We’re back at it again with another installment of the Wicked Villains series by Katee Robert; this time it’s book number three, A Worthy Opponent. Based on Peter Pan (1953), this retelling of classic Disney characters is a fake marriage romance setup between our side character from other installments — Tink — and Hook, a charismatic territory leader who also frequents the Underworld club from time to time. What I can say, after having finished this book today (at the time of writing), is that it is cute. It is undoubtedly, wholeheartedly very cute and there were multiple times while reading that I said “awww” out loud. This is probably my favorite of the series so far, and you don’t even have to be a fan of the Peter Pan IP to enjoy it.
A Worthy Opponent (Wicked Villains, Book 3) By Katee Robert
A Worthy Opponent is the first time in this series that we get a look at a side character who appears in prior books, by name and interaction, and get more insight into what her love life is like. Tink (whose full name is Tatiana but she goes by Tink) appears several times in both Desperate Measures and Learn My Lesson and I was excited to see how this firecracker of a woman finds herself in a fake marriage:
“Once upon a time I was a girl who believed in love and happily ever afters.
Now the only thing I believe in is revenge.
Unfortunately for me, there’s only one man willing to help me. Hook. I should have known it wouldn’t be out of the goodness of his heart. He doesn’t have one. No, Hook wants his ring on my finger and me on my knees before him—and he won’t take no for an answer.
I’m willing to pay any price in order to bring Pan down…even if it means I lose my soul in the bargain.”
A Worthy Opponent (Wicked Villains, Book 3). Katee Robert. https://www.kateerobert.com/books/a-worthy-opponent.
The titular price is essentially a fake marriage to Hook, who offers this deal to Tink in exchange protection from danger. This all occurs after Tink realizes the toxic man whom she was previously in an abusive relationship with is out to get her — but both Tink and Hook want this man (Peter) out of the way. It however, as you can probably guess, escalates from there into a full-fledged romance.
Something I noticed very quickly about this A Worthy Opponent is how similar it is to Jasmine’s story in the first installment. Initially Tink rejects Hook’s offer to work together, because she already played the role of being a submissive woman to a really powerful man, and she’s done with that. Tink is basically afraid of being accidentally trapped in a relationship with someone who is hurtful, cold, and too much like her abusive ex, Peter. She doesn’t want to lose out on her independence and on being her own person, which is why she’s not exactly running to Hook. But she still does so for her own safety.
And that begins us to Hook. Hook isn’t here trying to take advantage of Tink or anything like that — he doesn’t want to break her, this is all genuinely to help both himself and her. Even sex is off the table until Tink specifically says she wants it. In fact, this is another comparison to the Jasmine arc, because Jasmine was worried about losing her independence and submitting in all aspects of life to Jafar. But Hook doesn’t want that for Tink. He doesn’t want Tink being his slave or anything like that. The first time he even asks if she wants intimacy she refuses and he completely respects it and makes it a very safe situation for her.
Given this is a fake marriage story — like fake dating — it’s inevitable that there are several adorable, cutesy, swoon-worthy moments as the Tink x Hook relationship gets more and more serious. Hook loves and appreciates Tink’s sassy “take-no-shit” attitude and Tink slowly starts to see that this man really does care for her and may even love her. There’s the snarky back-and-forth banter between them; the fact that he selects a fake wedding ring that’s exactly what Tink would pick out for herself; Hook helping Tink to get out of her own head and stop worrying about Peter; the both of them secretly pining for each other; him being amazed by her as she works on what she’s passionate about; him helping her work through insecurities and learning to trust — like Hook really is a complete cinnamon roll when it comes to this woman.
Hook’s entire goal (outside of trying to progress their relationship) is to make sure Tink feels safe with him, and he does everything in his power to achieve that. There are several moments in this book where he is very tender and sweet and wants nothing more than for her to feel like she doesn’t have to fight or run away. But the cutest part — the absolute cutest part — is the height/size difference between the two. Like, can we talk about how he drops his shoulder across the back of a bar booth to hold her against him, and she fits and she is annoyed but it’s still so cute; it’s the tall man short woman dynamic and it is so “aww.”
This relationship is literally a walking representation of “she’s so cute when she’s mad” and that is the best out-of-context way I can describe the Tink x Hook relationship. While I have liked all the books in the series for different reasons up until this point, I think A Worthy Opponent is the only one so far that I would actively reread. Not that the other prior installments are bad, but this one I can see myself reading again and again for funsies just to watch these two be adorable with each other. I know I rated Desperate Measures five stars at the time or reading, but this one is for sure a strong five star — I may have to retroactively change my rating on that book. If you want the spicy villain x heroine romance but also want cute relationship fluff, this one is for you.
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- The first few chapters of this book? Queue up “Next Girl” by Carly Pierce
- THE TENSION! That’s it, just THE TENSION.
- It’s funny to watch Hades as a character in this story because he is essentially acting like a father figure, forcing Tink to spread her own wings.
- I don’t know if Robert has written this yet, but I feel like a story with Aurora would be so interesting because she seems to be a genuine person and genuinely sweet; not sarcastic or hardened.
- This romance story is a good choice for readers who want to specifically read about a curvy/plus-sized heroine. Tink is described as both (both terms are used interchangeably) and it works both for representation for the female reader base but also for the character herself.
- Two very hilarious moments I wanted to point out because I audibly laughed at these:
- An unknown number calls Hook at 4 a.m. — it’s Peter — but he says business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and just hangs up on him.
- Hook hugs Tink after Peter makes a threat and she exclaims “What the hell are you doing?!” and he just spits back “It’s called comfort!”
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
