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.
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.
