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A review by mollyringle
That Fatal Kiss by Mina Lobo
5.0
Well done! Many of us, when retelling the Persephone/Hades myth, end up re-envisioning it without all its non-consensual elements, because those things, while perfectly true to the myths, can be hot-button issues for modern readers. However, Mina Lobo finds a way to stick very closely to the mythology and to still make it a lighthearted love story. I am impressed!
Yep, Hades kidnaps Persephone, and tries some other naughty tricks on her too. But this is a goddess we're dealing with. She's not helpless--as we all must have wondered when reading the myth. She fights right back, and soon sees he's not malicious really; just clueless about courtship (also a possibility I considered in my youth, when thinking about the myth), and that he honestly does love her and doesn't want to hurt her. In short, the author makes it work, even with all the consent problems the mythology comes packaged with, because now we get to see the in-between scenes that weren't mentioned in, say, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. (But which still could fit into the framework of the original mythology.)
And for mythology fans, there are many other excellent references woven into Hades and Persephone's adventures, all surprisingly faithful to the old stories. The dialogue even has a stately feel that would fit into the afore-mentioned Homeric Hymn, but with more modern sparkles of wit thrown in, giving the whole thing a fun and whimsical mood.
Amen on Ares being "kind of a douche". I mean, seriously.
Yep, Hades kidnaps Persephone, and tries some other naughty tricks on her too. But this is a goddess we're dealing with. She's not helpless--as we all must have wondered when reading the myth. She fights right back, and soon sees he's not malicious really; just clueless about courtship (also a possibility I considered in my youth, when thinking about the myth), and that he honestly does love her and doesn't want to hurt her. In short, the author makes it work, even with all the consent problems the mythology comes packaged with, because now we get to see the in-between scenes that weren't mentioned in, say, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. (But which still could fit into the framework of the original mythology.)
And for mythology fans, there are many other excellent references woven into Hades and Persephone's adventures, all surprisingly faithful to the old stories. The dialogue even has a stately feel that would fit into the afore-mentioned Homeric Hymn, but with more modern sparkles of wit thrown in, giving the whole thing a fun and whimsical mood.
Amen on Ares being "kind of a douche". I mean, seriously.