The Queen & The King

Okay, so we definitely bounced back from book 2! This book was really good, I loved it. I companion read it with the Nightmare and the Daydream novella, and it was so so so great!

We begin with Persephone losing all her memories and being taken back with her mother. Demeter (mother) is cruel and abusive, verbally and physically. She loves the idea of Persephone, but not who Persephone really is.

Hades is healed but has another issue with the shadow tattoos on his body growing. He is also in despair because Persephone was taken from him and he isn’t sure how to get her back.

Once he realizes she has lost all her memories, he starts to date her again and OMG it is so good and mushy and I teared up so many times. There is so much emotion in this book, and I am here for all of it. The poor guy is suffering so hard trying to figure this issue out, and his one saving grace, his spring, his comfort, his queen, is not only not there, but also doesn’t remember who he is.

It is DEVASTATING.

But genuinely this book was so so good following Hades and Persephone and their journey falling for each other again. We got to see another side of Persephone, and also got to witness them formally dating – which was the sweetest most wonderful thing ever.

Watching Persephone come into her power was something we did not get in book 1, and it was a very good plot point in this book. Wavering back and forth between succumbing to her mother and embracing what she feels inside, it is really powerful writing. For anyone out there who has struggled with an abusive parent or abusive anyone, this might sit really heavy – I know it did for me. Not in a bad way, just in a ‘wow this is so nice to see this personified in literature’ way.

This book had tragedy, love, hate, betrayal, war, power, magic, fate, and so much more. It was amazing companion read alongside the Nightmare and the Daydream!

I have so many things I want to say, but want to keep this spoiler free! Overall, The Queen & The King is a wonderful third novel in the Love & Fate series by Alexis Rune & Jeannette Rose. Cannot wait for the next installment!