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balletbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
SO GOOD. Virtues has created an incredible world in this Greek Myth retelling (not sure what's in the water this year/last year but this makes two 5 star Hades and Persephone retellings). It's so effortlessly diverse and inclusive - Persephone is DEFINITELY not the only trans character and the overall rep is fantastic. The story still holds the original myths in such a way that you recognize the characters even though Virtues has updated the setting AND made them feel like real people who change and grow.
The relationship between Hades and Persephone blooms in such a beautiful, heart-wrenching way and yet is one of the hottest damn romances I've read this year (it's kinky and wild and has an unexpected threesome that fits seamlessly with the characters). The second love story in this book is the love of this found family surrounding Hades - the nephews and friends that he took in and nurtured - and who embraces Persephone from the drop.
The relationship between Hades and Persephone blooms in such a beautiful, heart-wrenching way and yet is one of the hottest damn romances I've read this year (it's kinky and wild and has an unexpected threesome that fits seamlessly with the characters). The second love story in this book is the love of this found family surrounding Hades - the nephews and friends that he took in and nurtured - and who embraces Persephone from the drop.
winterreader40's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Hades runs the river Styx district and is forever bailing his brother Zeus out of the stupid situations he gets himself into. Persephone is one of the performers in the new show being put on in the theatre inside hotel/casino and he's captivated by her performance and asks to meet her. They are pretty instantly attracted to each other, but are both kind of awkward about it.
This was a good story but I kept stumbling over the perspective and the writing style, it got a bit better as I got into the story but it continued to be an issue till the end of the story. I can't really put my finger on what the problem was but it always felt like I was floating at the top of the story and not really losing myself in it.
The characters were all interesting and the atmosphere as well, the relationship was instalust/love but also had some depth to it which was nice since that isn't always the case.
Hades runs the river Styx district and is forever bailing his brother Zeus out of the stupid situations he gets himself into. Persephone is one of the performers in the new show being put on in the theatre inside hotel/casino and he's captivated by her performance and asks to meet her. They are pretty instantly attracted to each other, but are both kind of awkward about it.
This was a good story but I kept stumbling over the perspective and the writing style, it got a bit better as I got into the story but it continued to be an issue till the end of the story. I can't really put my finger on what the problem was but it always felt like I was floating at the top of the story and not really losing myself in it.
The characters were all interesting and the atmosphere as well, the relationship was instalust/love but also had some depth to it which was nice since that isn't always the case.
meelmeman's review
4.0
I’ve never really truly delved into erotica and I’m not sure why I’ve kept myself from treats like this gem of a book. Virtues writes an energetic, acrobatic, very fucking hot retelling of the ever-popular Hades/Persephone myth.
I have to say: I’m a sucker for Greek mythology retellings but now even more so for the many queer, trans, racially diverse characters that Virtues manages to very lovingly shape. The majority of characters were not white (we love to see it) and SO MANY were queer (we LOVE to see it)—and not just minor people. Persephone is a bisexual trans woman and many of her friends are trans and enby.
It’s made all the better because the diversity in the book is not some performative dribble as is the case with so many under the contemporary romance genre umbrella. I find in most of the books I’ve been reading, QPOC characters are in minor roles and essentially created to please the white cishet liberal enough that they can maintain their self-satisfactory social progressive bend but not venture too far out of their charmed circle (thanks, Gayle Rubin).
Drag Me Up honors and celebrates the beauty of being a queer person of color—especially because it’s erotica. There are queer people HAVING SEX in this book and my goodness it is steamy, imaginative, and Not Vanilla. Very hot. If I had a sexy rating, it would be 5 out of 5.
Fuck it—here’s the quantitative data:
Sexiness:
I have to say: I’m a sucker for Greek mythology retellings but now even more so for the many queer, trans, racially diverse characters that Virtues manages to very lovingly shape. The majority of characters were not white (we love to see it) and SO MANY were queer (we LOVE to see it)—and not just minor people. Persephone is a bisexual trans woman and many of her friends are trans and enby.
It’s made all the better because the diversity in the book is not some performative dribble as is the case with so many under the contemporary romance genre umbrella. I find in most of the books I’ve been reading, QPOC characters are in minor roles and essentially created to please the white cishet liberal enough that they can maintain their self-satisfactory social progressive bend but not venture too far out of their charmed circle (thanks, Gayle Rubin).
Drag Me Up honors and celebrates the beauty of being a queer person of color—especially because it’s erotica. There are queer people HAVING SEX in this book and my goodness it is steamy, imaginative, and Not Vanilla. Very hot. If I had a sexy rating, it would be 5 out of 5.
Fuck it—here’s the quantitative data:
Sexiness:
gdonahue's review
DNF at 30%. The first sex scene was too lacking in explicit consent for me, so I am putting this one down.
danireadsbooks1's review
3.0
Here’s the thing: I read this for the spice but I couldn’t have cared less about the plot. I wish I could say this book was everything I wanted and I liked the representation and all the diversity we get, I just didn’t care about Hades or Zeus beyond the spice we get. I will read more books by the author though.
edgybutfemme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
I really enjoyed how different this take on Hades and Persephone was. Usually Persephone is the one who needs to mature and work through things, typically a difficult or abusive dynamic with Demeter. One of my favorite things about this take one Hades and Persephone is we start the book where Persephone is further through her healing journey and gets to help Hades escape and heal from his abusive dynamic with Zeus. Hades and Persephone lean and grow from each other in a way that felt beautifully nuanced and realistic, and it meant a lot to me as someone who has healed from a lot of trauma with the help of my wonderful partners who carry trauma of their own. As a queer person, both Hades and Persephone being trans was also wonderful. I loved how they got to share their unique experiences of being trans with each other, and reading their romance made me feel warm and seen. I struggled a little with the pacing in the middle of the book, but considering i still read the whole book in a night and plan to read the rest in this series, it's certainly not a glaring issue. Persephone describes Hades as a safe place to land, and that's kind of what this book felt like. I didn't burn with the need to turn to the next page, but I don't think I was meant to. Instead, it was a gentle place to rest for awhile and feel safe in the knowledge that they would end up happily together. I'm looking forward to seeing how RM Virtue grows as an author in the rest of the series!
jasmin_l's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5