A review by cscharfway
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

dark hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Plot concept and love story? So good!

Writing, style, form? Needed a lot of work. 

Overall, this is a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth that I’ve always wanted since I was 10 years old and did a speech to my class on Greek mythology. I love how Hades is a misunderstood character who has so many layers of goodness under the darkness, and I love how his love for Persephone brings it out in him. At the same time, Persephone is normally considered this pure, naive girl but in the book, she discovers herself fully, including the dark power within her. She is such a stronger character than the myth portrays her as, which is empowering. 

This is however more of a “guilty pleasure” type of read for those interested in fantasy smut, rather than a remarkable work on literature. But, it’s different to the Maas universe in that the world building is very rushed and takes a back seat to some very unrealistic sex scenes that sometimes aren’t needed. It’s cute, but more of a knockoff ACOTAR. Also, was this book self-published? The choice of the font is very amateurish, and there were sections that were grammatically a little awkward. 

The love story is SO addictive, and it’s a story that’s hard to put down so it’s worth it to read, for sure if you like losing yourself in a cute roman-tasy book. Just don’t expect to be mindblown. 

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