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cscharfway's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There was a lot happening in this book, and I enjoyed how complex Hades’ interactions with the other gods has gotten. Though Hades is a bit clueless as a boyfriend sometimes, it still feels like he’s genuine and learning, and seeing through his eyes made me like Persephone more- in her saga, I find her angry reactions quite immature and hard to read, but Hades somehow softens her with his deep emotional reflections. I also am fascinated by how much of a life he lives outside of what Persephone sees and is aware of. I really don’t like that their relationship conflict centres around honesty and communication and yet look at all the stuff he’s still keeping from Persephone!!
The plot is moving along much faster in this book, and towards something important and I’m on edge to find out how it will all play out. This really shows that the book is purposeful and is not just falling back on the smut appeal, though there was a lot of that too. The sex scenes have started to bother me a bit with how many there are and how unrealistic they are, but hey, I guess people don’t read or watch pornography for the realism!
The plot is moving along much faster in this book, and towards something important and I’m on edge to find out how it will all play out. This really shows that the book is purposeful and is not just falling back on the smut appeal, though there was a lot of that too. The sex scenes have started to bother me a bit with how many there are and how unrealistic they are, but hey, I guess people don’t read or watch pornography for the realism!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
whatkatyread87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Eh. This one was okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Stalking
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and War
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I’m super intrigued on the war. Hades is so quick to assume things and then ends up messing up with Persephone. I also feel like this man is sex crazy and I love smut but there were so many times where they had sex when they should’ve talked. Hecate and Hermes are definitely my faves
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and War
Minor: Kidnapping and Stalking
sophiecountsclouds's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I stand by that this trilogy could have been nice Hades perspective novellas with the additional plot, but all the scenes with Persephone felt SO repetitive and so ridiculously smutty. They'd just be having a chat and then they were getting it on? It made no sense at all. Definitely didn't need to be over 450 pages long - 250 tops.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, Vomit, Trafficking, and Alcohol
nitecrtlvr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
rchulin1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
savage_book_review's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So the note at the back of this book says the author doesn't like it when people show her version of Hades all the love while bashing Persephone. My response to that has to be that, while I like Persephone's story arc and am keen to see her grow into her powers and role as Queen of the Underworld, I'm thinking the reason she doesn't get the same amount of love is because Hades has his opportunity to shine in both her PoV and his. This book tells the story of 'A Touch of Ruin' from Hades PoV and, once again, you get to explore what happens when Persephone isn't around and see just what other s**t he has to deal with. At this point, I'm very much preferring seeing things from his perspective; I appreciate he is a few millenia older than Persephone, but his jaded, world-weary outlook seems so much more real to me than Persephone's quite immature attitude.
However, I guess it's meant to be like that; it's just a struggle to remember that Persephone was essentially kept in isolation for 18 years when she seems to have so much more experience than her four years in New Athens would suggest. In some ways, she is still very much a child and, seen in that context, her erratic behaviour and desperate desire for reassurance, friendship and love becomes a little more understandable. I think the main issue I have is that, where Hades seems to genuinely feel something when taking action (whether rage, lust, sadness, pride or joy), Persephone's outbursts don't feel like they have that same depth - they're more like temper tantrums, which I guess brings me back to her essentially being a child.
Although I would say that you really should read 'A Touch of Ruin' first, this book does flow better for those who might be jumping in here. There is much more of a story going on for Hades, and it serves as a great build up to what I can only assume is going to follow in the next books. And the development of his relationship with Persephone makes so much more sense when seen through his eyes - this man who has never had anyone to ask him 'how was your day?' or who wants to be in his orbit because of him as a person, not him as a God... even though I felt for him in the last book and got why he acts the way he does, to see his thought processes and the repercussions of that really gives him a properly rounded character, and one that I'm incredibly drawn to.
I enjoyed the interactions with other Gods, Dionysius and Hephestus in particular, and the sinking feeling that the Olympians are about to come to blows. Likewise, Hades' relationships with Hecate and Hermes continue to make me smile and are giving me 'found family' vibes. I want a 'family dinner' scene with them, Persephone, Thanatos and Charon all just being relaxed and comfortable with eachother, banter flying, and everyone ganging up on Hades to poke fun at something ridiculous he says or does.
I'm also continuing to enjoy the weaving in of established mythology to the modern context. The introduction of Ariadne as a detective, for example, I thought was great. And her chemistry with Dionysius sparks off the page very well.
Overall, I'm still not completely sold on the writing, but it works well enough to trigger my imagination and for me to enjoy the retelling of the classic myth. So it's not bad! Slightly annoyed the next in the series isn't available on KU yet, but at least my library service has a copy I can borrow!
However, I guess it's meant to be like that; it's just a struggle to remember that Persephone was essentially kept in isolation for 18 years when she seems to have so much more experience than her four years in New Athens would suggest. In some ways, she is still very much a child and, seen in that context, her erratic behaviour and desperate desire for reassurance, friendship and love becomes a little more understandable. I think the main issue I have is that, where Hades seems to genuinely feel something when taking action (whether rage, lust, sadness, pride or joy), Persephone's outbursts don't feel like they have that same depth - they're more like temper tantrums, which I guess brings me back to her essentially being a child.
Although I would say that you really should read 'A Touch of Ruin' first, this book does flow better for those who might be jumping in here. There is much more of a story going on for Hades, and it serves as a great build up to what I can only assume is going to follow in the next books. And the development of his relationship with Persephone makes so much more sense when seen through his eyes - this man who has never had anyone to ask him 'how was your day?' or who wants to be in his orbit because of him as a person, not him as a God... even though I felt for him in the last book and got why he acts the way he does, to see his thought processes and the repercussions of that really gives him a properly rounded character, and one that I'm incredibly drawn to.
I enjoyed the interactions with other Gods, Dionysius and Hephestus in particular, and the sinking feeling that the Olympians are about to come to blows. Likewise, Hades' relationships with Hecate and Hermes continue to make me smile and are giving me 'found family' vibes. I want a 'family dinner' scene with them, Persephone, Thanatos and Charon all just being relaxed and comfortable with eachother, banter flying, and everyone ganging up on Hades to poke fun at something ridiculous he says or does.
I'm also continuing to enjoy the weaving in of established mythology to the modern context. The introduction of Ariadne as a detective, for example, I thought was great. And her chemistry with Dionysius sparks off the page very well.
Overall, I'm still not completely sold on the writing, but it works well enough to trigger my imagination and for me to enjoy the retelling of the classic myth. So it's not bad! Slightly annoyed the next in the series isn't available on KU yet, but at least my library service has a copy I can borrow!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Stalking, and Car accident
alicia_joy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I have a hard time not finishing series that I start, but I am on the struggle bus with this one. I don't get why there are two separate series that are supposed to be read together, and have portions of duplicate content. Like it's really weird to be reading parts of the same book twice. And also, we get it. They are just insatiably horny all the time, and Hades is just broody, and Persephone is immature and unaware from being sheltered her whole life...it's just kind of getting old. Honestly, Hermes is saving the series for me at this point. He is by far my favorite character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping
grace33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Re-read this because the next book of the series is out and I wanted to refresh my memory - this was the first book I finished this year, and I liked it on my second pass as well. I slightly prefer the story from Hades' POV, though am looking forward to the next one in the timeline, which will be Persephone's POV again.
Things I dislike:
Things I dislike:
- Noted this in another review, but the sex scenes are a bit template-y feeling after a while. It's not hugely imaginative, and the language can be a turn off for me. They are spicy though, just not as appealing to my brain as other authors can be.
- I also just violently hate the miscommunication trope. So, so many problems, dangers, and fights could be avoided by talking, and I'm just having a hard time with believing that any eons-old god (whether they are experienced in romantic relationships or not) is struggling SO MUCH to express their thoughts... just plain annoying
Things I like:
- Hermes! Somehow we love the trickster in all their incarnations (I don't think I've come across an unlikable Hermes yet?). Definitely bringing the sass.
- In this book in particular, I really like that there are real-world (and impactful) consequences to MC's actions. As sad as the story gets, I'm glad that there isn't some loophole or some magical cure-all that pops up and fixes it. I feel that this gives the story more depth.
So yeah, I'm excited to read on now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual harassment