Let me preface this review to say that the only reason I decided to read this book was due to my love of Greek mythology. Based on the tale of Persephone and Hades, this book is a modern retelling of their story. Hades, God of the Dead, forms a contract with Persephone, Goddess of Spring.
Here is the book’s description:
“Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.
“Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.
“After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.
“The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—and it’s forbidden.”
What I Didn’t Like About the Book
There really wasn’t much that I liked about this one, so I’ll just list what I didn’t like. As much as I like retelling the story of Hades and Persephone, I thought this retelling was not worth creating. In this book, Persephone is very naive and makes stupid choices, which made it hard for me to connect with her character. I liked Hades character slightly more but only because he wasn’t stupid. Hades was very controlling and reminded me of 50 Shades so much.
My Verdict: A Touch of Darkness is Not Worth Reading
What sounds like an interesting plot actually morphed into almost nothing but sex. I was so disappointed. There was so much sex in this book, I honestly thought Persephone was going to be pregnant by the end. That was how I thought she was going to create life. It was even suggested by one of the other characters, which I took as foreshadowing. Not the case. Unless she discovers she’s pregnant in the next book, which I don’t plan on reading.
At first, the book was a page turner, even though the writing wasn’t great. I still was so drawn to the idea of Persephone and Hades’ love story, so I continued on. Once they have sex for the first time, it’s all downhill from there. The plot totally disappears, and the way Persephone discovered her powers, I felt was very weak.
Avoid this book if you enjoy reading good writing and don’t want to read sex scenes on nearly every page. To be honest, because of the sex scenes, I didn’t feel that Persephone and Hades actually loved each other. It was feral attraction from the start, with Persephone’s annoying personality and Hades’ cliche domineering one. It honestly reminded me so much of 50 Shades of Grey except with touches of Greek mythology here and there.
Suggested Reads
If you think you’ll like this book, don’t let my review stop you! Similar books based on Goodreads are Neon Gods by Katee Robert, Hooked by Emily McIntire, and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
As always, thanks for reading! If you read this book, let me know what you thought of it!
What Jas Reads 