Title: Persephone: Hades Torment
Author(s): Allison Shaw
Genre: Graphic Novel
Format: Ebook
Would I Recommend? Not Likely
Book Rating:
Spice Rating:
Synopsis
In the traditional story of Hades and Persephone, Hades is the villain who is madly in love with Persephone. Persephone is the poor girl who was kidnapped, forced to marry Hades, and eventually fell in love with him by proximity. Sounds like a dream come true….NOT!
In this story, their love story is mutual from the beginning, but Hades has to decide if he is going to make a move.
Thoughts?
Like many other people, I fell into the Hades and Persephone trap. Growing up, I loved mythology from around the world, but Greek/Roman mythology was some of my favorite. When authors decided to use the story of Hades and Persephone and manipulate it into various stories, I just couldn’t resist.
I was scrolling through Kindle Unlimited and came across this graphic novel. I was immediately enamored by the artwork on the cover. It was something different than what I was used to reading. My go-to is novels rather than graphic ones, so I figured I would try them.
At the story’s start, you are introduced to Apollo, Eros, and Persephone. Apollo wants Persephone, Persephone is not interested; but when Hades stops by and ceases Apollo’s charade, he meets Persephone for the first time. Naturally, he is instantly attracted, but this time, Persephone is also attracted.
The book starts off strong. I was intrigued because it had similar plot points to the original story but made its own, in a less kidnappy sort of way. In this story, Hades has to decide what he will do. I thought it would build, and Hades would essentially be tormented until the end of the story. To some extent, I guess he was tormented until the end, but the book’s middle part focused on the trouble makers, Eros and Apollo. Hades deals with them, he gets the girl, and the story ends.
Not much happens… It is short and to the point. Hades gets Persephone, Persephone gets Hades, they get naked, end of the story. I was a little disappointed because I felt there was a lot of missed potential with everyone’s individual stories. Instead, it fell flat.
I will say that the artwork was gorgeous; it was well done and enjoyable to look at. The story was just underwhelming in the end.
I do want to address the spice rating. This one was a little difficult to gauge because overall, there is just sexual/romantic tension; HOWEVER, there is also nudity portrayed. Therefore, the combination of the two resulted in its spice score. Not a heavy focus, but enough to mention it. This is not suitable for young readers.
Final Review
Do I think this is a good book?
Not really. Good artwork. Subpar story.
Was this a new take on Hades and Persephone?
From what I have read to this point, yes and no. I have not read anything that has this particular plot line or characters, but I imagine there are some similarities to other Hades’ and Persephone-inspired works. It is the closest to the original story but not anything special.
Would I recommend this to anyone and everyone?
No…I’m going to pass on this one.
I liked the artwork but didn’t care for the little plot that existed. There was a lot of missed potential; it made me sad. If you are the type of person who likes to try anything mythology based or appreciate the artwork over the story, then sure… but otherwise, you can probably just pass.
Awakening Bibliophile 