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A review by lilithmoon
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
3.0
As someone who adores Greek Mythology I was very eager to start reading this series. I do personally like this series and Scarlett St. Clair has an interesting take on this classical myth especially when it comes to the twist of Persephone's powers. However, at times this book fell short of its potential which in hindsight really let the story down. (No spoilers)
The way gods and mortals interact in the story is similar to how they are described as interacting in Greek Mythology. One thing is for certain in this story, Scarlett knows her Greek mythology and she brings that knowledge to the table when reimagining the stories. The minor characters mentioned in the story personified their Greek myth counterparts with similar but modern interpretations. A warning for future readers, if you are going to research a character to learn about their Greek myth version, do it after you've finished reading as you may end up spoiling their storyline as I did with Minthe.
Persephone sometimes felt like a relatable character and I understood her decisions then she would sometimes lack all complexity and make mistakes repetitively. Her powers, or lack thereof, was an interesting twist and definitely made her a more interesting character that some versions of her. Very little is explained about her past apart from the fact she was unhappy living in her mother's 'prison' of sorts which again took away from the depth this story could have explored in its characters. It wasn't uncommon for any minor characters to lack depth, it was like they only existed to interact with the main characters. They would be described and then no more information about their past or interests was ever mentioned again unless it was relevant to the main characters romance.
The romance, what we really came to this story for...
What forms between Hades and Persephone is the stereotypical 'edgy bad boy loves the troubled but good hearted girl' trope. Romance is honestly the only plot actually happening in the story or at least the only one of importance. Other small story lines do occur but only when it's conveniently not disrupting the couple from forming a relationship. It becomes predictable that there will be a romantic part then a problem appears, is sorted, then another romantic scene occurs. It is almost too much of a good thing when it comes to how much romance this book has and it makes the book rather slow and unexciting at times. I however, am a complete sucker for the surprisingly healthy and loving relationship that forms between Hades and Persephone and if you like the cliche young adult types of romance I would highly recommend this book to you.
If you enjoy Greek mythology being reimagined or the bad boy romance trope I would highly recommend reading this book as I did find it very engaging while reading it. It is only with hindsight I see the problems that limit this book from being a perfect reversal take on this classical story.
The way gods and mortals interact in the story is similar to how they are described as interacting in Greek Mythology. One thing is for certain in this story, Scarlett knows her Greek mythology and she brings that knowledge to the table when reimagining the stories. The minor characters mentioned in the story personified their Greek myth counterparts with similar but modern interpretations. A warning for future readers, if you are going to research a character to learn about their Greek myth version, do it after you've finished reading as you may end up spoiling their storyline as I did with Minthe.
Persephone sometimes felt like a relatable character and I understood her decisions then she would sometimes lack all complexity and make mistakes repetitively. Her powers, or lack thereof, was an interesting twist and definitely made her a more interesting character that some versions of her. Very little is explained about her past apart from the fact she was unhappy living in her mother's 'prison' of sorts which again took away from the depth this story could have explored in its characters. It wasn't uncommon for any minor characters to lack depth, it was like they only existed to interact with the main characters. They would be described and then no more information about their past or interests was ever mentioned again unless it was relevant to the main characters romance.
The romance, what we really came to this story for...
What forms between Hades and Persephone is the stereotypical 'edgy bad boy loves the troubled but good hearted girl' trope. Romance is honestly the only plot actually happening in the story or at least the only one of importance. Other small story lines do occur but only when it's conveniently not disrupting the couple from forming a relationship. It becomes predictable that there will be a romantic part then a problem appears, is sorted, then another romantic scene occurs. It is almost too much of a good thing when it comes to how much romance this book has and it makes the book rather slow and unexciting at times. I however, am a complete sucker for the surprisingly healthy and loving relationship that forms between Hades and Persephone and if you like the cliche young adult types of romance I would highly recommend this book to you.
If you enjoy Greek mythology being reimagined or the bad boy romance trope I would highly recommend reading this book as I did find it very engaging while reading it. It is only with hindsight I see the problems that limit this book from being a perfect reversal take on this classical story.