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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I enjoyed it, but Hanna’s & Death’s relationship just feels shallow. I wanted to hate him more, for there to be more tension, for there to be a deeper connection. I was also bummed that Hanna isn’t curious about her awakening powers??? Once she gets to the castle she becomes a declawed cat. She was so badass in the first half! Also, there’s no romantic build up between Hanna and Death??? He stares at her a lot, escorts her to a library once, kills a dude for her & has sex with her. There’s no emotional development between them. No getting to know the misunderstood god, no personal dialogue, just sex.
I’m intrigued. The world building and all the lore is really fascinating. I’m really impressed with all the work that went into researching all the lore. I wish Death and Hanna had more bonding time, I feel like they’re only connected sexually. I would really like for them to bond and have a serious connection. And sometimes the slang really takes me out of it, feels trying to hard.
I absolutely adored the adventure of the story and learning more about some Finnish mythology. That being said, 1/4 of the book in a row is basically one rough sex scene after another. I don’t mind a good sex scene, but after a while I found myself skimming because I wanted to get back to the interesting world and story behind it all. Definitely ends on a cliffhanger, which the writer warns you about in the content warning, and it leaves me with hope that perhaps the sequel will have a better balance. Probably should have given it 3 stars, but I do love the adventure side of it so much.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not gonna lie, the pop culture references really threw me for a few loops like the actual use of "YEET" repeatedly, and mentioning TikTok, and things of the like. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent retelling of Hades and Persephone / Beauty and the Beast, and it's pretty damn spicy, but it's just not a 4 star read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Some parts of this book are clunky; some weird dialog and some drawn out scenes that hinder the flow of the story. Overall though, I loved the book and can't wait to read the next. The world is a super interesting concept; old gods new gods, the dead, and one human girl combine for an action packed story with some really hot scenes slathered on top. Definitely give this one a read!
My first Karina Halle book did not disappoint! It was so good. I loved the storyline. The characters captivated me and I pretty much threw all my other reads to the side until I finished this because it was so good.
3.5 stars, rounded down for GR. A woman enters the Finnish Realm of the Dead to take her father's place as Death's prisoner.
Enjoyed the infusion of Finnish mythology into the Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone storyline. Hanna's adventures in the first half of the book were interesting, though I wish the lore and characters introduced had more impact on the plot. Death struck a good balance between being a d*ck but also showing some tenderness to Hanna. Her 180 from distrust to lust happened too quickly and I wish the tension between them had been drawn out longer. Audiobook narrator Jo Raylon gave a lot of life to Hanna's character, though at times her performance was a little over the top and distracting. I'll probably pick up the next book in the series.
Enjoyed the infusion of Finnish mythology into the Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone storyline. Hanna's adventures in the first half of the book were interesting, though I wish the lore and characters introduced had more impact on the plot. Death struck a good balance between being a d*ck but also showing some tenderness to Hanna. Her 180 from distrust to lust happened too quickly and I wish the tension between them had been drawn out longer. Audiobook narrator Jo Raylon gave a lot of life to Hanna's character, though at times her performance was a little over the top and distracting. I'll probably pick up the next book in the series.
I was a bit confused to start with between the Christmas, Beauty and the Beast, and God vibes but as the story went on it became much more enjoyable and less mindboggling.
There's a lot of mythology and tales involved in the storyline. To some extent may be too many different types. It was trying to be too different. It had a dark edge to it with a lot of spice but the connection between Death and Hanna wasn't there. Karina tried to fit all the world-building into one and because there were so many different tales and elements to fit in it came across surface level at times instead of spending more time on the parts that needed a bit more development. I preferred the story around the half way mark, otherwise it was a bit slow.
Hanna is a character that's like Marmite. At times I liked her but at others, I just wanted to shake her or shut her up. She was a self-centred heroine with a lot of pop culture references that were too much. There were some nice twists and characters that were intriguing with some hidden agendas. I will be reading the second book because it ended on a cliffhanger.
There's a lot of mythology and tales involved in the storyline. To some extent may be too many different types. It was trying to be too different. It had a dark edge to it with a lot of spice but the connection between Death and Hanna wasn't there. Karina tried to fit all the world-building into one and because there were so many different tales and elements to fit in it came across surface level at times instead of spending more time on the parts that needed a bit more development. I preferred the story around the half way mark, otherwise it was a bit slow.
Hanna is a character that's like Marmite. At times I liked her but at others, I just wanted to shake her or shut her up. She was a self-centred heroine with a lot of pop culture references that were too much. There were some nice twists and characters that were intriguing with some hidden agendas. I will be reading the second book because it ended on a cliffhanger.
I have become bad at writing reviews at once. I wanted to review this one because it was about Finnish mythology (though I am still confused, is the Finnish underworld the underworld of the world because it was meant out to be that?)
Hanna comes back for her dad's funeral, but something is not wrong and she goes to the underworld to find her dad. She knows nothing. Totally lost. She trusts a shaman, who, yeah I know who he must be...
But the whole thing builds up to her meeting death. Him being an ass, and they then boinking like rabbits. At the end he seems very vulnerable and she, oh girl, yeah not a cool move. Now I do not root for you. But then again a bit Stockholm syndrome over the whole thing too. Also very Psyche and Eros vibe, beauty and the beast and so on.
Danger, smexing and a very dark place. Not somewhere I want to visit.
I listened to the audio and if you are from Finland you know, the intonation is not at the right places. She made Finnish words and names sound softer. But still a good narrator, Finnish is just hard
Hanna comes back for her dad's funeral, but something is not wrong and she goes to the underworld to find her dad. She knows nothing. Totally lost. She trusts a shaman, who, yeah I know who he must be...
But the whole thing builds up to her meeting death. Him being an ass, and they then boinking like rabbits. At the end he seems very vulnerable and she, oh girl, yeah not a cool move. Now I do not root for you. But then again a bit Stockholm syndrome over the whole thing too. Also very Psyche and Eros vibe, beauty and the beast and so on.
Danger, smexing and a very dark place. Not somewhere I want to visit.
I listened to the audio and if you are from Finland you know, the intonation is not at the right places. She made Finnish words and names sound softer. But still a good narrator, Finnish is just hard