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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
It's a good quick little read, but leaves too many questions at the end... Also not a big fan of meeting characters only for them to be dead... There isn't enough info to know triton is the kid in the underworld. Just saying...
See original review on my blog Reese's Reviews: MA2F
I received a copy of The Iron Queen for an honest review.
Wow mind blown! A lot happened and I honestly am left wondering if there is going to be another book or not. If not what the bleep Kaitlin Bevis you cannot leave me hanging like this! Alright lets go over what happened:
Torture of the Godly kind:
Persephone is tortured to the brink of death. Insanity would be a blessing at many of the points of the book. Zeus has captured her and abuses and weakens both her mind and her body. She is pushed past her limits and is tortured for days. It’s horrible and terrifying and many times she wished for death.
“The human body was never meant to survive prolonged exposure to lightning. While Zeus held me under a steady stream of electricity…”
“For a while it seemed as if life were pain. Like nothing else had ever existed or would ever exist, making hope feel like a distant memory. Then came that blessed moment when I stopped feeling altogether, no pain, no thoughts, no hope, nothing.”
Persephone doesn’t have the only POV in this one probably because the torture scenes like the ones I just pulled out would be sick to read chapter after chapter. Instead Hades and Aphrodite also get a POV which was pretty cool to have all three.
Aphrodite…gag:
I loathed Aphrodite mostly because she started the whole mess and the fact I could never trust her due to that fact. Aphrodite is shallow and self-centered but her perspective was definitely needed in the book to give the harsh reality of the situation without all the emotions. She only cared about herself and while that made me hate her it was helpful:
“How can you sit there and read”- her emphasis on the word made it clear how litter she thought of my reading material-“while she’s missing?”
I snapped the magazine closed and popped it on the wooden desk with enough force to stir ever paper within five feet. “Your moping is no more helpful. They aren’t going to find her any faster no matter what we do. So excuse me if I don’t want to die of boredom while Persephone’s gone.”
So yeah as I said hate her!
Hades is…still deliciously dangerous:
Hades and Persephone have bonded and they can feel each other feelings and hear each-others thoughts. Sadly that doesn’t help Persephone and when their connection is finally reestablished….well let’s just say that while it helps Persephone the revelation of what Zeus does will sicken you. Hades and Demeter (Persephone’s mom) are out looking for any and all of Zeus’ children so they can take Zeus down so Persephone doesn’t have to. Hades is protective and will do ANYTHING to get Persephone back from Zeus, even break the world. He is a major bad ass in this one and he definitely gets in on a lot of it in this book:
“I turned with a sigh, grabbing the gun out of the hunter’s hand before he could fire off a shot. Not that it would have hurt me more than a mosquito bite, but it would be damned uncomfortable, which made it at least as annoying.”
The tragic ending.. well maybe:
People died and while yes it was a war it was depression as could be. It was two characters you will grow to love but alas they die and you will cry…a lot. Then there’s the whole thing on I have no idea what will happen next and Persephone’s nightmares which are tragic. Sad sad sad and I need a book four in this series.
All in all:
Loved it a bunch and need another one. Persephone is definitely not the same character as she was and I loved all the growth she went through to get to the point where while she’s frightened she is still strong and caring at her core. Thank you, Kaitlin Bevis for creating such an amazing book and series and for being even more amazing by sending me a copy to read.
I received a copy of The Iron Queen for an honest review.
Wow mind blown! A lot happened and I honestly am left wondering if there is going to be another book or not. If not what the bleep Kaitlin Bevis you cannot leave me hanging like this! Alright lets go over what happened:
Torture of the Godly kind:
Persephone is tortured to the brink of death. Insanity would be a blessing at many of the points of the book. Zeus has captured her and abuses and weakens both her mind and her body. She is pushed past her limits and is tortured for days. It’s horrible and terrifying and many times she wished for death.
“The human body was never meant to survive prolonged exposure to lightning. While Zeus held me under a steady stream of electricity…”
“For a while it seemed as if life were pain. Like nothing else had ever existed or would ever exist, making hope feel like a distant memory. Then came that blessed moment when I stopped feeling altogether, no pain, no thoughts, no hope, nothing.”
Persephone doesn’t have the only POV in this one probably because the torture scenes like the ones I just pulled out would be sick to read chapter after chapter. Instead Hades and Aphrodite also get a POV which was pretty cool to have all three.
Aphrodite…gag:
I loathed Aphrodite mostly because she started the whole mess and the fact I could never trust her due to that fact. Aphrodite is shallow and self-centered but her perspective was definitely needed in the book to give the harsh reality of the situation without all the emotions. She only cared about herself and while that made me hate her it was helpful:
“How can you sit there and read”- her emphasis on the word made it clear how litter she thought of my reading material-“while she’s missing?”
I snapped the magazine closed and popped it on the wooden desk with enough force to stir ever paper within five feet. “Your moping is no more helpful. They aren’t going to find her any faster no matter what we do. So excuse me if I don’t want to die of boredom while Persephone’s gone.”
So yeah as I said hate her!
Hades is…still deliciously dangerous:
Hades and Persephone have bonded and they can feel each other feelings and hear each-others thoughts. Sadly that doesn’t help Persephone and when their connection is finally reestablished….well let’s just say that while it helps Persephone the revelation of what Zeus does will sicken you. Hades and Demeter (Persephone’s mom) are out looking for any and all of Zeus’ children so they can take Zeus down so Persephone doesn’t have to. Hades is protective and will do ANYTHING to get Persephone back from Zeus, even break the world. He is a major bad ass in this one and he definitely gets in on a lot of it in this book:
“I turned with a sigh, grabbing the gun out of the hunter’s hand before he could fire off a shot. Not that it would have hurt me more than a mosquito bite, but it would be damned uncomfortable, which made it at least as annoying.”
The tragic ending.. well maybe:
People died and while yes it was a war it was depression as could be. It was two characters you will grow to love but alas they die and you will cry…a lot. Then there’s the whole thing on I have no idea what will happen next and Persephone’s nightmares which are tragic. Sad sad sad and I need a book four in this series.
All in all:
Loved it a bunch and need another one. Persephone is definitely not the same character as she was and I loved all the growth she went through to get to the point where while she’s frightened she is still strong and caring at her core. Thank you, Kaitlin Bevis for creating such an amazing book and series and for being even more amazing by sending me a copy to read.
I got this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
What a great end to a lovely series!
Okay, I'll try to review this but I may have to come back later to this when I've actually had some sleep so forgive me if I'm incoherent and a bit emotional (everything becomes very sensitive at 4am okay?).
The Iron Queen was action-packed, extremely funny (I was giggling to myself at 3am, lit by my Kindle - dignified stuff), full of nice, heart-warming family/friendship moments without ever falling into the cheesy area and very hard to put down.
This book was narrated in three POVs : Persephone's, Hades' and Aphrodite's. Persephone's POV was quite depressing (with reason), therefore I was very glad that we got to see Hades' and Aphrodite's. Especially since Aphrodite's become my favorite when she appeared in the second book. It was great to see more of her, understand her reasons and motivations, hearing her sass and seeing her finally making friends with other people.
Once again, Kaitlin Bevis impresses me with her modernisation concepts for the Greek Gods, she really didn't do it out of nowhere, she clearly thought about it and everything makes sense and it's great.
But what I liked the most about this book (and come to think of it, this trilogy) was how human it was. I don't know if this one detaches itself from the others because right before, I've read kind of badly-written YA, but it feels like this one is special in the way that it's not written to fit poor romance in it. Bevis had an idea, a concept and characters that she wanted to introduce and incidently a romance. Let's take Cassandra Clare, for example, whose books feel like she wanted to write some cheap romance and realised that she needed to add stuff around it, wordbuild and other characters. The result is that characters feel like they are props to be used to make the plot advance or to hinder the romance, but they never feel real. Clare is not the lone author guilty of this, sadly, but the Daughters of Zeus series never falls into this crap and it's just so rare that I feel like I have to insist on it.
Another thing I liked was Persephone's growth in this book. Zeus keeps repeating to Persephone that Hades only likes her because she's still so human in spite of her being a god and we see her growing harder, colder without succombing to numbness - and it's viewed as an okay thing. Persephone starts striking back, she doesn't let people stomp on her as much as she used to in the first book, and it's a pleasure to read.
We got to know about all these new characters and care about them ; we saw extensively Persephone and her complicated relationship with her mother Demeter blowing up in pieces and patching itself back together, we saw Aphrodite discovering true friendship for the first time, we begun to care for the little Triton and we saw more of poor Melissa. I just had a lot of feelings about everyone and I think Bevis really has a good thing going here, writing good and interesting plots as well as interesting, likeable characters.
The ending leaves us with new questions, but it's still a nice, sweet way to part with our heroes and I think there's going to be another series, which I can't wait to read about.
I recommend this series to fans of Percy Jackson, nice YA and greek mythology, especially to people who like the Hades/Persephone myth.
What a great end to a lovely series!
Okay, I'll try to review this but I may have to come back later to this when I've actually had some sleep so forgive me if I'm incoherent and a bit emotional (everything becomes very sensitive at 4am okay?).
The Iron Queen was action-packed, extremely funny (I was giggling to myself at 3am, lit by my Kindle - dignified stuff), full of nice, heart-warming family/friendship moments without ever falling into the cheesy area and very hard to put down.
This book was narrated in three POVs : Persephone's, Hades' and Aphrodite's. Persephone's POV was quite depressing (with reason), therefore I was very glad that we got to see Hades' and Aphrodite's. Especially since Aphrodite's become my favorite when she appeared in the second book. It was great to see more of her, understand her reasons and motivations, hearing her sass and seeing her finally making friends with other people.
Once again, Kaitlin Bevis impresses me with her modernisation concepts for the Greek Gods, she really didn't do it out of nowhere, she clearly thought about it and everything makes sense and it's great.
But what I liked the most about this book (and come to think of it, this trilogy) was how human it was. I don't know if this one detaches itself from the others because right before, I've read kind of badly-written YA, but it feels like this one is special in the way that it's not written to fit poor romance in it. Bevis had an idea, a concept and characters that she wanted to introduce and incidently a romance. Let's take Cassandra Clare, for example, whose books feel like she wanted to write some cheap romance and realised that she needed to add stuff around it, wordbuild and other characters. The result is that characters feel like they are props to be used to make the plot advance or to hinder the romance, but they never feel real. Clare is not the lone author guilty of this, sadly, but the Daughters of Zeus series never falls into this crap and it's just so rare that I feel like I have to insist on it.
Another thing I liked was Persephone's growth in this book. Zeus keeps repeating to Persephone that Hades only likes her because she's still so human in spite of her being a god and we see her growing harder, colder without succombing to numbness - and it's viewed as an okay thing. Persephone starts striking back, she doesn't let people stomp on her as much as she used to in the first book, and it's a pleasure to read.
We got to know about all these new characters and care about them ; we saw extensively Persephone and her complicated relationship with her mother Demeter blowing up in pieces and patching itself back together, we saw Aphrodite discovering true friendship for the first time, we begun to care for the little Triton and we saw more of poor Melissa. I just had a lot of feelings about everyone and I think Bevis really has a good thing going here, writing good and interesting plots as well as interesting, likeable characters.
The ending leaves us with new questions, but it's still a nice, sweet way to part with our heroes and I think there's going to be another series, which I can't wait to read about.
I recommend this series to fans of Percy Jackson, nice YA and greek mythology, especially to people who like the Hades/Persephone myth.
This was an interesting end to the series. I loved the take on Greek mythology. I liked how the reader got to have a little more insight into Aphrodite. This is probably my least favorite of the three so far but I'm excited for there to be more.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh, i loved this short series so much so fast paced beautifully written.
Also posted on Rally the Readers.
* A copy was provided by the author for review.
Kaitlin Bevis’s Daughters of Zeus series has quickly become my favorite mythology retelling, and after reading The Iron Queen, I love it more than ever. This is the most intense, action-packed installment yet. I hated having to put the book down because I was so into it, and any time I had a free moment, even if it was five minutes, I pulled this up on my phone so I could continue reading.
I might have squealed just a little when Chapter 1 opened with Hades’s point of view. Okay, it might be more accurate to say I had a full-on freak-out. But it’s Hades—the badass god of the Underworld whom I’ve been in love with since the first book. With Zeus holding Persephone prisoner, we have access to the storm of Hades’s thoughts: fear for his wife, determination to save her no matter what the cost, and pure hatred of Zeus. Even though the tone of this book stays fairly serious throughout, there are still a few glimpses of Hades’s sense of humor (yes, he has one!). I cracked up at his memory of Cassandra telling a recently arrived soul to the Underworld about how he went through a “dark phase” after meeting Dante, he of The Divine Comedy fame.
Hades isn’t the only new POV addition to the series. Aphrodite also narrates some chapters, and at first I had mixed feelings about this. I really didn’t like her in the previous novel, Daughter of the Earth and Sky. I thought she was a bad influence on Persephone, and I found her annoying in general. But after reading from Aphrodite’s perspective, I really had to eat my negative opinion of her. Zeus took away her free will, and she’s stuck being bossed around by any member of the family who outranks her. It’s not a fun life. I actually wound up liking Aphrodite and her pert attitude. She and Melissa, Persephone’s friend/priestess, have some hilariously snippy exchanges that further provide some comic relief.
Poor Persephone spends the majority of the novel getting tortured by a merciless, power-hungry Zeus. To her credit, she fights back as much as she can against Zeus’s endless lightning zaps and the fake nightmares he’s planting in her head. Persephone actively searches for even the tiniest opportunity to get away, which is a lot more than I can say for some other YA heroines I’ve read about. I can’t stand it when a female protagonist spends more time talking about escaping than making actual plans to do so.
My absolute favorite part of The Iron Queen was the gathering of other figures from Greek mythology to unite against Zeus. It was like something out of The Avengers, and I LOVE The Avengers! Ares, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena all make appearances, and the assembly of awesomeness was just amazing. Apollo was too, too funny, with his cult of hippie worshippers and tongue-in-cheek alias, Mr. Sunshine. Even Hades snickered at that. As content as I’d been with the cast of deities in the first two books, the roster expansion in this one was both perfectly time and perfectly executed.
It’s always gratifying to see a series move forward with each installment, and this series truly hits the sweet spot with The Iron Queen. The story doesn’t appear to be finished yet, either, which makes me all the happier because I only just became acquainted with a host of fascinating new characters. I really hope their presence continues in future books.
* A copy was provided by the author for review.
Kaitlin Bevis’s Daughters of Zeus series has quickly become my favorite mythology retelling, and after reading The Iron Queen, I love it more than ever. This is the most intense, action-packed installment yet. I hated having to put the book down because I was so into it, and any time I had a free moment, even if it was five minutes, I pulled this up on my phone so I could continue reading.
I might have squealed just a little when Chapter 1 opened with Hades’s point of view. Okay, it might be more accurate to say I had a full-on freak-out. But it’s Hades—the badass god of the Underworld whom I’ve been in love with since the first book. With Zeus holding Persephone prisoner, we have access to the storm of Hades’s thoughts: fear for his wife, determination to save her no matter what the cost, and pure hatred of Zeus. Even though the tone of this book stays fairly serious throughout, there are still a few glimpses of Hades’s sense of humor (yes, he has one!). I cracked up at his memory of Cassandra telling a recently arrived soul to the Underworld about how he went through a “dark phase” after meeting Dante, he of The Divine Comedy fame.
Hades isn’t the only new POV addition to the series. Aphrodite also narrates some chapters, and at first I had mixed feelings about this. I really didn’t like her in the previous novel, Daughter of the Earth and Sky. I thought she was a bad influence on Persephone, and I found her annoying in general. But after reading from Aphrodite’s perspective, I really had to eat my negative opinion of her. Zeus took away her free will, and she’s stuck being bossed around by any member of the family who outranks her. It’s not a fun life. I actually wound up liking Aphrodite and her pert attitude. She and Melissa, Persephone’s friend/priestess, have some hilariously snippy exchanges that further provide some comic relief.
Poor Persephone spends the majority of the novel getting tortured by a merciless, power-hungry Zeus. To her credit, she fights back as much as she can against Zeus’s endless lightning zaps and the fake nightmares he’s planting in her head. Persephone actively searches for even the tiniest opportunity to get away, which is a lot more than I can say for some other YA heroines I’ve read about. I can’t stand it when a female protagonist spends more time talking about escaping than making actual plans to do so.
My absolute favorite part of The Iron Queen was the gathering of other figures from Greek mythology to unite against Zeus. It was like something out of The Avengers, and I LOVE The Avengers! Ares, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena all make appearances, and the assembly of awesomeness was just amazing. Apollo was too, too funny, with his cult of hippie worshippers and tongue-in-cheek alias, Mr. Sunshine. Even Hades snickered at that. As content as I’d been with the cast of deities in the first two books, the roster expansion in this one was both perfectly time and perfectly executed.
It’s always gratifying to see a series move forward with each installment, and this series truly hits the sweet spot with The Iron Queen. The story doesn’t appear to be finished yet, either, which makes me all the happier because I only just became acquainted with a host of fascinating new characters. I really hope their presence continues in future books.
I really wanted to love this book because I love this series, but I just didn't. It was just "okay" for me. Also, I understand there will be a spin-off series to this from Aphrodite's POV, but I don't feel like Persephone's story was finished. There could easily be a 4th book in the series to wrap things up a little better. I feel like too much time was spent on Zeus's torture of Persephone. This book could have been so much more.