By: Scarlett St. Claire
I often reread books that I have loved in the past, and this one was worth it. I remember falling in love with this idea of Hades and Persephone falling in love and taking a dark myth and creating something beautiful from it. Many people have tried to recreate this myth over the years, even the ancient greeks tried to spin this tale to create a happier outcome for our sweet Persephone, but I think St. Claire’s version may be my favorite. This is an urban fantasy retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, Persephone is trying to live a normal life in New Greece after the gods have come down from Olympus to live amongst the humans. She is glamoured, using her mother’s magic, to appear human and attending college. She has created a life for herself with friends, colleges, and a new internship at a newspaper where she will start her career as a journalist. Hades is known for staying out of the media, avoiding it at all costs, and making sure no writer dares use his name.
“There is rage. There is passion. There is darkness.”
― Scarlett St. Clair, A Touch of Darkness
When Hades sees into Persephone’s soul he sees what he once was reflected there. He has lost his passion, leaving only rage and darkness, and he craves the light inside her.
Persephone is a strong willed character, but she is lacking in knowledge of what it means to be Divine. Her mother has kept her in the dark, kept her powerless, and when Hades sees into her soul and realizes that what she is lacking is belief in herself, he seeks to challenge Persephone. We get to see Persephone’s view of Hades and the Underworld change throughout this book and we see the beginnings of their relationship bloom. Hades can be dark, he can be controlling, he can even be a bit dismissive of her feelings, but they overcome and find common ground between them.
Persephone begins to develop her own powers and even gets some petty revenge at the end of the book.
May 27, 2025