Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Game of Gods by Scarlett St. Clair

5 reviews

angelofthetardis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book has confirmed my feelings that I prefer the story told from Hades' point of view. The story feels like it has so much more depth and scope than in Persephone's novels; his solo trips and the bits that Persephone doesn't see are far more engaging and add to the levels of intrigue, threat and mystery perfectly. From a practical perspective, without these books I think the upcoming finale would be missing a lot of background information that I suspect will become important.

Getting to understand and appreciate Hades' internal struggles is also a massive bonus of these books. He's a great characters through Persephone's eyes, but seeing his world-weariness, the depth of his love for Persephone and his darker impulses rounds him out so well. In some ways, it also gives the spice a bit more of a reason for being; he readily admits he's insatiable! 

Similarly, the pacing of Persephone's trauma and recovery seems to be reflected better through Hades' eyes. His determination to take things at her pace, his fear of inflicting further hurt and his genuine horror when things go awry feel more true-to-life and more deeply considered here. There are still moments that don't sit quite right with me, but it's certainly better. 

I also loved the insight into the Dionysius and Ariadne relationship and the twists introduced to that part of the mythology. Likewise, I'm really enjoying the twist of making Greek heroes into anti-heros or outright villains, and there is a big part of me that hopes the author rips up the rule book in the finale and Hades and Persephone end up as King and Queen of Olympus as well as the Underworld...

My biggest criticism is that it appears the author got slightly lazy towards the end of the book. The closer to the end you get, the more errors there are in the text - definitely needs another going over by an editor. And then to find that the last chapter is just cut, copied and pasted from Malice is quite disappointing - I was hoping for a little extra to bridge the gap between this and the finale. 

So glad I don't have to wait very long for the next book in the series to come out!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Infertility, Alcohol, Sexual violence, War, Rape, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Cursing

Minor: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, Stalking, Child death, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

amycourts's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Torture, and Infertility

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, Bullying, and Misogyny

kathrynok's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gore, Body horror, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Animal death, Death, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

nice_and_cosy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Basically Hades is a simp, Hermes is hilarious, and Dionysus is clueless. Amazing book, great spice, will totally read again

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Rape, Murder, Vomit, War, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

jessicastaylor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

We’re almost to the end of this series, and the books just keep getting better! 

 

Content warning:  

There is explicit, on page, attempted (but ultimately unsuccessful) sexual assault in AGOG. There are also flashbacks to sexual assault, mentions of human trafficking, and the general death, murder, and alcoholism that Hades brings along for the ride.

 

AGOG is book 6 in the series, and the companion to A Touch of Malice, and boy oh boy, did Hades get up to some stuff while Persephone was off working. 

 

Side bar: Hades needs a therapist. Like…badly. 

Hades: God of the Dead Hades: God of Sad Bois & Brooding

 

AGOG was such an emotional and dense book, but I still zoomed through it. I loved it, it made me feel all the feels. From crying, to heart bursting, to raging, all of it. 

 

If you haven’t yet, you really need to read all 6 books in order before A Touch of Chaos comes out in November! The stories from Hades & Persephone’s worlds collide and we get multiple POVs in ATOC. 

 

I can’t wait for the conclusion to this amazing series. It’s bittersweet; I want to stay forever. 

 

Reading Order 

- A Touch of Darkness 

- A Game of Fate 

- A Touch of Ruin 

- A Game of Retribution 

- A Touch of Malice 

- A Game of Gods 

- A Touch of Chaos 

 

If you're looking for a full guide to the series, including special editions, tandem reading guides, and other fun goodies, check out my blog post: www.authorjessicastaylor.com/scarlett-guide 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, and Alcoholism