so much. This is the perfect stand-alone if you love Katie May but don’t want to start one of her incomplete series. As always, this book will have you laughing and have the best spicy scenes. I only wish there were more books because I did not want to stop reading about them.
Of course, this is a paranormal RH/why choose. In this book, there are five men. Desmond–God of Combat, Helio–God of Karma, Avery–God of death,Tate–God of Deception and Arsin–God of Flames. Then there’s our fmc, Emily–Goddess of pain.
This plot was so cool, Emily survives three assassination attempts from her car blowing up, getting shot at, and attacked after work. On the day of the blood moon, she gets her memories restored and figures out the men who tried to kill her and her stalker are her mates. Now, she has to remember how she got to the human realm and who erased her memories.
Favorite quotes/scenes:
“I’m a nightmare embodied, and Emily Lopez is an unattainable daydream.”
“Why does everyone think I’ll hurt her? You blow up her car once, and that’s suddenly all people can focus on.”
“You…You’re the one who blew up her car?”
“Yes, we’ve been over this already. Let bygones be bygones. I rubbed one out in front of her, so I think we’re good now.”
Eyes glinting wickedly, he begins to wave the spoon in front of Avery’s shocked face.
“Rememberrrrrr.”
What the fuck are you doing, Sin?”
“Hypnotism. Now, shush. The magician is working.”
“Me? I’ve loved Emily forever, before I even understood what love truly was.”
“How long have you been watching us?”
Two months. Three weeks. Four days. Thirteen hours. Forty-six minutes. Five seconds. But who’s counting?
“Avery’s just committing some murder.”
“Oh that’s nice… Wait what?!”
“You asswipe! Why did you have to say the m-word?”
“Mongolia?”
“Tate and I… we’ll never be perfect. We’ll never have a fairy tale love that you read about in books and see on television. But that’s okay. I know it is. Our relationship is as unique as our story—a clashing of two entirely separate beings that have somehow found each other. Found each other and never let go.”
“A love like ours can’t die, even with all of our memories wiped. Even in an entirely separate universe. We’ll always be the moon and the stars—the two things that appear almost every night. Monsters like us thrive in the darkness, but our combined lights are able to illuminate something beautiful, something ethereal, something distinctly ours.”
“Emily Lopez, Goddess of Pain, was made for me, there is no doubt about it. And I was made for her, eccentricities and all.”
“He stares at me as if I’m the only thing that exists in the universe. As if I’m the sun that rises every morning and the moon that speckles the night sky in brilliant gold light.”
Of course, this is a paranormal RH/why choose. In this book, there are five men. Desmond–God of Combat, Helio–God of Karma, Avery–God of death,Tate–God of Deception and Arsin–God of Flames. Then there’s our fmc, Emily–Goddess of pain.
This plot was so cool, Emily survives three assassination attempts from her car blowing up, getting shot at, and attacked after work. On the day of the blood moon, she gets her memories restored and figures out the men who tried to kill her and her stalker are her mates. Now, she has to remember how she got to the human realm and who erased her memories.
Favorite quotes/scenes:
“I’m a nightmare embodied, and Emily Lopez is an unattainable daydream.”
“Why does everyone think I’ll hurt her? You blow up her car once, and that’s suddenly all people can focus on.”
“You…You’re the one who blew up her car?”
“Yes, we’ve been over this already. Let bygones be bygones. I rubbed one out in front of her, so I think we’re good now.”
Eyes glinting wickedly, he begins to wave the spoon in front of Avery’s shocked face.
“Rememberrrrrr.”
What the fuck are you doing, Sin?”
“Hypnotism. Now, shush. The magician is working.”
“Me? I’ve loved Emily forever, before I even understood what love truly was.”
“How long have you been watching us?”
Two months. Three weeks. Four days. Thirteen hours. Forty-six minutes. Five seconds. But who’s counting?
“Avery’s just committing some murder.”
“Oh that’s nice… Wait what?!”
“You asswipe! Why did you have to say the m-word?”
“Mongolia?”
“Tate and I… we’ll never be perfect. We’ll never have a fairy tale love that you read about in books and see on television. But that’s okay. I know it is. Our relationship is as unique as our story—a clashing of two entirely separate beings that have somehow found each other. Found each other and never let go.”
“A love like ours can’t die, even with all of our memories wiped. Even in an entirely separate universe. We’ll always be the moon and the stars—the two things that appear almost every night. Monsters like us thrive in the darkness, but our combined lights are able to illuminate something beautiful, something ethereal, something distinctly ours.”
“Emily Lopez, Goddess of Pain, was made for me, there is no doubt about it. And I was made for her, eccentricities and all.”
“He stares at me as if I’m the only thing that exists in the universe. As if I’m the sun that rises every morning and the moon that speckles the night sky in brilliant gold light.”
September 4, 2020
Normally I don't like when authors stray from a project I'm obsessed about, to release new and different books. Yeah, my inner curiosity is such a bitch!. So I'll be the first one to say I wasn't exactly doing a happy dance, when Katie May announced that this book was coming. This changed when I read the blurb, and even more so as I finished the book. The lack of impression is now a thing of the past, as I was once again blown away by one of Ms. May's books!
Goddess of Pain is a deliciously wicked, dark, and hilarious read. The pace is perfectly set, and nothing ever seems to drag. The characters are amazing and while I might love some slightly more than others, they're all needed to keep the balance.
Goddess of Pain is a deliciously wicked, dark, and hilarious read. The pace is perfectly set, and nothing ever seems to drag. The characters are amazing and while I might love some slightly more than others, they're all needed to keep the balance.
Yeah, my man named his company after me. What has yours done, Karen?
September 11, 2020
Lord have mercy this was garbage.
October 3, 2020
Kindle Unlimited.
I have mixed feelings on this one.
I think the premise was pretty cool - Emily is a college student with a family and after a series of attacks, realizes that she has amnesia, and her whole life is just a series of planted memories.
The goddess of pain is a bit of a monster, so if blood and murder upset you, this isn't for you.
The world building for the realm of the gods is unrepentantly lacking. No one knows where the gods came from. There's no explaining how the human realm and the god realm interact. There's no back story.
I did not like that all of the romantic relationships in this RH were already established, and we only get glimpses of their initial formation through flashbacks. It strips the reader of the chance to experience it fully. I also felt like those flashbacks were cheap. All of the love interests fell in love at first sight. None of the romances were particularly unique or interesting.
I have mixed feelings on this one.
I think the premise was pretty cool - Emily is a college student with a family and after a series of attacks, realizes that she has amnesia, and her whole life is just a series of planted memories.
The goddess of pain is a bit of a monster, so if blood and murder upset you, this isn't for you.
The world building for the realm of the gods is unrepentantly lacking. No one knows where the gods came from. There's no explaining how the human realm and the god realm interact. There's no back story.
I did not like that all of the romantic relationships in this RH were already established, and we only get glimpses of their initial formation through flashbacks. It strips the reader of the chance to experience it fully. I also felt like those flashbacks were cheap. All of the love interests fell in love at first sight. None of the romances were particularly unique or interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2020
Pretty good. Love the crazy start, but kinda felt the sync happened a little too quick maybe? I dunno. It's good. Not my fave Katie book tho.
January 12, 2021
No strong representations of minority identities.
Overall: 4.5/5 stars
I didn’t know what to expect of this book but the premise sounded flat out awesome. I’m not one who enjoys bully romances so I was really hesitant to start a book whose synopsis says the Heroes are psychotic... because in RH that normally is synonymous with a bully-esque romance. However, that was not the case in Goddess of Pain, thankfully!
I really enjoyed how BOTH the Heroine and the Heroes were completely clueless about their forgotten history as Gods. Normally with this kind of plot the Heroes are in the know and the Heroine is completely in the dark and at the mercy of the men (in terms of access to information).
I also really liked how the Heroine had an established relationship with each of her men for centuries before their brief loss of memories. It allowed for the progression of their relationship in the book to be more about dealing with why they are on Earth and how their memories were taken. Also, my first assumption was that they were reincarnated into human bodies. The actual answer is more of a twist than I thought.
My favourite part of the book, though, was how the Heroes have to come to terms that their memory-less selves were trying to kill their mate, one true love, essentially, their wife. The Heroine also had to work through what that meant for each of her relationships with her men. Also, one of the men has been friends with her forever in this alt-world... so he and the Heroine have to talk about why they never took the next step... both seemed to have friend-zones the other which suggested they weren’t desirable to the other. Obviously, both were just scared of rejection and messing up the status quo BUT I loved the dialogue.
My only detractor was that I wanted more time spent with Helio. I didn’t feel like his personality was as fleshed out as it could’ve been—also his characterization is one of my favourites for Heroes which made the lack of focus on him a bummer for me. Think big, scary and strong silent type. But a softy for his girl. That’s Helio.
I will say that for anyone who doesn’t like reading violence or murder or about main characters who are morally grey then you’ll probably not like this book. One of the Heroes IS a serial killer... he’s also the God of Death BUT that doesn’t change what he’s been preoccupying himself with on Earth.
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Overall: 4.5/5 stars
I didn’t know what to expect of this book but the premise sounded flat out awesome. I’m not one who enjoys bully romances so I was really hesitant to start a book whose synopsis says the Heroes are psychotic... because in RH that normally is synonymous with a bully-esque romance. However, that was not the case in Goddess of Pain, thankfully!
I really enjoyed how BOTH the Heroine and the Heroes were completely clueless about their forgotten history as Gods. Normally with this kind of plot the Heroes are in the know and the Heroine is completely in the dark and at the mercy of the men (in terms of access to information).
I also really liked how the Heroine had an established relationship with each of her men for centuries before their brief loss of memories. It allowed for the progression of their relationship in the book to be more about dealing with why they are on Earth and how their memories were taken. Also, my first assumption was that they were reincarnated into human bodies. The actual answer is more of a twist than I thought.
My favourite part of the book, though, was how the Heroes have to come to terms that their memory-less selves were trying to kill their mate, one true love, essentially, their wife. The Heroine also had to work through what that meant for each of her relationships with her men. Also, one of the men has been friends with her forever in this alt-world... so he and the Heroine have to talk about why they never took the next step... both seemed to have friend-zones the other which suggested they weren’t desirable to the other. Obviously, both were just scared of rejection and messing up the status quo BUT I loved the dialogue.
My only detractor was that I wanted more time spent with Helio. I didn’t feel like his personality was as fleshed out as it could’ve been—also his characterization is one of my favourites for Heroes which made the lack of focus on him a bummer for me. Think big, scary and strong silent type. But a softy for his girl. That’s Helio.
I will say that for anyone who doesn’t like reading violence or murder or about main characters who are morally grey then you’ll probably not like this book. One of the Heroes IS a serial killer... he’s also the God of Death BUT that doesn’t change what he’s been preoccupying himself with on Earth.
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December 25, 2021~DNF at around 25%
Let me start by saying that it's currently 12:11am on Christmas Day and I felt SO moved by this horrendous book, that I felt the need to open my laptop up and write this review. This book was an absolute shit show (and that's putting it nicely). Now I know Katie May's writing is not exactly everyone's cup of tea, but for the most part I usually enjoy her stories, so imagine my surprise when started reading Goddess of Pain. I was so so so excited for this one because I thought the plot sounded rather promising, nothing I haven't read before, but still promising! I think my main issue with this book was that the writing was just all over the place??? I mean nothing really made any sense??? Imagine picking up a random book, turning to page 230, and just starting to read. That's what reading this book felt like. I spent 85% of my time trying to figure of what the hell was going on (and don't even get me started on the random POV changes throughout the story). Someone in another review mentioned that the harem had already been formed prior to the start of the story, and honestly that should've been the biggest red flag that this book would end up being a trainwreck😐.
As always,
Happy Reading❤️
🌟Book reviews courtesy of thegirlandthewardrobe.tumblr.com🌟
Let me start by saying that it's currently 12:11am on Christmas Day and I felt SO moved by this horrendous book, that I felt the need to open my laptop up and write this review. This book was an absolute shit show (and that's putting it nicely). Now I know Katie May's writing is not exactly everyone's cup of tea, but for the most part I usually enjoy her stories, so imagine my surprise when started reading Goddess of Pain. I was so so so excited for this one because I thought the plot sounded rather promising, nothing I haven't read before, but still promising! I think my main issue with this book was that the writing was just all over the place??? I mean nothing really made any sense??? Imagine picking up a random book, turning to page 230, and just starting to read. That's what reading this book felt like. I spent 85% of my time trying to figure of what the hell was going on (and don't even get me started on the random POV changes throughout the story). Someone in another review mentioned that the harem had already been formed prior to the start of the story, and honestly that should've been the biggest red flag that this book would end up being a trainwreck😐.
As always,
Happy Reading❤️
🌟Book reviews courtesy of thegirlandthewardrobe.tumblr.com🌟
December 6, 2020
Didn’t like it
Being totally honest... this was bad, but I read the bad reviews and knew what I was getting into it, so in the end I did this to myself.
The writing didn’t suck, but it was uninspired, I mean, the grammar was okay so it was technically acceptable, but nothing out of the ordinary; my main problem was with the world building, it was laughable, the author put absolutely no thought to it, it’s clear to me that she just wanted to write a RH romance between a group of psychos, and decided that the only acceptable way for them to be the way they were was by making them supernaturals, in this case she made them “gods” but couldn’t be bothered with world building: this “Gods” have very current human names—even though they have been alive for centuries—they live in a medieval realm were they have some modern amenities, except for technology. In the end it was a mishmash that made for an eye rolling experience.
I’d call this lazy, the author put more time into telling than showing, didn’t even bother with a plot, and in the end nothing was good enough: the sex was boring and predictable, the romance didn’t feel real, the plot was thin, and the world building nonexistent.
I don’t recommend it at all.
Being totally honest... this was bad, but I read the bad reviews and knew what I was getting into it, so in the end I did this to myself.
The writing didn’t suck, but it was uninspired, I mean, the grammar was okay so it was technically acceptable, but nothing out of the ordinary; my main problem was with the world building, it was laughable, the author put absolutely no thought to it, it’s clear to me that she just wanted to write a RH romance between a group of psychos, and decided that the only acceptable way for them to be the way they were was by making them supernaturals, in this case she made them “gods” but couldn’t be bothered with world building: this “Gods” have very current human names—even though they have been alive for centuries—they live in a medieval realm were they have some modern amenities, except for technology. In the end it was a mishmash that made for an eye rolling experience.
I’d call this lazy, the author put more time into telling than showing, didn’t even bother with a plot, and in the end nothing was good enough: the sex was boring and predictable, the romance didn’t feel real, the plot was thin, and the world building nonexistent.
I don’t recommend it at all.
April 13, 2022
I am on a roll. These past few days I've gotten so lucky to read such amazing novels. This one is no exception.
An interesting take on Gods and Goddesses. And the plot twist was amazing. I had suspected Rebecca being Emily's brothers girlfriend since the beginning btw.
I loved the way the memories came back and how the men and Emily were connected on Earth. Reading about them getting their memories back and meeting was spectacular. 🥰
My favourite was Arsin. He's absolutely crazy and hilarious. I love them all actually. The relationship development was fantastic and the spice absolutely hot af 🔥🥵
"Desmond as your best friend and confidant. Helio as your protector. Avery as the one you can turn to when you need comfort. Hell, even Sin is able to make you laugh, and that fiery bastard protects you with everything inside of him. What can I offer you? What can I give you?” Fuck, I love you Tate. I thought you knew that. You’re the person I can always count on to tell me the truth, no matter how much it hurts." This scene was so heart touching and describes the guys perfectly. 😍
Katie May is spectacular at writing RH books and I'm so glad I read this one too along with Charming Devils. 🦋
An interesting take on Gods and Goddesses. And the plot twist was amazing. I had suspected Rebecca being Emily's brothers girlfriend since the beginning btw.
I loved the way the memories came back and how the men and Emily were connected on Earth. Reading about them getting their memories back and meeting was spectacular. 🥰
My favourite was Arsin. He's absolutely crazy and hilarious. I love them all actually. The relationship development was fantastic and the spice absolutely hot af 🔥🥵
"Desmond as your best friend and confidant. Helio as your protector. Avery as the one you can turn to when you need comfort. Hell, even Sin is able to make you laugh, and that fiery bastard protects you with everything inside of him. What can I offer you? What can I give you?” Fuck, I love you Tate. I thought you knew that. You’re the person I can always count on to tell me the truth, no matter how much it hurts." This scene was so heart touching and describes the guys perfectly. 😍
Katie May is spectacular at writing RH books and I'm so glad I read this one too along with Charming Devils. 🦋
March 24, 2022
I enjoyed this but not as much as other Katie May books I read. Out of the guys, Arsin is definitely the easiest to like. A little crazy and fun. The others are kinda meh. Helio is grunty, Tate is angry, Avery is smiley, Desmond is smiley and laughy. I didn't feel like they had as much personality as other books by Katie May.
It was an interesting plot line that I don't believe I've seen before so it was refreshing.
There wasn't really any relationship development or character development except maybe Tate? Those are two big things for me in a romance book of any kind. Being a standalone doesn't give it a lot of time to do so though and I think since they already had a past with each other, it took away some of the best parts of the book. I would've loved to see a book with them way back when when they all first meet.
I laughed a handful of times and it's 100% because of Arsin. He's reason enough to want to read this.
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood or something but I felt like I wanted to rush through this book. If it wasn't Katie May, I probably would've DNF'd sadly but I am glad I stuck through it.
It was an interesting plot line that I don't believe I've seen before so it was refreshing.
There wasn't really any relationship development or character development except maybe Tate? Those are two big things for me in a romance book of any kind. Being a standalone doesn't give it a lot of time to do so though and I think since they already had a past with each other, it took away some of the best parts of the book. I would've loved to see a book with them way back when when they all first meet.
I laughed a handful of times and it's 100% because of Arsin. He's reason enough to want to read this.
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood or something but I felt like I wanted to rush through this book. If it wasn't Katie May, I probably would've DNF'd sadly but I am glad I stuck through it.
August 28, 2020
Couldn't put it down, really.
Emily seems to be your average girl, going to university, working in a bar, and living with her best friend, Avery, in an apartment... But Avery is more than that, and the thing is, she doesn't know it yet. A series of events lead her to believe that someone (or someones) is after her and wants her dead.
And then, she remembers exactly who she is.
I absolutely loved Emily's story, she's just so freaking badass. And her men are everything. Especially Arsin, and Tate. These two were my favorite, completely insane!
I enjoyed the flashbacks, and the guys' POVs were my favorite. We could see how in love and obsessed they are Ith Emily, she's their whole world and would do anything for her.
And that epilogue... I half wished they didn't have kids yet> so we could have more of their story but I have to say that this was an adorable ending!
This is a book that I will definitely read again and again!
Emily seems to be your average girl, going to university, working in a bar, and living with her best friend, Avery, in an apartment... But Avery is more than that, and the thing is, she doesn't know it yet. A series of events lead her to believe that someone (or someones) is after her and wants her dead.
And then, she remembers exactly who she is.
I absolutely loved Emily's story, she's just so freaking badass. And her men are everything. Especially Arsin, and Tate. These two were my favorite, completely insane!
I enjoyed the flashbacks, and the guys' POVs were my favorite. We could see how in love and obsessed they are Ith Emily, she's their whole world and would do anything for her.
And that epilogue... I half wished they didn't have kids yet> so we could have more of their story but I have to say that this was an adorable ending!
This is a book that I will definitely read again and again!
May 31, 2021
Just sort of fine.
If you want a bunch of psychos with a lot of hot sex and no m/m you’ll probably like this book.
It had a lot of potential but ultimately was meh. The world building was non existent, their attraction made no sense, their relationships were super disjointed and I expected them to work through this by the end but they didn’t. There was no real relationship building, there was no reason for them to like each other or for us to care about any of them. We see no interactions with the ultimate bad guy or the best friend so we had no reason to care about any of that. The plot was thin and almost non existent. The things that were written in would wildly change based on what the author needed it to do so their powers were all over the place, particularly the fl.
Ultimately, if you are just reading for psycho smut and don’t care about any of the rest of it you’ll be fine.
If you want a bunch of psychos with a lot of hot sex and no m/m you’ll probably like this book.
It had a lot of potential but ultimately was meh. The world building was non existent, their attraction made no sense, their relationships were super disjointed and I expected them to work through this by the end but they didn’t. There was no real relationship building, there was no reason for them to like each other or for us to care about any of them. We see no interactions with the ultimate bad guy or the best friend so we had no reason to care about any of that. The plot was thin and almost non existent. The things that were written in would wildly change based on what the author needed it to do so their powers were all over the place, particularly the fl.
Ultimately, if you are just reading for psycho smut and don’t care about any of the rest of it you’ll be fine.
July 3, 2024
3.2⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
This wasn't a FANTASY romance novel it was romance fantasy ( not much emphasis on fantasy so it will be easy on the brain and it won't feel you're waterboarding yourself👍👍🙂🙂)
This book is hilarious
The characters are unhinged like LITERALLY absolutely psychotic
It needed more orgies (I mean what's the point of rh if not orgies😂😂🤭)
So we're totally ignoring the part where sin keeps burning her skin(not in a temperature play kinda way) literally BURNS like turns BLACK 💀💀💀 and she's turned on instantly ( are you ok sis🤨👀) I didn't understand this shit but whatever
I didn't like helio honestly he is giving old man vibes idk why , honestly I don't even know why he was there , he has no contribution to the plot , there was barely any attention to him
THE HAREM WAS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED!
Ps I loved sin and how unhinged and hilarious he was , his sense of humour is unparalleled 😭😭
I would defo wanna read a sin x Desmond x avery x tate 👀👀🤭🤭
🌶️🌶️🌶️
This wasn't a FANTASY romance novel it was romance fantasy ( not much emphasis on fantasy so it will be easy on the brain and it won't feel you're waterboarding yourself👍👍🙂🙂)
This book is hilarious
The characters are unhinged like LITERALLY absolutely psychotic
It needed more orgies (I mean what's the point of rh if not orgies😂😂🤭)
So we're totally ignoring the part where sin keeps burning her skin(not in a temperature play kinda way) literally BURNS like turns BLACK 💀💀💀 and she's turned on instantly ( are you ok sis🤨👀) I didn't understand this shit but whatever
I didn't like helio honestly he is giving old man vibes idk why , honestly I don't even know why he was there , he has no contribution to the plot , there was barely any attention to him
THE HAREM WAS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED!
Ps I loved sin and how unhinged and hilarious he was , his sense of humour is unparalleled 😭😭
I would defo wanna read a sin x Desmond x avery x tate 👀👀🤭🤭
March 18, 2021
Standalone rh
This was okay but it's definitely not going on my favorites list. With this author I find I either completely adore her books, to the point that I read them over and over, or I'm kind of apathetic about them. Unfortunately this one falls into the latter group. I missed the falling in love part from most reverse harems. One minute Emily was completely strangers with her guys and the next they have all their memories and are in love. I wanted some back and forth and getting to know each other. The other thing that I didnt love was Tate. I couldn't stand his attitude and all his issues. I honestly wouldn't have missed him if he was cut out of the harem. Otherwise it was an okay standalone. I'd recommend it as an interesting weekend rh, with bonus points for it being a standalone.
This was okay but it's definitely not going on my favorites list. With this author I find I either completely adore her books, to the point that I read them over and over, or I'm kind of apathetic about them. Unfortunately this one falls into the latter group. I missed the falling in love part from most reverse harems. One minute Emily was completely strangers with her guys and the next they have all their memories and are in love. I wanted some back and forth and getting to know each other. The other thing that I didnt love was Tate. I couldn't stand his attitude and all his issues. I honestly wouldn't have missed him if he was cut out of the harem. Otherwise it was an okay standalone. I'd recommend it as an interesting weekend rh, with bonus points for it being a standalone.
September 2, 2020
This was so good, I absolutely loved every second of this book. I liked that this focuses on Gods and Goddesses but I'm a completely different way, where they live in their own realm and there's way too many to actually know all of them. I did love Emily and her Gods, Sin I think may be my favorite of the guys only because you never knew what was going to happen next with him but that doesn't mean I didn't like the rest cause I most definitely did. I also liked the plot and how while the bad guy was kind of obvious there was many twists and turns before they were officially revealed and we finally learn why they forced Emily and the Gods to Earth. Overall I did enjoy this book, it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be because it was way better than any of my expectations.
October 12, 2020
Dear Ms. May,
I'd like to start off by saying HOW MUCH I FREAKING ADORED THIS BOOK. I love me some psychotic alpha male anti-heroes. Sin was totally my favorite, but that's just me. All of the men were perfect and murder-y. Emily herself was really awesome because...well, I honestly can't just name one reason because her entire character is amazing. If I had to say one thing, it would be the transition from normal girl to goddess and how she still had some human feelings that she used to grow her relationships. I don't usually write reviews, but I love this book so much. Not too much sex or exposition and just enough humor (thank you Sin).
You're freaking amazing Ms. May. Keep doing you, because obviously, it's working!
Sincerely,
Grace Moore
I'd like to start off by saying HOW MUCH I FREAKING ADORED THIS BOOK. I love me some psychotic alpha male anti-heroes. Sin was totally my favorite, but that's just me. All of the men were perfect and murder-y. Emily herself was really awesome because...well, I honestly can't just name one reason because her entire character is amazing. If I had to say one thing, it would be the transition from normal girl to goddess and how she still had some human feelings that she used to grow her relationships. I don't usually write reviews, but I love this book so much. Not too much sex or exposition and just enough humor (thank you Sin).
You're freaking amazing Ms. May. Keep doing you, because obviously, it's working!
Sincerely,
Grace Moore
April 26, 2021
Eh… It was ok…
It was nothing exciting, but I didn’t hate the experience. The predictability kind of made it boring and the repetitive phrases (He’s a masterpiece, It’s kind of fucked but so am I, blah, blah, blah – we get it) were definitely annoying. I did like the guys and Rebecca though. The MC, Emily, was kind of …eh. I didn’t hate her, but I definitely didn’t like her either. She’s definitely a monster, so some might hate her for that, but she was a predictable monster. She just seemed boring.
If you were looking for an erotica, this is your book. There’s like a sex scene every 10 pages.
If you’re looking for something with substance and a back story, you’re going to be disappointed.
It was nothing exciting, but I didn’t hate the experience. The predictability kind of made it boring and the repetitive phrases (He’s a masterpiece, It’s kind of fucked but so am I, blah, blah, blah – we get it) were definitely annoying. I did like the guys and Rebecca though. The MC, Emily, was kind of …eh. I didn’t hate her, but I definitely didn’t like her either. She’s definitely a monster, so some might hate her for that, but she was a predictable monster. She just seemed boring.
If you were looking for an erotica, this is your book. There’s like a sex scene every 10 pages.
If you’re looking for something with substance and a back story, you’re going to be disappointed.
August 28, 2020
Sin so sweet
Katie May again does perfection. This book had me questioning EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. I kid you not everyone was suspect. The harem includes, 1 old best friend, 1 new best friend who is crazy , a real psycho( Sin is awesome) and a butthead (politely put). Someone us out to hurt Emily and her men. First they lose their memories, then there are assassination attempts, not to mention big brothers. This book is honestly everything. I have read it twice already because I was sure I missed something and had to re-read. Katie is the master of writing men you love to hate, love to love, or you know question your sanity because you love them.
Katie May again does perfection. This book had me questioning EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. I kid you not everyone was suspect. The harem includes, 1 old best friend, 1 new best friend who is crazy , a real psycho( Sin is awesome) and a butthead (politely put). Someone us out to hurt Emily and her men. First they lose their memories, then there are assassination attempts, not to mention big brothers. This book is honestly everything. I have read it twice already because I was sure I missed something and had to re-read. Katie is the master of writing men you love to hate, love to love, or you know question your sanity because you love them.
November 5, 2020
DNF - quit at 25%
The part I read was just bizarre & disjointed, there was no rhyme or reason for things happening, & then when the flash backs started, it got even more weird/crazy. Two of the 3 guys that came into the picture (Arsin & Helio) at the time I quit were no prizes worth reading about, though Avery showed promise. Nothing about this spoke to me or made me care about the characters. I have to be drawn into the story & to like the characters, not be repulsed by them.
At my age (approaching 60), life is way too short & my time is too important to force myself to read a book I'm not enjoying, especially when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read.
The part I read was just bizarre & disjointed, there was no rhyme or reason for things happening, & then when the flash backs started, it got even more weird/crazy. Two of the 3 guys that came into the picture (Arsin & Helio) at the time I quit were no prizes worth reading about, though Avery showed promise. Nothing about this spoke to me or made me care about the characters. I have to be drawn into the story & to like the characters, not be repulsed by them.
At my age (approaching 60), life is way too short & my time is too important to force myself to read a book I'm not enjoying, especially when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read.
September 3, 2020
Another hit for May
Katie May is a 1-click author for me, she never fails to impress me with her story telling, world building, the amount of feels she weaves into her stories, and overall fantastic characters - and this book was no different. However, what was a bit different was this book felt a little darker than most of May’s other work and not quite as much of her signature humor mixed in - though there were still parts that made me giggle. But this book checked many of my favorite boxes - strong FMC with questionable morals, alpha men a little on the murdery and psychotic side, plenty of steam, and the list keeps going. I’ll admit the it took me a few chapters to really get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.
Katie May is a 1-click author for me, she never fails to impress me with her story telling, world building, the amount of feels she weaves into her stories, and overall fantastic characters - and this book was no different. However, what was a bit different was this book felt a little darker than most of May’s other work and not quite as much of her signature humor mixed in - though there were still parts that made me giggle. But this book checked many of my favorite boxes - strong FMC with questionable morals, alpha men a little on the murdery and psychotic side, plenty of steam, and the list keeps going. I’ll admit the it took me a few chapters to really get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.
September 22, 2020
I couldn’t completely get into it.
It started out interesting with multiple someone’s after Emily and a possible serial killer stalker but then all of a sudden the story completely changed and she is in love with her would be killers, she’s a goddess and her life is not real on earth and I don’t know I just couldn’t stay interested after that. It was different but for me it went from like 0 to sex to end and it just didn’t mesh well enough to keep me interested. I ended up skipping through some to find out what happens.
It started out interesting with multiple someone’s after Emily and a possible serial killer stalker but then all of a sudden the story completely changed and she is in love with her would be killers, she’s a goddess and her life is not real on earth and I don’t know I just couldn’t stay interested after that. It was different but for me it went from like 0 to sex to end and it just didn’t mesh well enough to keep me interested. I ended up skipping through some to find out what happens.
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