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A Deal With a Demon #2
The Kraken's Sacrifice
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.
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.
7 pages, Audible Audio
First published October 11, 2022
2203 people are currently reading
12710 people want to read
About the author
Katee Robert
172 books36.5k followersKatee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of spicy romance. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over two million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,175 reviews
October 21, 2022
The Dragon’s Bride was better.
I think this could’ve worked better if it was longer. There was too much of Thane’s grief that needed to be worked through, too much of Catalina’s lack of self-worth and emotional abuse to unpack.
And whilst I did enjoy myself with this story, I can’t say I was fulfilled. I liked them together, but I needed more.
I think this could’ve worked better if it was longer. There was too much of Thane’s grief that needed to be worked through, too much of Catalina’s lack of self-worth and emotional abuse to unpack.
And whilst I did enjoy myself with this story, I can’t say I was fulfilled. I liked them together, but I needed more.
October 18, 2022
I’m deeply disappointed with Katee Robert and this book. I thought she was my safe author, someone I could read no matter the book, and enjoy myself. Turns out, that’s no longer true.
Our main tentacle man, aka Thane, is one of the worst main characters I’ve read this year. Self-absorbed, neglectful, stubborn, cold and distant.
Our main heroine, Catarina, has many issues related to her self-worth. She was abused by her mother and all her partners up to that point, and that’s exactly what she expects. When Thane almost kills her in their first moments together, because he didn’t bother to consider she was human, their contract isn’t activated because Catarina doesn’t consider this to be harmful towards her, just another day in her shitty life.
Overall, I think they were a terrible match together. It made no sense for a survivor of abuse and neglect with self-esteem issues, to be paired up with a neglectful, selfish asshole.
Catarina deserved so much better.
The first half of the book consisted on Thane treating Catarina like shit, over and over, without apology or rectification. While she sat there, expecting to be neglected because that’s what she had experienced all her life, and still falling for him. Like that shit made any sense.
There was no groveling, no real change or atonement from his part. He just decided to “stop resisting” their attraction in the middle of a sex scene and from then on, he started to “take care” of her, if we can call it that. The only changes he does, are feeding her bread instead of just fish, play chess with her, and keep her company. Oh be still my heart 🙄
Also, I’m sorry but the way Krakens live didn’t sound compatible with humans. Damp caves, dark tunnels underwater… yikes.
And to make matters even worse, Katee Robert decided to include an abortion scene after all this festival of neglect. Thane “didn’t think about it,” in line with everything else he didn’t consider when it comes to Caterine’s wellbeing. So she got pregnant but neither of them wanted babies.
I’m a big pro-choice advocate but the way Robert shoehorned her views into this was atrociously done. The vibe of the story up to that point wasn’t right to include this, either. It just made me dislike Thane even more.
I don’t know, y’all. I guess tentacle porn has been ruined for me 😅
Our main tentacle man, aka Thane, is one of the worst main characters I’ve read this year. Self-absorbed, neglectful, stubborn, cold and distant.
Our main heroine, Catarina, has many issues related to her self-worth. She was abused by her mother and all her partners up to that point, and that’s exactly what she expects. When Thane almost kills her in their first moments together, because he didn’t bother to consider she was human, their contract isn’t activated because Catarina doesn’t consider this to be harmful towards her, just another day in her shitty life.
Overall, I think they were a terrible match together. It made no sense for a survivor of abuse and neglect with self-esteem issues, to be paired up with a neglectful, selfish asshole.
Catarina deserved so much better.
The first half of the book consisted on Thane treating Catarina like shit, over and over, without apology or rectification. While she sat there, expecting to be neglected because that’s what she had experienced all her life, and still falling for him. Like that shit made any sense.
There was no groveling, no real change or atonement from his part. He just decided to “stop resisting” their attraction in the middle of a sex scene and from then on, he started to “take care” of her, if we can call it that. The only changes he does, are feeding her bread instead of just fish, play chess with her, and keep her company. Oh be still my heart 🙄
Also, I’m sorry but the way Krakens live didn’t sound compatible with humans. Damp caves, dark tunnels underwater… yikes.
And to make matters even worse, Katee Robert decided to include an abortion scene after all this festival of neglect. Thane “didn’t think about it,” in line with everything else he didn’t consider when it comes to Caterine’s wellbeing. So she got pregnant but neither of them wanted babies.
I’m a big pro-choice advocate but the way Robert shoehorned her views into this was atrociously done. The vibe of the story up to that point wasn’t right to include this, either. It just made me dislike Thane even more.
I don’t know, y’all. I guess tentacle porn has been ruined for me 😅
August 19, 2023
"Catalina, if you don't walk up those stairs right now, I'm going to fuck the brat right out of you."
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice Meter: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
⚠️Trigger Warning: Abuse, Neglect, Abortion, Grief, Mentions of Body Shaming, Overtly Sexual Themes⚠️
❗This review contains some spoilers❗
Well, this just keeps getting better and better. From a dragon with a prehensile tail to a Kraken with a bunch of tentacles with little suckers on them. I'm having the time of my life here!!! This series is delightful!! Starting this, I was a little worried that it would be all too similar to the first book, but thankfully there were different themes in this one. That does not include the whole deal-with-a-demon/auctioned-off-to-monsters plot, which is the main aspect of the series. This one had more to do with parental neglect and verbal abuse, and the trauma that follows into adulthood, affecting all relationships. I did find myself affected by it, which took me by surprise. I even cried a little bit, something I never thought would happen while reading a monster smut book. There is also the theme of loss and grief and the long-term effect it has on a person.
Furthermore, even though the protagonists don't have particularly complex or multidimensional characters, they are still likable and their individual backstories made them a little more substantial with more interesting character arcs. Catalina, the female protagonist, has been completely disregarded by her own parents since she was a child, something that has affected her so deeply she comes off as irritating and unlikeable to most people she meets. She's incredibly insecure, and she allows others to mistreat her believing she's not worthy of anything better. She hides her pain behind a smile that's not really fooling anyone and craves any form of attention even if it diminishes her. However, she is a kind and understanding person that keeps trying to form connections no matter how many times she is hurt in the process. In addition, Thane, the Kraken stud of the story, deals with a different kind of trauma. His husband, and the love of his life, was tragically killed five years before this story takes place, which left him cold, distant, neglectful and, contrary to Catalina, unwilling to form new relationships, especially romantic ones. His behaviour scares people away, similar to how Catalina's behaviour, although he comes off as more aggressive.
Moreover, the relationship between Catalina and Thane had a rocky start. Thane's haughty behaviour and Catalina's clinginess made them a bit of a toxic and dysfuntional pair for the majority of the book. They use each other to satiate their loneliness, Thane more so than Catalina, while also cursing their attraction to each other, which I would have questioned more, if the results hadn't been so damn hot. These two sure have creative ways to use each other, ways that will live in my head rent-free forever. They make interesting use of the tentacles, whether that entails bondage, penetration, or that unconventional gag that I've mentioned in the past (@Jenna this is for you 😜😜), usually at the same time. I have been aware of tentacle hentai for quite some time but I have never found it in a book before, and I've got to say it is quite pleasing, in spite of its strange premises....or I'm just a freak. Probably the latter. Thankfully they resolve their issues and live happily ever after, so it doesn't really matter. 😇😇
Additionally, my favourite non-binary demon makes an appearance once again. While Ramanu's presence is limited in this book, they still pop right out of the page whenever they're there. They are a prominent companion to Catalina, and quite possibly the first person who genuinely cared about and befriended her without an ounce of irritation towards her. There isn't much else to say about them, except that there are more easter eggs in this book hinting at their story, which I am thrilled to read next. Hopefully, it's as entertaining as this one.
So, what's your view on tentacle hentai??
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice Meter: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
⚠️Trigger Warning: Abuse, Neglect, Abortion, Grief, Mentions of Body Shaming, Overtly Sexual Themes⚠️
❗This review contains some spoilers❗
Well, this just keeps getting better and better. From a dragon with a prehensile tail to a Kraken with a bunch of tentacles with little suckers on them. I'm having the time of my life here!!! This series is delightful!! Starting this, I was a little worried that it would be all too similar to the first book, but thankfully there were different themes in this one. That does not include the whole deal-with-a-demon/auctioned-off-to-monsters plot, which is the main aspect of the series. This one had more to do with parental neglect and verbal abuse, and the trauma that follows into adulthood, affecting all relationships. I did find myself affected by it, which took me by surprise. I even cried a little bit, something I never thought would happen while reading a monster smut book. There is also the theme of loss and grief and the long-term effect it has on a person.
Furthermore, even though the protagonists don't have particularly complex or multidimensional characters, they are still likable and their individual backstories made them a little more substantial with more interesting character arcs. Catalina, the female protagonist, has been completely disregarded by her own parents since she was a child, something that has affected her so deeply she comes off as irritating and unlikeable to most people she meets. She's incredibly insecure, and she allows others to mistreat her believing she's not worthy of anything better. She hides her pain behind a smile that's not really fooling anyone and craves any form of attention even if it diminishes her. However, she is a kind and understanding person that keeps trying to form connections no matter how many times she is hurt in the process. In addition, Thane, the Kraken stud of the story, deals with a different kind of trauma. His husband, and the love of his life, was tragically killed five years before this story takes place, which left him cold, distant, neglectful and, contrary to Catalina, unwilling to form new relationships, especially romantic ones. His behaviour scares people away, similar to how Catalina's behaviour, although he comes off as more aggressive.
Moreover, the relationship between Catalina and Thane had a rocky start. Thane's haughty behaviour and Catalina's clinginess made them a bit of a toxic and dysfuntional pair for the majority of the book. They use each other to satiate their loneliness, Thane more so than Catalina, while also cursing their attraction to each other, which I would have questioned more, if the results hadn't been so damn hot. These two sure have creative ways to use each other, ways that will live in my head rent-free forever. They make interesting use of the tentacles, whether that entails bondage, penetration, or that unconventional gag that I've mentioned in the past (@Jenna this is for you 😜😜), usually at the same time. I have been aware of tentacle hentai for quite some time but I have never found it in a book before, and I've got to say it is quite pleasing, in spite of its strange premises....or I'm just a freak. Probably the latter. Thankfully they resolve their issues and live happily ever after, so it doesn't really matter. 😇😇
Additionally, my favourite non-binary demon makes an appearance once again. While Ramanu's presence is limited in this book, they still pop right out of the page whenever they're there. They are a prominent companion to Catalina, and quite possibly the first person who genuinely cared about and befriended her without an ounce of irritation towards her. There isn't much else to say about them, except that there are more easter eggs in this book hinting at their story, which I am thrilled to read next. Hopefully, it's as entertaining as this one.
So, what's your view on tentacle hentai??
October 18, 2022
‼️Some spoilers‼️+ a fuckton of anger + TWs at the end + a link to Valkyrie's review which is excellent and a must read!
For more than half the book we see Thane (no longer kraken daddy, he sure as fuck doesn't deserve that lovely title) being negligent (criminally so) towards Catalina. It was beyond upsetting and pretty fucking triggering to read. Catalina has been through enough. Parental neglect and abuse is no joke. Her outlook on her life and very importantly herself as a result of all that she has been subject to until this point is depressing and destructive as it is. Her self esteem is non-existent thanks to the garbage people who have flitted in and out of her life further perpetuating what she believes she deserves, what fate she has resigned herself to. The LAST FUCKING THING she needs is this asshole kraken. She is almost KILLED right in the beginning of the book because Thane didn't bother ASKING anyone how humans human. I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum, but that scene - had they not had access to magic, she would have fucking died. Did he grovel? NO. To add insult to injury, he gets horny (disjointedly so, it's weird, abrupt and not believable), does shit to her and LEAVES.
Take those tentacles and shove them into an electric socket.
Wow it's been a day and I'm still pissed. Moving on to another heartbreaking, and in my books pretty fucking unforgivable scene is when he shifts her residence. He takes her to the new place and at the bottom of the fucking stairs, he gets horny again, does shit, leaves as we've come to expect of this absolute heartless wimp, but the worst part is what exactly he leaves her to and for how long.
I hated him at that point and couldn't give a rat's ass that it was unintentional on his part. This was bad.
Now Thane has endured a massive personal loss in his past, something that turned his heart to stone and he is still grieving that loss years later. That's perfectly fine. All I'm saying is, be a reasonable host. Be humane. Provide the basics. Nobody is begging him to fall in love. Just don't use her like a toy and leave. If he is as perceptive as he is made out to be in places, however inconsistently, he would know what he was reinforcing into her psyche with his terrible behaviour. And I do know that in real life, people do treat each other badly, loss is crippling and trauma can take ages to unravel and heal BUT, these books are supposed to provide good and gooey escapism, with respect and care shared between the leads - with a formula to the writing that's reliable and has been established by Katee's previous works. I was hoping to see a male lead slowly coax Catalina out of her defeating beliefs in a consistent, believable way. I didn't want to read something mean, stretched out for over half the book, then bribed with something lukewarm at the last stretch. Catalina deserved better.
Consent, communication, pro-choice - all of this felt like an consolatory add-on in the last half of the book. It was too late for me to be warmed over. He also fucked up majorly with birth control. The only thing that kept me reading is everybody's stance on it, including his. But like I said, by then, I couldn't bring myself to clap for a formerly severely neglectful guy. Thane insisting on how much inherent value Catalina possesses felt like a joke at this point. Damage was done. Game over.
Maybe you'll enjoy the last half of this book more than me. Hell, maybe you'll even enjoy the first half. This is just not what I expected from Katee's hero after how loveable, kind, and passionate her leads were in the first book of this series.
I'm glad I'm done writing this, I'm about ready to crash and I won't be seeing this book in the eye ever again.
❗TW: loss of spouse, parental neglect, emotional and psychological abuse, endangerment and more neglect from that giant asshole squid, abortion.
Valkyrie's review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more than half the book we see Thane (no longer kraken daddy, he sure as fuck doesn't deserve that lovely title) being negligent (criminally so) towards Catalina. It was beyond upsetting and pretty fucking triggering to read. Catalina has been through enough. Parental neglect and abuse is no joke. Her outlook on her life and very importantly herself as a result of all that she has been subject to until this point is depressing and destructive as it is. Her self esteem is non-existent thanks to the garbage people who have flitted in and out of her life further perpetuating what she believes she deserves, what fate she has resigned herself to. The LAST FUCKING THING she needs is this asshole kraken. She is almost KILLED right in the beginning of the book because Thane didn't bother ASKING anyone how humans human. I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum, but that scene - had they not had access to magic, she would have fucking died. Did he grovel? NO. To add insult to injury, he gets horny (disjointedly so, it's weird, abrupt and not believable), does shit to her and LEAVES.
Take those tentacles and shove them into an electric socket.
Wow it's been a day and I'm still pissed. Moving on to another heartbreaking, and in my books pretty fucking unforgivable scene is when he shifts her residence. He takes her to the new place and at the bottom of the fucking stairs, he gets horny again, does shit, leaves as we've come to expect of this absolute heartless wimp, but the worst part is what exactly he leaves her to and for how long.
I hated him at that point and couldn't give a rat's ass that it was unintentional on his part. This was bad.
Now Thane has endured a massive personal loss in his past, something that turned his heart to stone and he is still grieving that loss years later. That's perfectly fine. All I'm saying is, be a reasonable host. Be humane. Provide the basics. Nobody is begging him to fall in love. Just don't use her like a toy and leave. If he is as perceptive as he is made out to be in places, however inconsistently, he would know what he was reinforcing into her psyche with his terrible behaviour. And I do know that in real life, people do treat each other badly, loss is crippling and trauma can take ages to unravel and heal BUT, these books are supposed to provide good and gooey escapism, with respect and care shared between the leads - with a formula to the writing that's reliable and has been established by Katee's previous works. I was hoping to see a male lead slowly coax Catalina out of her defeating beliefs in a consistent, believable way. I didn't want to read something mean, stretched out for over half the book, then bribed with something lukewarm at the last stretch. Catalina deserved better.
Consent, communication, pro-choice - all of this felt like an consolatory add-on in the last half of the book. It was too late for me to be warmed over. He also fucked up majorly with birth control. The only thing that kept me reading is everybody's stance on it, including his. But like I said, by then, I couldn't bring myself to clap for a formerly severely neglectful guy. Thane insisting on how much inherent value Catalina possesses felt like a joke at this point. Damage was done. Game over.
Maybe you'll enjoy the last half of this book more than me. Hell, maybe you'll even enjoy the first half. This is just not what I expected from Katee's hero after how loveable, kind, and passionate her leads were in the first book of this series.
I'm glad I'm done writing this, I'm about ready to crash and I won't be seeing this book in the eye ever again.
❗TW: loss of spouse, parental neglect, emotional and psychological abuse, endangerment and more neglect from that giant asshole squid, abortion.
Valkyrie's review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 2, 2022
1.5 stars
I think i've finally come to terms that I need a good plot with my smut. We get a dedication telling us there will be DP... the least we expect is for it to be good. Enter half kraken-half man with a fucking prehensile dick and tentacles, and the smut ISN'T pussy gripping?????????????
I think I'll run back to the double dicked up dragon man who left us all wanting more. He still has a one up over Mr. Sushi fun time.
As far as the storyline, Thane (sushi man), is so boring and uncaring DESPITE his continual thoughts claiming he does in-fact care. Okay—tell me how leaving her in a tower with a ripped dress and no clothes, a dusty bed, and two servants who ignore her and only feed her slices of bread for... what was it... a week, is caring? And that was for her safety? That is a complete disregard for her health and this apparently only takes place due to the fact that after the many years of still grieving his past love, he can't acknowledge his new feelings and have bare minimum decency for others?
I like red flags. Red is such a great color. Some of my favorite book boyfriends are the most heinous people and yet this piece of sushi would be thrown back to the sea in an instant. No desire to even risk making any caviar as Catalina continued to do.
Overall, I didn't feel the connection and there wasn't much growth to the characters.
I'm plant-based anyway so there would be no chance of me tasting any fish even if this was good.
I think i've finally come to terms that I need a good plot with my smut. We get a dedication telling us there will be DP... the least we expect is for it to be good. Enter half kraken-half man with a fucking prehensile dick and tentacles, and the smut ISN'T pussy gripping?????????????
I think I'll run back to the double dicked up dragon man who left us all wanting more. He still has a one up over Mr. Sushi fun time.
As far as the storyline, Thane (sushi man), is so boring and uncaring DESPITE his continual thoughts claiming he does in-fact care. Okay—tell me how leaving her in a tower with a ripped dress and no clothes, a dusty bed, and two servants who ignore her and only feed her slices of bread for... what was it... a week, is caring? And that was for her safety? That is a complete disregard for her health and this apparently only takes place due to the fact that after the many years of still grieving his past love, he can't acknowledge his new feelings and have bare minimum decency for others?
I like red flags. Red is such a great color. Some of my favorite book boyfriends are the most heinous people and yet this piece of sushi would be thrown back to the sea in an instant. No desire to even risk making any caviar as Catalina continued to do.
Overall, I didn't feel the connection and there wasn't much growth to the characters.
I'm plant-based anyway so there would be no chance of me tasting any fish even if this was good.
November 3, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thane is a selfish POS and nobody can say anything to me to prove otherwise. I don’t care what he lost, it doesn’t give him the right to treat someone like dirt. There’s absolutely no redeeming factors about him.
Catalina is a handful sure, but that girl is so broken it hurts me down to the bottom of my soul. Her mother destroyed her and Thane repeatedly kicked her while she was down.
What makes her incredible is that she just keeps on kicking, with a sense of humor. Even if you don’t like her, you have to admire her tenacity.
God, she just makes me so goddam sad with the cavalier way she talks about no one liking her. How disposable she is. It breaks my cold, bitter heart.
Thane’s change of heart felt too abrupt, he held onto his animosity for so long and I’m supposed to believe he suddenly has feelings for her. Their supposed love felt extremely superficial and almost unnecessary for how long they actually got along.
I will say the sexual chemistry was fairly good but I could’ve used more monster smut.
Thane is a selfish POS and nobody can say anything to me to prove otherwise. I don’t care what he lost, it doesn’t give him the right to treat someone like dirt. There’s absolutely no redeeming factors about him.
Catalina is a handful sure, but that girl is so broken it hurts me down to the bottom of my soul. Her mother destroyed her and Thane repeatedly kicked her while she was down.
What makes her incredible is that she just keeps on kicking, with a sense of humor. Even if you don’t like her, you have to admire her tenacity.
God, she just makes me so goddam sad with the cavalier way she talks about no one liking her. How disposable she is. It breaks my cold, bitter heart.
Thane’s change of heart felt too abrupt, he held onto his animosity for so long and I’m supposed to believe he suddenly has feelings for her. Their supposed love felt extremely superficial and almost unnecessary for how long they actually got along.
I will say the sexual chemistry was fairly good but I could’ve used more monster smut.
October 12, 2022
aaaaaaah, así es como se hace con un pulpo.
August 19, 2022
It's a nope from me.
I had high, high hopes for this one but... nope.
2.5 stars
2.5 on the spice scale
TW: she lists every single possible one. So just check the first page. I'll talk more about it in my Weekly Wrap up.
I had high, high hopes for this one but... nope.
2.5 stars
2.5 on the spice scale
TW: she lists every single possible one. So just check the first page. I'll talk more about it in my Weekly Wrap up.
November 14, 2022
Look. My problems with this book are varied.
1. Where was the smut? I expect waaaay more filth with tentacle anything. That’s the whole point. If every appendage isn’t doing something, the smut is doing nothing. Got it? K.
2. Don’t give made up pronouns without explaining what they mean. They’re distracting and confusing.
3. He was hung up on his ex for 75% of this book. Pass.
4. Their connection took too long to build, so I just didn’t feel it.
5. I’m a liberal. Far far left. But can we keep politics out of our romance? Please? I’m trying to escape the hellhole that our country is, not read about it. And if you ARE gonna put politics in it, can we please be more subtle?
6. Even if reasons 2-5 didn’t exist, I still would’ve rated this book one star because of the lack of dirty tentacle smut. I expect tentacles to be stuffing the heroine like a sausage and anything less is just a waste of my time.
1. Where was the smut? I expect waaaay more filth with tentacle anything. That’s the whole point. If every appendage isn’t doing something, the smut is doing nothing. Got it? K.
2. Don’t give made up pronouns without explaining what they mean. They’re distracting and confusing.
3. He was hung up on his ex for 75% of this book. Pass.
4. Their connection took too long to build, so I just didn’t feel it.
5. I’m a liberal. Far far left. But can we keep politics out of our romance? Please? I’m trying to escape the hellhole that our country is, not read about it. And if you ARE gonna put politics in it, can we please be more subtle?
6. Even if reasons 2-5 didn’t exist, I still would’ve rated this book one star because of the lack of dirty tentacle smut. I expect tentacles to be stuffing the heroine like a sausage and anything less is just a waste of my time.
October 15, 2022
I rarely give one star reviews but this book is a big nope for me. I liked the first book of the series, but this one was a hot mess of “wokeness” trying to be a romance novel. There was so much potential here, but the story was rushed and the actual romance proceeded in a way that was probably unhealthy for both parties.
The fact that the book ends in an abortion is tragic. As the author if you wanted to make the point that neither character wanted to have children you should have made birth control a bigger issue like in the first book. You intentionally made them conveniently forget so you could throw in the abortion. This does not make abortion look ok. It shows once more that most abortions are completed by careless people who only think of themselves and not the life they created.
The fact that the book ends in an abortion is tragic. As the author if you wanted to make the point that neither character wanted to have children you should have made birth control a bigger issue like in the first book. You intentionally made them conveniently forget so you could throw in the abortion. This does not make abortion look ok. It shows once more that most abortions are completed by careless people who only think of themselves and not the life they created.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2024
I could’ve really enjoyed this book but the relationship just didn’t work for me. I go into this series fully just expecting smut and loving ever piece of it usually but the main guy character really bugged me in this one. I’ve seen the trope a lot of guys pretending like they don’t care while they secretly do and I usually don’t mind it but in this case there is multiple instances where he more than doesn’t care for Catalina but also neglects her. Allows her to go days without eating real food because he so afraid of his emotions he can’t check on her at all. That’s too far for me. I don’t ever read romance for healthy depictions of what a relationship should be but I cannot push past my belief that this is way too unhealthy for Catalina especially considering her background and it wasn’t necessary to the plot. He could’ve easily “neglected” her as in not talked to her while still checking to make sure she was safe and fed.
July 13, 2025
⭐️.5
So I was disappointed with this book which really sucks. When I first started reading the series last year, this was the book that made me not want to continue on with the series. Katee Robert had become one of my favorite authors at the time and wrote so many books that I love and unfortunately this is the first dud for me. I had a few problems with this book. One of the main ones is I honestly do not think that these two characters should have ended up together. I don’t really know if this is a spoiler or not but the MMC didn’t seem to care much about Catalina, the FMC, and it was extremely evident the first day that they met, and he took her back to his territory. She almost died because he didn’t think about how a human needs time to adjust to different water levels and pressure, and that mentality of him not thinking through all of his decisions concerning her was continued throughout the book. What’s worse is she expect to be treated that way because of her previous experience. She didn’t really push for him to be better and to actually be considerate with her life. It wasn’t until about 75% of the way through the book that you could see that he actually cared whether or not she lived or died which with him being the main romantic lead is kind of trashy. Another thing that I don’t really think makes sense for this book and this is a spoiler it is mentioned in the trigger warning so proceed with caution, ~but there was an abortion scene during the last 10% of the book. I think that it’s interesting for the author to include it, and I think it is something that especially during the time that it was written that was needed to be discussed and showing a different perspective of why some people have sought abortions in the past and why they might seek out an abortion in the future. My problem/issue if you can say that is the whole purpose of the couples relationship was so that they could have a child to make the magic in his territory stronger. I feel like adding in the abortion scene defeated the whole purpose of why characters, especially Thane got into the agreement. Catalina was also away about it and continued to sign her part of the terms. And the last thing on my very long rant of slight issues I’ve had with this book was of the neo-pronouns. I’ve never met anyone in my day-to-day life or heard anyone use neo-pronouns before other than reading this novel and it kind of just kept throwing me off a little bit trying to understand it grammatically. I feel that she should have included like a authors note in the book to explain how they work in sentences just so that people can have a better understanding of this, especially for those that haven’t experienced this in their day-to-day lives. I am interested in continuing on with the next few books in the series. I just hope that I enjoy these ones more than I did this one.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
R.R.
So I was disappointed with this book which really sucks. When I first started reading the series last year, this was the book that made me not want to continue on with the series. Katee Robert had become one of my favorite authors at the time and wrote so many books that I love and unfortunately this is the first dud for me. I had a few problems with this book. One of the main ones is I honestly do not think that these two characters should have ended up together. I don’t really know if this is a spoiler or not but the MMC didn’t seem to care much about Catalina, the FMC, and it was extremely evident the first day that they met, and he took her back to his territory. She almost died because he didn’t think about how a human needs time to adjust to different water levels and pressure, and that mentality of him not thinking through all of his decisions concerning her was continued throughout the book. What’s worse is she expect to be treated that way because of her previous experience. She didn’t really push for him to be better and to actually be considerate with her life. It wasn’t until about 75% of the way through the book that you could see that he actually cared whether or not she lived or died which with him being the main romantic lead is kind of trashy. Another thing that I don’t really think makes sense for this book and this is a spoiler it is mentioned in the trigger warning so proceed with caution, ~but there was an abortion scene during the last 10% of the book. I think that it’s interesting for the author to include it, and I think it is something that especially during the time that it was written that was needed to be discussed and showing a different perspective of why some people have sought abortions in the past and why they might seek out an abortion in the future. My problem/issue if you can say that is the whole purpose of the couples relationship was so that they could have a child to make the magic in his territory stronger. I feel like adding in the abortion scene defeated the whole purpose of why characters, especially Thane got into the agreement. Catalina was also away about it and continued to sign her part of the terms. And the last thing on my very long rant of slight issues I’ve had with this book was of the neo-pronouns. I’ve never met anyone in my day-to-day life or heard anyone use neo-pronouns before other than reading this novel and it kind of just kept throwing me off a little bit trying to understand it grammatically. I feel that she should have included like a authors note in the book to explain how they work in sentences just so that people can have a better understanding of this, especially for those that haven’t experienced this in their day-to-day lives. I am interested in continuing on with the next few books in the series. I just hope that I enjoy these ones more than I did this one.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
R.R.
October 13, 2023
This was not for me, I was so upset. Because the cover page is so beautiful and the inside is so disappointing. The way The Dragon Bride blew me away I really thought this was going to be worth my time and it let me down, painfully.
When it first started, I was invested in The Kraken’s Sacrifice had a promising start. And then the more I read it just kept going downhill. If I could rate this less than one star I would, that's how bad it is.
This truly was a waste of time.
I feel bad that I disliked this so much, but there was just too much wrong with it. The Hero and his neglect. The Heroine and her supposedly sunshine quality which felt more clingy with attitude, and the disregard she had for herself. And there was another part in the story but that was more of a dislike for a personal preference.
I hope the next book is more promising. There is so much potential in these stories, but doing monster romance it’s either good or bad. No in-between.
And this was just bad
Thank you, 💋
When it first started, I was invested in The Kraken’s Sacrifice had a promising start. And then the more I read it just kept going downhill. If I could rate this less than one star I would, that's how bad it is.
This truly was a waste of time.
I feel bad that I disliked this so much, but there was just too much wrong with it. The Hero and his neglect. The Heroine and her supposedly sunshine quality which felt more clingy with attitude, and the disregard she had for herself. And there was another part in the story but that was more of a dislike for a personal preference.
I hope the next book is more promising. There is so much potential in these stories, but doing monster romance it’s either good or bad. No in-between.
And this was just bad
Thank you, 💋
August 19, 2022
Unfortunately is a no from me. I was so disappointed in this book as I loved book one in this series. This book felt rushed and it was trying to deal with to many issues in to short of a book. I found the main character (female) rather unlikable. The spicy pages were just not there for me. The book ending went to fast and felt unfinished.
August 3, 2023
I think this cover is absolutely stunning and the smut is pretty good unfortunately i didn’t feel the chemistry between the two mc and Thane spends the majority of the book grieving over his deceased Lover & neglecting our heroine. ( she is left alone in a tower for weeks in a raggedy dress while the servants damn near starve her because hes afraid of his emotions) ?????
Catalina, a survivor of NEGLECT, is screaming out for him to give af about her. I feel kind of bad for her the entire time since shes had the sh*tty end of the stick her entire life . She expects people not to care about her and constantly belittles herself its hard to read and u would think she would be paired with someone who makes her feel like gold. Nope. Yet shes still falling for him accepting the bare minimum.
I feel this story could’ve benefited from another 50 pages of relationship and character development.
5/5 audio
2.5/5 story
Catalina, a survivor of NEGLECT, is screaming out for him to give af about her. I feel kind of bad for her the entire time since shes had the sh*tty end of the stick her entire life . She expects people not to care about her and constantly belittles herself its hard to read and u would think she would be paired with someone who makes her feel like gold. Nope. Yet shes still falling for him accepting the bare minimum.
I feel this story could’ve benefited from another 50 pages of relationship and character development.
5/5 audio
2.5/5 story
not-interested
July 25, 2023Dnf at 11%. Not my cup of tea.
October 24, 2022
Oh no
So I am pro choice all the way, but when reading romance books that's is the last thing I want. Only because I view it as the last option one should take. Abortion isn't another form of birth control. If you don't want a child, do what you can to prevent said child. But of course they didn't. On top of that I fail to see how this relationship would work considering how much they seem to hate each other. Nothing points to a healthy romance between them. They hate each other and have their own baggage to deal with. But instead of doing that, they run from all of their problems or ignore it. That isn't healthy at all. I know, I know, reality paints a different tune, but this is a fantasy story. Meaning that if you have a magic necklace or potion that can help you, use it. Don't ignore it because you want to appeal to a certain demographic. Especially one that may or may not respond
well.
This story was a huge miss for me. From the confusing pronouns (Zir,Ze is really hard to understand has it has zero meaning) to the loveable but clearly unhinged characters. They should have just listened to Azazel and realized that this relationship did not work.
At the end of it all even the Kraken admitted that the only reason why things ended up working out is because the heroine refused to acknowledge that she was being abused/neglected. Had she done so he would have lost everything. But toxic loves toxic so I guess this is what we are left with.
So I am pro choice all the way, but when reading romance books that's is the last thing I want. Only because I view it as the last option one should take. Abortion isn't another form of birth control. If you don't want a child, do what you can to prevent said child. But of course they didn't. On top of that I fail to see how this relationship would work considering how much they seem to hate each other. Nothing points to a healthy romance between them. They hate each other and have their own baggage to deal with. But instead of doing that, they run from all of their problems or ignore it. That isn't healthy at all. I know, I know, reality paints a different tune, but this is a fantasy story. Meaning that if you have a magic necklace or potion that can help you, use it. Don't ignore it because you want to appeal to a certain demographic. Especially one that may or may not respond
well.
This story was a huge miss for me. From the confusing pronouns (Zir,Ze is really hard to understand has it has zero meaning) to the loveable but clearly unhinged characters. They should have just listened to Azazel and realized that this relationship did not work.
At the end of it all even the Kraken admitted that the only reason why things ended up working out is because the heroine refused to acknowledge that she was being abused/neglected. Had she done so he would have lost everything. But toxic loves toxic so I guess this is what we are left with.
January 5, 2023
This whole series so far is good in the moment, but kind of forgettable. I do like the premise it’s based on, but the books are kinda short and don’t have enough emotional buildup for me to get super invested.
Am I still gonna read them all? Absofuckinglutely 😂
Am I still gonna read them all? Absofuckinglutely 😂
April 30, 2023
both of these mc’s need therapy not a demon bargain
February 14, 2024
2.5 ⭐
they deserve each other <3
they deserve each other <3
October 23, 2022
I love this series. Katee Roberts + monsters + creamy clinch covers?? Yes please.
The thing is, these books are SHORT - like, under 200 pages (this one is 170). So you have to expect the kind of sped along story that goes along with that. You aren't getting the relationship building you'd see in a longer book.
I didn't really click with either lead - but that's okay. I could understand Catalina's pain, and what drove her to making a 7 year deal with Azazael. I understood the ways she acted out to protect herself, pushing others away while wishing they would hold her close. I enjoyed reading about her pushing Thane's buttons. And Thane - I could understand his pain over having lost his husband. To be honest I was surprised it was so recent, given that I thought these monsters were all more long lived.
For me, this book just didn't click as instantly as I had with The Dragon's Bride - where I left the book not finding any flaws except I could have read 100 more pages of them. Maybe it was because Thane was so emotionally stunted (understandable, after the loss of his husband) and kept pushing Catalina away, physically and emotionally. Maybe it's because of the several mini time jumps where we lost weeks of time - again, understandable given the page count but to me it became a hinderance because I just didn't buy anything but kinky tentacle sex between the two of them.
This is a fun Katee Robert's romp that has tentacles, so I'm not complaining! This just wasn't a fav.
CW: past neglect/abuse, current (unintentional) neglect/abuse, accidental pregnancy and on-page abortion
The thing is, these books are SHORT - like, under 200 pages (this one is 170). So you have to expect the kind of sped along story that goes along with that. You aren't getting the relationship building you'd see in a longer book.
I didn't really click with either lead - but that's okay. I could understand Catalina's pain, and what drove her to making a 7 year deal with Azazael. I understood the ways she acted out to protect herself, pushing others away while wishing they would hold her close. I enjoyed reading about her pushing Thane's buttons. And Thane - I could understand his pain over having lost his husband. To be honest I was surprised it was so recent, given that I thought these monsters were all more long lived.
For me, this book just didn't click as instantly as I had with The Dragon's Bride - where I left the book not finding any flaws except I could have read 100 more pages of them. Maybe it was because Thane was so emotionally stunted (understandable, after the loss of his husband) and kept pushing Catalina away, physically and emotionally. Maybe it's because of the several mini time jumps where we lost weeks of time - again, understandable given the page count but to me it became a hinderance because I just didn't buy anything but kinky tentacle sex between the two of them.
This is a fun Katee Robert's romp that has tentacles, so I'm not complaining! This just wasn't a fav.
CW: past neglect/abuse, current (unintentional) neglect/abuse, accidental pregnancy and on-page abortion
August 23, 2022
this is an interesting one— imo it’s lower on the spice scale (he gets her off with his hands/tentacles twice and they bang PiV once) which was like a liiiittle bit of a bummer 4 me, but still enjoyable. I think the bigger thing that didn’t work for me was that the hero spends almost half of the book actively fleeing the heroine, and when it’s a 170 page book that just doesn’t leave much time for them to *actually* get together?
The majority of the story arc is that Thane is grieving a past relationship & afraid of committing, and that was never gonna work well for me bc I like my heroes gone from the get go🤷🏼♀️ it was still an enjoyable book, I liked that they wanted to be child free & appreciated Katee’s depiction of Lina’s abortion. I also really loved seeing her double down on this deliciously queer world & seeing more MCs use pronouns outside of she/him. But it wasn’t as sexy as I hoped, and the plot that took the place of potential sexy bits was all about the hero running away from the heroine & accidentally mistreating her. Probs only a 4⭐️ bc in such a Katee fan
The majority of the story arc is that Thane is grieving a past relationship & afraid of committing, and that was never gonna work well for me bc I like my heroes gone from the get go🤷🏼♀️ it was still an enjoyable book, I liked that they wanted to be child free & appreciated Katee’s depiction of Lina’s abortion. I also really loved seeing her double down on this deliciously queer world & seeing more MCs use pronouns outside of she/him. But it wasn’t as sexy as I hoped, and the plot that took the place of potential sexy bits was all about the hero running away from the heroine & accidentally mistreating her. Probs only a 4⭐️ bc in such a Katee fan
November 9, 2022
Bro, idk how you can write a monster smut series and include a ~ literal tentacled kraken ~ and a demon bargain and yet so totally miss the mark. 😐😐😐 I've really enjoyed a bunch of Robert's other work, so I have seen what she can do - and she can write some pretty incredible stuff. So my expectations for this novel were high. But I could have pulled up any tentacle-tagged AO3 fic for a pairing I didn't give one whit about and still have enjoyed it more than "The Kraken's Sacrifice". There is almost no chemistry between the main couple, there was not enough time given to develop anyone's personality enough for me to care, and the spice?? The spice was nutmeg at best, but I was expecting chili flakes. 😒
December 14, 2022
Ok soooo. This one was ok. I’d honestly probably give it like a 3.5. I still like Dragon’s Bride a lot more. Although I loved Catalina in this, Thane was just giving me a major headache. I just wanted to bitch slap him half the time. And to me even though they “got together” pretty fast, it felt kinda slow with the them having feelings for each other aspect. If that makes any sense. Ok but the use of “Uppies” kinda threw me off a bit. And surprisingly the tentacles aspect didn’t. Which makes me question a lot. But I mean it wouldn’t be monster Kraken smut without it.
March 17, 2023
2,5 estrellas. Y bueeeeeeno. Mira que el tema podría haber dado mucho de sí, pero se queda en un quiero y no puedo.
El worldbuilding no está mal, algo de lo que me he quejado en ‘Dioses de Neón’ de la misma autora, pero la historia -más allá de ver cómo se las ingenian para convivir y tener una relación, tanto sexual como sentimental, un kraken y una humana- es floja. A ver si el siguiente de esta serie me convence más.
#Popsugar23 Reto 5: Un libro con criaturas míticas.
El worldbuilding no está mal, algo de lo que me he quejado en ‘Dioses de Neón’ de la misma autora, pero la historia -más allá de ver cómo se las ingenian para convivir y tener una relación, tanto sexual como sentimental, un kraken y una humana- es floja. A ver si el siguiente de esta serie me convence más.
#Popsugar23 Reto 5: Un libro con criaturas míticas.
October 18, 2022
Nah fam. Didn't work for me. Sexy scenes weren't sexy. The couple had no chemistry, I felt no emotional bond between them at all. The 'hero' was a jerk, plus he kept thinking about his dead husband, basically in every scene. Gosh, that's not what I want to read about in a romance.
2 🌟
2 🌟
August 11, 2025
I was curious 👀 about how the tentacles would factor into things 😏👀
August 30, 2022
I'm prefacing this by saying Katee Robert is my favorite author of all time. Like, I love her more than I love myself and I'm pretty sure I'm a narcissist.
But this was my least favorite book of hers that I've read.
And that's not to say that I found it bad? But just like, Thane was just so thoughtless in his actions toward Catalina MANY times and it just left me feeling uneasy. I get we make mistakes, and I get we can be ignorant at times, but I really felt like he should've put more care into his planned relationship with Catalina. I can name at least five times he did something that was upsetting to me and this book is only 170 pages like he's really trying to annoy me.
((but the smut was rly good tho))
I found Catalina relatable at times, but she also got in her own way quite a bit. Wait she also said the word "uppies" multiple times and that really gave me the ick yikes I don't like her anymore.
I think their relationship dynamic was actually pretty risky on Katee's part, and I think she delivered on it well. She went in a different direction with them than I was expecting and tbh I appreciated that choice. Also, the two of them playing the sea version of chess together legit made me swoon.
I felt the conflict at the end was well done and something I don't read a lot about in romance and I'm glad she included it.
Lastly, this book kinda suffers from the same thing that also didn't work for me in Dragon's Bride which is Katee trying to fit a pretty full romance into a 170-page book. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough time. The love aspect of it I know should work because there are the bones and structure to their love story there, but idk I just needed more time with them.
I mean...I'm still going to pledge allegiance to Katee Robert for all eternity, but still overall bummed I didn't love this as much as I hoped.
But this was my least favorite book of hers that I've read.
And that's not to say that I found it bad? But just like, Thane was just so thoughtless in his actions toward Catalina MANY times and it just left me feeling uneasy. I get we make mistakes, and I get we can be ignorant at times, but I really felt like he should've put more care into his planned relationship with Catalina. I can name at least five times he did something that was upsetting to me and this book is only 170 pages like he's really trying to annoy me.
((but the smut was rly good tho))
I found Catalina relatable at times, but she also got in her own way quite a bit. Wait she also said the word "uppies" multiple times and that really gave me the ick yikes I don't like her anymore.
I think their relationship dynamic was actually pretty risky on Katee's part, and I think she delivered on it well. She went in a different direction with them than I was expecting and tbh I appreciated that choice. Also, the two of them playing the sea version of chess together legit made me swoon.
I felt the conflict at the end was well done and something I don't read a lot about in romance and I'm glad she included it.
Lastly, this book kinda suffers from the same thing that also didn't work for me in Dragon's Bride which is Katee trying to fit a pretty full romance into a 170-page book. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough time. The love aspect of it I know should work because there are the bones and structure to their love story there, but idk I just needed more time with them.
I mean...I'm still going to pledge allegiance to Katee Robert for all eternity, but still overall bummed I didn't love this as much as I hoped.
August 18, 2022
As a Patreon member I read an early copy. It was fine. Not my favorite but just fine. The story was trying to do too much in a short time and at one point I was reading and my kindle was at 89% and I was kept thinking how is Katee going to tie all of this up? I was right because the ending was rushed and heavy handed.
I didn’t love either of the characters and this was a bit of a let down considering how much I loved The Dragons Bride. Sol and Briar were written so perfectly.
I didn’t love either of the characters and this was a bit of a let down considering how much I loved The Dragons Bride. Sol and Briar were written so perfectly.
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