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adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A contemporary take on the Persephone Myth, Melinda Salisbury’s Her Dark Wings was a beautifully written coming of age story, blending Greek myth with the angsty, emotional rollercoaster of adolescence that readers young and old are sure to find compelling.
Brimming with heartbreak, betrayal, complicated friendships and unbridled rage I was blown away by how deeply intense the emotions (conveyed through protagonist Corey) were.
I adored Salisbury’s The Sin Eater’s Daughter series and fell absolutely in love with her prose which is just as atmospheric as I hoped it would be. What impressed me the most however, was how very relatable this story and world itself actually was. I genuinely felt I could walk right onto the island and follow Corey straight into the Underworld.
Delving primarily into Corey’s life and her journey to self acceptance, as she comes into her powers and deals with the challenges that life throws her way (mainly cheating boyfriends and ex best friends.) It can be a bit of a slow burner, but I found it such a satisfying read a d though it has one of the most unique takes on Hades and Persephone that I’ve read in a while.
So, if you enjoy your fantasy a little on the modern and relatable side, with a coming of age style premise and deeply endearing protagonist —then I definitely think you should consider picking this one up. Just be sure to check TWs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Kidnapping, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an interesting twist on the Persephone tale from Greek mythology; I did enjoy the liberties that Salisbury took with the myth to make it her own. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you will see the influences throughout the story and honestly, I think it will make you appreciate it more.
The main thing that didn't make me absolutely love this is I don't think there's a whole lot of character development. Corey does a not so great thing, but then doesn't seem to learn anything from it. I didn't see a lot of growth in her character, and while yeah, what her best friend did wasn't great, did it mean she should die because of it? Definitely not.
Also, the narrator of the audiobook had an Irish accent, but I'm pretty sure Australia was mentioned at one point in the book, so I'm not sure what was up with that. All in all, if you enjoy Greek myth inspired things and don't mind not a lot of character development, this might be for you!
The main thing that didn't make me absolutely love this is I don't think there's a whole lot of character development. Corey does a not so great thing, but then doesn't seem to learn anything from it. I didn't see a lot of growth in her character, and while yeah, what her best friend did wasn't great, did it mean she should die because of it? Definitely not.
Also, the narrator of the audiobook had an Irish accent, but I'm pretty sure Australia was mentioned at one point in the book, so I'm not sure what was up with that. All in all, if you enjoy Greek myth inspired things and don't mind not a lot of character development, this might be for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Kidnapping
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I absolutely devoured the first half of this book. It’s so easy to read and paced really well.
Potentially spoilery:
Though it’s well written, I at times found Corey to be quite contradictory in her attitude/personality/aging. She’s so so angry and so vengeful about Bree. I know she betrayed her and cheated on her but her constantly wishing for her death felt over dramatic and at times immature.
Because of this Corey felt quite young (and is mentioned several times is still in school), this then leads me into the 2nd half in which she is miraculously more mature, mature enough to decide to leave the human world behind (and her dad is weirdly ok with her leaving?).
Overall at times it felt a little superficial and inconsistent with her maturity and outlook.
The romance element with Hades felt a bit superficial and underdeveloped too.
Overall a fun and easy read. I just wanted more especially in terms of character and relationship development.
To be fair, I read an early copy so there may be changes after another edit that I didn’t read!
Potentially spoilery:
Though it’s well written, I at times found Corey to be quite contradictory in her attitude/personality/aging. She’s so so angry and so vengeful about Bree. I know she betrayed her and cheated on her but her constantly wishing for her death felt over dramatic and at times immature.
Because of this Corey felt quite young (and is mentioned several times is still in school), this then leads me into the 2nd half in which she is miraculously more mature, mature enough to decide to leave the human world behind (and her dad is weirdly ok with her leaving?).
Overall at times it felt a little superficial and inconsistent with her maturity and outlook.
The romance element with Hades felt a bit superficial and underdeveloped too.
Overall a fun and easy read. I just wanted more especially in terms of character and relationship development.
To be fair, I read an early copy so there may be changes after another edit that I didn’t read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Contains death by drowning
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity