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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
As expected, I enjoyed Hades’ side of the story a lot more than Persephone’s and I would be totally fine with just reading his side of the story going forward.
However, I seriously doubt that this is something I should resort to, but I can’t get myself to go through another book told from Persephone’s POV which is why I’m going to give this series a break for now.
There is too little time and too many books that want to be read.
However, I seriously doubt that this is something I should resort to, but I can’t get myself to go through another book told from Persephone’s POV which is why I’m going to give this series a break for now.
There is too little time and too many books that want to be read.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I do enjoy the plot and characters, and obviously I love Persephone and Hades, but reading this series is starting to feel like I'm reading such incomplete stories. The storylines that are included in Hades' POV are way more interesting than in Persephone's, but I wish they were expanded on a little more. Sometimes parts of the story that would've been super interesting to explore get glossed over and it leaves me wanting a little more in terms of drama. As far at the smut, I don't mind it but it definitely is almost comical the way that something super tragic or dramatic will happen, and then they are immediately going at it. You literally cannot help but laugh at times.
***also, if you read a Touch of Ruin and thought Persephone was being annoying...it's even worse in this book when you see what Hades was dealing with in his free time lmaooooo. let me know if u agree
***also, if you read a Touch of Ruin and thought Persephone was being annoying...it's even worse in this book when you see what Hades was dealing with in his free time lmaooooo. let me know if u agree
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nothing stood out, the books are blending together
4.5⭐️ --
I love that we see more of the gods and see more sides to the gods, like Hermes. He's so light and jovial with Persephone and seeing a heavier more somber side with Hades added even more dimension to him. A major difference that I appreciate between this book and A Touch of Ruin is how involved Apollo is. He's certainly important in this book, but Hades hardly interacts with him. We see Apollo's growth so much more in AToR. Here, he's more of a plot device.
I also like how St. Clair explores Hades's relationship with Hecate, which does feel different from her relationship with Persephone. That makes sense, but again, St. Clair makes Hecate into such a complex character by showing how she relates to Hades and Persephone so differently. She's an advisor to both, but because she and Hades have been alive for multiple millenia, they just know each other in a way that you know an old friend and she can take liberties with Hades (like saying Fuck you to his face to call him out on his bullshit) that she probably couldn't with Persephone. Hecate serves as a kind of surrogate mother, and is a very comforting presence for Persephone. I'm very glad she is not ever an antagonistic force against Persephone. Hecate has different expectations for each party of the relationship and seemingly higher expectations for Hades, while also still recognizing that despite how ancient he is, he has a lot of emotional growth to do, too.
Persephone and Hades complement each other so well -- where he's more callous and dismissive because of how much evil and hardship and trauma he's seen/suffered through, she's empathetic, compassionate and forgiving. We see this most distinctly in how each of them treats and feels towards Leuce. It's mentioned here and there throughout the whole book, but while I got annoyed by Persephone's attitude and temper throughout both books, i can't deny that her ability to forgive is something I envy. Both of them have severe anxiety of not being fully accepted by the other and it was so relatable. And! While this wasn't particularly borne from insecurity, Hermes explaining the analogy between hearing verbal affirmation that Hades considers him to be his best friend like how people like to hear "I love you" (even if you know it, it's still nice to hear sometimes), resonated with me. There was also a line Persephone says along the lines of even though she's mad at Hades throughout, it never occurs to her to leave him. That hit home. I admire these two characters' abilities to work through their issues, even if they don't always handle the situations perfectly. It feels realistic.
I'm always pleasantly surprised by how humanized the gods are -- they get injured, they're not immune to death, they all have their own emotional baggage, and it's all different, too. Hades's insight on the fact that they don't always get along and are actually often at odds but are boned through trauma from war stood out to me as observant. He also notes offhandedly semi-frequently that the gods really don't seem to learn. The same issue in different iterations keep popping up, and I think that takes a toll on all of them; Persephone has yet to become so jaded because she's literally 2000 + years younger than they are.
It's been a while since I read A Touch of Ruin, but I don't remember feeling like Persephone is as insightful as Hades is. He's much older and has so much more experience. But I think she's just as intelligent as he is and can stand toe to toe with him. Neither of them allows the other to walk over them like a rug. It felt particularly gratifying when Hades calls the Furies when Persephone makes the deal with Apollo. I didn't like watching her suffer, but she needed to know the gravity of what she did, even if she didn't feel the consequences immediately.
Lastly, I did not expect to feel so heavy from the scene with Briareus's death. He is such a minor character in the book, but you can really feel the dread Hades feels and the sadness as Hades's takes his life. This is really a testament to St. Clair's ability to communicate emotions so well. She basically does it throughout all of these books, but the fact that she did it so effectively in a few pages about a character the reader doesn't even get to know that well was just...powerful and poignant. I could almost even imagine a short story about this particular trial from Hera... *chef's kiss*
I did get tired of the smut though. not something I thought I'd say, as I'm pretty tolerant of smut, even if books don't have as much plot, but I got a little tired of it in Persephone's book and I don't like the trope of fight then fuck rinse and repeat. It reminded me a little too much of Iron Flame and Xaden/Violet. To me it detracts from the characters' ability to effectively work through issues (and maybe that's just particular to me) when their seemingly automatic response is I feel disconnected and we have emotional issues, so let's just fuck it out. There was a scene where Persephone and Hades do talk a specific event/issue out and then it's explicitly said that they specifically needed to reconnect physically, implying that talking things out more wouldn't necessarily help, and that made sense to me. But I think relying on sex as a crutch when relationships feel iffy is just something I'm wary of.
Spoiler
I liked this more than Persephone's analogous book. I found Persephone a little insufferable in her book, so having Hades's more level personality was a relief. I know everyone processes grief and feelings differently, but I got a little frustrated with Persephone, even in this book, but she was in this one so much less that I found it much more stomachable. Hades's exploits while he's separated from Persephone were fascinating. I think St. Clair has done a fantastic job of telling their love story from each characters' perspective without just literally repeating the same events. The important events overlap, but they live separate lives from each other that allow them to be distinguishable characters.I love that we see more of the gods and see more sides to the gods, like Hermes. He's so light and jovial with Persephone and seeing a heavier more somber side with Hades added even more dimension to him. A major difference that I appreciate between this book and A Touch of Ruin is how involved Apollo is. He's certainly important in this book, but Hades hardly interacts with him. We see Apollo's growth so much more in AToR. Here, he's more of a plot device.
I also like how St. Clair explores Hades's relationship with Hecate, which does feel different from her relationship with Persephone. That makes sense, but again, St. Clair makes Hecate into such a complex character by showing how she relates to Hades and Persephone so differently. She's an advisor to both, but because she and Hades have been alive for multiple millenia, they just know each other in a way that you know an old friend and she can take liberties with Hades (like saying Fuck you to his face to call him out on his bullshit) that she probably couldn't with Persephone. Hecate serves as a kind of surrogate mother, and is a very comforting presence for Persephone. I'm very glad she is not ever an antagonistic force against Persephone. Hecate has different expectations for each party of the relationship and seemingly higher expectations for Hades, while also still recognizing that despite how ancient he is, he has a lot of emotional growth to do, too.
Persephone and Hades complement each other so well -- where he's more callous and dismissive because of how much evil and hardship and trauma he's seen/suffered through, she's empathetic, compassionate and forgiving. We see this most distinctly in how each of them treats and feels towards Leuce. It's mentioned here and there throughout the whole book, but while I got annoyed by Persephone's attitude and temper throughout both books, i can't deny that her ability to forgive is something I envy. Both of them have severe anxiety of not being fully accepted by the other and it was so relatable. And! While this wasn't particularly borne from insecurity, Hermes explaining the analogy between hearing verbal affirmation that Hades considers him to be his best friend like how people like to hear "I love you" (even if you know it, it's still nice to hear sometimes), resonated with me. There was also a line Persephone says along the lines of even though she's mad at Hades throughout, it never occurs to her to leave him. That hit home. I admire these two characters' abilities to work through their issues, even if they don't always handle the situations perfectly. It feels realistic.
I'm always pleasantly surprised by how humanized the gods are -- they get injured, they're not immune to death, they all have their own emotional baggage, and it's all different, too. Hades's insight on the fact that they don't always get along and are actually often at odds but are boned through trauma from war stood out to me as observant. He also notes offhandedly semi-frequently that the gods really don't seem to learn. The same issue in different iterations keep popping up, and I think that takes a toll on all of them; Persephone has yet to become so jaded because she's literally 2000 + years younger than they are.
It's been a while since I read A Touch of Ruin, but I don't remember feeling like Persephone is as insightful as Hades is. He's much older and has so much more experience. But I think she's just as intelligent as he is and can stand toe to toe with him. Neither of them allows the other to walk over them like a rug. It felt particularly gratifying when Hades calls the Furies when Persephone makes the deal with Apollo. I didn't like watching her suffer, but she needed to know the gravity of what she did, even if she didn't feel the consequences immediately.
Lastly, I did not expect to feel so heavy from the scene with Briareus's death. He is such a minor character in the book, but you can really feel the dread Hades feels and the sadness as Hades's takes his life. This is really a testament to St. Clair's ability to communicate emotions so well. She basically does it throughout all of these books, but the fact that she did it so effectively in a few pages about a character the reader doesn't even get to know that well was just...powerful and poignant. I could almost even imagine a short story about this particular trial from Hera... *chef's kiss*
I did get tired of the smut though. not something I thought I'd say, as I'm pretty tolerant of smut, even if books don't have as much plot, but I got a little tired of it in Persephone's book and I don't like the trope of fight then fuck rinse and repeat. It reminded me a little too much of Iron Flame and Xaden/Violet. To me it detracts from the characters' ability to effectively work through issues (and maybe that's just particular to me) when their seemingly automatic response is I feel disconnected and we have emotional issues, so let's just fuck it out. There was a scene where Persephone and Hades do talk a specific event/issue out and then it's explicitly said that they specifically needed to reconnect physically, implying that talking things out more wouldn't necessarily help, and that made sense to me. But I think relying on sex as a crutch when relationships feel iffy is just something I'm wary of.