Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by friends2lovers
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
adventurous
medium-paced
1.0
I’ve been eager to try more books based on or inspired by mythology. So this retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth sounded like it would be right up my alley and I was looking forward to its release. Plus, Katee Robert is a new-to-me author who I’ve been curious to try, but none of her other books appealed to me as much as Neon Gods did. Unfortunately, I found this a bit disappointing. My main criticisms are the lack of fantastical elements; the contemporary setting; the points-of-view; and the boring romance/story.
Contemporary romance is pretty hit or miss with me these days. I’ve been enjoying historicals a lot more because the stakes are often higher and I feel like it’s much easier to stretch the bounds of realism when it’s set in a far away time and place. I knew Neon Gods was a modern retelling, but anticipated that there would be enough fantasy blended in that it would make up for the contemporariness. However, this was basically a contemporary romance with weak parallels and references to mythology and such a miniscule amount of fantastical elements that they might as well have been left out entirely. All of the characters, including the villain, Zeus, are mortals and the only powers they wield are political, financial, and sexual. Expressions like I swear to the gods...Thank the gods...Oh, gods are used quite frequently; which makes me wonder what gods they’re referring to if the 13 gods of Greek mythology are just normal humans in this world. It’s never explained why or how the insular city of Olympus exists in the US, or who created the mystical boundary between the upper and lower cities. Instead of intriguing me and wanting me to read more, the worldbuilding was just confusing and distracting.
The book alternates between Hades’s and Persephone’s first-person, present-tense points-of-view. This is a difficult POV choice to pull off, especially when using it for the two main characters in the same book, and it doesn't work for me at all here. There’s nothing in the writing or characterization to help distinguish between the voices or perspectives of Hades and Persephone. Jumping into the middle of a chapter, I would not be able to tell whose POV it was without some kind of obvious signifier. I think this POV choice would have been more effective and interesting if it was Persephone’s alone. Then there would be some mystery surrounding the character of Hades, and more of a slow teasing out of his intentions and motivations.
The romance in this honestly bored me. I could see some similarities between it and another romance inspired (presumably) by the Hades and Persephone myth: Feyre and Rhysand from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Like Rhys, Hades has a nefarious persona he puts on for political purposes. Neon Gods even has a couple of throne scenes. But since the lackluster chemistry between Hades and Persephone pales in comparison to the exquisite build-up of tension in A Court of Mist and Fury, the throne scenes, which are meant to be sexy, fall flat. I guess this could be considered a ‘dark romance’ because there is talk of murder and someone does die on the page. But for a fantasy/paranormal romance inspired by Greek mythology, it’s really quite tame. Neon Gods did not deliver the high-stakes, epic love story I was hoping for.
P.S.
Contemporary romance is pretty hit or miss with me these days. I’ve been enjoying historicals a lot more because the stakes are often higher and I feel like it’s much easier to stretch the bounds of realism when it’s set in a far away time and place. I knew Neon Gods was a modern retelling, but anticipated that there would be enough fantasy blended in that it would make up for the contemporariness. However, this was basically a contemporary romance with weak parallels and references to mythology and such a miniscule amount of fantastical elements that they might as well have been left out entirely. All of the characters, including the villain, Zeus, are mortals and the only powers they wield are political, financial, and sexual. Expressions like I swear to the gods...Thank the gods...Oh, gods are used quite frequently; which makes me wonder what gods they’re referring to if the 13 gods of Greek mythology are just normal humans in this world. It’s never explained why or how the insular city of Olympus exists in the US, or who created the mystical boundary between the upper and lower cities. Instead of intriguing me and wanting me to read more, the worldbuilding was just confusing and distracting.
The book alternates between Hades’s and Persephone’s first-person, present-tense points-of-view. This is a difficult POV choice to pull off, especially when using it for the two main characters in the same book, and it doesn't work for me at all here. There’s nothing in the writing or characterization to help distinguish between the voices or perspectives of Hades and Persephone. Jumping into the middle of a chapter, I would not be able to tell whose POV it was without some kind of obvious signifier. I think this POV choice would have been more effective and interesting if it was Persephone’s alone. Then there would be some mystery surrounding the character of Hades, and more of a slow teasing out of his intentions and motivations.
The romance in this honestly bored me. I could see some similarities between it and another romance inspired (presumably) by the Hades and Persephone myth: Feyre and Rhysand from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Like Rhys, Hades has a nefarious persona he puts on for political purposes. Neon Gods even has a couple of throne scenes. But since the lackluster chemistry between Hades and Persephone pales in comparison to the exquisite build-up of tension in A Court of Mist and Fury, the throne scenes, which are meant to be sexy, fall flat. I guess this could be considered a ‘dark romance’ because there is talk of murder and someone does die on the page. But for a fantasy/paranormal romance inspired by Greek mythology, it’s really quite tame. Neon Gods did not deliver the high-stakes, epic love story I was hoping for.
P.S.
- Robert places this in the 'dark romance' genre on her website. IMO, it is more erotic than it is dark. I hesitate to call this an erotic romance when the author does not identify it as such. But, I would place it in that subgenre not just because of the high quantity of sex scenes but because the sexual relationship between the MCs is crucial to the romance and plot. Kink includes exhibitionism and light dom/sub elements.
- Madeline Miller, author of Circe and The Song of Achilles, wrote a blog post about Persephone as part of a ‘Myth of the Week’ series. She also wrote about Psyche and Eros, whose story will be retold in Electric Idol, next in Robert's Dark Olympus series.
- Robert dedicated Neon Gods to the hosts of the Heaving Bosoms podcast. This is the podcast I started listening to in January 2021 which sparked my recent love (and binge reading) of the Romance genre. So, I was quite delighted to see this dedication. (If you're wondering, ‘boastful floors’ refers to episode 87, their recap of the book Bully.): "To Erin and Melody—Your podcast has brought me so much joy over the last few years, and I hope Hades’s boastful floors give you a little joy in return."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder