Review: Neon Gods by Katee Robert
02:30
Title: Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1)
Author: Katee Robert
Genre: Hades and Persephone retelling, erotic
Release Date: 1 June 2021
Author's links:
My rating: 3 Stars
Blurb
He was supposed to be a myth.
But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell…
…he was, quite simply, mine.
Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.
With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth...a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.
Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…
A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.
Review
I picked this book for two reasons - it's Hades and Persephone retelling and a close friend highly recommended the author's Disney Villains series which I haven't read yet. While I enjoyed some elements of the story, in the end it was not what I expected and I was not wow-ed by it.
It's a modern day retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth told in first person present tense dual POV which didn't quite work for me. It made the MCs sound juvenile, spoilt and immature.
I found the first quarter really slow, too descriptive, while at the same time giving us very little insight into Persephone and her world. The world building was very superficial (we get more details .about Hades' world later on but Olympus remained sketchy and insubstantial to me till the end).
I did like the romantic and sexual relationship between Hades and Persephone. The way it progressed, the way their kink was presented - it all worked for me (from my outsider's perspective). I very much enjoyed the sense of play and joy involved in the kink representation and also appreciate being nervous and hesitant about trying new things. Here the consent played a central role, it was not just empty words, there is an actual moment of one MC changing their mind about something sexual they wanted and this was totally OK and respected by the other MC. It was these little moments of insecurity and uncertainty in Hades and Persephone that I liked the best. It made them feel real and relatable to me.
The last quarter of the story was very much action packed, lots of lies and deceptions happening, seeing more of the other characters, making them more than cardboards on the page. I liked the final resolution thought it felt a bit rushed. A pet peeve of mine is badly drawn villains and this was the case here which I found rather disappointing.
I am curious about the next book in the series about Eros and Psyche and still might read it despite really not liking the writing here.
CW: violence, attempted assault, murder, arson,
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