A Touch of Darkness

UPDATE

It seems that Amazon released the wrong e-book version (the one that I read) and the physical copies do not have THAT MANY mistakes, but they still do. Am I going to give this author and the next book another chance? Probably, I'm really hoping that the next one will be better because these books are so hyped on bookstagram and I want to understand why.

UPDATE


Okay so... where do I begin?

I kept seeing this book on bookstagram, and as a Greek mythology lover, when I heard “Hades and Persephone” retelling I KNEW I had to read this book. After a couple of months of postponing it, I finally decided to read it. And then my funny journey started.

Let's talk about the HUGE amount of mistakes in this book. Did ANYONE proof read this book? Because I don't think so. The mistakes in this book drove me crazy and sometimes I couldn't even concentrate on the story because there were so many misspelled words or grammar mistakes, that I, a person whose first language isn't even English, kept spotting.

In the beginning of the book, when Persephone meets Hades, he is called “the man”, because he hasn't been introduced yet, even though we all KNOW he is the one. Then, randomly, he's called “Hades”. Then, he's “the man” again. I was like: “Wait, what's happening?” Is he HADES or is he THE MAN? Make up your mind.

Then there is this mistakes that KEEEEEEEEPS appearing throughout the book. Instead of saying HADES' when the author refers to something that belongs to him, they just say “Hades”. Like “Hades hand went to her cheek” or “Hades smile was blablah”... This kept making me SO MAD, like was it soooo hard to check the book for these type of mistakes?

NOW, let's talk about the oh-so-powerful Goddess Demeter, the mother of Persephone. She is described as a fierce, brutal goddess, fearful and strong. She keeps stalking her daughter through her nymphs, tracking her phone and other abusive stuff. She KNOWS that Persephone when to Hades' look, it's not that hard! club, Nevernight, in the beginning. She seems to know everything. But then, as the action flows, we don't hear anything new about Demeter. Persephone's relationship with Hades evolves, they fall in love, yet her mother has NO IDEA of what is happening? Where is she? How is it she doesn't know that her daughter is spending so much time (weeks) in the Underworld? That's a thing I found really odd and I think it's just a plot-hole. Then BOOM she appears out of nowhere, like the author remembered there should be a wicked mother that makes Persephone's life a living hell.


Okay, so that's mostly it. I really loved the idea of this book as a retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone, but it lacked so many things and it really should be proof-read in order to get rid of all the mistakes. I don't know if I'm going to give the next books a second chance, maybe the writing gets better? Who knows.

There's so much lost potential when it comes to this book.
I really, really wanted to love it but the second half of it just ruined the experience for me, personally.

The book was by far much smuttier than I expected and almost every single time it was completely misplaced and unreasonable.
Hades' and Persephone's relationship had no room for development at all and there seemed to be no connection or even chemistry. So they went from hating each other to fucking to “sooo... what are your interests?”. It wasn't exactly erotic even but very repetitive to the point it felt ridiculous.

Every other plot point had to be cut short and weren't exactly believable. Like how Demeter and Persephone met up every Monday which was mentioned halfway through the book and never picked up again even though several weeks passed with them not interacting?

I haven't decided yet if I'm giving the second book of the series a try because I also need to say that I did enjoy a lot of the actual plot and a part of me hopes there's just more of it in the next book.

I was a little apprehensive going into this book. I knew a lot of people have enjoyed it and rave about it. But sometimes the hype ruins it for me. I'm happy to report, that I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun quick read and I loved the world and the take on Greek mythology. There are definitely some issues with the pacing, but it was enjoyable with some great characters. I'm definitely invested enough to continue.

4,5⭐️ I listen to this book in audible and let me tell you the narrator did an amazing job!

I LOVED this book!! I didn't expect to love it as much as I did and regretted having it on my TBR for so long. If you like a re-telling of the Hades x Persephone story this is for you.

I Can't wait to continue the saga!

This was almost a two stars from me. I'm gonna say it's a 2.75 rounded up.

It's not what I want when I read a Greek myth retelling and to take one of the most interesting myths and turn it into this... is a disappointment. I have so many issues and gripes with it that it feels pointless to sit and complain because who wants to read a rant review? The only thing that was really enjoyable about this book was the spice, the rest was just a boring wattpad romance.

I used CAWPILE to rate because then end of this book drastically changed my opinion of the story, feeling towards the characters, and affected my overall enjoyment.



SPOILERS BELOW



The first like 40-60% of the book had me. I was in it, locked in. But it lost me in the rest. The end feels like a totally different book with Persephone making a lot choices that felt out of character to what her character has been established from page 1. Didn't her best friend just tell her she's full of kindness and what have you?

I mean, I get it. I get when you are pushed and pushed and you explode. But this felt like a 3-day PMS moment. It is so whip lash from onset to offset. No true build up of this darkness swimming in her before her chat with Hades (like I feel like we had NO warning; Aphrodite being the catalyst we should have had tasted something right after their talk). I know it's briefly mentioned here and there that she has “darkness in her” but it was not explored in a way to lead into what came from Hades confirming the bet. Even worse was there isn't any reflection on anything afterwards. The story goes from her wreaking havoc to then just bringing right back into routine day-to-day: School, work, partying. After THAT? No way. There is a line of feeling guilt and shame but towards the people in the Underworld and maybe Hades. I want to know how she felt! We just got visual rage but I didn't feel anything from her, if that makes sense?

And then in the route of “Happily Ever After”??? No meaningful discussion of feelings and why each party felt the way they did, just acceptance and move on?? No discussion of her outburst towards him, Adonis, Minthe, Demetere? It felt disingenuous.

Maybe these things are explored in the other books but the way this one ended unfortunately has me not wanting to explore that.

If you're looking for a book with plot, this is not it. If you're looking for a book with some spice, you hit the jackpot. That being said it wasn't even a ton of spice but I enjoyed it... I actually enjoyed this book.  I got it for free. I started reading it right after dinner and the next thing I know I'm finishing it up at like 1:30 a.m. the next morning. I totally thought this was going to be a DNF book but I gave it a chance and it turns out I'm going to continue the series. The one trope I absolutely hate (and of course is in this book) that I wish would just die off is the man who's hundreds or thousands of years old and a young woman who for some reason seems to always be a virgin. WHY?!?! I just change it in my head to enjoy it a bit more.