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shellballenger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
What made me pick it up: The story of Hades and Persophone is one of my absolute favorites and I love it when stories are rethought and retold.
Overall rating: "Are you well?" No, Hades, I am not well. I don't know what I think of 'A Touch of Darkness' and it's about as frustrating as that sexual tension between you and Persophone. Here's the thing, I absolutely love the story of Hades and Persophone - like the actual Greek myth of the two gods and how they became, quite literally, one of mythology's power couples. And I think that is absolutely why I have a love/hate relationship with 'A Touch of Darkness.' I LOVED how Hades was portrayed and the layers and complexity we saw within him; however, Persophone was nauseating and lackluster. She was a whiny child that needed to grow a pair of pomegranates
I think one of the things I also struggled with in 'A Touch of Darkness' was the human/god dichotomy and how they lived together but separately. I didn't feel like that was fully fleshed out. There were parts where it was normal to see a god on the street or in a bar, but then there were other parts where it was like they were held to this crazy celebrity status and the informality didn't make sense. I'm not rushing to pick up the second book in the series anytime soon.
Reader's Note: 'A Touch of Darkness' includes themes of consensual sex, consensual first-time sex, brief instances of sexual assault, torture, and death. Also, fair warning, after you get about 1/3 of the way through the book, until a few chapters from the end, there are some <i> detailed </i> spicy scenes. Although, I did think they were tasteful...for being straight-up smut.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
Minor: Torture
tattedtrashreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t know what Scarlett St. Clair put in this book because I simply could not get enough of it.
From the very first page, I was drawn into the modern retelling of Hades x Persephone and the intricately created world St. Clair designed. St. Clair’s writing captivated me, drawing me in deeper and deeper as Hades and Persephone’s relationship developed. A Touch of Darkness made it so easy or me to get invested in this story, from Persephone’s desires to become her own person to the growing and complex relationship between Persephone and Hades, I had such a hard time putting this book down. Both charming and dark at the same time, this is the kind of book that will leave you thinking about it for a long time.
I read this book as an immersion read and I think this is the best way to go since I didn’t have to spend five minutes internally debating how to pronounce a character’s name as well as the fact that it made the book come to life in this way. Sylvan did a good with the narration, keeping a consistent pace and matching their voice to the emotions conveyed in the text. While some of the characters (specifically with the side characters) had similar sounding voices, it wasn’t so bad to the point where I couldn’t tell which character was which.
This is definitely a series I will be continuing and it’ll be interesting to read the books from Hades’ POV to see how things compare from the books featuring Perspephone’s POV. If you’re looking for a dark romantasy with a writing style you cannot get enough of and you’re a fan of the “who did this to you?” trope, I feel like you would enjoy reading A Touch of Darkness.
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Death, and Violence
nonotyoshi's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
shinyfox's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Infidelity, and War
literarymary95's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
If you're interested in a Hades-Persephone retelling, I recommend Neon Gods by Katee Robert. It's a bit better.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Death, and Violence
julietbourke's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
From an audiobook perspective, I thought it was a relatively easy listen and I could jump back in pretty easily too. I also really liked the narrator, she took a bit of getting used to in the beginning but I loved the way she read by the end.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the characters and story develops over the rest of the series.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and War
lizgom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Death, and Violence
skylover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Sexual harassment
khaylaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Classism