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lyra_ann's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Stalking, Slavery, and Sexual harassment
cocpop_reads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-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
3.5
I’m not going to lie, I should have read this book when it first came out and not after seeing so many reviews. Because I feel like I read this book with a bias against it and that affected how I read it.
I enjoyed the book. I’m a sucker for Persephone and Hades, and I loved the sprinkles of the original story in this.
I absolutely hated Hades development at the end. The fact that he couldn’t kill Zeus off the bat just seemed so out of character for any depiction of Hades. I understand that they’re not truly gods in this book, and are very human (thus human characteristic) but how Zeus died didn’t feel satisfying.
2.5/5 on the spice scale. I was expecting the smut to be hotter than it really was. Yes there is exhibitionism in this, but the sex scenes just felt very watered down. My personal preference is more descriptive scenes even if that means fewer scenes overall. But for a book that’s promoted as being very smutty, it was a let down.
I enjoyed the book. I’m a sucker for Persephone and Hades, and I loved the sprinkles of the original story in this.
2.5/5 on the spice scale. I was expecting the smut to be hotter than it really was. Yes there is exhibitionism in this, but the sex scenes just felt very watered down. My personal preference is more descriptive scenes even if that means fewer scenes overall. But for a book that’s promoted as being very smutty, it was a let down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Murder and Sexual harassment
jazdono's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was so impressive, in terms of plot development, world building, and continuity. The author clearly put careful thought into what the Greek gods would look like as politicians, and every character is fitting of their godly personality’s inspiration.
The world is similar enough to real life to be comfortable and familiar, but different enough to be interesting. The consistency and continuity of details really draws readers in and keeps the story real.
The world is similar enough to real life to be comfortable and familiar, but different enough to be interesting. The consistency and continuity of details really draws readers in and keeps the story real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
looseleafellie's review
This adult romance modern Hades and Persephone retelling has Persephone fleeing to Olympus’s Lower City to escape a marriage to Zeus. There, she makes a bargain with Hades: he’ll keep her safe for the winter, and then she’ll escape Olympus for good. But the growing feelings between them make Persephone second-guess her plans …
I assumed this would be a fantasy romance, but it’s more of a dystopia. There isn’t much magic, but the system of government in the city of Olympus is set up to mimic the gods of Mount Olympus, which was super interesting to me.
I thought Persephone and Hades had great physical chemistry — it helps that Hades is a consent king! Unfortunately, the romance felt too insta-love-y for me. After a few days together, Hades was like, “this woman has changed my life!” and I just didn’t buy that. I also felt the general pacing was a bit wonky.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for spice with the flavor of an interesting world and the hurt/comfort trope, but not so much if you’re looking for a tight plot or slow-burn angst.
Spice level: Graphic
CWs: Emotional abuse, sexual harassment, gun violence, blood, eating disorder, mention of parent death.
I assumed this would be a fantasy romance, but it’s more of a dystopia. There isn’t much magic, but the system of government in the city of Olympus is set up to mimic the gods of Mount Olympus, which was super interesting to me.
I thought Persephone and Hades had great physical chemistry — it helps that Hades is a consent king! Unfortunately, the romance felt too insta-love-y for me. After a few days together, Hades was like, “this woman has changed my life!” and I just didn’t buy that. I also felt the general pacing was a bit wonky.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for spice with the flavor of an interesting world and the hurt/comfort trope, but not so much if you’re looking for a tight plot or slow-burn angst.
Spice level: Graphic
CWs: Emotional abuse, sexual harassment, gun violence, blood, eating disorder, mention of parent death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Eating disorder, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
storykath's review
I found there was more smut than plot, which I wasn't interested in reading for a few hundred more pages. Outside of the smut (which was pretty well-written), the writing and dialogue often felt clunky, and the plot didn't grab me since the pace was all over the place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
venetiana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and War
lennatheunicorncat's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
looddle's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
ionai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, and Misogyny
michellemaas's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
* Beware of minor spoilers
First read: 3.5 - ⭐⭐⭐💫
Second read: 3 - ⭐⭐⭐
First Installment in the Dark Olympus series, which is a series of interconnected standalone novels retelling our favorite Greek myths. Adult Mythological Retelling featuring the "forbidden love", "fake dating", "grumpy X sunshine", "dead parent", "forced proximity", and "hurt/comfort" tropes.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert. It was not what I expected in the least, I'll give her that.
“You’ve ruined me, Persephone. Forgive the f*ck out of me if I want to return the favor.”
Neon Gods is a Hades and Persephone retelling from a completely modernized perspective. Persephone, a 24-year-old socialite, wants nothing more than to escape Olympus. She and her 3 sisters are constantly scrutinized by the media for being the daughters of Demeter and she just wants to build a life of her own outside of the boundaries of the city. You can imagine her surprise when her mother sets up her engagement to Zeus as a power-move and is forced to accept or face the wrath of her mother, but also potentially endanger her sisters. After meeting Hades, who runs the "bad" part of town, they start working together to take down Zeus: if Hades ruins Persephone's reputation Zeus will no longer want her and she can walk free, and Hades gets the satisfaction of taking away something Zeus wanted as revenge for the murder of his parents. It's a win-win situation until they start developing real feelings and the stakes get raised.
“You’re beautiful to me. The scars are part of that, part of you. They’re a mark of everything you’ve survived, of how strong you are."
The SMUT was good (I know that's why most of us are here) if somewhat repetitive (keep in mind that I'm pretty immune to SMUT so it might not be that way for you). And despite being a little info-blurby and slow at times, I would still say that this was a good book but I'm mostly excited for the sequel. The world is intriguing, my main thing was just that Hades and Persephone's love story has been done so much that it's hard to do it better than everyone else (I hope that makes sense). The BDSM element was a different addition to the classical story though.
“You and everyone else in your life might be willing to play fast and loose with your health, but I am not.”
The main thing I enjoyed in Neon Gods was how well Hades took care of Persephone. Yeah, this book is a lot of sex and kink, but it's more varied than the usual smut and Hades truly is an amazing partner to Persephone. He is undoubtedly protective, but it's a different kind of protective than that of normal dark romances. He's not handling Persephone this way as some sort of power trip about controlling her life, but rather because he genuinely cares for her and he can see that no one else takes the liberty to do so. He wants her safe and healthy and I think it's really cute!
"We didn’t choose this life. We’re just trying to survive it."
Furthermore, during my reread I've come to realize that reading this right after Scarlett St. Clair's Hades X Persephone series and underestimating Katee Robert's writing style as an erotica author first, retelling author second, has coloured my experience of this the first time round. It still isn't my favorite Hades and Persephone retelling, but it is quite a bit better than I remembered it being. However, I am someone who lives for a good plot and her sacrificing her plot in the name of erotica wasn't my favorite and led to its middle-of-the-line rating.
“If their sins happen in the dark, do they even count?”
Before I end off, I want to use this platform to express my eternal, indistinguishable love for this version of Hermes. She. Was. GREAT!!! You read that right: she. Not only was she female as the 12 Olympians are only titles that represent certain positions (Demeter is in charge of food supply, Poseidon is in charge of the docks, Aphrodite plans weddings, etc.) but her personality was just *chef's kiss*. I also liked that Katee Robert explored a little of the morality of people placed within positions of power. For example, Hermes and Dionysus are Hades' friends, but they warned him that they would side with the rest of the Olympians if it came down to a fight. Morally grey characters are trending in the book world and, like athleisure, I hope it's a trend that never goes out of style!
“I’m going to have you, little siren. In every position, in every way.”
I understand why Katee Robert chose to start the "Dark Olympus" series with the story of Hades and Persephone. It is the most well-known tale and that gives her the perfect opportunity to introduce the series and ease us into the fictional world of Dark Olympus. That being said, I feel that because Hades and Persephone have been done so many times before, it does lose a little of its charm and I'm really excited for "Electric Idol" where we can see her tackle a lesser-known story within the same world. Katee Robert's retellings are always golden and I know that she will knock this series out of the park! Also more Hermes!
“Power is as much about perception as it is about the resources one has at their disposal.”
Overall I would recommend this if you like retellings and erotica. This is also one of those reads who would be perfect for people who enjoy some fantastical elements but can't stomach extensive world-building.
* Please note that while this is an Adult Dark Romance and is not suitable for minors or sensitive readers. Be sure to check content warnings on the author's website before reading. Your entertainment is not worth risking your mental health for!
First read: 3.5 - ⭐⭐⭐💫
Second read: 3 - ⭐⭐⭐
First Installment in the Dark Olympus series, which is a series of interconnected standalone novels retelling our favorite Greek myths. Adult Mythological Retelling featuring the "forbidden love", "fake dating", "grumpy X sunshine", "dead parent", "forced proximity", and "hurt/comfort" tropes.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert. It was not what I expected in the least, I'll give her that.
“You’ve ruined me, Persephone. Forgive the f*ck out of me if I want to return the favor.”
Neon Gods is a Hades and Persephone retelling from a completely modernized perspective. Persephone, a 24-year-old socialite, wants nothing more than to escape Olympus. She and her 3 sisters are constantly scrutinized by the media for being the daughters of Demeter and she just wants to build a life of her own outside of the boundaries of the city. You can imagine her surprise when her mother sets up her engagement to Zeus as a power-move and is forced to accept or face the wrath of her mother, but also potentially endanger her sisters. After meeting Hades, who runs the "bad" part of town, they start working together to take down Zeus: if Hades ruins Persephone's reputation Zeus will no longer want her and she can walk free, and Hades gets the satisfaction of taking away something Zeus wanted as revenge for the murder of his parents. It's a win-win situation until they start developing real feelings and the stakes get raised.
“You’re beautiful to me. The scars are part of that, part of you. They’re a mark of everything you’ve survived, of how strong you are."
The SMUT was good (I know that's why most of us are here) if somewhat repetitive (keep in mind that I'm pretty immune to SMUT so it might not be that way for you). And despite being a little info-blurby and slow at times, I would still say that this was a good book but I'm mostly excited for the sequel. The world is intriguing, my main thing was just that Hades and Persephone's love story has been done so much that it's hard to do it better than everyone else (I hope that makes sense). The BDSM element was a different addition to the classical story though.
“You and everyone else in your life might be willing to play fast and loose with your health, but I am not.”
The main thing I enjoyed in Neon Gods was how well Hades took care of Persephone. Yeah, this book is a lot of sex and kink, but it's more varied than the usual smut and Hades truly is an amazing partner to Persephone. He is undoubtedly protective, but it's a different kind of protective than that of normal dark romances. He's not handling Persephone this way as some sort of power trip about controlling her life, but rather because he genuinely cares for her and he can see that no one else takes the liberty to do so. He wants her safe and healthy and I think it's really cute!
"We didn’t choose this life. We’re just trying to survive it."
Furthermore, during my reread I've come to realize that reading this right after Scarlett St. Clair's Hades X Persephone series and underestimating Katee Robert's writing style as an erotica author first, retelling author second, has coloured my experience of this the first time round. It still isn't my favorite Hades and Persephone retelling, but it is quite a bit better than I remembered it being. However, I am someone who lives for a good plot and her sacrificing her plot in the name of erotica wasn't my favorite and led to its middle-of-the-line rating.
“If their sins happen in the dark, do they even count?”
Before I end off, I want to use this platform to express my eternal, indistinguishable love for this version of Hermes. She. Was. GREAT!!! You read that right: she. Not only was she female as the 12 Olympians are only titles that represent certain positions (Demeter is in charge of food supply, Poseidon is in charge of the docks, Aphrodite plans weddings, etc.) but her personality was just *chef's kiss*. I also liked that Katee Robert explored a little of the morality of people placed within positions of power. For example, Hermes and Dionysus are Hades' friends, but they warned him that they would side with the rest of the Olympians if it came down to a fight. Morally grey characters are trending in the book world and, like athleisure, I hope it's a trend that never goes out of style!
“I’m going to have you, little siren. In every position, in every way.”
I understand why Katee Robert chose to start the "Dark Olympus" series with the story of Hades and Persephone. It is the most well-known tale and that gives her the perfect opportunity to introduce the series and ease us into the fictional world of Dark Olympus. That being said, I feel that because Hades and Persephone have been done so many times before, it does lose a little of its charm and I'm really excited for "Electric Idol" where we can see her tackle a lesser-known story within the same world. Katee Robert's retellings are always golden and I know that she will knock this series out of the park! Also more Hermes!
“Power is as much about perception as it is about the resources one has at their disposal.”
Overall I would recommend this if you like retellings and erotica. This is also one of those reads who would be perfect for people who enjoy some fantastical elements but can't stomach extensive world-building.
* Please note that while this is an Adult Dark Romance and is not suitable for minors or sensitive readers. Be sure to check content warnings on the author's website before reading. Your entertainment is not worth risking your mental health for!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism