Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

131 reviews

elmead's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

A hot and spicy modern retelling of Hades and Persephone. I had a fun time and loved Katee Robert’s new take on Greek mythology. 

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wickeddelights's review against another edition

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dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

2.75

So I read this book for my book club. 
There were characters I liked, Hermese was quite pleasant and I truly wish she had been a bigger part of the overall story. But the romance in this book felt unbelievable to me
Persephone was transfixed by the myth of Hades before she ever met him. And when she runs from a marriage forced onto her by her mother to Zeus, she runs to the undercity and finds out he is more than a myth.
But he certainly wasn't what I think anyone was expecting.
He was beloved to his people, kind hearted, but infuriatingly blind to how others perceive him. Persephone on the other hand has spent her entire life learning to be keen and manipulative. Initially she presses him into the arrangement they form, though quite literally in a matter of days they are both head over heels for each other.
The story has BDSM themes, and even a safeword, though it is never used. The author handles consent and protection really well. But there are so many little things that felt like they should have been a much bigger deal that either never happened or were glossed over.
Like the collomns for example. They are mentioned several times and sometimes with snippets of lore that might suggest a further connection to the myth this story was based off of. But that is about it.
We never get the full answers we want from Zeus about what he did to Hades.  We never learn why these regular humans are named after Greek gods even if they aren't a member of the thirteen. Etc.
But I think what bothered me the most was her description of side characters.  Rather than using descriptive words we are instead told their ethnicity. Example being "A black woman, a White man, A Latino woman" 
And the sexuality of Persephone and Hades felt so thrown out there in one random chapter, and as a Bisexual woman myself I would have loved if the author expanded on that more, so it felt like an actual part of the characters rather than a footnote.
I liked the concept of the book and a take on modern day Olympus.  But I just wanted more.

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ginalucia's review against another edition

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lighthearted tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

 
I’m going to be honest, it took me a while to get into this book. But once I did, I raced through.

We’ll get one thing out of the way first. Yes, this book is spicy. If it weren’t for the Greek Myth themes, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. I’m not really mad about that though.

So let’s get into the plot. The concept of the 13 and their position in the world was pretty confusing to me. It takes a backseat to the spice in the book, which is probably why it doesn’t have time to develop. But in general, I’d love some more world-building.

I also got the ick from a few questionable bits of dialogue and actions. Some red flags were raised. Look at the content warnings if you want specifics. 

It’s hard to suspend disbelief when the characters in this world aren’t actually Greek deities. Instead, they’re kind of normal people, just with a lot of power and money.

Aside from that, Neon Gods offers a fun ride. It’s fast-paced and entertaining, and you can get lost in it pretty quickly. A good read if you can set aside misgivings and let go.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt 


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fmt23's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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erinkellyreads's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

 I'd heard about this series, but didn't know anything about it. I did end up hate-reading (it didn't start out that way!) all six of the "Touch of Darkness" books that this book gets compared to, and the main things that I've seen have been that this book has more spice and less plot but is written better than ToD. First off, 100000% this book is written better than ToD, but this is still not literature. It definitely has more spice of a kinkier variety, but I sat through three books of the Hades half of ToD that was way less tasteful (I can't get over the interest in "ball slapping").

"Neon Gods" felt in the tradition of the singular romance novel series where each book is about one couple within a larger world (and it is - looks like Psyche is up next). It is an easy read, and I ended up finishing it quickly. No, it doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of plot, but I liked this Hades more, and the concept of The Thirteen vs them being actual gods was neat. If you like a quick, kinky, romance novel with a darker flavor and some nods to Greek mythology, you'll be entertained.

*I will note that I started this book out with the audiobook but switched over to the paperback because I did not like the readers. They had a reader for each perspective, but then in their respective chapters they would do imitations of the other instead of just having the other voice actor read the dialogue. Took me right out, especially in the spicy scenes. Didn't have a problem once I switched to the paperback.

 

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ghostmomxoxo's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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

3.0


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kaetlingrigsby's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book was a great re-telling of modern day Olympus. The sexy scenes were super HOT, creative and kinky. The characters were great, I love the creativity like cerebus being 3 puppies. I think it has a great ending but my favorite aspect is that Zeus is just as much of an asshole as he was at that time and everyone calls him out on it, I HATE ZEUS, so it made me happy that a majority of the characters in the book did as well.

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kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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chelle22's review against another edition

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dark tense

4.0


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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow 😏 I’m not usually into super spicy books but I thought this one had a good level, where it focused more heavily on the plot but still added quite a bit of 🔥 in the last 2/3’s. I wasn’t too keen on the fact that it was a very modernized retelling but I loved the concept as a whole. I loved Hermes as a side character!! And otherwise, yeah there were flaws and cliches, but I don’t think that’s what most of us were paying attention  to… 
Anyway yeah I’ll read anything Hades and Persephone even if I know it’ll be a bit out of my comfort zone. And in this case, going out of my comfort zone was rewarded! 

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