Review--A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

 

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.

Contains mature themes.

 

 

There have been many retellings of the Greek myth involving Hades and Persephone, but none quite like Scarlett St. Clair’s A Touch of Darkness. This was a steamy New Adult tale that took on a very modern day worldview when it came to the Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology. It’s unique differences helped to shape an intriguing story.

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring yet she hasn’t been able to master her powers. Unlike the rest of the Gods, Persephone has taken to living life on earth in New Athens, much to her mother, Demeter’s dismay. Persephone is in her last year of college and is looking to be a journalist. She even starts an internship working with a newspaper. 

Then one night, her friend Alexa manages to get them into the hottest nightclub, Nevernight. It’s not long before Persephone finds herself playing a card game with the elusive owner, Hades. There’s an intense connection between them that Persephone can’t explain. But the connection is about to be challenged when she unwittingly finds herself in a contract with Hades. She must find a way to create life in the Underworld in the next six months or she’ll be confined to the Underworld forever. 

I found this read to be very intriguing. Seeing the Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology in the modern day world was a treat! Their stories are ancient so seeing some of these myths come to life in the modern day just fascinated me for some reason. Lol. We even see a few other myths taking place at times.

The romance in this story was intense! I guess the different interpretations that I read of the original myth always made it seem like Persephone didn’t really want to be with Hades and I feel like there were different reasons for why Hades took her as his bride. It always felt loveless to me, but I haven’t read the original myth in years so I could be remembering wrong. Here we get a different foray in romance. Persephone tries to fight her growing attraction to Hades but it doesn’t go well in that regard. Though there are still obstacles these two will have to overcome; trust being a big one.

I feel like there wasn’t too much happening plot wise other than the deal itself. Persephone is trying to create life in the land of the dead essentially, it should be an impossible task. There are a few other smaller conflicts going on; jealous lovers, a scheming mortal, Persephone’s controlling mother, these help to shake things up a bit. 

The ending was definitely the type that makes you wonder if the story is over or if more will come. We since know there’s plenty more to come. I like this almost old school way of ending book one. You’re hooked enough by the story, yet if that was the end, it still leaves you satisfied. Research showed that this first book was older before the sequels started coming and I’m just happy to have plenty more to read! I’m eager to see what new challenges will pop up for Hades and Persephone. 

If you’re a fan of Greek mythology and love modern retellings, then I think you will enjoy this series! I loved seeing all the familiar faces of Mt. Olympus and hope they will be making appearances as the series moves along. This would also be a great read to introduce yourself to Greek mythology and get a steamy romance along the way!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars