Glint picks up right where Gild left off. Auren is taken prisoner by Fourth’s army and they set off to confront Midas in Fifth Kingdom’s capital. We don’t know what kind of rift the two kings have besides Midas using Fulke to invade Ravinger’s borders, but we do know that Auren will be used as a bargaining chip.
However, as the days pass, Auren is forced to open her eyes and face the truths about herself and Midas. Her walls are crumbling and her secret is on the verge of being exposed.
How will Auren handle the truth? Will it break her or will she grow?
Pros
The Wrath team
Auren’s character development
Commander Rip
Cons
No map
Stagnent location
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Recap
Auren’s Plotline
Glint picks up right where we left off in Gild. Auren, the saddles, and the rest of Midas’s guards are now prisoners of Fourth’s army. But the army isn’t heading back to the kingdom, instead, they are heading for Fifth’s Kingdom where King Midas is to confront him.
During their travels, Commander Rip pushes Auren for answers about herself and not Midas. Which Auren doesn’t understand. She thinks that he is playing mind games with her, trying to find her weakness, and reveal things about Midas. So, she fights back by not answering and looking for a messenger Hawke to warn Midas of Fourth’s impending arrival.
As the days tick by, Auren gets to know some of the members of Fourth’s army— Lu, Keg, and Hojat. She also sees how the soldiers interact with each other and how they mind their own. All of these experiences are direct opposites of what Auren has heard of Fourth’s army.
They actually treat her and the saddles well.
On one occasion, Auren sees a fighting circle and the young boy is pitted against an older man. Pissed that the army would make a child fight a man, she storms into the rink to stop it, not realizing the rules of the game.
After being told that the boy wants to fight and that he doesn’t need her protection, she is then forced to fight before she can leave the circle because the rule is: that anyone who enters the fight circle must fight.
Commander Rip dismisses the rest of the army besides Lu, Osrik, and Judd, and takes the chance to force Auren to use her ribbons. They go back and forth with Rip prodding Auren about why she doesn’t use them, why she’s holding back, etc. But eventually, Auren strikes and finally admits that she is fae.
As the army continues to travel to Fifth Kingdom, Auren eventually finds the messenger Hawke and writes a warning to Midas, warning him of Fourth’s plan. However, soon after she returns to her tent, she is confronted by Rip. This confrontation leads to a kiss that confuses Auren and Commander Rip’s intentions.
Eventually, the army reaches Fifth’s capital. Before negotiations are held, Midas demands Auren’s return in good faith, which King Ravinger obliges. Once Auren is back with Midas, things don’t go as Auren hoped.
Auren attempts to convince Midas that she doesn’t need the cage anymore because she’s not scared, however, Midas is adamant about her submission to her previous life. This argument leads to Auren accidentally turning her double into solid gold and breaking the much smaller cage door Midas was trying to force her into.
So, Midas leaves her trapped in his closet with the broken cage and well guarded as he goes to negotiate with King Ravinger. It is sometime after negotiations and Auren’s attempts to escape the closet, that King Ravinger appears, takes down the guards and opens the closet door.
However, King Ravinger is not whom he seems, as he has the ability to shape shift, and reveals himself to also be Commander Rip.
Queen Malina’s Plotline
While King Midas is ruling Fifth’s Kingdom, he leaves Queen Malina behind in Sixth Kingdom. Although he has demanded all decisions and changes be sent to him, Queen Malina decides enough is enough.
She starts taking back over her kingdom, as the Colier family has always ruled the Sixth Kingdom. She does this by getting rid of all the gold Midas has required everyone to wear. Instead, Malina opts for the traditional white and opal crown her family donned years before her.
Malina then starts gaining the support of noble women because they whisper into their husband’s ears. The goal is to have the full support of the noblemen, and eventually the commoners, to overrule Midas upon his return.
However, this doesn’t fair too well to the commoners because they blame her for their current hardships. Maline never stepped in to take care of the people either, as Midas’s rule neglected them and focused on the noblemen only.
With her gifts to the commoners awry, Queen Malina retreats back to her castle. However, before doing so, her carriage is blocked by a man. This man offers to show Malina how to achieve her desires in gratitude for her patience.
Her desires provide a map that leads to Seventh Kingdom, a kingdom that no longer existed. Or so everyone thought.
Analysis
My prediction was 100% correct!
Auren is fae, knows it, and Midas has used her for her power. She’s the one who turns things to gold, not Midas.
This makes everything so much more complicated, along with her budding relationship with Rip. But I’m so excited to see where this leads and I have so many questions!
What’s in Deadwell?
What is Slade’s end game?
Are the fae coming back? And if so, what does that mean?
How is Slade both King Ravinger and Rip? There were 4 guards + Ravinger at the meeting.
What role will Auren play in all of this?
But let’s get back to Glint.
I enjoyed Rip poking holes in Auren’s walls and beliefs in Midas. He was exposing exactly what she had been hiding all these years. Auren changed herself and hide her true self away in order to appease Midas and stay “safe.”
I also love how slow the plot is and how much care is taken in showing Auren’s changing views. We really get to see her perception and beliefs unfold the more she interacts with the soldiers and Rip.
Characters
Auren
The character development we saw in Auren is wonderful. I’m happy that she is finally seeing that Midas is using her and that he doesn’t actually care about her.
I hate she has to go through it, but I think it’s for the best. Midas is a dick and Auren deserves better than that.
Outside of her perspective being changed and questioned, Auren is still roughly the same socially awkward but kind person.
She desperately wants the saddles and others to like her, and she is set on protecting those who have been in similar situations as her. For example, her standing up for Twig.
She’s stupidly brave, but I love that about her character. Auren wants safety and peace for those around her, something she never had. And she will put herself out there just so others can have that.
Commander Rip
Hmm, how do I describe how Commander Rip is? For the most part, he seems to be all hard edges and business, but we see glimpses of him that say otherwise.
For example, when Auren first realizes Rip, Judd, Osrik, and Lu are all friends. He’s laughing and seems at ease. Then, we see him on the shores of Fifth as peaceful. No brooding energy, no cryptic words.
Outside of the instances when he’s trying to break Auren’s walls, we don’t really see too much of who he actually is. It also makes me question why he was so adamant about breaking those walls. What did he see? Why did he do it?
I’m interested to learn more about him in the next book. Especially since it seems he has the ability to shapeshift. I’m curious as to how that works and his persona when he’s King Ravinger.
Side Characters
Queen Malina
Malina is a badass. Or so I thought at first. She started out as a determined and empowered woman taking back what is hers. But once she started talking about the commoners and the way she acted around them, I can’t help but slide off her support wagon.
Malina is very self-centered and only wants what is hers, regardless of how many people she steps on. I’m kind of hoping we will get a downfall of her rule as well because she doesn’t seem like she’d make a good ruler either.
Writing
There isn’t really anything about Raven’s writing that I didn’t like. The grammar improved, and the themes were great, along with the foreshadowing and the super slow burn going on.
Themes
There is a lot of woman empowerment going on in this book. From Auren reclaiming herself and Malina reclaiming her kingdom, these women aren’t laying down and taking shit from men. I love it.
Most of the men, especially Midas, think they can own and control everything and everyone. They are greedy, possessive, and only take advantage of those around them. I can’t wait for them to be taken down a few notches.
I hate that Auren is objectified by her skin and who she is to Midas. But at the same time, it is vital in showing us the themes of the book and Kennedy does a great job at portraying this narrative.
Poem
Again, I enjoyed the poem at the end of the book. It’s a nice way to sum everything up and provide a smooth conclusion to the book. On top of that, it is beautifully written.
I can’t wait to read all the poems together.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed Glint. Even if the book mainly revolved around Auren being in Fourth’s army as a “prisoner.” I think this book was vital in breaking down Auren’s walls and giving us the character development that she deserves.
I also enjoy seeing King Ravinger’s and King Midas’s conflicts play out through Auren’s eyes. It places us at arm’s length from the real plot, but it’s done so well that I don’t mind getting bits of information here and there.
I’m excited to see where the next book takes us as I have a lot of questions!
The story within Gild seems to be rather straightforward. Midas’s touch turns anything into gold and the only living being he’s touched and lived, he has tucked away in his castle. However, not all is as it seems. Gild takes us on a journey with Auren, Midas’s favored, as she is tugged along through Midas’s conniving plans, all of which cause her harm, physical and emotional. But what else is the gilded favored supposed to do when she’s kept in a cage for 10 years?
Gild is based on the Greek myth of Midas; he who has the golden touch. Don’t know the myth? Don’t worry, I didn’t either before brushing up on my greek myths and legends.
Pros
Excellent pacing
Robust writing
The characters
Theme/message
Cons
No map
Unsure of where the plot was going at first
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Recap
Auren is Midas’s favorite saddle, one only touched by him, hence the gild of her skin. She is kept separated from the other saddles and most of the outside world. Auren lives in a gilded cage that spans across the top floor of the castle.
Everyone, royal and commoner alike, is fascinated with Midas’s favored, especially King Fulke. Fulk is the ruler of Fifth Kingdom and is allied with Midas, ruler of Sixth Kingdom. Upon his visit to Highball, Fulke pushes his bounds with Midas into seeing if he can have Auren for himself, at least for a night.
Surprisingly, and to Auren’s horror, Midas agrees, but there are conditions. Fulke must move his entire army to the border of Fourth Kingdom to meet Midas’s waiting army. They are to attack and conquer Fourth Kingdom, dividing up the lands.
However, Fourth Kingdom is ruled by King Ravinger, or King Rot. And no one fights King Rot, because, as his name implies, he can cause the human body to rot instantly, making him a deadly foe.
But, Fulke agrees. After moving his army and strategically planning with Midas for a week, all their efforts reign true as Fourth Kingdom is conquered. In honor of this victory, Midas holds a celebration. As part of their deal, Fulke gets Auren to himself for the night.
On the way to enjoy his “spoils,” King Fulke is stopped by a messenger from the front lines. Apparently, King Fulke’s entire army has been wiped out by King Rot’s forces.
Perplexed by the messenger’s tale, Fulke and Midas, along with their guards, meet in private to discuss the matter. The truth? Midas betrayed Fulke and sent his entire army to their deaths. Sixth Kingdom’s forces were never meeting Fifth’s. Instead, they were heading right for his kingdom.
Upon this discovery, a fight breaks out, resulting in King Fulke being murdered by Midas’s guards. He later spins the tale that the messenger was behind Fulke’s death. So, to protect Fulke, his ally, Midas must travel to Fifth Kingdom to rule in his spot, while he leaves his wife, the queen, behind to keep after Sixth Kingdom.
A month after the move, Midas has all of his saddles, and Auren is transported to Fifth Kingdom. The caravan travels through the nights and faces relenting snowstorms to reach the neighboring kingdom.
However, they never arrive. Instead, the caravan is attacked by the Red Raids, a pirate group located on the Barren ice fields.
The group kills off most of the soldiers, strips the men, carriages, and horses of all the gold plating, and takes the royal saddles. Captain Fane of the Red Raids decides he will sell off all the saddles, horses, and remaining guardsmen upon arriving at port in the Fifth Kingdom, but not after the pirates have their fun. So, Captain Fane sends out the word of his bountiful steal.
Not even an hour after capturing Midas’s caravan, the Fourth Kingdom’s commander, Commander Rip, boards the ship. He offers to pay Captain Fane for all of Midas’s remaining fleet, which does not come cheap.
Much to Captain Fane’s dismay at the commander’s quick notice, he relents to the commander’s agreement, furious that he and his men do not get to enjoy their “prizes.”
While Commander Rip and readying the rest of Midas’s fleet, the saddles were taken inside, out of the snow. However, not before Auren and Rissa, a royal saddle, are taken aside by the captain to his quarters.
Things go south for the pair as Captain Fane is one who gets off on violence. To protect Rissa and end her torment, Auren impulsively turns Captain Fane to gold, revealing the truth behind Midas’s power.
However, the pair must get rid of the evidence to protect their king’s secret. So, Auren and Rissa push Captain Fane’s solid gold body out the back window of the ship, along with the chest of gold Commander Rip just paid.
Auren and Rissa then pretend to be tied to the bed as the captain’s second in command, Quarter, comes to announce Commander Rip’s return. When the captain doesn’t answer, Quarter barges in and demands to know where the captain is.
The pair say that Captain Fane snuck out with the entire chest of gold after tying the two of them to the bed. The lie is believed, for now.
After exiting the cabin, Quarter discovers Fane’s hat and coat left behind. During his interrogation, Commander Rip interrupts and takes Rissa and Auren away.
As they are leaving the Red Raid’s ship, Auren almost passes out due to exhaustion, but she catches herself. However, she reveals her ribbons, as she calls them, in the process.
The book ends with Commander Rip telling Auren he knows what she is and Midas finding out Auren has been taken from him.
Analysis
The synopsis of the book doesn’t give us any information on what Gild is truly about. There is so much more at play here and I am here for it!
In general, I don’t have anything negative to say about the plot and what happens. So, the following points are all neutral or positive aspects.
Pacing
The plot was rather slow to unfold in Gild, however, I’m not complaining. As long as it is done well, I enjoy a slow plot that builds and extends into other books, similar to From Blood and Ash. It provides the reader time to familiarize themselves with the characters, the world, the history, and more, before the big ending.
The Twists
In the beginning, I liked King Midas’s plot to fool King Fulke. It was clever and I didn’t see it coming until the messenger came along. It was a great twist that showed us a bit more on who Midas actually is. This event definitely alludes to a larger, overall plot that we haven’t been made privy to yet.
I also didn’t foresee Auren being able to turn things into gold. Like, fuck, this changes so much!
Does this mean that Midas doesn’t actually have a golden touch and is using Auren to gain power and status?
If this is true, how was he able to convince the Sixth Kingdom of his abilities?
I have so many questions!
After learning about the fae and Commander Rip, I have a prediction.
I think Auren is actually fae. She has different body-like modifications, e.g. her ribbons, gold skin, gold blood, etc., just like Commander Rip. So, it begs the question: if she is fae, does Auren know it? Has she always been gold? Where does she come from? Again, so many questions!
Haunting Realization
Towards the end of the book when thinking back on Midas’s and Auren’s relationship, something dawned on me. If Midas is 7 years older than Auren and she was 15 when going with him to the Sixth Kingdom, Midas had to be at least 22.
Midas groomed her. That’s exactly what this is. He’s groomed Auren, given her no freedom, controls her every move, and says that what he is doing is out of “love” or because “he cares for her.” *eye-roll*
This revelation made me sick. But, I now understand Auren a little bit more afterward and I truly feel for her.
Characters
Auren
Auren is an intriguing character and at times I forget that she has lived a life outside of the castle walls, like when she rode the horse while traveling. She’s such an enjoyable character to read about, too. Auren is brave, kind, and just wants some friends.
I love her and can’t wait to read more about what happens next and her background.
But let’s dive into her character, because oh boy, has she been through it.
Manipulation
Auren’s mannerisms, thought process, and speech in some scenes scream manipulation and isolation.
Poor thing has been groomed into being Midas’s golden girl. Even though she gets the luxury of living in a castle, she doesn’t get to roam or interact with others unless it is approved. Hell, her guards won’t even talk to her!
She even gaslights herself into thinking she should just accept the little physical and emotional contact she receives. She thinks she shouldn’t complain because she “has it good.” But she doesn’t. She’s a captive, even in a gold cage.
Auren is allowed to have wants and needs. He’s a person, too. Having these desires and needs ignored only add to the trauma of her whole situation.
It breaks my heart seeing her gaslight herself. I remember being in a similar situation years ago, and it was not fun. It’s exhausting and all you really want is to be with the person who is manipulating you.
I just want to give her a hug.
Cautiously Carefree
Even though Auren is isolated from most others, she still has a cautiously carefree attitude. She’s fun and still does what she wants, well, within her cage, as long as it doesn’t go against the king.
When she is out of her cage and traveling to the Fifth Kingdom, Auren still maintains her cautiously carefree attitude. She talks and jokes with Sail, rides a horse in the freezing cold, defying Digby’s orders, and helps where she can.
Auren doesn’t conform to what is expected of her. She does as she wishes, but knows when to listen. For example, she helps the kids in the shanties of Highbell by giving them gold, regardless of what those around her thought.
Reckless
Although Auren is cautious and carefree, she tends to be a bit reckless. This definitely stems from her lack of social interactions. For example, when she threw the book at Rissa to get her to stop dancing and take a break; Auren didn’t think it all the way through and she ended up in trouble for the act.
Again, going back to the kids in the shanty, her actions were reckless because the residents of the area were eyeing for an attack to take gold. She flaunted the gold in front of people who were starving and poor.
Midas
At first, I liked Midas. I thought he was a good guy taking in an orphan and protecting her. But as I continued reading, who he becomes clear to me. Midas is greedy, manipulative, and possessive. Not just of Auren, but of his saddles, his belongings, and his power.
And this makes him dangerous, too.
Midas is clever and knows how to push the right buttons on people; to give them what they want and then twist their arms to gain the advantage. Like what he did to King Fulke. He is always scheming and looking for opportunities to strike in order to gain the upper hand.
He is conniving scum that, as of right now in the series, cannot be redeemed in my eyes. But who knows where the books will lead.
Side Characters
There were a few side characters in Gild that really had an impact on me and the story: Sail, Rissa, and Digby.
I adored all of these characters. They were well-rounded and felt like actual people. Their actions and dialog felt realistic, and regardless of their occupation, are wholesome people.
Sail
Sail should be protected at all costs. He is such a sweetheart and a kind soul. But he is a true example of the good die young. Sail wanted nothing more than protect Auren and be her friend, but instead, he was cut down and killed in front of her.
Sail didn’t deserve that, he deserved to live a happy life. One with a much better outcome than what he received.
Rissa
Rissa is a real trooper. After how she handled the Red Raids, I have a lot of respect for her.
Rissa trusted and talked to Auren when no one else would. She was even quick to accept Auren’s power of gold touch and her ribbons. Though she had a lot of questions, she still didn’t treat Auren that much different than before.
Maybe Rissa will be a new ally to Auren and help the other saddles warm up to her, too.
Digby
I love Digby. He is the stoic bodyguard that I love to see. His quiet demeanor and honor to uphold the king’s wishes even when he is not around is quite charming.
But where is he? Was he actually killed or is he still out there fitting to find Auren? Or is he in on it? Is Digby the tip?
The end of the book leaves a lot of speculation and I think Digby, no matter how much I don’t want it to be true, might be our missing piece.
Writing
I love the writing style of Gild. Auren has such a sarcastic tone, with just a hint of instability. Her POV and personality create such an intriguing experience. I enjoy seeing her handle interactions with others, problem-solving, and her general outlook on life. That “look at the bright side” perspective she has is admirable.
Themes
Auren’s POV also provides insight into how the men around her treat her as a possession. They don’t think of her as a person but something they can trade and bargain with instead. It’s shown very well with how little they regard her when talking about their battle plans or when determining how much she is worth in gold coins in front of her.
The writing is true to the original message behind King Midas—showing the greed behind man.
Content Warnings
I also appreciated the content warning at the beginning of the book. When author’s include warnings about their books, it comes off as they care about the well-being of their readers, because some can’t handle the events that might be portrayed.
Fae and Ribbons
A couple of other things I enjoyed about the book is the brief history lesson on the fae (which I was not expecting fae in this novel, so yay!) and how the ribbons seem to be their own entity.
The ribbons in particular are interesting because they are portrayed as being separate from Auren. They seem to house their own energy and power, and respond to Auren’s emotions (e.g. waking her up after the carriage flipped, wrapping around her for warmth, etc.).
These both leave me with so many questions that I am itching to find out about.
Poem
The poem at the very end of the book was a nice touch. It summarized everything that had happened and alluded to what we haven’t been told yet through Auren. It’s very fitting for the theme and story.
Negative
One thing I did not like about Raven Kennedy’s writing was her kingdom naming scheme. It just seemed so lazy to me to number off the kingdoms. Maybe there is a reason later in the story for it, but right now it just seems like lazy writing.
Also, the last 1/4 of the book had some major grammatical and spelling errors– like “I’l” instead of “I’ll.” It was hard to focus at points in the end because of this.
Final Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Gild. It is so refreshing to read a solid and sound book after so many duds.
The premise of the book is promising and enticing, and I can’t wait to read more about the world or Orea. I love the slow, but steady pace it is taking (even with cliffhangers) and the characters are written very well.
I look forward to finding out what is going to happen to Auren and the saddles, what kind of trouble Midas has caused, King Rot, and the fae. I’m excited to continue the series and uncover its truths.
Content Warning: Attempted Sexual Assault, Non-Consensual Touching, Sex Scenes, Death, Drugging, Suicide, Gambling, Drinking
Introduction
DNF @ 75%
A Touch of Darkness series is an urban retelling of Hades and Persephone. While the premise is enticing, the books do not live up to the hype. The lackluster plot and dull characters make for uneven pacing throughout the series, one of which I had to drag myself to finish. A Touch of Darkness series was so hyped up so much that I had high expectations. So, let me warn you, you will be sorely disappointed with this series if you are expecting a cute romance. It is far from that.
Pros
Side characters (Lexa, Apollo, Hermes, Hecate, and Demeter)
Growth in Persephone in book 3
Mother-daughter dynamic
Cons
No map
Lackluster plot
Ill-timed/too much smut
Irrational and infuriating Persephone for the first 2 books
Relapse of growth in book 2
Billionaire-lover vibes
Poor proofreading
Demeter’s death
Choppy pacing
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Recap
Persephone, also known as Kore and Goddess of Spring, is the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Harvest. Demeter has kept her daughter hidden from the world and other gods by housing her in a glass greenhouse. Eventually, Persephone convinces Demeter to allow her to attend college in New Athens disguised as a mortal, but there are strict rules and restrictions, of course.
This works out well for the pair for the first 3-4 years Persephone is away. However, things change as Persephone nears graduation, lands an internship with a local newspaper, and meets Hades, God of the Underworld.
On a night out with Lexa to celebrate her internship, the pair meet up with Lexa’s friend, Adonis, who gets them into Nevernight, Hades’s night club. It is here that Persephone unknowingly meets the God of the Dead and enters in to a bargain with him.
Their deal? Persephone must create life in the Underworld within 6 months, or she forever lives in the Underworld with Hades. This deal grants her access to the Underworld whenever she wants to complete her end of the deal.
Once Persephone begins her internship with New Athens News, she takes the opportunity to expose Hades and his bargains with mortals, saying that it is immoral and the stakes impossible. Persephone then decides to use her bargain with Hades to her advantage and gain insight to his life, his deals, and uncover the truth behind his actions.
However, things don’t go to plan and she ends up falling for Hades. Their relationship threatens to expose her true identity as a goddess, corners her in her internship (and eventually full-time job), and puts a target on her back. The truth of their relationship is eventually made public after dramatic display of public affection and it is down hill from there for Persephone.
Paparazzi, journalist, and fans. are at her office building every morning bombarding her with pictures and questions. Her manager, Demetri, sets an ultimatum for Persephone after the reveal of her relationship with Hades: write an exclusive article about her and Hades’s relationship or she’s fired.
With the added stress of her job on the line and will to fight her own battles, Persephone attempts to figure out a way out of her ultimatum by targeting Apollo after he fires and strips her friend, Sybil, of her oracle abilities. The reason? Sybil refused to sleep with Apollo.
Persephone believes that by exposing Apollo, New Athens News will get an adequate number of readers to negate her ultimatum.
Things continue to get worse for Persephone after the release of her article on Apollo. Fans of Apollo are now harassing her and her best friend, Lexa is hit by a truck, landing her in the ICU. Now, Persephone faces the potential of losing her best friend, but she won’t let that happen.
Persephone makes a bargain with Apollo, God of Healing, in order to save Lexa. What she doesn’t realize is that Lexa wants to die. When her friend is healed, she’s not the same. She’s distant, confused, and not talkative like before.
Over time, Lexa gets better and Persephone starts to connect with her friend again. During the time Lexa is back at their apartment, Hades and Persephone get engaged.
However, before they can celebrate the good news, they discover Lexa has passed away by committing suicide. This breaks Persephone, especially since Lexa has to drink from the Lethe River, promptly erasing her memories.
After everything that has happened and the tension between her and her boss, Persephone decides to quit her job at New Athens News in pursuit of her own newspaper, The Advocate. The goal is to provide others a voice against the gods, abuse, etc. As she starts, Persephone recruits Helen, the receptionist at New Athens News, and Leuce, Hades’s ex-lover.
It isn’t long after all of these events that Persephone and Hades announce their engagement to the public. And it doesn’t take long for Demeter to retaliate with harsh winter weather in August.
While handling the guilt of Demeter’s storm, Persephone and Hades face the judgement of Zeus in regards to their wedding. The King of Gods must approve the union before Hades and Persephone wed, but in reality it is his oracle that makes the decision.
The oracle states that their union will be powerful and produce a god that will rival Zeus himself. To which, he demands if the couple ever has a child, they must give them up to be killed. It isn’t until later that Zeus realizes it is not a child he should be worried about, but Persephone.
Persephone’s extreme show of power of fixing a town consumed by an avalanche beckons the gods. Zeus wants her dead, but other gods either don’t want to choose a side or want to protect Persephone. Thus beginning another war amongst the gods.
In the mix of all this, Demeter is found to be backing the Triad, a group of mortals killing gods. Their leader, Theseus, pulls his favor from Hades and takes Persephone to gain an upper hand on the Olympians.
Theseus wants to bring down the current gods, but first needs the big three’s weapons. So, in exchange for Harmonia and Sybil’s lives, Persephone must take them into the Underworld safely to retrieve the Helm of Darkness.
In the end, Persephone kills Demeter, Theseus unleashes the titans, and Hades is trapped in a labyrinth set by Theseus.
The fourth book, and conclusion to the series, is set to be released in 2023.
Analysis
While the recap covers a large portion of what happens in the books, there are still so many details and events left out. Above is the general jist of what has happened. Some aspects of the plot are irrelevant even and don’t contribute to the overall plot or theme.
To kick off the analysis of the plot, I’d like to start with the negatives of the plot, so we can end on a positive note, but this will be hard, considering the negatives vastly out weight the positives.
Negatives
Lore Olympus
Firstly, I’d like to say that A Touch of Darkness was very similar to Lore Olympus on Webtoon. The premise is practically the same with Persephone going to college, the description of Nevernight, the Adonis incident, and even Persephone getting an internship. I just couldn’t help but think about the comic as I read.
Lacking Plot
In general, there was hardly any plot. Most of the events take place in third act of each book. 2/3 of the book are filler, rough plot points, or sex until the last half. That’s when shit always hit the fan or all the action happened. You could almost read the last third of the book and still understand what happened.
Girl-On-Girl Hate
In book 1, A Touch of Darkness, there is a lot of girl-on-girl hate between Persephone and Minthe. Put simply, I don’t like it. It’s immature and toxic. They could have been grown and talked things out instead of hating on each other.
Persephone’s Powers
Originally, I didn’t mind how Persephone received her powers. I thought it was cool that it was focused around worshippers, but the more I got to thinking about it and they way it was unlocked, bothered me.
Her powers were tied to her having sex with Hades. After that, she finally got them. Her value as a goddess and whether or not she gets her powers should not be determined by if she has sex or not, or “worshipped.”
Pirithous Plot Line
The Pirithous plot line was introduced in the second book, A Touch of Ruin, and at the time, it added no value to the story. In the third book, A Touch of Malice, the trauma Pirithous caused comes back to haunt Persephone.
Okay, so the trauma caused Persephone to be vulnerable and was a plot device for Hades and Persephone to over come, but to what extent?
Positives
The only positive about the plot line is the Triad joining forces with Demeter. I found this be intriguing and wanted to learn more about how they were taking down the Divine. It was sprinkled throughout the books, but it was subtle and vague.
This plot didn’t really kick into gear until halfway through the third book, though. I wish we could have delved into that a bit more, seen a bit more of the Triad and it’s members instead of waiting until almost the forth book to do anything with them. The story would have been more enticing.
Characters
Persephone
Persephone was a mess throughout the series. Here’s how I perceived her in each book:
A Touch of Darkness: Decent
A Touch of Ruin: Insufferable
A Touch of Malice: Enjoyable
When we first meet Persephone, she was a college student and still learning a lot about people and living a mortal life. She finally had some freedom and it makes sense that she would make some dumb decisions. She was emotionally volatile, but we saw her grow some in book 1.
However, when A Touch of Ruin rolls around, all her growth receded and she became an annoying, dumb character. She did things without thinking, put people in damage, and didn’t face any consequences because Hades or Hecate would fix the issue. I hated Persephone in the second book. Not to say that I particularly liked her in book 1.
In A Touch of Malice, I actually enjoyed her character because she grew. She thought about her decisions, she was focusing on communicating and using her magic, and she was trying. Which was a big shift from what we saw in the previous books.
All of that being said, I’d like to break down the biggest positives and negatives about Persephone. Let’s take a look:
Negatives
Left Friends in Dangerous Situations
In multiple instances, Persephone left her friends in dangerous situations as she was removed or teleported out. Examples: La Rose, Club Ambrosia, and the Panhellenic Games. Then after the fact, her friends would reach out to her asking if she was okay, but she never did that to them first. She didn’t ask about them later or seem to worry about their safety.
What kind of friend is that?
Immature Behavior
Persephone was a like a bomb of poor decisions and emotions going off back-to-back. I’m honestly not sure how she made it so far on her own. Her anger is the worst, though. She gets mad at every little thing, and it’s not cute. It’s childish to have her emotions go unchecked like that.
Sure she would have these great, independent thoughts, but her emotions and actions showed otherwise. Persephone had little respect for Demetri, Helen, or anyone who caught her on a bad day or said something she didn’t like. She also flung herself into harms way all the time, and did even listen to advise given to her.
Relationship with Hades
For a large portion of the series, Persephone doesn’t seem to care about Hades’s feelings or take him into consideration when making decisions. She caused Hades so much pain. And for what? What did it accomplish besides break his trust, endanger her own life, and make things complicated?
She was also extremely jealous towards Hades’s past and women around him is toxic af. That is not healthy.
No Consequences
Sometimes when Persephone messed up with Hades, she ran to Hecate. And Hecate fixed her problems. Hell, she even fixed some of her other problems in the Upperworld. Then, Hades would always step in whenever Persephone was about to make a dumb decision and save the day.
Persephone always had someone else picking up the pieces and fixing her mistakes for her, except for her decision to “save” Lexa. That was her only true consequence.
Lose of Journalism
We started the series out strong with Persephone loving journalism and using it as a way to highlight the evil deeds done by gods. But halfway through the second book, she hardly writes anymore or does anything with journalism. That’s what she just went to college for!
We don’t get any type of update about The Advocate and the things she’s researching. Everything falls to the wayside in book 3 in terms of her career.
Positives
Maturing
In A Touch of Malice, Persephone becomes a more rational and emotionally sound person. She starts to think of the consequences her actions can cause. And it’s this version of Persephone that I enjoy reading about. As she becomes more mature, the more I can relate to her.
Head Strong & Morally Just
I admire Persephone’s strong-willed nature, especially in a world that ignores victims and overlooks elites who commit bad deeds. She has strong beliefs in what is right and wrong, and boy does she stick to this moral compass.
Mortal vs. Goddess Conflict
I love her conflict between wanting to be a mortal vs a goddess. She’s never been seen as a goddess or treated as such, so why wouldn’t she want to live a mortal life with dreams and ambitions? As a mortal, she can keep her privacy and pave her own way instead of having people flock to her or scrutinize her.
Hades
Hades was only an okay character in the series. I continuously expected him to cheat or reveal some devastating truth because his character felt off the entire time.
Here is how I saw Hades in each book:
A Touch of Darkness: Decent
A Touch of Ruin: Experienced growth
A Touch of Malice: Become stagnant
When we meet Hades he is this large and brooding force. He’s intimidating, charming, and mysterious. But as the series progresses, he loses his edge not long into the first book. He turns possessive, controlling, and into a toxic man-child. *eye-roll* This is not attractive or sexy. Hades just doesn’t do it for me.
When we meet Hades he is this large and brooding force. He’s intimidating, charming, and mysterious. But as the series progresses, he loses his edge not long into the first book. He turns possessive, controlling, and into a toxic man-child. *eye-roll* This is not attractive or sexy. Hades just doesn’t do it for me.
Negatives
Possessive & Controlling
Hades was quite possessive and controlling. He didn’t want Persephone to do anything without him knowing about it. What kind of relationship is that if one person can’t do anything without the other’s permission? Not a good one, I’ll tell you that.
For gods sake, he would track Persephone or send someone to follow her without her knowing. That is breaking so many boundaries and showing he doesn’t trust her. To be honest, I wouldn’t either, but I wouldn’t do this!
His actions are based on insecurities and it is not attractive. He’ll say one thing but do another, so how, as the reader, are we supposed to trust Hades?
One Track Mind
I don’t mind a bit of smut or sexual tension, but when it’s the only thing you think of and do as a character, it gets annoying real quick. Hades could take any situation and turn it sexual, which got old. For example, asking about sex as they are standing at the alter, like dude. We get that you “love” her, but not the time.
It seemed like Hades’s personality revolved around sex like that was his main trait. This led to weird timing for sex (example: Iniquity) and the topic consumed 95% of the book. Can he come off as a horny teenage boy any more than this?
Positives
Vulnerable & Communication
As the series progresses, Hades eventually begins to communicate and show his vulnerability with Persephone. This Hades, the soft and caring one, is what I wanted more of. I loved these moments of weakness and effort.
Cares About the Underworld
While Hades doesn’t really give two shits about what happens in the Upperworld, he does care about the Underworld and its people. He tries to make it comforting and like a home. The flora he creates and the fact his people celebrate him is wonderful. I love seeing how carefully created and peaceful everything is, minus Tartarus.
Side Characters
Lexa
I adored Lexa. She was such a good friend and interesting character. Hell, I liked Lexa more than Persephone through most the book. But Lexa was done so wrong.
She did not deserve to have her memories wiped in the Underworld, nor should she have suffered after being healed. I hate how she was used as a plot device to punish Persephone. She deserved so much more than what happened to her.
She also deserved more than to “empower” Persephone. Like, what the fuck? What kind of life purpose is that? It makes me so sad that she was reduced to a pawn in order for Persephone to grow.
Hecate
Hecate was wonderful and so powerful, however she was mainly portrayed as Persephone’s hand-maiden. Hecate was basically at Persephone’s beck-and-call for a majority of the books.
We don’t know much about what she did outside of cleaning up Persephone’s messes and giving her advice. I wish we could have seen more of her character, her interests, etc.
Apollo
I should hate him because he’s an abuser and a rapist, but I don’t and I’m very conflicted about it. I believe that anyone can change, but within 6 months and due to 1 person? Shit like that just doesn’t happen.
However, as he did change he became an enjoyable character and provided the much needed relief I needed from Hades and Persephone.
Demeter
Demeter was a bitch, all around, but she is probably the most dynamic character out of everyone. She has a history and reason for why she is acting the way she is, but it doesn’t excuse what she has done to Persephone and the humans.
I liked her as the villain. She was one that you could kind of understand and empathize with, but still hate.
Hermes
Hermes was very entertaining and a much needed comic relief. I enjoyed his and Persephone’s relationship, along with the relationships he created with her friends.
Sybil
Sybil was a good friend, but she felt very 2-D. We don’t know her goals or ambitions, and she was only shown as supporting Persephone. She also felt like a Lexa backup. I didn’t really connect with her character at all.
Writing
Negatives
Proofreading Errors
The grammatical and spelling errors in this series were atrocious. I can let it slide if this was only one book, but throughout the entire series, we see the same errors and mistakes over-and-over, again. It’s unacceptable at this point.
Also, the general errors in this book, like throwing in a different name when referring to a character, misusing “blonde” and “blond,” and repeating actions that were just stated on the previous line (Hades raising an eyebrow, stating something, then raising the eyebrow again).
It’s not hard to hire a proofreader or editor. There are plenty out there with reasonable prices. I should know! I’m a freelancer on the side. Just hire one and make sure your shit is correct.
Tropes
Fated Lovers
I’m fine with the fated lovers trope, however, there needs to be some kind of romance build up for the couple. Something this book did not do. It relied heavily on this trope and just accepting that Hades and Persephone should love and be with each other instantly. I didn’t find it believable. I longed for soft moments between the two. No necessarily a slow burn, but some kind of burn that didn’t involve lusting after each other at every turn.
I will say the third book did a better job of it, but the romance did not exist in the first and second book.
Miscommunication
There was a lot of miscommunication in this series, which is fine in the short run. But it should be resolved and pushed to the side afterwards, not reused and rehashed in every situation. It got old quick and I found myself fussing at the characters to, “just talk!”
Billionaire
I haven’t read a billionaire/millionaire romance before, but I’m sure it’s something like this. To which, I say, I don’t care for it. There are hardly any consequences and things are just too easy. It’s not my cup of tea.
Toxic Relationship
The relationship between Persephone and Hades in this series is not something that should be romanticized. It’s not healthy and toxic af. I’m all for starting out this way and then growing as a couple (hell, that happened to me irl!), but it doesn’t need to be the entire relationship, all the time. There is so much jealousy, possessiveness, controlling, trust-issues, and more that needs work. And we don’t even see them work on these things besides the communication issue they have.
None of these aspects in their relationship is cute or dreamy. It’s horrible and needs addressing. This is a toxic relationship that needs help.
Ill-Timed Sex Scenes/Too Much Smut
Dear gods, these two couldn’t see each other without fucking. after a while, that’s all this series consisted of. There wasn’t any substance and a sex scene was around every turn. It wasn’t even that good because it was rehashing the same descriptions and situations.
I actually skipped those sections completely after a while. They weren’t adding any value to the story and it was either too much or just poorly timed. To say the least, it got old fast.
Positives
Descriptions
In the beginning, the descriptions of people, places, and things were lacking. I couldn’t imagine anything and I felt like I was missing large chunks of visuals. However, through the series the descriptions progressively got better. We were shown more of the world and the people. I felt more immersed in the environment and I loved it.
POV
I enjoyed the third-person POV. I’m used to reading first person, so it was a nice change of pace. Also, Hades’s POV in A Touch of Malice was wonderful! The tone and overall feel changed, too. It was nice to see a strong chapter written outside of Persephone’s view.
Actual Romance
We finally get to see some romance between Hades and Persephone in book 3. There are tender moments, vulnerability, and non-sexual intimacy. This is what I had been waiting for. I just hate that it took until book 3 to get anything more than lust romance.
Persephone’s Downward Spiral
In book 2, Persephone spirals downward as her friend dies, her job becomes difficult, etc., and we get to experience that. The way the book is written we experience Persephone’s turmoil and internal conflict. It’s really well done.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the series is forgettable and the books somehow got worse as they continued. There wasn’t a real plot but instead it was a more lust driven narrative. We hardly had any romance to support Hades and Persephone’s relationship. Most the characters were annoying and I couldn’t form a bond with them. Hence why I could give two shits about the situation everyone was in in the final pages of A Touch of Malice. They mean nothing to me.
The A Touch of Darkness series had so much potential, but it fell apart. There wasn’t any substance, no character development, no consequences, and nothing worth remembering.
If you want a smutty Hades and Persephone retelling, then this is the series for you.
If you want a retelling with a solid plot and soft romance, look elsewhere.
I currently don’t plan on reading A Touch of Chaos, however, if I do I’ll update this post to include the review.
Content Warning: Blood, Gore, Sexual Content, Mentions of Suicide, Mentions of Sexual Assault
Introduction
A Touch of Malice is the book I’ve been waiting for in this series in terms of character growth for Persephone. But, in the end, the series has gone downhill. It’s somehow worse than the previous two even with a more cohesive plot, better characters, and improved descriptions. I’m not sure if I enjoyed this book more, though, because I had such low expectations going into it or what. But I will say it was better than the first two books, even if it somehow got worse.
Pros
Growth in the characters
More rational and healthy relationship dynamics
Intriguing and cohesive plot
Cons
No map
The pace was still choppy
Lackluster at best
Filler scenes and smut at every corner
There wasn’t a plot until halfway through the book
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
The plot of A Touch of Malice was much better than the previous two books, honestly. It felt like more was at stake and new dynamics were introduced to create actual consequences for Persephone. Compared to the previous two books, there weren’t as many plot holes or convenient plot devices.
However, for the most part, not much happened in the book, even with the rising threat of the Triad and Demeter still on the loose. If I had to summarize what happened, I couldn’t beside the third act. There were a lot of sex scenes and ultimately forgettable events taking place.
And what was up with how Persephone struggled with her power throughout the entire book, still, but in the end, she is able to defend herself without much effort and kill Demeter? She couldn’t even fight back against the Olympians, but she could in the final scenes? It doesn’t make sense to me.
I also don’t think that Demeter’s demise was justified. She had such a huge part to play in everything that has happened in the books up until now, and she is taken out by a potential relic sword? That’s it?
Even with all these plot issues, I still had questions that weren’t answered and general comments about what was unfolding. Let’s get into it:
When first introduced to Ben, Persephone assumed Hades saw a serial killer in him. Which is super odd to just assume. Like what kind of look does that entail? The only thing I can think of is that this was foreshadowing, but not in this book.
Although I do like Zofie, her role baffles me a bit. She is Persephone’s bodyguard, but only in the Upperworld, right? So, how does she know Persephone is in the Upperworld? Does she protect her while Hades is around? While I understand her role and appreciate the character, it just seems a bit odd to me.
I wish Persephone had won their card game so that the two of them could take a vacation. I think that would have been an interesting turn of events besides another sex scene.
Initially, I was confused about how Tyche died because it seemed that the Triad leader only cut off her horns before Hades said she was dead. Later we find out she was continuously stabbed, but there was zero mention of stab wounds on her while in Club Ambrosia.
Did Persephone ever cover any of the major events that were happening on her newspaper/blog? She got it all set up in the last book, but we literally don’t get an update or see her working on any articles.
Honestly, based on the synopsis on the back of the book, I was expecting Zeus to be a bigger obstacle. I was expecting Persephone to be taken away or fully separated from Hades, and then Hades causing chaos to bring her back, etc. But, nope. They just worry their marriage will be denied throughout most of the book. Kind of disappointed on that front.
I would also like to add that I’m glad (not really the right word, but go with me) that Persephone’s abduction by Pirithious didn’t go to waste from book two. The event seemed pointless in A Touch of Ruin, but I can see that it was the foundation for Persephone to experience more trauma and for the book to talk about PTSD. So, I guess it had a purpose, but I’m still not happy with it.
Characters
Persephone
Persephone is finally more emotionally stable and more rational in her actions/thinking. We see her communicate with Hades more, bite her tongue, think things through before acting, etc. This, my friends, is the growth I’ve been waiting for.
I was able to enjoy Persephone’s character more and back her up when things went wrong. I hate she had to experience as much trauma as she did and I don’t know how I feel about liking her more after the trauma, though. It just makes my stomach churn thinking about it.
The only thing that still nags me about Persephone is that she continuously leaves her friends in dangerous situations, like in Club Ambrosia and the Panhellenic Games. In both these instances, she is teleported away to safety and she doesn’t even ask about her friends, but they reach out to ask about her. Even though she talks about how much she cares about her friends, I don’t really see any actions to back up those claims, especially in situations like this when she can teleport them to safety or ask for someone to do that for her.
Hades
Hades is in the same boat as Persephone in regard to communication. He’s finally opening up to her more and talking through their arguments instead of letting it simmer. Besides his ability to communicate more and show affection besides sex, Hades didn’t really develop anymore. He was supportive of Persephone in most of her decisions and helped her when needed, but he’s basically the same god we saw in book 1. He’s basically there for just sex scenes and it is disappointing.
Side Characters
I love that we got to see another side of Hecate. She is now more than just Persephone’s handmaiden or advisor for her relationship with Hades. Hecate is powerful and a force to be reckoned with. In this book, we really get the sense she is more than and is a well-rounded character.
Writing
Before getting into the negatives of the writing, I wanted to start with a few positives.
I am so happy we had more tender moments between Hades and Persephone. I loved seeing them vulnerable with each other and growing together. The writing of these scenes really helped make their relationship more believable outside of sex.
Descriptions of surroundings, events, and people also improved, and I was immersed more in the story because of it.
The fact that we got a POV from Hades at the end was wonderful. I enjoyed his view and the writing that portrayed him. It was different from Persephone’s and more stoic. I loved it.
Now, I am tired of seeing typos and grammatical errors in a well-established author’s book. There’s no excuse at this point. That also goes for inconsistencies with plot devices, names, and previous events. Here are a few that I noticed:
Inconsistent with how time jumps or the next scenes are written. Sometimes there is a spacer between events, other times the jump happens in the next line. That could have been cleaned up a bit more.
I’ll be honest, I have no idea what the hell happened at the Island of Lampri besides sex. What was the whole hidden sapphire pool and cave thing? I couldn’t imagine any of it.
On page 420, who is Theo? I thought the bodyguard, whom Theseus left in charge, was named Tannis.
At the end of book 2, didn’t Persephone receive a ring from Hades for their engagement? During the wedding, she stated that she didn’t have one. So did Hades give her a ring for their engagement or did he not?
I would also like to mention that I had to skim over most of the sex scenes in this book. There were just so many that I didn’t care anymore. It was the same descriptions, multiple pages long, and it got boring having to read through it every other page. And it seemed that was all the two could talk about/do every chance they saw each other. It was all cringy at best.
Conclusion
Although I did enjoy this book more so than the previous two, I still found that I was forcing myself through it. It was bland, even with all the action and growth. Literally, if you read the last act of the book, you’ll gain everything you need to know. The rest was filler and sex. And ultimately, it was forgettable. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the fourth book when it comes out next year. I’m just so disconnected from the whole thing that I don’t think it would be worth it.
Content Warning: Attempted Sexual Assault, Non-Consensual Touching, Sex Scenes, Death, Drugging, Talks of Suicide
Introduction
A Touch of Ruin is the anticipated sequel to A Touch of Darkness that we really didn’t need. While the premise was exciting and the characters on the verge of some development, A Touch of Ruin ultimately fell flat in this fantastical retelling of Hades and Persephone.
Pros
Apollo
How death was portrayed in a gentle and peaceful way
Actions DO have consequences
Cons
No map
Immature Persephone
No real plot
Miscommunication is the plot
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Before getting started, I would like to say that I’m glad this book wasn’t anything like Lore Olympus. The first book just felt like a retake on the popular Webtoon and I’m glad this one didn’t follow in its steps.
Now onto the plot. There wasn’t really one major plot line in this book. There were multiple:
Revenge on Apollo article
Lexa getting hit by a car
Pirithous admiration/abduction
Demeter trying to separate Hades and Persephone via Leuce
I understand the importance of having subplots, but when you don’t have an overall plot line, things tend to fall flat. These plots did not mesh well and kept giving me whiplash every time I was thrown from one into the next.
Miscommunication Trope
Not to mention that the main trope of this book and its predecessor is miscommunication. Which has its perks in certain areas, but when your entire book relies on this trope, it gets tiring. I was so ready for Hades and Persephone to just talk.
They kept so much from each other and Hades specifically didn’t elaborate on anything dealing with Lexa and Leuce. So much could have been avoided (and maybe the romance would be more believable) if the two just communicated with each other.
It was honestly annoying and tiresome to constantly read how the two never talked things through (even when they said they would).
Apollo Plotline
It would be one thing if we found out that Apollo did in fact cause Lexa’s accident, that way Persephone could erect some type of revenge on him. But, of course, that wasn’t the case, even if would be more interesting and dynamic to the already choppy plot.
I would also like to ask, why is it Persephone’s job to make Apollo more compassionate? This is a typical case of “Well, I can fix him when no one else can.” Girl, I’ve been there, literally, and it doesn’t work unless they want to change. Which, luckily for us, Apollo does want to change! But what brought this one? Is it because Persephone was just being nice to him?
Lexa Plotline
In general, the plot with Lexa was decent. It gave us grief and desperation. It gave us a drive to save her because Lexa is such a good side character. I love her and to have her in such a horrific accident and seeing her friends and family suffer added quite a bit of emotion to the story.
However, I would also like to point out that the lack of communication in regards to Lexa’s soul was atrocious. Honestly, I would have tried everything in my power to save my best friend if given the chance. However, just like Persephone, if I would have known my best friend wanted to die and saving her would condemn her soul, then I would have respected her wishes.
But instead, Hades decides not to clarify any of this. Persephone was making a decision based on the information she had. So I 100% blame Hades for the lead-up of Lexa’s soul being broken.
I truly thought that Persephone would come back and poison Lexa to put her soul at ease, though. The poison had been brought up numerous times with Hecate and how to make them, so I guessed that’s how Persephone would right her wrongs. But she didn’t even give her friend that.
Lexa truly got the raw end of the deal. She deserved so much more. And what was the whole thing of her completing her life’s goal and it is to empower Persephone? What the fuck kind of shitty character development is that?
Lexa was more interesting and dynamic than Persephone, and she deserved a just ending to live in the Asphodel for the rest of eternity. I’m so upset she doesn’t get to, but at the same time I’m glad Persephone’s actions finally catch up to her. There are actual consequences to her stupid decisions and it literally cost her Lexa’s soul.
Pirithous Plotline
Okay, what the actual fuck. Why was this even included? Pirithous abducting Persephone did nothing for the plot. It didn’t further the story or add some surprising twist. It was evident from the beginning that the “secret admirer” was Pirithous.
Pirithous could have been a genuine friend helping out a “mortal” who got involved with gods that he didn’t like. He could have been an Impious and it would have made for a better plot line than this.
I’m so mad and genuinely disgusted at this one (literally one!) chapter.
Demeter Plotline
Events involving Demeter were subtle in this book. Her unleashing Leuce and possibly causing Lexa’s accident was a few events that could easily be placed onto someone else. But I liked it. Demeter has strong motivation to drive Hades and Persephone apart and she’s definitely being discreet about it.
Towards the end when Demeter was brought to the Underworld, it did not go the way I thought it would. Why just make Demeter apologize? Why not call her out on her bullshit and confront her about what she was doing? Persephone addressed the issue in an odd way, and Demeter’s stay was short.
It felt rushed and only seemed to serve as a setup for the next book.
The Ending (Act III)
Oh, gods, the ending was atrocious. Literally, the last 50-60 pages of the book went like this:
Hades and Persephone’s engagement.
Lexa died and welcomed her into the Underworld.
Lexa’s funeral.
Persephone decided to start her own blog/newspaper with the help of Leuce and Sybil.
Persephone quit her job and recruited Helen.
Pirithous kidnaps Persephone and attempts to sexually assault her, but Hades comes and saves the day all within 8 pages. 8 fucking pages all this happens!
Persephone finally visits Lexa’s soul in Elysium and spends the day with her.
Hades and Persephone attend an event that Lexa started to set up in regards to Halcyon’s latest project.
Hades dedicated a garden to Lexa without Persephone knowing.
They danced, drank, and laughed.
Hades re-proposed to Persephone with a ring.
It started snowing in August and apparently, that means war is coming.
Roughly 60 pages of events and information are being thrown at us. Way too quick! More happened in the last act of the book than it did in the first two!
General Questions, Concerns, and Comments
Now that I’ve addressed the basic plot lines and issues of the book, I still have some things to add.
Since when did Hades bare the threads of the mortals he bargained for? We’ve literally seen this man naked in multiple sex scenes in both books and this was never brought up, nor was it mentioned again. Convent plot device? I think yes.
Persephone literally hardly has time to herself to process emotions or events, besides when hades kept her in the underworld don the first act. She always had friends or Hades rushing in to comfort her/save the day. It was annoying and the consequences of her actions weren’t really felt nor shown.
What workplace allows someone to come and go as they please like Persephone’s? I wish!
Since I don’t really believe in the relationship between Persephone and Hades, I wish the Forest of Despair scenes were real. It would connect those lines of disconnect I’ve been feeling between the couple.
Characters
I think my biggest issue with the characters in this book is that we saw development in the first book, but it was forgotten here. We just restarted as soon as this one began. It made me want to pull my hair out sometimes.
I also had issues with Persephone and Hades’s relationship. Just like Persephone, I didn’t think they knew each other that well. This insta-lust couple was not convincing me that they were in love. It honestly felt one-sided on the “love” factor, too.
I can literally break down their relationship in this book with 5 words: anger, jealousy, betrayal, sex, repeat.
That’s it! That’s all there is to them. No tender moments that are more than a paragraph, no support, nothing. Only these negative emotions blocked the two from being a healthy and happy couple. Instead, they are incredibly toxic to each other.
However, with all this being said, I did like Persephone’s relationships with her friends, Apollo, and others more so than with Hades. She felt like a real character in the mortal world with Sybil, Apollo, and Hermes. In the Underworld with Hades, she felt fake.
Persephone
Oh, Persephone. You have such independent and big-girl thoughts, but you lack everything needed to pull those thoughts off.
I admire Persephone for having such a strong sense of right and wrong, but she causes so much trouble with that line of thinking—Apollo article, saving Lexa, etc. She’s so volatile in her emotions that she comes across as immature, selfish, and irrational. This righteous sense of hers is almost insufferable and what made me really not like her character.
However, on the flip side, she’s hard-headed and has every right to be worried about being consumed by Hades and not being her own person. I get it, I’ve literally been there in life. I was nothing more than my boyfriend at the time. Persephone has every right to fight for what she wants in life, to be her own person, and enjoy it. She is more than Hades’s lover or just the girl who is associated with him.
She’s learning to cope with her new life with Hades, their relationship, and what she wants out of her mortal life (which I agree does suit her more than the life of a goddess). Hades is suffocating. He belittles her, treats her like a kid instead of explaining things to her, and comes to her rescue all the time instead of letting her face the consequences. Persephone really doesn’t have a chance to grow when she has Hades pushing her to be his queen and saving her ass.
Hades
Hades is so over-bearing. He doesn’t give Persephone room to learn and grow, but instead interjects himself into her life and “saves” her from harms way. Persephone isn’t allowed to face the consequences of her actions because Hades is coming around and preventing her from it.
Hades’ character also seems off to me. Like there is something else actually going on (that’s why the Leuce/Forest of Despair scene made sense to me). He keeps saying that Persephone can trust him, but what actions have we been shown to prove that?
He’s hiding too much and not being forthcoming with Persephone. If he would have just explained things to her, especially about Lexa, then it would have prevented so many lives from being destroyed. He doesn’t need to reveal everything that’s ever happened in his life, but he should have communicated the current ones.
Hades is relying heavily on the fact that they’re “fated to be together” instead of proving to Persephone that he loves her. He says he loves her, but all I am seeing is a lust-driven god taking advantage of a goddess who just wants someone to love her.
There is also a lack of Hades in this book. He’s vacant and only used to sex, comfort, or cleaning up Persephone’s messes. He’s more of a side character honestly.
Side Characters
I love Hecate. She’s a comforting character, but it begs the question what else does she do besides support Persephone? She’s not her servant but acts like it. Does she have a role in the Underworld? Does she help Hades with anything?
I should hate Apollo because he’s abusive and a rapist, but I don’t and it confuses me. I actually liked his character and his willingness to change. His actions are inexcusable, even if his heart was broken, but he showed development and depth. Something we don’t see enough of in this series so far.
Poor, poor Lexa. She deserved better. As did her friends, family, and Jaison, but not Persephone. It’s because of Persephone that Lexa was tormented and her soul in pain. She resulted in taking her own life because she couldn’t handle the pressures of life. Lexa wanted to be dead and Persephone ripped it away from her.
Writing
There were so many things off about the writing of this book, so we’re going to jump right into the negatives.
Negatives
Proofreading
The proofreading was much better in this book, but still. Dear gods! When you have a sentence with the last word being “too” you need to put a comma before it! “That works, too.” It’s so simple.
There were times when I got confused about who was speaking because there was no indication after the dialog and the response didn’t always make sense with what was going on.
Persephone and Her Emotions/Thoughts
Persephone thinks big girl thoughts but acts immaturely. It’s like picking dialog in a video game based on short prompts and the real dialog not being remotely close to the prompt provided. Persephone had a good understanding of what was going on and how to react, but when she did react or say something it was wrong or off.
For example, when Kal was taken down by Hades and he asked her what he should do with Kal. Persephone out of nowhere said she wanted to send him to Tartarus, but like we weren’t giving any indication that’s how she was feeling. It was like we hit “don’t kill him, be compassionate,” but her response was to threaten to send him to Tartarus. Those don’t mesh!
Persephone was also all over the place with her emotions, thoughts, and actions that it gave me anxiety just reading about what the hell she was doing.
Ill-Timed Sex Scenes
These godsdamned sex scenes were so illy timed. It was cringy! I enjoy a good sex scene as much as the next smut reader, but when it happens and doesn’t mesh with the situation, I can’t get behind it.
For example, in the scene in Iniquity after Hades comes to “save the day” and they do the deed right there in Kal’s bargaining room. Like, why? One, the floors must be gross, and two they’re mad at each other. Why not talk things out instead?
Another example is after the Forest of Despair. Persephone is obviously traumatized by what she saw, yet their first move is to have sex afterwards? I don’t know. It didn’t make sense to me.
I also just recently learned that rage sex was a thing, so maybe Hades and Persephone are into that?
Regardless, I wanted more intimate (no sex) moments between the two. Soft and gentle times of longing glances, lingering touches, or cuddling moments. It doesn’t have to be sex all the time to be intimate. I think this is why I don’t believe in these two as a couple.
Positives
St. Clair definitely did a great job at portraying Persephone’s life falling apart and all the wild emotions she had along the way.
Conclusion
Overall, A Touch of Ruin had so much potential and it utterly disappointed. If it wasn’t for Persephone’s relationship with other characters besides Hades, then this book would have gotten 2 stars.
I could have lived my life without this book. It was honestly forgettable. Yet, I had fun reading it, so I have mixed feelings. I’ve also never not liked a Persephone character retelling, but this one really proved me wrong. I did not like Persephone here, but maybe in the next book she’ll mature and be a bit more tolerable.
I’ve also come to the conclusion that this book is basically a modern billionaire love story and I don’t really like that premise. It’s not interesting and not really for me.
In the end, I don’t really want to read the third book, but I already bought it so I will. I have low hopes for it, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Content Warning: Sexual Content, Drugging, Gambling, Drinking, Non-Consensual Touching
Introduction
A Touch of Darkness is a beautiful and modern retelling of Hades and Persephone’s love story. I adore these two, along with most of the characters around them. They have a chemistry that I could get drunk on. The world Scarlett St. Clair created is an intriguing mixture of modern-day life and what it would be like to have gods and goddesses intermingled in society.
Pros
Girl power/Girl boss vibes from Persephone
Lexa
Captivating world
Mother-Daughter dynamic
Hades’s soft side
Solid plot
Cons
No map
Hard to tell how much time had passed
Skimmed over details
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Recap
The plot was nicely set up for us; Persephone unknowingly enters into a contract with Hades: to create life in the Underworld. She must fulfill her contract by the end of 6 months or she is forever kept in the Underworld. Along the way, Persephone deals with Adonis, who submitted her article (and changed it) without her consent; confronting her conflicting emotions about writing articles on Hades for her internship and staying in good graces with her mother.
However, she ends up falling in love with Hades, but it’s complicated and her emotions are conflicted. It’s only when her 6 months are about to be up that Aphrodite reveals hers and Hades’s contract: Hades must find convince someone to love him in 6 months.
With betrayal in her heart, Persephone attempts to complete her contract with Hades by watering her garden with water from the Well of Reincarnation. This doesn’t quite work out, but during her confrontation with Hades, Persephone creates life by summoning vines to bind Hades. In the end, Hades and Persephone make up and agree for her to live in both the Underworld and Upperworld, thus allowing Persephone to have the best of both worlds and Hades.
Analysis
Starting off, this is definitely a case of instant-lust between Hades and Persephone. Up until this point, Persephone hadn’t been with anyone else, nor had she really ever had sexual urges. It wasn’t until meeting Hades that this was awakened in her. This is honestly kind of refreshing to see instead of instant-love. Persephone is able to explore her sexuality without strings attached, or so she thought. But that’s beside the point. Throughout half the book Hades and Persephone’s relationship is almost exclusively physical, and it’s nice to read about the main character not instantly falling head over heels for the main love interest. Persephone fought herself (and Hades) while trying to untangle her emotions, and it was such a fun ride.
I loved the plot twist that revealed all Persephone needed to gain her powers was worshippers, people who believed in her as a goddess. It was heart-wrenching knowing what Demeter had done by keeping Persephone locked away and without access to her powers. It doesn’t make sense to be a goddess or a Goddess of Spring without some type of powers, right? This particular point had stumped me throughout the book on what could awaken her powers, and to have it revealed to us in such a devastating and heart-breaking way was *chef’s kiss.*
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the solid plot it had, I had a few issues/questions. The book was pretty fast-paced. We had moments to breath before the action picked back up again, but descriptions were lacking or a loose end wasn’t addressed. So, let’s get into it.
I got major Lore Olympus (a Webtoon comic) vibes from this book. Which I looked into and Lore Olympus started in 2018 and A Touch of Darkness came out in 2019. So, to me, St. Clair was heavily inspired by the Webtoon.
Once we find out Demeter was tracking Persephone via her cellphone, Persephone doesn’t really do anything about it. At least not that we know about. Does she stop taking her phone to the Underworld? Did she get a new phone? Did she do anything at all?
After the La Rosa incident, Persephone didn’t ask Hades about Lexa. Granted, she was concerned for her friend while at the club and tried to go back and find her, but she didn’t ask about her condition the next day, nor were we told. Was Lexa drugged as well? Did anything happen to her? This part is just skimmed over and not addressed, but I feel it vital to do so.
I would have loved to see some type of interaction with Demeter at the Gala event. I mean, Persephone had her mask/crown enchanted so Demeter couldn’t see her, but what did Demeter see what Hades teleported out of the event with a woman?
Where was Demeter when news outlets were posting pictures and information about Persephone and Hades being together? I feel like that would have brought out the wrath in the woman just knowing that her daughter was perceived that way by others. I felt like she was forgotten for a while until Demeter intruded on Persephone and Hades in her apartment.
The girl-on-girl hate. It’s so immature and unnecessary. I would just leave at man if this was the case
Characters
With all the characters, I was instantly drawn into their quirks and personalities. Non of the characters felt flat, but instead well rounded and believable. Persephone’s and Hades’s relationship is a bit too fast for me. I need more of a build up, like soft moments and lingering touches. I mean insta-lust is fine, but if I’m supposed to believe they’re in love, I’ll need a bit more than just sex scenes.
Persephone
Persephone is probably 22 years old in this book and had only been living on her own for 4 years. Which is to say that she is emotionally volatile. Hades points out that she doesn’t know how to handle her emotions, and I couldn’t agree more. Her anger causes her to make poor decisions before thinking anything through. And I can relate. Up until recently in my life, I was the same. It took a lot of hard work and therapy to control my anger, and I feel like she’ll have to partake in something similar to rein in her emotions.
With that being said, Persephone is also a strong-willed and up-front person. While she still does place her mother’s happiness above her own, she knows how she should be treated and has a strong moral compass. A lot of the language in the book described Persephone as demanding, which she can be, but she was more assertive and stood up for what she believed was right.
I had fun reading how Persephone handled difficult situations and how she wanted to do things her way, or as she states “fight her own battles.” I love seeing that strong girl power or girl boss energy. Persephone dealt with her challenges her own way and didn’t rely on her mother or Hades to do it for her. This just shows how independent and intelligent she is.
Overall, I loved how Persephone was portrayed, her energy, and how passionate she was. She was quite relatable in many aspects (falling in love with a god is not one of them) and she strived to live a full life, which most of us take for granted.
Hades
I enjoyed trying to figure Hades out. He is definitely good at keeping his facade of not caring/being a ruthless god. Or, as the book states it, he doesn’t care to change the minds of others on how they perceive him. Which I think is interesting. This thought process, along with what he says later about not being worthy of his people’s celebrations, tells us a lot about his character.
Hades doesn’t try to fight how the Upperworld sees him because that’s how he sees himself. It’s evident that he cares about the dead in his realm, he cares about his people, but he also has some compassion for the mortals making deals. I love that he challenges them to overcome their demons and better themselves. That is such an intriguing twist on the God of the Underworld taking mortal souls.
In the end, Hades still feels like an enigma to me. I feel like I understand most of his motives and actions, but there’s something else there and I can’t place my finger on it.
Side Characters
The side characters in this book were divine. Lexa is absolutely wonderful and the greatest best friend. She takes Persephone’s goddess admission in stride, pumps her up when she becomes famous off her article and is all-around super supportive of Persephone. And, in turn, Persephone is supportive of Lexa, so it’s not a one-way street here. But that’s all we get of Lexa. I get the sense that Lexa is fun and intelligent herself, but we aren’t really shown that. I want to see more of Lexa outside of being a supportive character to Persephone.
Demeter was terrifying yet enchanting. The way St. Clair wrote about her was well done. She gave off Charlotte Pickle vibes, except Demeter wasn’t nearly as loving and supportive of her daughter as Charlotte Pickles was. Demeter is intimidating, independent, and knows exactly what she wants. Those goddess vibes were definitely coming through the book and I shrank away just reading about her.
Writing
I loved the third-person POV of A Touch of Darkness. There aren’t many fantasy romances that aren’t first-person POV (that I’ve read, at least.) I think the character’s emotions and the internal conflicts were well-written, but I wish we got more about the surroundings and events happening after major plot points. I appreciated the lack of info-dumping, but there needed to be more atmosphere and descriptions. I found myself wondering what happened after events, what places looked like, etc.
To piggyback off the lack of descriptions, the pace of the book was also quite fast, which is probably why we don’t have as much information. Major events would start and end within 2-3 pages; there needed to be more during those events. Not necessarily more action, but more exposition, more dialog, more something.
Although I wish there was more care taken when describing events, places, etc., the lack of information didn’t deter me from the story. I was ultimately able to question a few things and then move on. Yes, this still bothers me a little bit, especially since the book was almost 400 pages, but it wasn’t a deal breaker on my enjoyment of the book.
Another big thing, for me at least, was the lack of editing and proofreading. There were so many missing commas, weird conversations, and then the sense where Hade’s raises an eyebrow that is already raised. Like come’on. Any freelance editor/proofreader could have helped here!
Due to the lack of descriptions and the lack of proofreading, I took off 1 star.
Conclusion
Overall, I loved A Touch of Darkness. It was a fun, fantastical journey on how Persephone and Hades came together. I adore them as a couple and how they balance each other out: Hades the hard ass but soft for Persephone, and Persephone the compassionate one with a hard head.
I look forward to reading the next book of the series. I ordered books #2 and #3 before I even finished this one! I’m excited to see where Persephone and Hades end up and the challenges they’ll face.
Content Warning: Mental Illness, Smoking, Graphic Sex, Sex in Public, Group Sex, DubCon, Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Degradation, submission, Bondage/Ropes, Choking
Introduction
I have come to the conclusion dark fantasy is not for me. This is the second dark fantasy series I have struck out on. I’m fine with books having different kinks and such that don’t pertain to my liking, I can see past that, but when it takes center stage in every. Single. Chapter. And is extremely vulgar in language, I can’t do it. The Never King and The Dark One feels like fan fiction that belongs on Wattpad.
Pros
Hook and Tilly
Quick Read
Cons
No map
The writing needs editing big time
Messy plot and plot devices
No character development
Could have been merged with The Never King
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
What the fuck did I just read? Yes, the plot was much better in this one compared to the first one, but it was still severely lacking and I have so many questions. Let’s dive into this.
If Wendy was left in Everland, then how did the Darling line continue unless she already had a kid at this point?
What about a male Darling? What if instead of a girl, the Darling had a boy? Would Pan come and take him, too?
Are we not going to talk about how Winnie was groomed into sex work? Or how the “boys” treat her as a sex object instead of a person? I mean, if Winnie wants to do sex work, that’s a-okay, but she literally just turned 18.
What about Winnie is so special that the boys are instantly all over her? I mean, characters changed motives for her only have a week or so— Kas and getting his wings back; Vane and returning to Darkland.
Why was Vane painted as the bad guy for fighting back against Winnie when she tried to go down on him? He said no multiple times but Winnie ignored him. She tried to sexually assault him and he defended himself.
So they have electricity, but we don’t know how the world works? (Even if it is based in Neverland we still need some explaining in a retelling.)
Also, there were so many POVs that it was ridiculous. We do not need to see every single character’s POV. Not to mention that St. Crowe confused Bash and Was in the chapters pertaining to tying Winnie up. One of the chapters was in Kas’s POV but switched to Bash halfway through. Was this book not edited?
My biggest complaint about the book is the poorly timed sex scenes and how they didn’t do anything to aid the plot. Even though Winnie is our main character, if we completely remove her and the sex scenes from the book, we still have the full story. And that is so sad. That’s not what you want for a main character. (I mean the ending will change her influence in the plot, maybe.)
Characters
Winnie
I wish there was more to Winnie besides being an object. The plot is happening around her and she plays no part in furthering that plot. Like I could skip every scene with her in and still get a full story. That’s really sad because I want her to be part of the main plot and push it forward. Not just be on the sidelines only to please the readers with steamy scenes and the Lost Boys.
We know Winnie likes sex (and more power to her!), but what else does she like? Who is she outside of just sex? What are her ambitions? Her fears (besides going mad); her interests? Who was Winnie before the Lost Boys took her?
The Lost Boys
The sex drive of these men is insane and that’s all they think about. (Genuinely— is this normal? Do guys think about sex all the time like this?) The Lost Boys (Pan, Vane, Kas, and Bash) all had some depth to them. They weren’t fully 2-D characters, but they weren’t 3-D either. Definitely feel the whole brotherly vibes with them and their loyalty to one another, which I enjoy seeing. I like the scenes where it’s just the guys and they’re goofing off or handling serious situations.
Side Characters
Cherry, let’s talk about her real quick. She seems much younger than 18. The way she reacts to situations and her line of thinking gives off 15-year-old vibes (because I was totally obsessed with my crush at that age, but not to her extent). Especially when she sees Winnie as a threat and now she is no longer the only girl in the house. Hunny, you were never the only girl around. Cherry should have just set her boundary with Winnie and become friends with her. I would have loved to see something like that play out, instead of Cherry being used as another bargaining chip.
Hook and Tilly seem like decent villains with their own goals and personalities in mind. I didn’t mind their POVs or interactions with the main crew.
Writing
Dear lord, the writing in this was rough. There was punctuation missing, confusing plot devices, and too many POVs. There was honestly no need for that many viewpoints. Unlike the first one, I didn’t enjoy the different views this time. They all blended and I found myself going to the beginning of the chapter to see who was narrating.
I also think The Never King, The Dark One, and whatever the third book will be should have been one book. Typically, a book falls into a rhythm of 3— 3 big plot points, with 2 being similar to achieve and the 3 getting a plot twist. And this series so could have pulled that off instead of charging for each third of the full book. (I am a little pissy about this because these books were not cheap).
St. Crowe did provide better descriptions of people, places, and things in this book than in the first one, which I appreciate! I like to know the surroundings, what the characters look like— what color is Pan’s hair? What about the twins’ eyes? What do the rooms and treehouse look like?— otherwise, I feel disconnected and confused.
Conclusion
Overall, this book could have been combined with The Never King. The plot was more interesting this go around, but it lacked so much character development, cohesiveness, and planning. I found myself cringing at a lot of the sex scenes because of the timing of them, and then there was the bizarre act of the washcloth (no thank you!). The ending was very predictable, and anti-climatic, so I don’t plan on reading the third book. I don’t think my mind can take it. I need to drudge all the muck out before I can remotely read anything else.
Let me clarify something real quick, too: if this is up your alley, great! I’m happy you enjoyed the book because if you’re looking for a steamy fanfic this is pretty much dead on! I am not dissing the characters for having sex (more power to them!), I just don’t like the timing of the scenes and how that was all Winnie was based around. There just could have been more substance than sex in the book, and that’s all I wanted.
The Never King is an entertaining dark spin on Peter Pan. It was enjoyable and a quick read— only took me 5 hours. I was honestly surprised at how small of a book it was. I do think it could have had about 100 extra pages just for descriptions and more depth, but it was still good.
Pros
Quick read
Entertaining
Cons
No map
No real detail besides sex scenes
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
I’m not too familiar with the plot of the original Peter Pan, but from what I remember this book is on par with it, give or take. I feel like there could have been more explanations of what was going on instead of relying on the reader’s knowledge of the film. Regardless, the book was fast-paced, but not in a bad way.
Of course, the main focus of the book was the sex scenes and the plot was more on the back burner, but it still balanced the two well. And honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised.
Characters
Winnie
When thinking of Peter Pan and reading the back of the book, I was not expecting Winnie to be the way she was. I was expecting someone a little more innocent, but with the way the book is written, Winnie fits right in. She went through some shit and survived it all, to which I’m glad St. Crowe added in. Otherwise, Winnie would just seem like a flat character who only enjoyed sex. Not someone who was worried about belonging, her mother, and enjoying the freedom of being a “kid” with no responsibilities.
I actually liked Winnie and I’m curious to see how she grows and develops in the next book.
Pan
I was surprised we didn’t see a lot of Pan in the first half of the book. It was mainly focused on the twins with his POV coming in every now and then. But you can definitely tell he is a man at wit’s end and edged with anxiety about his shadow. It was subtle, and mainly showed in his monologs, but it was there. Which I enjoyed. Pan is a man in pain, his heart broken, and his world spiraling.
Will he grow softer towards Winnie in the next book? Will he dig into those roots he had with the original Darling?
The Lost Boys
Man oh man, these Lost Boys were something. I loved the twins and their relationship with Winnie. They definitely had that balance between caring for Winnie, enjoying her company, and falling into their normal ways (meaning sex is on the brain). These two took up a majority of the book, which I was fine with.
Vane was interesting and honestly portrayed as more of the “love interest” than Pan was. I’m very interested in him and his story because I don’t recall a character like him in the original film (correct me if I’m wrong).
Writing
The writing is very vulgar and offensive (I personally didn’t like some of the words used), but it did fit the tone and characters of the story. Switching between POVs was also well done and a joy to read. Each character had their own tone and style, too, so it was easier to pick up what kind of person they were.
Even though the book is short and the writing simple, St. Crowe did a damn good job at portraying the characters and their depth. The only thing lacking was descriptions of the world and events. I would have liked more detail, especially about how each character looked, the room Winne was in, and the general atmosphere of Neverland.
I liked how St. Crowe included a URL to the content warnings of her book beforehand, too.
Conclusion
The Never King was fun, enthralling, and steamy! I enjoyed the more mature and dark side of the story. The characters were well developed, even if the book was less than 200 pages, and the build-up for the next book was there.
Even though the scenes and language were quite vulgar (even for my tastes), I’m still interested in reading the next book and seeing where the story goes.
Content Warning: Sexual Scenes, Language, Sexual Assault, Abuse— Mental and Emotional
Introduction
DNF at 50%
What a snooze fest. I rolled my eyes through so much of this book I’m surprised I can still see straight. I also zoned out through most of the monologs because it seemed redundant or non-important. I had to literally skip chapters because I was so bored and nothing was moving. The pace was wild, the character’s actions didn’t make sense, and this book was a mess. I couldn’t even finish the book.
Also, the grammatical errors were atrocious! There were so many mistakes that it distracted me from the story. I wanted to take a pen and go to town on correcting everything. So many missing commas!
Pros
A map!
Cons
No plot
Flat characters
Childish dialog/tones
Too modern for the setting
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
Plot? What plot? There was none! I’m utterly upset at the lack of plot and character growth in this book.
The “betrayal” from Hanna was not that big of a deal. She wanted to see her father and she didn’t even want to be in the Land of the Dead anyways. Death was just wanting to use her for the prophecy. So, I don’t see why it was such a big deal. He didn’t love Hanna, only lusted after her.
Not to mention, most of what happened was because they didn’t communicate with each other! I can’t stand a miscommunication troupe to this scale. In some instances, I can understand it, but not when you’re treating each other like shit and punishing them.
Characters
Hanna
Dear gods, where do I start with Hanna? Flat, boring, childish, I could go on. Instead of being a 24-year-old (like myself), it felt like she was 17. Honestly, if there weren’t so many explicit scenes, then this book could fall into the YA genre.
Can we talk about how she already knows how to defend herself because of her capoeira training, but the book (and herself) talk like she doesn’t know anything? She can defend herself! She used Lovia’s sword for gods sake! She’s not some weak human that can’t do anything for herself. We were explicitly told that she can fend for herself in the previous book.
Death
I couldn’t stand Death’s POV. It felt like I was reading for a 20-something fuckboi’s POV. It was horrible. I didn’t get the godly, dark, brooding vibes I was hoping for. Instead, it was whiny, self-centered, and straight bastard vibes.
Death was such a flat character. He only thought about sex and nothing else. When he was trying to be sentimental it felt disturbing and unnatural. But, of course, nothing about his and Hanna’s relationship is natural.
Also, can we talk about how shitty it was for Death to throw Hanna in the oubliette? That’s straight up abuse, and scenes later they’re fucking like everything is okay? That is not okay.
Side Characters
I actually wanted to see more of Loughi, but I couldn’t force myself to get to her parts of the book. She seemed like an interesting villain. Plus I was interested in seeing what she did with Rasmus.
Writing
There are errors in my book, especially when transitioning to the next page– i.e. missing sentences, words, weird formatting, etc. Not sure if it’s my book specifically or if this was how it was printed in general. So, I’m not taking stars off for it, but it has caused some confusion while reading. There were also grammatical errors, I noticed as well– missing commas mainly. I proofread/edit/write on the side, so these things stick out to me.
The writing and characters are also immature and juvenile. I mean that’s a letdown when you have a god-like Death ruling for eons. His tone, dialect, etc. should be different from modern-day slang.
There were also discrepancies on things, such as the “Stragglers” now being called the “Bone Stragglers,” and Hanna not seeing the solar room when she clearly did in the first book (Raila took Hanna there on her grand tour). Like, you can’t just change things like this between books. Stay consistent!
Conclusion
Ultimately, I made it through chapter 19— which what the fresh hell was that?— and decided that was it. I couldn’t take any more of this weird, lust-only relationship they had. The ancient magical world of the dead did not mingle well with Hanna’s horrible pop culture references. And the dialect? Too modern for my tastes.
I am gravely disappointed in this book, in this series. I had high hopes for it and all of it came crashing down. I’m at a loss for trying to formulate my emotions into words. The only thing that really sums it all up is: I hate this book. I am riding my hands and my mind of this series and going on to better books.
Content Warning: Language, Mentions of Rape/Non-Consensual Touching, Sexual Scenes
Introduction
River of Shadows is a dark fantasy that is heavily based on Finnish mythology. However,I can’t decide whether I like it or not. There were a lot of awkward scenes, convenient plot devices, and a somewhat unrelated main character. Not to mention that it was very fast-paced. A little too much for my liking.
Pros
A map!
Steamy scenes
Finnish mythology
Cons
Info dumping
Too fast-paced
Awkward scenes and dialog
Unrelatable main character
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
River of Shadows had a lot of convenient plot devices, like when Vellamo straight up told Hanna where her father was and alluded that she had some type of power in this realm. Hanna didn’t have to search for answers, they were given to her. This same thing happened when Rasmus was missing when she woke up.
Instead of Hanna wandering around, having a debate on whether to stay or try to go find him, Telly, a Forest Goddess, was instead right there to provide direction and answers. Even during their trek, Hanna didn’t comment too much on the environment, the animals, or even Rasmus. There wasn’t any urgency and, quite frankly, I zoned out during their travels.
Throughout the book, everything just falls into Hanna’s lap. She doesn’t have to ask questions and solve things herself. Like Bell basically telling her what she had to do to get out of the castle. Why couldn’t Hanna figure that out on her own after a few trial and errors?
Also, while I love a good steamy romance, this didn’t have that. Yes, there was steam— plenty of it!— but I wasn’t buying it. It felt forced and there was no lead-up to it. The plot was also super predictable and really took away any suspense. And I don’t say those words lightly because I’m not one to usually pick up on endings and such.
Characters
Hanna
I could not relate to Hanna at all once she found her father. All of her fight left, as Death mentioned. She became bland and just accepted everything. She hardly questioned anything and just oddly accepted her fate. She hardly had any reactions besides when Death was coming back to fuck her, and we didn’t see any internal conflict about her predicament.
I saw something recently about characters experiencing something traumatic and the author not giving them the time to process or grieve, and this is exactly what happened. Hanna wasn’t shown or given the time to process anything. At the end of the book, we saw a little bit of her thought process and why she reacted the way she did throughout the entire book. But we weren’t shown that.
I also would have loved to see Hanna before all of this happened. We don’t really get a starting basis for whom she is before being thrown into everything. I mean, she tells us later, but we don’t get to see it.
Rasmus
Oh boy, where do I start with Rasmus? He was definitely the character to move the plot along through the first half of the book. We didn’t know if we should trust him, what his intentions were, or anything. Hanna just followed him along because she was probably in shock.
He seemed like an interesting character and one that had more depth than our main character, but he was hard to pin down. The scene where he got a blow-job from a mermaid really threw me off. However, after thinking about it, I know 30-somethings that would have done the same thing.
Then there was his capture and escape from Death that seemed out of character. Like he’s just going to straight up leave Hanna without saying anything? Without promising to come back for her? At this point, he seemed like a real douche, which if that was the intention, then damn. Well done. However, I still have conflicted feelings about Rasmus. Especially after the end. I don’t know if I like him or not.
Death
All I could think about was that Death was like the Devil, the ruler of Hell— brutal, ruthless, and wrathful. But he wasn’t and we weren’t really shown who Death was besides some sex-craved God, so it was hard to think of him any other way. He had zero depth to him and info dumped whenever he could. Like why would you instantly share your thoughts that Hanna could fulfill the prophecy? Why not lead up to that and show us why you think that?
He definitely didn’t come across as caring for Hanna besides being intrigued by her— what? Unique appearance? He only wanted to have sex with her and use their marriage as a political stance. Laaame, but fitting. Because we didn’t see that connection being formed between them, so I can believe his motives more in this case.
After the ending, I am interested in seeing how he’ll react to Hanna being gone and leaving on her own accord.
Side Characters
Bell was annoying af, and her only purpose seemed to be spoon-feeding Hanna her escape plan and ultimately leading to another steamy scene after Hanna is caught out of her room at night. So, I understand that mermaids are more sexual in nature, but she didn’t question how Death treated her. Nor did we see any sadness from her or conflict about her current situation. She fell flat and I was happy to see her go.
Lovia was pretty neat. I enjoyed her after a while, once I got used to her antics. She reminds me of some of my younger, Gen Z cousins. Raila was on my suspicion radar from the get-go. She seemed like she would play a bigger role in this uprising thing, but it was only alluded to at the end. So maybe we’ll find out in the second book?
Writing
The dialog is very informal and a bit awkward, especially with the Gods/Goddesses talking like everyday modern people. I didn’t find that too believable. There were also a few proofreading/punctuation mistakes that distracted me in the heat of the moment.
I did, however, love the content warning at the beginning of the book, the Spotify playlist, and the glossary/pronunciation guide. Those things showed me that the author cared about the experience of the reader and wanted to improve upon it. I just wish it followed through in the actual book.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the book, but I was intrigued by it enough to buy the sequel. River of Shadows had so much potential, but it was lost through the fast-paced plot and the excuse to include a sex scene whenever possible. I wanted to see more depth to the characters, I wanted to see more about Hanna’s struggle to cope with being in the Land of the Dead, and I wanted less choppiness/transitions.
Overall, the book felt like an excuse to write about sex with the God of Death in Finnish mythology. Nothing more. Hopefully, the second book will smooth things over a bit better, but I’m not holding my breath on it.
Red's Bookish Boones 