Scan barcode
thewordslinger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
If there's one thing I can say about this last book it's that it is action packed. There's never really a dull moment from the time you crack the cover open until you hit the big "THE END".
That being said, there are a few things I can't let slide.
1. At the end of Book 2, Persephone is sent back to NYC. That lasts all of like 25 minutes before she's brought right back into the Underworld. What was the friggin' point of that?
1a. Why did Hecate bring Sam (Persy's very human brother) back with them? And why is Persephone just...okay with him being there when there's danger lurking around every corner? Sam didn't need to exist in this book. Sorry.
2. We finally find out what Persephone's powers are in this book, and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed at first. I guess I was hoping for something...more? Different? Cooler? Ultimately the story ends in a satisfying way--don't get me wrong. But we learn that Persephone has the ability to take powers from other gods. Which essentially could turn her into a big bomb that could destroy Olympus if Chronos gets his hands on her. It sounds lame and a little confusing but I'll give credit where it's due--the end made up for the initial disappointment.
3. In chapter 3, Persephone says this: <b>I knew with utter certainty that I had to be where Hades was. For as long as I lived, I needed to be by his side. He was my home. He was everything.</b>
I wish this had been <i>earned</i>. Because for 2 whole books now, she's been going on about how she can't stay in Virgo (the Underworld) because there's no sunlight and plants around. What's more, there's more of that thought process going on further into this book. It doesn't stop until the last couple of chapters. She even hesitates to agree to marriage, assuming she wins the Trials (when the WHOLE TIME she's known that the winner will marry Hades), because she hates Virgo so much and doesn't want to live there.
4. Speaking of the Trials. I am still of the opinion that they didn't need to be a competition between her and Minthe. I'd have much preferred the Trials be a solo thing designed to re-admit Persephone back into Olympus, rather than a fucked up episode of the Bachelor.
In this book, it's made very obvious very quickly (within the first couple chapters) that Persephone and Hades' marriage bond was never severed. It flares to life and they consummate it early and often. They drop the L bombs (which I don't really feel are earned from Persephone's side, at the very least, but whatever) on each other, and he starts referring to her as "My Queen" within 30 pages.
So what's the point? There's never any discussion about how her losing her memory and powers also granted her and Hades a divorce. So, I can only assume, since the magical marriage bond still exists between them, that they never were.
Ergo, he CAN'T marry Minthe if she wins. He's already married--and as we've learned in previous books, Olympians only marry ONCE.
I just wish this had made more sense. I wish it'd been written differently. I never could take the Trials seriously because there was no proper groundwork laid, and it was an obvious shoe in that the two were going to end up together.
5. Where the hell is Demeter? We're told VERY briefly in book 2 that she dumped Persephone on Dionysus' doorstep and vanished in to the great blue yonder. But we don't know why or where she went. We never find out, either, who Persephone's true father is.
It's wild, give that the mythos has Demeter being an overprotective Karen about her daughter. Sending the world into winter and killing people by starvation until Persephone comes back to her.
I mean, I guess this is a unique take, but isn't she an Olympian? In this world, wouldn't that mean she's got her own realm somewhere? Why doesn't she? Instead, Hades has a realm, when he's generally NOT considered to be an Olympian.
I get it. It's fiction. And author's can change the myths they base their stories on to suit whatever needs they see fit. But like....????? Why isn't Persephone even concerned about her divine parentage? I know I would be!
6. Hades is described in this book as having a TRIdent. He doesn't. He has a BIdent. Think pitchfork, instead of the thing Aquaman lugs around. The TRIdent is associated with Poseidon.
Yeah, yeah, fiction. Author's have right to make shit up. Whatever. This wasn't a necessary change. It just makes it sound like the writer didn't do their research when it came to the gods. Sue me for nitpicking.
7. Listen. I love a Girl Boss as much as the next person. And I get that Persephone is the main character in this story. But I really dislike when authors turn their "powerful men" into pool boys with gigantic schlongs whose only purpose in life is to dole out endless orgasms to the female lead.
And that's sort of what Hades turns into in this book. He can't stand up to Zeus, he can't stand up to Chronos. He gets shackled by some other fire demon he's supposed to be in control of... he's got no power, only a lot of anger and worry and frankly he comes out sounding like a wimp in comparison to his badass female counterpart. Nevermind that he's the wealthiest, second (third?) most powerful god in all of Olympus.
I love a strong female character. But I also love it when they have a strong male character standing beside them (if a man needs to exist in the story at all, that is). Especially when I'm reading a book about GODS.
8. Finally--the last story-related gripe: The bad guy just runs away at the end and doesn't face justice. I get the impression that there are other works set in this world that may continue this story line (I'm not 100% sure on this), but if there aren't, then this story is unfinished in a major way, because the ultimate bad guy has yet to face punishment. He's still out there, still able to wreck havoc on Olympus and every other realm in existence.
9. There's quite a bit less editing going on in this book. I ran across way more mistakes than I did in either of the books before. Silly things that should have been caught.
But on the plus side -- at least in the beginning, Persephone's thought-speak is italicized when it hadn't been before in books 1 or 2. It doesn't last for the entire book, though. So I dunno if it's lazy writing or lazy editing but it made for some confused reading from time to time.
9a. And while we're talking about the writing there are still a few times where the author's Britishness bleeds through. As an example: Persephone refers to her brother having "a row" about something... Yeah. Us Yanks don't use that phrase. A row is an aisle of seating or something you do on a boat. Not an argument.
I wouldn't have minded if Persephone and Sam had lived in London before they came to Olympus. But they don't. They're New Yorkers. Literal Yanks lol. This is something that should have been looked out for during the editing process as I realize it's probably very hard to escape the idioms and turns of phrase you grew up with. Write what you know, and all that.
--
I actually don't have a lot to complain about regarding the ending of this book. The mystery surrounding what happened that got Persephone kicked out of Olympus is solved. The mystery man in the dream garden (which I sort of saw coming) is solved. The final battle ends in a unique and interesting way that solves a lot of the big problems standing between Persephone and Hades being together. Even the Minthe's involvement in the end was quite nice to see.
Over all, I'm happy with the way this series came to a close. All three books are quick reads, if you're looking for something fun that doesn't take itself too seriously and have a love for Greek mythos retellings. Oh. And if you can overlook the stuff I bitched about up there, ahaha.
That being said, there are a few things I can't let slide.
1. At the end of Book 2, Persephone is sent back to NYC. That lasts all of like 25 minutes before she's brought right back into the Underworld. What was the friggin' point of that?
1a. Why did Hecate bring Sam (Persy's very human brother) back with them? And why is Persephone just...okay with him being there when there's danger lurking around every corner? Sam didn't need to exist in this book. Sorry.
2. We finally find out what Persephone's powers are in this book, and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed at first. I guess I was hoping for something...more? Different? Cooler? Ultimately the story ends in a satisfying way--don't get me wrong. But we learn that Persephone has the ability to take powers from other gods. Which essentially could turn her into a big bomb that could destroy Olympus if Chronos gets his hands on her. It sounds lame and a little confusing but I'll give credit where it's due--the end made up for the initial disappointment.
3. In chapter 3, Persephone says this: <b>I knew with utter certainty that I had to be where Hades was. For as long as I lived, I needed to be by his side. He was my home. He was everything.</b>
I wish this had been <i>earned</i>. Because for 2 whole books now, she's been going on about how she can't stay in Virgo (the Underworld) because there's no sunlight and plants around. What's more, there's more of that thought process going on further into this book. It doesn't stop until the last couple of chapters. She even hesitates to agree to marriage, assuming she wins the Trials (when the WHOLE TIME she's known that the winner will marry Hades), because she hates Virgo so much and doesn't want to live there.
4. Speaking of the Trials. I am still of the opinion that they didn't need to be a competition between her and Minthe. I'd have much preferred the Trials be a solo thing designed to re-admit Persephone back into Olympus, rather than a fucked up episode of the Bachelor.
In this book, it's made very obvious very quickly (within the first couple chapters) that Persephone and Hades' marriage bond was never severed. It flares to life and they consummate it early and often. They drop the L bombs (which I don't really feel are earned from Persephone's side, at the very least, but whatever) on each other, and he starts referring to her as "My Queen" within 30 pages.
So what's the point? There's never any discussion about how her losing her memory and powers also granted her and Hades a divorce. So, I can only assume, since the magical marriage bond still exists between them, that they never were.
Ergo, he CAN'T marry Minthe if she wins. He's already married--and as we've learned in previous books, Olympians only marry ONCE.
I just wish this had made more sense. I wish it'd been written differently. I never could take the Trials seriously because there was no proper groundwork laid, and it was an obvious shoe in that the two were going to end up together.
5. Where the hell is Demeter? We're told VERY briefly in book 2 that she dumped Persephone on Dionysus' doorstep and vanished in to the great blue yonder. But we don't know why or where she went. We never find out, either, who Persephone's true father is.
It's wild, give that the mythos has Demeter being an overprotective Karen about her daughter. Sending the world into winter and killing people by starvation until Persephone comes back to her.
I mean, I guess this is a unique take, but isn't she an Olympian? In this world, wouldn't that mean she's got her own realm somewhere? Why doesn't she? Instead, Hades has a realm, when he's generally NOT considered to be an Olympian.
I get it. It's fiction. And author's can change the myths they base their stories on to suit whatever needs they see fit. But like....????? Why isn't Persephone even concerned about her divine parentage? I know I would be!
6. Hades is described in this book as having a TRIdent. He doesn't. He has a BIdent. Think pitchfork, instead of the thing Aquaman lugs around. The TRIdent is associated with Poseidon.
Yeah, yeah, fiction. Author's have right to make shit up. Whatever. This wasn't a necessary change. It just makes it sound like the writer didn't do their research when it came to the gods. Sue me for nitpicking.
7. Listen. I love a Girl Boss as much as the next person. And I get that Persephone is the main character in this story. But I really dislike when authors turn their "powerful men" into pool boys with gigantic schlongs whose only purpose in life is to dole out endless orgasms to the female lead.
And that's sort of what Hades turns into in this book. He can't stand up to Zeus, he can't stand up to Chronos. He gets shackled by some other fire demon he's supposed to be in control of... he's got no power, only a lot of anger and worry and frankly he comes out sounding like a wimp in comparison to his badass female counterpart. Nevermind that he's the wealthiest, second (third?) most powerful god in all of Olympus.
I love a strong female character. But I also love it when they have a strong male character standing beside them (if a man needs to exist in the story at all, that is). Especially when I'm reading a book about GODS.
8. Finally--the last story-related gripe: The bad guy just runs away at the end and doesn't face justice. I get the impression that there are other works set in this world that may continue this story line (I'm not 100% sure on this), but if there aren't, then this story is unfinished in a major way, because the ultimate bad guy has yet to face punishment. He's still out there, still able to wreck havoc on Olympus and every other realm in existence.
9. There's quite a bit less editing going on in this book. I ran across way more mistakes than I did in either of the books before. Silly things that should have been caught.
But on the plus side -- at least in the beginning, Persephone's thought-speak is italicized when it hadn't been before in books 1 or 2. It doesn't last for the entire book, though. So I dunno if it's lazy writing or lazy editing but it made for some confused reading from time to time.
9a. And while we're talking about the writing there are still a few times where the author's Britishness bleeds through. As an example: Persephone refers to her brother having "a row" about something... Yeah. Us Yanks don't use that phrase. A row is an aisle of seating or something you do on a boat. Not an argument.
I wouldn't have minded if Persephone and Sam had lived in London before they came to Olympus. But they don't. They're New Yorkers. Literal Yanks lol. This is something that should have been looked out for during the editing process as I realize it's probably very hard to escape the idioms and turns of phrase you grew up with. Write what you know, and all that.
--
I actually don't have a lot to complain about regarding the ending of this book. The mystery surrounding what happened that got Persephone kicked out of Olympus is solved. The mystery man in the dream garden (which I sort of saw coming) is solved. The final battle ends in a unique and interesting way that solves a lot of the big problems standing between Persephone and Hades being together. Even the Minthe's involvement in the end was quite nice to see.
Over all, I'm happy with the way this series came to a close. All three books are quick reads, if you're looking for something fun that doesn't take itself too seriously and have a love for Greek mythos retellings. Oh. And if you can overlook the stuff I bitched about up there, ahaha.
scinfaxi's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bee_reading_books's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say I was a little disappointed.
The cliffhanger from book two was resolved almost immediately.
The villain of this series was also given away pretty early on in the book and was very anticlimactic.
We got almost no Hades and Persophone development this book, just a few sex scenes to make it feel like we did.
Im still struggling to understand what Persephone's brother added to the story. There was no reason for him to be there at all.
There was tons of action, which was great. But Persephone is still really elusive and I am left wanting.
Alot of detail was missing and I would love to think theres more coming.
The cliffhanger from book two was resolved almost immediately.
The villain of this series was also given away pretty early on in the book and was very anticlimactic.
We got almost no Hades and Persophone development this book, just a few sex scenes to make it feel like we did.
Im still struggling to understand what Persephone's brother added to the story. There was no reason for him to be there at all.
There was tons of action, which was great. But Persephone is still really elusive and I am left wanting.
Alot of detail was missing and I would love to think theres more coming.
kutsireads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
simplysalcedo's review against another edition
3.0
I’m so torn on this book. I read it in one sitting, and really enjoyed it. But, it did leave a lot of question unanswered, and it left on a cliff hanger. This was only three books, and I didn’t read anything about another coming out, so that’s sad. I did enjoy the trials Persephone had to face, and the story line as a whole. I just feel like so much is still missing, and I wish all the loose ends had been tied up.
I gave the first two books 4 stars each. I think for the three books together, I would average them all at 3 stars. (This might change though if my questions are answered in the next series.)
Edit to add: I was mistaken. I have found the Ares Trials and the Poseidon Trials. Hopefully these books answer the questions that the Hades Trials left!
I gave the first two books 4 stars each. I think for the three books together, I would average them all at 3 stars. (This might change though if my questions are answered in the next series.)
Edit to add: I was mistaken. I have found the Ares Trials and the Poseidon Trials. Hopefully these books answer the questions that the Hades Trials left!
lorraine87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
krhodes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smithrachaelynn's review against another edition
3.5
awesome conclusion! Hades & Persephone’s romance is so sweet. No spice but it was still a great series!!