Ratings156
Average rating3.5
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. *A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that's as sinful as it is sweet.* 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... "Deliciously inventive...Red-hot."—Publishers Weekly STARRED "I get shivers just thinking of their interactions. SHIVERS."—Mimi Koehler for The Nerd Daily The World of Dark Olympus: Neon Gods (Hades & Persephone) Electric Idol (Eros & Psyche) Wicked Beauty (Achilles & Patroclus & Helen) Radiant Sin (Apollo & Cassandra)
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7 primary books10 released booksDark Olympus is a 10-book series with 7 primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Katee Robert and Susanna Mende.
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Neon Gods is the first book in the Dark Olympus series and so good! It is a perfect broody x sunshine trope, filled with lots of banter, sexual tension, sexual release, and ultimately lots of caring for one another. A Persephone/Hades retelling is my favorite type of retelling and I was not disappointed.
Hades was dark, broody, handsome, mysterious and serious, but ultimately not a bad person. He opened up to Persephone and showed vulnerability as they went on and he honestly made me swoon. Persephone appears as the sunshine happy girl but underneath the facade lies a woman waiting for a chance to be her own strong person. Together they bring out the best in one another and show each other snippets of happiness each did not believe they would achieve.
I enjoyed the plot of Neon Gods, it made sense and was interesting. The stakes were high, the tensions were high, and the lust was high. What more could you want? The king of the city and Persephone’s mother hunting her down and starving out a city to bring her back to an arranged marriage to a known wife-murderer?? It was insane and also made so believable through the runaway scene and the messages sent by Zeus.
Katee Robert did a fantastic job describing everything from the surroundings, characters, emotions, thoughts. and anything else you could think of. Hermes and Dionysus were a fun addition, with Hermes being one of my favorites.
I LOVED the kink club angle. Of course that is perfect for Hades, and I loved that underneath the sunshine act, Persephone was just as into it. In general I think the kink club was super sexy and I really enjoyed those scenes.
Overall, Neon Gods by Katee Robert was a spicy, sexy, broody x sunshine trope wonderful book and I am so glad I read it. It is one of those books I would pick back up on a rainy cozy day and plow through in an afternoon because I enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it!
Originally posted at woarr.com.
High-heat retelling of Hades/Persephone. I'd heard a lot about this author before and I'm very excited to read more of her works (especially the villain series). I won't do full content warnings but I will note that if public sex and a hint of D/s are hard noes for you when it comes to sexual content, you probably want to give this one a pass. I wish there'd been a little more worldbuilding, because I was fascinated by the idea of the Thirteen and how they had power/new people took over the roles, but maybe that'll come in the sequel(s)? Very excited for the Psyche/Eros book, hoping there are more to come!
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: “revenge quest,” maybe fake dating, loosely “triplets” for the puppies.)
Hades and Persephone have been my One True Pairing since before I even knew what that was and I was probably too young to have one but you know...here we are. Couple that with it being a retelling and I knew I had to have this.
First off the reason most people were yelling at me to read this...The fucky parts are great and very 5 much five stars. It was delicious and everything it needed to be. But if you want more than just sexy Happy No No Place smashing scenes then read on...
Hades in this was an absolute cinnamon roll and I loved it. How he was with Persephone and seeing him deal with this growing feelings for her...absolute swoon. Side note.. CONSENT IS SEXY. I also loved Persephone. I didn't find her meek or weak which is off putting if you're setting her up to be Hades soul mate..WHICH SHE IS FOREVER AND EVER.
This is not a book you read for the plot but I'm weird af so once I got off the high of aforementioned smexy bits, I took a second to really think about it. It's a contemporary retelling so there's no magic. Not really. There's mention of not being able to cross a bridge because of some kind of force stopping you but that's about it really. Not how or why it works. Not much world building. I have no idea if Olympus is in the USA or not. And I only say that because they mention California. Also the ending was a bit lackluster. There was mention of a possible war...and then nothing. I kind of wanted a war by that point.
Am I going to read the next in this series? Absofuckinglutely. Did I look up all her other books and plan to read all those? You bet your ass. Did I enjoy this book? Hell yes. I just wanted to make sure you guys understood what you're going to read since every one seems to be talking about the heavy breathing scenes and not much else lol.