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Book Review: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

If you are looking for an easy read with a lot of smut, you are in the right place! BTW, I am reviewing A Touch of Darkness AND A Game of Fate.



“Respect could build an empire. Trust could make it unbreakable. Love could make it last forever.”

–Scarlett St. Clair


What Is It About?

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 Underworld, is known for his inflexible rule, luxurious night clubs, and impossible bargains. Use to control, he is not prepared to discover the Fates have chosen his future wife and Queen—Persephone, Goddess of Spring.

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.


My Opinion

3.5/5⭐

I am sooooo behind in my reviews… there is no excuse. Between work and my life, it has been a hectic year. I read these books a year ago, and I'm just doing the reviews. So, bear with me.

I am merging my review of the two books because they are the same but with different POVs

If there is something I love is Greek myth retellings. And even more: Hades and Persephone retelling, my favorite myth. What I enjoyed about the book was that it was a modern-day retelling. I guess it's easier to imagine them in jeans and t-shirts than with old tunics.

I read this book with my beloved Valkyrie Book Club, and oh god, the fun we had while reviewing it. If you are in for a treat of steamy and smuttiness, this book is for you!!

A Touch of Darkness follows Persephone, a journalism student who just got her dream internship. She is also the goddess of Spring and the daughter of Demeter. Because she fails at being a goddess, she doesn't want to be involved in any of that, so she hides her deity powers. Somehow she ends up making a bargain with Hades and makes it her mission to show the world how terrible and exploiter Hades is with the deals he makes. What she did not foresee: she was going to fall in love with him. I admit Persephone got on my nerves more than a few times. She acted in a very childish and selfish way. I don't like saying it, but she was a bit dumb sometimes.

I definitely enjoyed A Game of Fate much more. Hades' POV was so much better. He was much more mature than Persephone. His POV gave us a better look at how morally grey characters are. I mean, we looooove a good MG character. It was great to see how much Hades was feeling and how in scenes where Persephone thought he was a cold and miserably god, he was actually so delicate and emotional.

The smutty scenes were sooooo freaking good (at the time, I was beginning my journey of smut books). The slow burn was a highlight too. It was an easy read and obviously will not win a Pulitzer Prize. It is one of those books you read and enjoy the ride. There are a lot of things that could have been written in a better way (typos and grammar mistakes too). I felt the plot was a bit weak, and the character development was almost non-existent. Was it my favorite read of last year? Definitely not. Will I continue reading the series? Obviously! Do I still recommend it? Yes ;)

 

Have you read this book? If so, what is your opinion?

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