Something has happened to me that hasn’t happened in a long time — I’ve gotten hooked on a series. I remember reading the Hunger Games trilogy back in seventh, eighth grade — I was never a Twilight girlie though — and in college I read nearly all the Game of Thrones books since our lovely George R. R. Martin has not finished the series; and I haven’t yet succumbed to social pressure to start the Throne Of Glass series (let me work on my TBR List first before I commit myself again). All that aside — I now have a contractual obligation to finish the rest of the Wicked Villains series by Katee Robert. I just finished the second book, Learn My Lesson, and I now have to know what’s going on with each of these characters.
Learn My Lesson (Wicked Villains, Book 2) By Katee Robert
Following in the pattern of taking inspiration from the Disney Renaissance, the second book in this series is based on Hercules (1997) and focuses on the relationship between Hades and Meg. There are two main conflicts going on throughout the story: the growing distance between Hades and Meg as they try to reconnect with each other and reaffirm their relationship; and Hades seeking to exact revenge on an old enemy (Zeus) with the willing/unwilling help of Zeus’ estranged son, Hercules. The “willing/unwilling” part makes it a little complicated, as you can tell from the synopsis:
“A single night with Meg and I’m willing to do anything to save her from Hades, the man holding her captive, victim to his every whim.
A bargain with the devil himself seems a small price to pay in order for Meg to go free… Until I learn that she’s exactly where she wants to be.
She’s Queen to Hades’s King.
And I’m the fool that walked right into their trap.
The same fool who desires them both as much as I hate them. I can’t resist Meg’s touch—or stop from being drawn to Hades’s dark desires. By the time I realize just how deep a game he’s playing, it may be too late…
For all of us.”
Learn My Lesson (Wicked Villains, Book 2). Katee Robert. https://www.kateerobert.com/books/learn-my-lesson.
This Hades x Meg x Hercules romance follows the same canon as the prior book and it is set in the same universe. That was a major question I had going into it — if Learn My Lesson was a prequel or if it followed the established universe and timeline in Desperate Measures (since both Hades and Meg appear in the first installment). But right in the first chapter it’s established that the events of the first book happened “a handful of months ago” and it keeps the story’s canon intact. This sequel is again told from three different perspectives, and I thought it was so interesting to get Meg’s narration since we only get so much of her perspective and personality in the last book. Same with Hades.
Like I said, most of the story is driven by and focuses on their relationship and how they are as people (both individually and as a couple). By this point in the story, our King and Queen of the Underworld have been in a relationship for 10 years, after Meg struck a bargain with Hades to save the man she loved at the time (Decklan). He immediately ditches her and Meg starts working for Hades, after which they fall in love and have now been in this long-term relationship for a while.
I feel as though a lot of Learn My Lesson is Meg’s story; mostly her and Hades’ story, but she seems to be the driving force of a lot of the plot. She faces a very similar problem to Yasmina (now referred to in the books as Jasmine) in that she feels as though her and Hades are no longer equals like they used to be; she feels as though they’re drifting apart and he’s not as open in communication with her as he once was, and she hasn’t been happy for a while. From her narration, she’s worried Hades can’t meet her halfway in trying to repair the bond, giving her what she needs, and ultimately bringing them closer together emotionally. She is missing that communication and consideration for what she wants and her own feelings and feel like Hades is a stranger to her.
Hades is also feeling the disconnection and he can tell Meg is no longer happy. He is deeply devoted to her and wants to kindle their relationship and “bring the spark back” more or less with the introduction of Hercules. He realizes that he’s shut her out and that things aren’t quite the same, but hasn’t quite grasped how to fix it. He’s playing the long game trying to exact revenge on Zeus with Hercules’ help, but both he and Meg are at the point where they aren’t being as open and honest as they need to be.
That dynamic is what the majority of the plot revolves around. It’s mainly about the two of them bringing down the walls they didn’t know they had built and once again being connected verbally and emotionally. And a large part of that has to do with Hercules; it is so audibly laugh-out-loud funny to listen to Hercules essentially being a relationship counselor for these two, offering an outside opinion and helping them identify their mistakes and flaws in order to improve the relationship. Hearing him literally scream out “Dude, just talk to her!” to Hades and Meg during an intimate moment of them talking is so unintentionally funny to me, but it’s also so true. He is key to helping them with their baggage and to get a new perspective on things, especially as more conversations are needed moving forward.
I personally really liked reading about these two characters navigating through this rough patch and having a real heart-to-heart. While they acknowledge the unorthodox nature of having Hercules evolve from a fling to a full lover and a new uncertain part of the dynamic, it is nice to see each character speak their truth and be fully present in everything. It’s awesome to get more backstory on Hades (why he wants revenge on Zeus, how he got to be where he is, and how his relationship with Meg started) and honestly heartwarming to see how dedicated Hades and Meg are to each other. It’s cute! It’s also just nice to see them talk about their pasts and for Hades to share things and talk through things that Meg didn’t know about.
I deeply appreciate the emphasis on communication, but in a different way than Desperate Measures. That book has great communication relating to intimacy and interpersonal dynamics, culminating in Jafar and Jasmine discussing and agreeing to be equals as their real relationship starts. Learn My Lesson is more about two people in a long-term relationship recognizing growing distance between them and recognizing the mistakes that led them to unintentionally hurting each other. I quite liked this book and liked the exploration of two characters who are so powerful/untouchable in this fictional world of Carver City, yet have their own struggles and issues to work through. I appreciate seeing both of them as three-dimensional characters with depth and complicated emotional states, and Hercules’ savior complex and growing love for them is so key to their growth and happiness.
I’m excited to read Book 3 and interested to see what else is going on in this universe! We get a little more insight into Tink at the end of this book and the next one, A Worthy Opponent, is a Tinker Bell x Hook romance.
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- Hades x Meg are couple goals, fight me.
- There’s no background music or ambient sounds in this audiobook and I don’t like it. I liked the immersiveness of the Desperate Measures audiobook, so not having that in this one was disappointing.
- If you’re playing a drinking game, be prepared, as there are two mentions/references to the book title in the first chapter, and one mention of “rolls/washes over me.”
- “Over the edge” and “sheathed” are also used a lot.
- Hercules’ narration felt a bit jarring at first, as it sounded like it wasn’t mixed as well as the other narration. I got more used to it throughout the audiobook, but it at first caught me off guard and sounded less sexy than the other voices. Hades also has a different voice actor in this book and I liked the way he sounded in the first one.
- I love to see how protective Meg is of the people that work for Hades and the Underworld in general. It’s so sweet! The only real sort-of-friend Meg has in the books up to this point is Jasmine, but it’s nice to see how she’ll make sure anyone under the protection of the Underworld and anyone in their employment is taken care of.
- Reading this book is a little funny in that it emphasizes how you never really know what’s going on in someone else’s relationship. Jasmine thinks to herself in the first book how she wants to be what Meg is to Hades, absolute equals, yet Meg has her own inner turmoil about how she doesn’t feel that way. And Hercules is so convinced at the start of the book that Meg is trapped against her will in this lifetime deal with Hades but only realizes as he gets closer to her that that’s not the case at all.
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
