Tender Cruelty
A Divinely Dark Romance Retelling of Hera and Zeus (Dark Olympus Book 9)
Published on 2. December 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-4642-2833-9 (ISBN)
Description
The highly anticipated ninth instalment in the Dark Olympus series is a scorching modern retelling of the romance of Zeus and Hera, from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert.
***
I was his wife. His lover. His sworn enemy. The ice queen to Olympus's most hated king.
The barrier that's protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy has breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they've sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren't at each other's throats instead.
Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystallises into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.
Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married - the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she's been wrong about Zeus all these years...and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.
Katee Robert breathes new life into Greek mythology's Hera and Zeus with an irresistible enemies to lovers romance that promises to take readers on a darkly seductive journey.
Tropes
Enemies to Lovers
Dark Romance
Spicy Romance
Greek Mythology
Modern Retelling
***
"Deliciously inventive...Red-hot." - Publishers Weekly STARRED for Neon Gods
"I get shivers just thinking of their interactions. SHIVERS." - Mimi Koehler on Neon Gods for The Nerd Daily
The World of Dark Olympus:
Neon Gods (Hades & Persephone)
Electric Idol (Psyche & Eros)
Wicked Beauty (Achilles & Patroclus & Helen)
Radiant Sin (Apollo & Cassandra)
Cruel Seduction (Aphrodite & Hephaestus & Adonis & Pandora)
Midnight Ruin (Orpheus & Eurydice & Charon)
Dark Restraint (Ariadne & the Minotaur)
Sweet Obsession (Icarus & Poseidon)
Tender Cruelty (Zeus & Hera)
***
I was his wife. His lover. His sworn enemy. The ice queen to Olympus's most hated king.
The barrier that's protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy has breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they've sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren't at each other's throats instead.
Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystallises into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.
Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married - the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she's been wrong about Zeus all these years...and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.
Katee Robert breathes new life into Greek mythology's Hera and Zeus with an irresistible enemies to lovers romance that promises to take readers on a darkly seductive journey.
Tropes
Enemies to Lovers
Dark Romance
Spicy Romance
Greek Mythology
Modern Retelling
***
"Deliciously inventive...Red-hot." - Publishers Weekly STARRED for Neon Gods
"I get shivers just thinking of their interactions. SHIVERS." - Mimi Koehler on Neon Gods for The Nerd Daily
The World of Dark Olympus:
Neon Gods (Hades & Persephone)
Electric Idol (Psyche & Eros)
Wicked Beauty (Achilles & Patroclus & Helen)
Radiant Sin (Apollo & Cassandra)
Cruel Seduction (Aphrodite & Hephaestus & Adonis & Pandora)
Midnight Ruin (Orpheus & Eurydice & Charon)
Dark Restraint (Ariadne & the Minotaur)
Sweet Obsession (Icarus & Poseidon)
Tender Cruelty (Zeus & Hera)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Sourcebooks, Inc
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
246 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4642-2833-9 (9781464228339)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of spicy romance. Entertainment Weekly calls their writing "unspeakably hot." Their books have sold over a million copies. They live in the Pacific Northwest with their husband, children, a cat who thinks he's a dog, and two Great Danes who think they're lap dogs.