Persephone by Kaitlin Bevis Review

"There are worse things than death, worse people too

The “talk” was bad enough, but how many teens get told that they’re a goddess? When her mom tells her, Persephone is sure her mother has lost her mind. It isn’t until Boreas, the god of winter, tries to abduct her that she realizes her mother was telling the truth. Hades rescues her, and in order to safely bring Persephone to the Underworld he marks her as his bride. But Boreas will stop at nothing to get Persephone. Despite her growing feelings for Hades, Persephone wants to return to the living realm. Persephone must find a way to defeat Boreas and reclaim her life."

Well, this is obviously the retelling of Persephone and Hades. This time the author paints their story as a story of a slow growing love instead of the rape the Greek Mythology calls it. Still, it is another version of the tale. This time Kora/Persephone doesn't realize she is a goddess until she was attacked by a deity. Her mother, Demeter, isn't as powerful as Hades, who thankfully rescues Persephone before she is killed.

I can tell you that Persephone is really fun. There are a lot of little tingles here and there when you see Hades slowly falling for Persephone. Persephone, on the other hand, tries to hide it, but you can so obviously tell that she likes him too. And it is all so adorable. Don't you agree? Oh, wait. You haven't read this book yet so you can't really agree with me. Sorry. But just imagine the chemistry between Duval and Ismae (Grave Mercy) and half that. Yeah, it is half the amount, but it is gold. I mean, Duval and Ismae are meant to be. Like what Duval's half-sister, the Duchess, said, they are well suited together. And Hades and Persephone? Well, life and death go hand in hand together like war and death (Duval is for war; Ismae is for death).

It is an awesome retelling. I really like all the little allusions here and there. It is all very fun and awesome. I really enjoyed it. Persephone is a fast-paced tale about the love between Hades and Persephone. However, this being a book, it has to be a bit longer tale than what you read on Wikipedia.

Persephone is one strong girl. She doesn't change very much throughout the book, but who cares about that? I read worse books about Persephone and Hades (cough, cough, the Goddess Test, cough, cough). Compared to those certain books (cough!), Persephone looks well-developed (despite the cheesy factors in the book) and whole. However, it isn't as good as Meg Cabot's Abandon trilogy, which is much more fun than this series. So far.

And Hades. Well, he isn't as hot-tempered as Greek Mythology believes him to be. He is this bored god who plays video games to pass the time. But with this many people dying per day (about four thousand?), I don't know how he isn't bored.

Anyway, Persephone is certainly a fun book, if your kid can't get interested enough in Greek Mythology. However, I would recommend Percy Jackson for that problem.

Rating: Three out of Five