A review by mkjacobswrites
The Darkest Summer by Rebecca J. Greenwood

4.0

This was a fascinating retelling of Hades and Persephone in the Year Without A Summer Regency England. I loved the dates at the beginning of each chapter and the setting coming to life through the characters' eyes - it was so different from Cora vs. Adam's perspective. The inclusion of religion felt reasonable without being trite. The aggressive insta-love on both sides felt overly unrealistic to me, though. I was often taken out of the story when she would address him as just "Duke" - why couldn't she just say "your Grace?" There were also times that it felt like the author would do a fine job showing an emotion and then also feel the need to tell it - like after Cora takes back some agency in a compelling dialogue, there is a paragraph of her reaction, including this sentence: "She thrilled with feminine power" - I think the scene would've stood better on its own two feet. Of course these are minor issues; I really enjoyed this overall!