Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - A Touch of Darkness

In a modernised retelling of the Hades and Persephone story, the Goddess of Spring's power has never developed. Rather than stay cooped up under her mother's watchful eye, she enrols on a journalism course at New Athens University, achieving an internship with a prestigious newspaper. When her friend takes her out to celebrate, they end up at Nevernight, the gambling den owned by the God of the Underworld, where money isn't the only thing at stake.

This has been on my list to read for a while as I love the Hades and Persephone story, but when I found it was included in my Audible membership it jumped to the top of the queue. Immediately, I loved the way it brought the Ancient Greek world up to date without losing any of its mystique; it pulls in the classic motifs and symbols of the Gods, while making sure they fit into a modern world. It also makes sure to include those more mythical creatures like ogres, nymphs and oracles to really balance the aspects of a technologically advanced society and a society that can only exist in legend.

The narrator of this audiobook did a great job at bringing the characters to life; her narration is well paced and she is able to give each character a voice without sounding ridiculous. I will admit that I wasn't overly enamoured with her Hades inflection, but I recognise that that's probably down to my having devoured a load of graphic audios just lately with actors playing roles, rather than straight audiobooks, so it just felt a bit 'off' to me. I also like the fact that she got into the story; you could hear the tension, excitement etc. build in her voice at various points, which definitely assisted in painting images in my mind.

As always with stories like this, it's the 'domestic' moments that really hook me in and make me root for the couple. In this case, the all powerful God of the Underworld baking cookies and attending movie night just made me grin so broadly! To me, these scenes break down the all powerful facade of these brooding all powerful males and allow you to glimpse their 'humanity' and desire for something normal. This makes them all the more relatable, whilst allowing you to remain in awe of their magnificence.

Similarly, I found the fact that the author has teased out different characteristics of some of the Gods really refreshing. For example, Demeter being a control freak of epic proportions is not how she is normally painted. In the audio version I have, there was also a bonus scene of Hades and Aphrodite entering into a bet, which paints her and her marriage to Hephestus in a very different light.

There were aspects that I wasn't as impressed with; I struggled with Persephone's split-second changes in attitude for one. One minute she can be completely enthralled by Hades, then in the next breath she's enraged over something. It does do well to build their chemistry and connection, but the device is used multiple times and I found myself getting frustrated by it. Likewise, while I enjoyed the overall subplot led by Adonis, the latter part of it made very little sense to me... and Minthe just got on my nerves throughout - she wasn't a necessary character and seems only to have been included as an extra obstacle, with no other real purpose. There are a few elements in here that don't feel like they were given quite enough thought, but I am hoping that as the world and characters develop as the series progresses, some if these kinks will be worked out.

I am so excited and happy that the majority of this series appears to be available on Kindle Unlimited (even if the rest of the audiobooks have to be paid for), so I'll definitely be adding those to my subscription shortly!

Content Warnings

sonatica's review

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I generally like the idea of reteölings of the Persephone & Hades Myth in new ways, but this just wasn't for me. It felt like reading fanfiction (which can be good, obviously!) to me. One obvious trope was chasing another and it felt so predictable.
But I could've looked past that for a casual read.
However, the way he speaks to her after one of the spicier scenes around the halfway point of the book completely threw me off.
I like dark romance and I can look past toxic behaviour in fantasy if it's not glorified too much, but him saying

"I have been inside you, and you will never be able to forget that." or something along those lines

after she made clear that she didn't want to continue and felt conflicted, felt so wrong and disgusting that I just can't go on.

Mind-reading or lies-tasting or whatever doesn't save that for me either.

Content Warnings

scarlett_f's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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wrensreadingroom's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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saurahsaurus's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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violetends's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

This was fun. I adore mythology retellings and Hades has always been one of my favourite characters. The recreation of mythology in a modern world setting was also fun and potentially what made this story most enjoyable for me. While the chemistry and banter between Hades and Persephone worked great, and their sexual encounters were hot conceptionally, there was something off-putting about the way they were written. Maybe because the author used euphemisms instead of naming specific body parts like genitalia. And that gave these scenes a bit of a silly, prudish vibe.

Generally, the entire narrative seemed a bit superficial throughout. I think this is mostly due to a lot of "tell don't show" the author did as well as repeated retelling of the same observations or thoughts of Persephone.

I did enjoy this and especially now, in a very stressfull moment, this is great fun to read in small breaks to get away from all these things. And I will probably continue to read the series. Overall though, it gives me a similar feeling to fast food rather than nourishment.

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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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findingcassandra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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