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blueskyvibes1point0's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Persephone and Hades' engagement provokes Demeter to summon a crippling snowstorm over New Greece, demanding her daughter call off the union. The Olympians intervene, torn between allowing the marriage and facing Demeter's wrath or prohibiting it and angering Hades. The situation teeters on the brink of war, with no clear resolution in sight.
Rating: 4/5
I loved most of this book. The story is reaching a climax, and I'm excited to read the last two books in the series. Persephone's evolution has been interesting and sometimes frustrating, but overall satisfying, while Hades has been consistently swoon-worthy. This book delves deeper into the gods and the situation with the Olympians, focusing more on mythology and less on the mortal world, which I enjoyed. However, some side stories felt underdeveloped. I'm eager to see where the series goes, especially from Hades’s perspective.
tamaraloraine89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just when you think the story is summing up, it all changes and I have to know what happens next
tessme23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
merinduh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-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
sioxricky's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
cassidyserhienko's review against another edition
3.0
"I am a Goddess of Life, a Queen of Death. I am the beginning and end of worlds."
Okay for starters, am I the only idiot that thought this was a trilogy???
I’ve watched/read countless reviews of this series, I follow Miss Scarlett St. Clair herself, and I still didn’t realize this fact until I was half done with this book. Am I upset, even though it’s my own fault? Yes, because now I have to wait until 2022 to find out WHAT THE F**K HAPPENS
But I digress. If you’ve been following along you might have picked up on the fact that it’s taken me approximately 7 eons to finish this freakin’ book. It definitely wasn’t the book’s fault, I just found myself in a bit of a slump and I wasn’t really motivated to read. I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than A Touch of Ruin (book two). I’d actually really struggled with ATOR because Persephone was completely insufferable, and if I hadn’t already had book three then I probably would have DNF’d the series. However, I’m trés glad that I impulse bought all of them. In this installment I found Persephone to be a more confident and consistent narrator. She was much more willing to communicate with Hades and acknowledge when someone else had more experience/knowledge than her, which to me makes her seem stronger.
My only real issue with the book, and really the entire series, is that it can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. In this book specifically, nothing really happens plot-wise until about 300 pages in and even then it’s happening more on the periphery of the main characters. Instead, there’s smut about every 4 pages. This can actually get a little repetitive but really, who am I to complain? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I think it would be a better read if the characters either engaged with the mystery/political plot more or if it was just a straight up fantasy romance that focused entirely on Hades and Persephone’s relationship. As it is, it’s essentially focused on the romance but then the Impious and murder mystery plots get left behind and are underdeveloped.
I also think there were so many characters that were just underutilized, especially Hades. He literally just shows up to bonk Persephone and then dips. At the start of the series he’s a really interesting, morally ambiguous, set in his ways character with a clear soft spot for Persephone. Over the next couple of books, particularly in this one, all of that takes a back seat and he becomes a bit one dimensional. Same thing goes for Hermes and Apollo. They could be really dynamic characters but they’re relegated to posse members who’s only role is to praise Persephone. Zeus and Poseidon are being set up to be interesting villains but we see so little of them, even during the final battle scene, that there just isn’t much there yet. I get that the main appeal of these books is the smut, but taking out some of those scenes to focus more on character and world-building would only serve to improve that aspect of the story and the series as a whole.
However as mentioned before, I think that Persephone displayed some great character growth after the complete mess she was in book two. I’m a fan of unreliable or unlikable narrators, but that definitely wasn’t the intention with Persephone so I’m happy that she’s gotten to the point where she’s more confident in herself and willing to explore her powers. The set-up to book four was fantastic because we got to see Persephone really exercising the powers that she’s been training since A Touch of Darkness. And spoiler alert, it’s going to be a nice change to see Persephone save Hades for a change. I know that there’s a whole separate series from Hades perspective, but I’m hoping for dual POVs in A Touch of Chaos. I doubt that it’ll happen, but a girl can dream. Not only will it give us better insight into what’s going on with the Gods and Hades himself, but I think that it would add more danger and tension to the entire story.
Overall I think that this book had a lot of potential that maybe wasn’t realized, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable read and I’m glad I’ve continued with the series.
Okay for starters, am I the only idiot that thought this was a trilogy???
I’ve watched/read countless reviews of this series, I follow Miss Scarlett St. Clair herself, and I still didn’t realize this fact until I was half done with this book. Am I upset, even though it’s my own fault? Yes, because now I have to wait until 2022 to find out WHAT THE F**K HAPPENS
But I digress. If you’ve been following along you might have picked up on the fact that it’s taken me approximately 7 eons to finish this freakin’ book. It definitely wasn’t the book’s fault, I just found myself in a bit of a slump and I wasn’t really motivated to read. I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than A Touch of Ruin (book two). I’d actually really struggled with ATOR because Persephone was completely insufferable, and if I hadn’t already had book three then I probably would have DNF’d the series. However, I’m trés glad that I impulse bought all of them. In this installment I found Persephone to be a more confident and consistent narrator. She was much more willing to communicate with Hades and acknowledge when someone else had more experience/knowledge than her, which to me makes her seem stronger.
My only real issue with the book, and really the entire series, is that it can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. In this book specifically, nothing really happens plot-wise until about 300 pages in and even then it’s happening more on the periphery of the main characters. Instead, there’s smut about every 4 pages. This can actually get a little repetitive but really, who am I to complain? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I think it would be a better read if the characters either engaged with the mystery/political plot more or if it was just a straight up fantasy romance that focused entirely on Hades and Persephone’s relationship. As it is, it’s essentially focused on the romance but then the Impious and murder mystery plots get left behind and are underdeveloped.
I also think there were so many characters that were just underutilized, especially Hades. He literally just shows up to bonk Persephone and then dips. At the start of the series he’s a really interesting, morally ambiguous, set in his ways character with a clear soft spot for Persephone. Over the next couple of books, particularly in this one, all of that takes a back seat and he becomes a bit one dimensional. Same thing goes for Hermes and Apollo. They could be really dynamic characters but they’re relegated to posse members who’s only role is to praise Persephone. Zeus and Poseidon are being set up to be interesting villains but we see so little of them, even during the final battle scene, that there just isn’t much there yet. I get that the main appeal of these books is the smut, but taking out some of those scenes to focus more on character and world-building would only serve to improve that aspect of the story and the series as a whole.
However as mentioned before, I think that Persephone displayed some great character growth after the complete mess she was in book two. I’m a fan of unreliable or unlikable narrators, but that definitely wasn’t the intention with Persephone so I’m happy that she’s gotten to the point where she’s more confident in herself and willing to explore her powers. The set-up to book four was fantastic because we got to see Persephone really exercising the powers that she’s been training since A Touch of Darkness. And spoiler alert, it’s going to be a nice change to see Persephone save Hades for a change. I know that there’s a whole separate series from Hades perspective, but I’m hoping for dual POVs in A Touch of Chaos. I doubt that it’ll happen, but a girl can dream. Not only will it give us better insight into what’s going on with the Gods and Hades himself, but I think that it would add more danger and tension to the entire story.
Overall I think that this book had a lot of potential that maybe wasn’t realized, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable read and I’m glad I’ve continued with the series.
loz98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
alexisfm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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
3.25
ashlecky's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t hate Persephone in this book. I need to know what happens, so I will indeed read the last book when it comes out. I think this book was the best of the three so far, but I’m not crazy about to 180 Persephone did. But glad she did for Hades’ sake.