Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Game of Gods

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!

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hanschub's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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alexjoneswrites's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense 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

5.0

I have long been obsessed with this series and this one was one of my favourites so far! I love the additions of Dionysus’ chapters - it made for an interesting stitch up

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kathrynok's review against another edition

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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

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p8nshoe's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Idk i just felt like this book could have been half the length. Since alot of it is repetitive from a touch of Malice, and another chunk is tension and smut, i just feel like the plot kinda got away from me a bit.

Alas , I am eager to read a Touch of Chaos and Im hoping for a bit more editing to go into it 😬 I really love Hecate and i am anxious to see how all this olympian tension plays out.

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questionablereads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

Not my favorite book in the series but a good book nonetheless. I loved the spice, the relationship growth between Hades and Persephone, and the strength and intensity of so many female characters specifically Hecate. I didn't enjoy everything involving Dionysus, how similar this read to A Touch of Malice, and that cliffhanger!

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javisbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Of all the books of the saga, this is my least favourite one. I am so sad because I have always enjoyed Hades's POV a tiny bit more than Sephy, and I felt underwhelmed with this book. Probably it was the Dionysius and Theseus. With D, it happened to me that I couldn't connect with them, his POV was all about how horny he was for Ari. I simply didn't care about them. I needed more background, I guess. With Theseus, it was simply what a villain would do, I didn't need a whole ass explanation why he was the villain. It felt just gross. Hermes, as always, has my favourite lines and I want to be his friend.
I have more to say, probably I'll update this review

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hayley22ann's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Of all the books so far in the Hades Saga (and the Persephone x Hades saga) - I would have to say this was my least favorite. The end half of the book was much more captivating then the beginning - so I am invested in seeing where the next book goes.

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