Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

30 reviews

klsreads's review

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity and Medical content

Minor: War

nclausel25's review

dark lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Classism

wickeddelights's review

dark hopeful slow-paced

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

2.75

So I read this book for my book club. 

There were characters I liked, Hermese was quite pleasant and I truly wish she had been a bigger part of the overall story. But the romance in this book felt unbelievable to me
Persephone was transfixed by the myth of Hades before she ever met him. And when she runs from a marriage forced onto her by her mother to Zeus, she runs to the undercity and finds out he is more than a myth.
But he certainly wasn't what I think anyone was expecting.
He was beloved to his people, kind hearted, but infuriatingly blind to how others perceive him. Persephone on the other hand has spent her entire life learning to be keen and manipulative. Initially she presses him into the arrangement they form, though quite literally in a matter of days they are both head over heels for each other.
The story has BDSM themes, and even a safeword, though it is never used. The author handles consent and protection really well. But there are so many little things that felt like they should have been a much bigger deal that either never happened or were glossed over.
Like the collomns for example. They are mentioned several times and sometimes with snippets of lore that might suggest a further connection to the myth this story was based off of. But that is about it.
We never get the full answers we want from Zeus about what he did to Hades.  We never learn why these regular humans are named after Greek gods even if they aren't a member of the thirteen. Etc.
But I think what bothered me the most was her description of side characters.  Rather than using descriptive words we are instead told their ethnicity. Example being "A black woman, a White man, A Latino woman" 
And the sexuality of Persephone and Hades felt so thrown out there in one random chapter, and as a Bisexual woman myself I would have loved if the author expanded on that more, so it felt like an actual part of the characters rather than a footnote.
I liked the concept of the book and a take on modern day Olympus.  But I just wanted more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Death of parent

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

1.0

I knew going in that Neon Gods is a dark romance, and I knew the basics of the story of Hades and Persephone and the rest of the Greek Gods of Olympus that I knew that this wasn't going to be a lighthearted romance novel. However, I did not know that the story involved three kinks from my "hard no" list, meaning that I skipped a good half of the book because I found the sex scenes more than squicky. Will not be reading the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Misogyny

erinkellyreads's review

dark lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

 I'd heard about this series, but didn't know anything about it. I did end up hate-reading (it didn't start out that way!) all six of the "Touch of Darkness" books that this book gets compared to, and the main things that I've seen have been that this book has more spice and less plot but is written better than ToD. First off, 100000% this book is written better than ToD, but this is still not literature. It definitely has more spice of a kinkier variety, but I sat through three books of the Hades half of ToD that was way less tasteful (I can't get over the interest in "ball slapping").

"Neon Gods" felt in the tradition of the singular romance novel series where each book is about one couple within a larger world (and it is - looks like Psyche is up next). It is an easy read, and I ended up finishing it quickly. No, it doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of plot, but I liked this Hades more, and the concept of The Thirteen vs them being actual gods was neat. If you like a quick, kinky, romance novel with a darker flavor and some nods to Greek mythology, you'll be entertained.

*I will note that I started this book out with the audiobook but switched over to the paperback because I did not like the readers. They had a reader for each perspective, but then in their respective chapters they would do imitations of the other instead of just having the other voice actor read the dialogue. Took me right out, especially in the spicy scenes. Didn't have a problem once I switched to the paperback.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Stalking

Minor: Death, Violence, Murder, Classism, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

kaitlynnnng's review

dark funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Stalking

Minor: War and Classism

micaelamariem's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

Wow 😏 I’m not usually into super spicy books but I thought this one had a good level, where it focused more heavily on the plot but still added quite a bit of 🔥 in the last 2/3’s. I wasn’t too keen on the fact that it was a very modernized retelling but I loved the concept as a whole. I loved Hermes as a side character!! And otherwise, yeah there were flaws and cliches, but I don’t think that’s what most of us were paying attention  to… 
Anyway yeah I’ll read anything Hades and Persephone even if I know it’ll be a bit out of my comfort zone. And in this case, going out of my comfort zone was rewarded! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Cursing, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War and Murder

katierosecrane's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked this book because it was enjoyable, but that is about all the reason I have. The plot isn't great. Not sure if it just wasn't planned out well enough or if the pace was too fast, but there are definitely plot holes. If you like spicy books this is a good option, but the plot is lacking. 

I will say I liked the Greek gods twist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Medical content, Infidelity, Police brutality, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and War

ramakn22's review

This series was highly recommended to me by all of the algorithms, and I've liked some of Katee Robert's other works, but this was not for me at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

ridetherain's review

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Modern Persephone and Hades story with dark spicy. It’s not the best written work I’ve ever read and doesn’t have side plots but it’s a fun quick read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Classism