By: Scarlett St. Claire
When I first read this book I was absolutely enraged at the fact that I had to basically read the first story all over again, but then I realized how much more I was learning about the characters. Book 1 of this series, A Touch of Darkness, is all written from Persephone’s POV, This book is written from Hades’. I absolutely loved learning about what Hades was doing during the first book, we got so many new characters and plot points that we just couldn’t get when learning about Persephone. I really feel like we would have gotten a lot less from these books had St. Claire chosen to do multiple POVs in each book.
I have always been a fan of multiple POVs, it is something that helps me to connect with the characters better and allows me to get a view inside the way they think. I saw a lot of comments on Book 1 calling it a bully romance and how everyone couldn’t understand why Persephone was choosing to stay with Hades. I think this book gives us a better reason to love Hades’ character. He is charming and kind while still being brutal and a tad controlling. I like a dark romance so these things do not bother me, but if you are not interested in that, steer away from this series.
“It was an algorithm, and most people had a pattern, even if they did not realize it”
Hades is a very analytical thinker, Persephone is more based on feelings. If something feels wrong to Persephone she wants to change it and make herself feel better. Hades on the other hand thinks through everything. Sure he may not like something, but he also sees ramifications that would come from the wrong kind of intervention. Persephone learns this more and more throughout this book and series at large. I think a lot of the coldness readers felt from book 1 were because we were blind to Hades and his perspective, this book made me feel a lot better about their relationship and really showed the devotion Hades feels for Persephone.
June 1, 2025