Jane and Keeley have known each other for ten years and been mutually pining since then, and when they end up living together for a while due to Jane's house flooding, they end up falling for each other. As someone who was raised in a conservative Christian denomination, Jane is scared to be public about their relationship, but when she is forcibly outed, she has no choice.

I didn't read the first book in this series, and I think I'm missing out on something by having started the companion book first. I'm not sure I would recommend reading this book before the other book by the same author, For One Night Only. I struggled to connect with the characters, and I think that was partially because I hadn't read the first book. The author seemed to be relying a lot on the readers understanding the heartwarming chosen-family band vibes to create the atmosphere of this book. To me, it didn't feel like Jane and Keeley had actually known each other for ten years. If they had such a deep, strong relationship before the beginning of the book and Keeley is out, why hadn't Jane come out to her yet since she had already come out to one of her other band mates? It felt a little implausible. It would have been fine if they hadn't been depicted as so close and as just coworkers who had a crush on each other, but since they were depicted as so close it made the closeness of their relationship less plausible.

The plot was also pretty contrived. If you are a big fan of forced proximity, you will probably like this book, but the setup of their relationship just felt really forced. It was also really predictable given that it was said in the blurb that their relationship would become public against their will, but that "twist" didn't happen until the final quarter of the book. The ending was rushed given this, since it seemed to be supposed to be the main conflict in the book. The way that Jane's religious trauma and relationship with her parents was resolved was also very convenient and fast.

The atmosphere of this book was fairly cozy, and if you are just looking for a soft relationship between two women in the music industry with a good helping of sex scenes and the only conflict being pretty cliché, there is nothing particularly wrong with this book. It just isn't anything special to me.

For Our Next Song releases Jan 13 2026 from Berkley Publishing Group. Thank you to Netgalley, Jessica James and Berkley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Hera (Callisto) and Zeus (Perseus) married each other in a marriage of convenience, and Hera has been plotting to kill Zeus ever since. Now she's pregnant and the barrier that formerly kept Olympus safe has fallen, and they are trying to find Circe, the woman who is plotting to destroy the city, while navigating hatred for each other that covers up something more than that.

This was one of the strongest entries in the Dark Olympus series for me, only beaten by Electric Idol and Wicked Beauty. Katee Robert's writing seems to have improved a lot since her earlier works, and the worldbuilding in this series is better than the worldbuilding in the Wicked Villains series. Although the book can technically be read as a standalone or out of order, I wouldn't advise it, because there is a lot of context that you will miss if you do that. Hera and Zeus had sizzling chemistry and I'm glad this novel was an enemies-to-lovers novel that actually had them having significantly different viewpoints and attitudes instead of just being rivals. The spicy scenes were also well written and full of tension. It's definitely a "consensual, but not safe or sane" kind of book.

If you want characters to care deeply about the child they're pregnant with, you will probably be disappointed by this one. I could see people being upset by Hera persistently only calling the child she's pregnant with a parasite, although it does fit in with her character of only having married Zeus to protect her sisters.

The interludes from the protagonist of the next book did a good job of fleshing out the world more and made me anticipate Shattered Gods more. Tender Cruelty did end on a cliffhanger and with a (fairly well done) plot twist, but that is probably not surprising to most people. I'm excited to see the final book.

The only place where the plotting falls a little thin is the nature of the barrier to the lower city. The barrier being closed permanently is such a big plot point in book six of the Dark Olympus series, Midnight Ruin, but then that sort of... falls apart when it's convenient in this book, for no particular reason other than the plot demands it. That frustrated me.

Tender Cruelty releases December 2 from Sourcebooks Casablanca. Thank you to Netgalley, Katee Robert and Sourcebooks for the ARC. All opinions are my own.