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A review by magnafeana
Seduction of a Psychopomp: Erogenous Hand Holding and Other Ways to Tame your Reaper by Elsie Winters
4.0
All right, all yall, let’s do this one more time, shall we?
SUMMARY
In Seduction of a Psychopomp, which can be read as a standalone, this pays homage to a few things from the romanticized myth of greek gods Hades and Persephone with them now being replaced by Victor, one of many personifications of death, and Celeste, a faerie princess.
Unlike how Hades and Persephone were wedded as a second option, Victor and Celeste’s arrangement, while circumstantial, is what gets their romance started. With Celeste dying of a mysterious illness, the matriarch of Victor’s family (his russian grandmother) assigns him Celeste as his “mate”, meaning by binding them together, Victor’s powers of “death” will restore Celeste’s life.
While Victor himself is not one to copiously emote, he is one to silently empathize, and meeting his sick wife as well as seeing the treatment and disrespect she’s given makes him want to provide and protect her, while Celeste is still in a cocoon of misery for her half-life of disease and loss.
The wedding completes the binding ceremony and Celeste and Victor are officially married—in his culture, at least. And when his new wife is still too weak to play perfect princess, she accepts Victor’s offer to leave Faery and the life of being subjected to ableism.
From here, love slowly grows. Victor—as imposing as he is—has little experience with intimacy and romantic care, but he’s considerate of Celeste forever and always. Celeste understands the highs and lows and in-betweens of romance, and as she grows into a healthier state, she takes the reigns in starting their marriage officially by her culture’s standards while Victor serves as her steadfast protector and adorable husband.
Tensions arise when Celeste learns the reason Victor seemed standoffish came from his lack of requiring as much sleep and food as her, but also that evil beings wish to consume her power while she’s still a vulnerable mortal. But with Victor’s experience and Celeste’s growing power, they head for a safe haven they can call home.
______________________________________
THE GOOD
______________________
This story was so
SUMMARY
In Seduction of a Psychopomp, which can be read as a standalone, this pays homage to a few things from the romanticized myth of greek gods Hades and Persephone with them now being replaced by Victor, one of many personifications of death, and Celeste, a faerie princess.
Unlike how Hades and Persephone were wedded as a second option, Victor and Celeste’s arrangement, while circumstantial, is what gets their romance started. With Celeste dying of a mysterious illness, the matriarch of Victor’s family (his russian grandmother) assigns him Celeste as his “mate”, meaning by binding them together, Victor’s powers of “death” will restore Celeste’s life.
While Victor himself is not one to copiously emote, he is one to silently empathize, and meeting his sick wife as well as seeing the treatment and disrespect she’s given makes him want to provide and protect her, while Celeste is still in a cocoon of misery for her half-life of disease and loss.
The wedding completes the binding ceremony and Celeste and Victor are officially married—in his culture, at least. And when his new wife is still too weak to play perfect princess, she accepts Victor’s offer to leave Faery and the life of being subjected to ableism.
From here, love slowly grows. Victor—as imposing as he is—has little experience with intimacy and romantic care, but he’s considerate of Celeste forever and always. Celeste understands the highs and lows and in-betweens of romance, and as she grows into a healthier state, she takes the reigns in starting their marriage officially by her culture’s standards while Victor serves as her steadfast protector and adorable husband.
Tensions arise when Celeste learns the reason Victor seemed standoffish came from his lack of requiring as much sleep and food as her, but also that evil beings wish to consume her power while she’s still a vulnerable mortal. But with Victor’s experience and Celeste’s growing power, they head for a safe haven they can call home.
______________________________________
THE GOOD
______________________
This story was so