4,5 stars
This trilogy has been on my TBR pile for a while and like other books from the past, I’m wondering why I waited so long to read this story. It was a very good story and I look forward to reading the next book in this trilogy.
This story is a retelling of a well-known Greek myth about the Greek gods Persephone and Hades. I was very curious to see how the modern retelling would play out and I have to say that the writer Scarlett St. Clair did a great job. The writer created a wonderful world in which humans, orcs, nymphs and Gods lived together. There was also magic. The gods in this story were based on the Greek myth, they are powerful beings and you recognized them because they are beautiful, the colors of their eyes are special and they have horns on their heads (yes, you read that right, horns). But they have also special powers, they can use magic and hide their horns and change their appearance. This way they can hide their divinity and look like an ‘ordinary’ human.
Persephone is doing it. Persephone is 24 years old and studies journalism at university. She lives with Lexa, a human friend. No one knows that Persephone is a goddess. Persephone spent her first 18 years on the estate of her mother Demeter, goddess of Harvest, hidden from everyone. Her mother was (and still is) very protective of Persephone, she will do anything she can to protect her daughter, even to the point of smothering her. Persephone wants to be free to live her own life without her mother’s rules or restrictions. Unfortunately, she needs her mother’s magic to live anonymously among people. Because she can’t make magic herself. Everything goes well until one night Persephone meets Hades, the god of the underworld, of the dead. He’s wealthy, mysterious (he avoids publicity) and owns many companies, including the famous nightclub ‘Nevernight’. Hades is one of the ‘older’ gods, one of the most dangerous with lots of power. One of the things he’s infamous for is his love of games. Dangerous games with humans. The evening they meet, everything changes for both Persephone and Hades and a dangerous game starts.
I really liked the interaction between Persephone and Hades. Persephone had a very protective upbringing, it was lovely to see her change from a timid girl to a more confident woman. To see how she discovered her own powers. She was very curious, which was a good talent for journalists, but it also caused problems from time to time. Hades was very mysterious and at first sight ruthless and cold, but the more we learned about him, the more it became clear that he also hid a softer side from the world and that he was lonely. He listened to Persephone’s opinions on certain matters and was willing to change things. He also challenged her to do more, to live her own life. They were both good for each other.
The story was told from Persephone’s POV. There were steamy sex scenes in the story, they were good but for me personally, the description was a bit short at times. Some sex scenes could have been a bit longer (that’s also the reason for my 4,5 stars). The secondary characters were very interesting. Lexa, Persephone’s best friend and roommate was kind, loyal and a great friend. Persephone’s mother was cold and very controlling. Hades’s friends were all gods, each loyal and amusing in their own way. There were also a few secondary characters with bad motives but they made the story more interesting.
I look forward to reading the second book in this trilogy.
(Some additional information: ‘A touch of Darkness’ is the first story of the ‘Hades & Persephone trilogy’. The story of Hades & Persephone consists of two trilogies (yes two!). In this trilogy (Hades & Persephone saga) you get the story told from Persephone’s POV and in the trilogy ‘Hades saga’ the story is told from Hades’s POV. Will reading this story I discovered that there are two ways to read this story. You can read this trilogy with Persephone’s POV first and the trilogy with Hades’s POV later or some readers read both trilogies at the same time. There is a reading list that tells you which chapter in which book to read first . I decided to keep it simple and read this book from Persephone’s POV first.)
A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone Saga Book 1)
4.4 | 38,536 ratings
Price: 5.99
Last update: 12-14-2024
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Peggy MI enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to read more
TrixerificGreek mythology rebooted.
Thais Y.