Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
I thought I was going to loathe this book and I was surprised that I didn't. I guess it really does help to have content warnings and let people prepare themselves for what they are going to read. For the record, the description I got was "it's a non-consensual abusive relationship that becomes consensual over the course of the book, and the depiction of non-con is graphic." And the book is exactly that. I didn't think I could manage reading the ARC I received when I received it, so I waited until I felt I was in a better place mentally to buy this and dive into it, and even then I braced myself. But again, I was surprised not to hate it. I guess I just felt that the book was aware that the main relationship was abusive, that Hades was in love but also unredeemable and violent, and that a lot of Persephone's choices have to do with the fact that she's surrounded by abused people and has been abused her whole life.
It's still a book that contains pretty graphic rape and more importantly, it does not soften Hades in any way. She's not sorry to be committing acts of violence, she is not a good romantic hero doing a oops. She changes her behavior, but it doesn't seem like she changes her way of thinking, she just learns to apply different strategy to the person she loves. So, if you're hoping to root for the MCs or the relationship, you will be disappointed. This is very much a retelling that does not smooth the wrinkles of all the problematic Mythological gods by telling their erased stories or anything like that. They're are very much monsters. There's no secret trauma to explain why Hades is evil. Which is probably why I liked it. I liked that it doesn't try to take terrible people and make them into misunderstood, angsty anti-heroes who need to be fixed by love.
I disliked that the book is set as a romance, though. Yes, it has some of the dark romance beats, but they are the weakest link.The end really bends towards giving Hades some redemptive quality, and giving Persephone a reason to stay with her, and it gets a bit ridiculous. The book goes from not caring if Hades is all that sympathetic to actively needling you into rooting for her, and there are like two new POVs all of a sudden, and it broke my immersion really hard. I wish the author had just gone for a fantasy label and stuck with allowing the story to be really dark, because I don't think anyone who reads this wanting some degree of swooning is going to like it at all. But if the book just accepted that Persephone develops an unhealthy attachment to Hades or gone with that reality in the text, it might have been better.
It's still a book that contains pretty graphic rape and more importantly, it does not soften Hades in any way. She's not sorry to be committing acts of violence, she is not a good romantic hero doing a oops. She changes her behavior, but it doesn't seem like she changes her way of thinking, she just learns to apply different strategy to the person she loves. So, if you're hoping to root for the MCs or the relationship, you will be disappointed. This is very much a retelling that does not smooth the wrinkles of all the problematic Mythological gods by telling their erased stories or anything like that. They're are very much monsters. There's no secret trauma to explain why Hades is evil. Which is probably why I liked it. I liked that it doesn't try to take terrible people and make them into misunderstood, angsty anti-heroes who need to be fixed by love.
I disliked that the book is set as a romance, though. Yes, it has some of the dark romance beats, but they are the weakest link.
dark
tense
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:
No
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping
The repeated lack of consent articulated makes this pretty upsetting to read, imo.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
DNF @ 36%
This is definitely not my kind of romance book but might work out for others seeking this trope?