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direraven's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
3.75
So this wasn't a case of will they/won't they; it was a case of when will they?? I enjoyed the characterization of the Gods and Goddesses of the Greek pantheon. I liked the unique feature of the various antlers Scarlett gave them in their divine forms, but honestly my brain kept switching between my favorite web comic versions of the characters (Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus and Linda Sejic's Punderworld versions). I'm excited that this is a series because I'm definitely not done with these characters, and I'm excited to see more of the rest of the deities as I make my way through the rest of the books (eventually!).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
jholt2899's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
[TL;DR]
Persephone is attempting to live a normal life, glamoured as a mortal as she pursues work in journalism. After a night out with her best friend ends with Persephone forced into a bargain with Hades, she will have to dig deep to understand who Hades truly is behind his reputation of darkness and destruction.
I love a modern day retelling and especially if it's a little steamy romance as well, but I didn't connect to A Touch of Darkness like my TikTok peers did. Personally, I found the writing to be plain and very "tell rather than show." I liked the mama drama between Persephone and Demeter and the sexual chemistry with Hades was clearly good. Unfortunately, I found there to be little to no plot. I'm not entirely sure what the next books in this series will go because everything was more or less wrapped up by the end.
St. Clair creates an alluring premise, and there was certainly enough here to want me to continue reading, but even the romantic steamy scenes were lacking. They felt rushed rather than savored. The closest we got to seeing some real character development rather than two-dimensional people was when Persephone finally takes control of her powers. Ultimately, I thought this left me wanting more and I'm still considering whether I want to continue with the series for palate cleansing reading in between heftier books.
Rating: 3/5 stars
TW/CW: sexually explicit scenes, gambling, emotional abuse by parent, sexual harassment
Persephone is attempting to live a normal life, glamoured as a mortal as she pursues work in journalism. After a night out with her best friend ends with Persephone forced into a bargain with Hades, she will have to dig deep to understand who Hades truly is behind his reputation of darkness and destruction.
I love a modern day retelling and especially if it's a little steamy romance as well, but I didn't connect to A Touch of Darkness like my TikTok peers did. Personally, I found the writing to be plain and very "tell rather than show." I liked the mama drama between Persephone and Demeter and the sexual chemistry with Hades was clearly good. Unfortunately, I found there to be little to no plot. I'm not entirely sure what the next books in this series will go because everything was more or less wrapped up by the end.
St. Clair creates an alluring premise, and there was certainly enough here to want me to continue reading, but even the romantic steamy scenes were lacking. They felt rushed rather than savored. The closest we got to seeing some real character development rather than two-dimensional people was when Persephone finally takes control of her powers. Ultimately, I thought this left me wanting more and I'm still considering whether I want to continue with the series for palate cleansing reading in between heftier books.
Rating: 3/5 stars
TW/CW: sexually explicit scenes, gambling, emotional abuse by parent, sexual harassment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse
alyciamck's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault
quaint_reader's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
litokeland's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
cepbreed's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Coming into this book I didn't really know much about it but once I learned it was a myth adaptation I had such high expectations. Madeleine Miller has set every other author who wants to write something based on a myth to unattainable standards. Unfortunately it didn't meet these. However, I still enjoyed this book because it serves its purpose as a fan service novel for women so I can't really complain.
Songs:
Songs:
- Wanna Be Yours - Artic Monkeys
- Flawless - The Neighborhood
- Chuch - Chase Atlantic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Emotional abuse
rockyroadbutch's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I was told that this book would be ~spicy~ (booktok loves those) but didn’t know it was literal erotica...oops. I also have the problem that once I start a book, I have to finish it, otherwise I doubt I would have stuck with this one past the first few chapters. I honestly found most of the characters pretty annoying, which is disappointing because I love the idea of then Hades and Persephone myth. There were some parts that were less cringy but overall it wasn’t worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I decided to trust Booktok on this one and picked a copy of this up. I should have known better but I was enamored with the idea of a Hades and Persephone retelling.
I recognize that this was self-published and thus prone to a lot of errors. However, there were consistent formatting and punctuation issues that pulled me out of the narrative. Additionally, there was a lot of poor dialogue that felt like it was pulled off of a 13 year olds twitter account, especially regarding the sexual assault Persephone experienced and the issue she brought up with Hades' contracts that was resolved with the Halcyon Project plot line. It all felt one dimensional and childish in execution. The dialogue itself was fairly poor throughout the book but there were some positive lines I enjoyed.
Another issue I had was with Hades and Persephone themselves. Both of them felt very flat. I did not enjoy the initial punch of lusting and desire when they first looked at each other. It felt uncomfortable through Persephone's perspective for her to be tossing around language of being "filled" by him after just meeting his eyes. Persephone herself reflected this idea of her living in the mortal realm for a few years well, and I would give the author points for it if I believed it to be an intentional narrative choice. However, I believe it was nothing more than poor writing and development. The same thing goes for Hades. I saw no charm to his character except when he was playing fetch with the dogs. Everything else about him was boring and disenchanting for a character that literally has the power to Charm people, if he wishes. Also, the author's application of the concept of "power" on Hades as one of the Divine Three just didn't land well. I never feared him, never felt anything towards his displays of magic, and couldn't care less about his deals. I dont even know why he does them in the first place when he literally has the choice to just...not. His motivations are so unclear, which just makes me dislike him more..
I thought the sex scenes were just as dull and dispassionate and strained myself trying to find something that made feel anything in the entire book. Several plot points were mentioned, then dropped, only to suddenly get picked back up again, which was irritating. I think the only characters that appeared more than once that I liked were Hectate, Hermes, and the dogs. I will not be continuing the series.
I recognize that this was self-published and thus prone to a lot of errors. However, there were consistent formatting and punctuation issues that pulled me out of the narrative. Additionally, there was a lot of poor dialogue that felt like it was pulled off of a 13 year olds twitter account, especially regarding the
Another issue I had was with Hades and Persephone themselves. Both of them felt very flat. I did not enjoy the initial punch of lusting and desire when they first looked at each other. It felt uncomfortable through Persephone's perspective for her to be tossing around language of being "filled" by him after just meeting his eyes. Persephone herself reflected this idea of her living in the mortal realm for a few years well, and I would give the author points for it if I believed it to be an intentional narrative choice. However, I believe it was nothing more than poor writing and development. The same thing goes for Hades. I saw no charm to his character except when he was playing fetch with the dogs. Everything else about him was boring and disenchanting for a character that literally has the power to Charm people, if he wishes. Also, the author's application of the concept of "power" on Hades as one of the Divine Three just didn't land well. I never feared him, never felt anything towards his displays of magic, and couldn't care less about his deals. I dont even know why he does them in the first place when he literally has the choice to just...not. His motivations are so unclear, which just makes me dislike him more..
I thought the sex scenes were just as dull and dispassionate and strained myself trying to find something that made feel anything in the entire book. Several plot points were mentioned, then dropped, only to suddenly get picked back up again, which was irritating. I think the only characters that appeared more than once that I liked were Hectate, Hermes, and the dogs. I will not be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault