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carsonelainee's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
wow okay i don’t think i’ve ever devoured a book quite like this one. neon gods is a very interesting take on the hades/persephone story that we all know and love and i have to say i enjoyed it. there were definitely things i would have liked to have happen, but overall it was a very solid book.
one thing i want to quickly discuss: holy hell the
wow okay i don’t think i’ve ever devoured a book quite like this one. neon gods is a very interesting take on the hades/persephone story that we all know and love and i have to say i enjoyed it. there were definitely things i would have liked to have happen, but overall it was a very solid book.
one thing i want to quickly discuss: holy hell the
nicolenordi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rubybird16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jetteleia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.25
they were so cute
neen_machine's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
vepowell's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect start to the dark Olympus series. I love their relationship, and how they describe it as bringing each other back to the living instead of just being alive. Be prepared for Katee Robert's excellent spice, obviously.
attackofthetitans's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't finish. Characters felt fake and no love story. It was trashy with no real plot.
laura_buecker's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
mizz_mack's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I can pretty easily see why people would like this book. It's nothing to write home about but I think Hades and Persephone have an easy back and forth that felt believable enough, they weren't miserable to be around, and I thought their chemistry with other characters was decent enough. It was cool that Persephone wasn't some blushing virgin, and had past partners and sexual experience. Hades is older than her, but he's only in his 30s and Persephone is 25. Their talks about like...what sorta kinks or whatever they like was cool if you're into that kind of thing.
But this book was also boring. The plot, as it were, wasn't engaging to me at all and I spent most of the book thinking about how the world is set up and makes sense. Like...the idea of the Greek Titles (I'll call them) being passed down for Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, and voted (at least in the case of Demeter) is a compelling one to me. What's it's like to actually become a god? But there aren't any gods in this book. Just like...rich people?
The idea of celebrity being akin to Gods is...okay but it's not really explored. I also spent a good while of the book (basically the whole thing) wondering where exactly this "city" was located (that's another thing; it's a city? just a city??) If the city is like...the size of The United (for now) Kingdom then okay but you've got to tell me at the very least. Otherwise, I'm picturing like...New York, so all the talk of "I'm a King" or "My people" ect felt super super weird. But anyways! The concept of a regular person becoming "Persephone" or "Hermes" or any other name is so interesting and I wanted that specifically explored, but it wasn't. Not even a hint.
This also led to more and more of the greek allusions to feel distracting and annoying. Like, does everyone in this city have to be named after a Greek god, or Hero, or something? Are the ones related to the Gods voted in or are the forced into the position (like it seemed Persephone and her sisters were). Some of the minor side characters referenced having family with ties to Greece, does this person wonder or think its weird that there are people running out with the names of deities related to their pantheon from long past? Are greek myths known in this world? Do the characters know that they're playing out these myths??
I have all these questions but that's not what this book is about. The focus is on Hades and Persephone.
I will say after a bit, toward the middle of the book, Hades's chapters started to feel repetitive. It felt like he wasn't thinking about anything new just his feeling about Persephone, so it felt boring to read/listen to. Persephone had a lot more going on; her growing feelings for Hades, exploring the undercity (its just a city guys!!), worrying about her sisters, and mother. So in that respect he was more dynamic. I also do not understand why Hades is the "boogeyman" to the uppercity. He's not scary at all, not even in a pretend way? That seemed so weird (could be related to a plot point that popped up at the end and that will get explored in other books, I don't know at the moment.
I would have preferred if there more conflict in the actual Hades and Persephone's relationship. Like...maybe during on of their scenes something gets pushed too far and it shakes them a little bit? But in a book like this, they relationship is supposed to be a comfort, to both the characters and the reader, so I do get why nothing like that happened here. Oh! I did think the little hints about character's queerness was cool. Did enjoy that, ngl.
Anyways, Hermes is cute and I love her!
But giving it a 3 stars for what it is. I have decided to check out the rest of the series though so I guess this book did something right.
But this book was also boring. The plot, as it were, wasn't engaging to me at all and I spent most of the book thinking about how the world is set up and makes sense. Like...the idea of the Greek Titles (I'll call them) being passed down for Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, and voted (at least in the case of Demeter) is a compelling one to me. What's it's like to actually become a god? But there aren't any gods in this book. Just like...rich people?
The idea of celebrity being akin to Gods is...okay but it's not really explored. I also spent a good while of the book (basically the whole thing) wondering where exactly this "city" was located (that's another thing; it's a city? just a city??) If the city is like...the size of The United (for now) Kingdom then okay but you've got to tell me at the very least. Otherwise, I'm picturing like...New York, so all the talk of "I'm a King" or "My people" ect felt super super weird. But anyways! The concept of a regular person becoming "Persephone" or "Hermes" or any other name is so interesting and I wanted that specifically explored, but it wasn't. Not even a hint.
This also led to more and more of the greek allusions to feel distracting and annoying. Like, does everyone in this city have to be named after a Greek god, or Hero, or something? Are the ones related to the Gods voted in or are the forced into the position (like it seemed Persephone and her sisters were). Some of the minor side characters referenced having family with ties to Greece, does this person wonder or think its weird that there are people running out with the names of deities related to their pantheon from long past? Are greek myths known in this world? Do the characters know that they're playing out these myths??
I have all these questions but that's not what this book is about. The focus is on Hades and Persephone.
I will say after a bit, toward the middle of the book, Hades's chapters started to feel repetitive. It felt like he wasn't thinking about anything new just his feeling about Persephone, so it felt boring to read/listen to. Persephone had a lot more going on; her growing feelings for Hades, exploring the undercity (its just a city guys!!), worrying about her sisters, and mother. So in that respect he was more dynamic. I also do not understand why Hades is the "boogeyman" to the uppercity. He's not scary at all, not even in a pretend way? That seemed so weird (could be related to a plot point that popped up at the end and that will get explored in other books, I don't know at the moment.
I would have preferred if there more conflict in the actual Hades and Persephone's relationship. Like...maybe during on of their scenes something gets pushed too far and it shakes them a little bit? But in a book like this, they relationship is supposed to be a comfort, to both the characters and the reader, so I do get why nothing like that happened here. Oh! I did think the little hints about character's queerness was cool. Did enjoy that, ngl.
Anyways, Hermes is cute and I love her!
But giving it a 3 stars for what it is. I have decided to check out the rest of the series though so I guess this book did something right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content