4 Stars. A great take on a classic myth with a modern twist. The author did a great job of keeping all the classic story elements of the Persephone myth but still made the story feel modern and new. I liked that she used the story of Boreas to set the scene at the beginning of the book and I loved how she interpreted Persephone’s abduction. While Hades still technically brought her to the Underworld against her will, he did so to save her life and protect her. All of the characters in this book were well developed. I liked that they had their own wants and needs and that each one felt real. I thought that Demeter was represented well and I loved that more minor mythological character like Orpheus and Eurydice made it into the story as well. I thought the author did a good job with the push and pull of Persephone and Hades’ relationship. She managed to make Hades feel young and thousands of years old at the same time. I also thought she addressed the age difference between these two characters well and did as well as explaining the “sibling” relationship between the gods. And, I loved seeing Hades struggle with his growing feelings for Persephone considering that age difference and the fact that she was Demeter’s daughter.
The plot was well written. Hades rescues Persephone a few times, but she was clearly the hero of her own story. She was strong and independent and she didn’t let people push her around. I thought she was a little foolish at the end when she took on Boreas by herself, but I was glad that she was able to hold her own and otherwise made thought-out decisions. I was also glad that while the “big-bad” of this book was defeated, the author set up the plot for the next story right away allowing this book to end with a bit of a cliffhanger that pulled me straight into the next one.
Overall this was a really solid story and I would highly recommend it. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
