A review by kanzakiss
A Game of Gods by Scarlett St. Clair
2.0
All of my previous criticism of this series still holds true. The character of Hades has been completely lost since the first book and he is now nothing more than a simp for Persephone. Every single time they are together they have sex and the sex scenes are ALWAYS tacky and repetitive. It's the same dialogue, the same actions- every single time.
This book is honestly the most offensive in terms of sex for no reason other than to be provocative. But this time I have a specific issue with how the author incorporates sexual assault and how often they include it.
Because Hades has become boring now, the author has to bring in the viewpoints of Dionysus and Theseus in order to salvage the book. Clearly, she doesn't know what else to do with Hades and Persephone because she had to start a new romance between Dionysus and Ariadne. But, of course, Ariadne also has to almost be raped just like Persephone because why not?
Then there's Theseus.
Theseus has (I think) just three chapters. But in every single one of these chapters, he fantasizes about raping one of the women in the book. Whether it's Persephone, Ariadne, or Helen, it is literally all he talks about.
It is fine to have stories that involve sexual assault if it is done in a respectful manner. But all St Clair does is talk about how hard Theseus is getting at the thought of assaulting women. The rape of Persephone, Demeter, and Ariadne are all parts of Greek myths, yes. But when doing a retelling, you have the option to not include them if it is not adding to any character development. And not once has it spurred any development whatsoever.
A smaller gripe is that because there are three POVs now, the author has thrown out naming the chapters. They're just named after the character and it's just lazy.
I hate this book more than all the others. It only gets two stars because Hermes continues to carry the books.
This book is honestly the most offensive in terms of sex for no reason other than to be provocative. But this time I have a specific issue with how the author incorporates sexual assault and how often they include it.
Because Hades has become boring now, the author has to bring in the viewpoints of Dionysus and Theseus in order to salvage the book. Clearly, she doesn't know what else to do with Hades and Persephone because she had to start a new romance between Dionysus and Ariadne. But, of course, Ariadne also has to almost be raped just like Persephone because why not?
Then there's Theseus.
Theseus has (I think) just three chapters. But in every single one of these chapters, he fantasizes about raping one of the women in the book. Whether it's Persephone, Ariadne, or Helen, it is literally all he talks about.
It is fine to have stories that involve sexual assault if it is done in a respectful manner. But all St Clair does is talk about how hard Theseus is getting at the thought of assaulting women. The rape of Persephone, Demeter, and Ariadne are all parts of Greek myths, yes. But when doing a retelling, you have the option to not include them if it is not adding to any character development. And not once has it spurred any development whatsoever.
A smaller gripe is that because there are three POVs now, the author has thrown out naming the chapters. They're just named after the character and it's just lazy.
I hate this book more than all the others. It only gets two stars because Hermes continues to carry the books.