I first read this back in 2022 and started a series re-read in preparation for the release of the remaining books in the series. I enjoyed the books in this series the first time around, but the second read made me love the characters more. 

I think when dealing with stories based on Greek mythology specifically, it's important to remember that one of the hallmarks of the original stories themselves is how flawed the gods truly are. In these original stories, the gods display flaws that are considered very human and these flaws often set them up for great strife or failure. I really like that Scarlett has preserved that even more in this book specifically. Persephone loves the upperworld, but she really doesn't understand what it means to be mortal and she clearly struggles with the notion that she IS a goddess and regardless of how much she wishes to be different than the other gods, there will be things she cannot help. Hades and Persephone both struggle to communicate properly with one another and that lack of communication causes them both great pain but we get to see them begin to explore ways to avoid those issues. 

I love the story of Hades and Persephone, but she was SO whiny and immature in this book. Never learned from her mistakes and just kept repeating the same mistake over and over... But I did love how the story progressed overall and all of the side characters (#Hermes4thewin!). Hades was still a strong character, though not as present as in the first book.
 Hoping Persephone is a little more palatable in the next books in the saga. 
Very spicy 🥵🔥🥵🔥 🥵

Persephone just seemed to really lose who she was in thos book. She was selfish and petty and honestly pretty annoying throughout the book.

Not quite as great as the first one but I still loved it! There's a lot of angst and drama and let's just say, I'm glad I've already bought the next part because otherwise I'd be dying. 

We see a lot more of the supporting characters, especially Lexa & Apollo, in this sequel and their stories were each really well developed and helped further Persephone's own story (sue me, yes, I still have hopes for Apollo). I struggled a bit with the details of Lexa's story and would've loved some more exploration of the Drama™ that led to it, at times it felt like there was just drama for the sake of it, y'know?

I still love Hades & Persephone and I hope the teasers of their darker sides we got in this book get explored more 👀

This series so far is really, really good. I love Hades and Persephone so much. Their story, no matter the person retelling it, is a story I can't help but have a special place for it in my heart. I've really enjoyed Scarlett's take on their story so far. 

The author has managed to not just write a retelling of Hades and Persephone, but she's put so many other wonderful God's, Goddesses, and mortals in this series.... which has only made it that much better. Of course both A Touch of Darkness and A Touch of Ruin ended with cliffhangers. Thankfully the first three books are already published so I don't have to wait to read what comes next, but I'm sad knowing that after I read A Touch of Malice, I'll have to wait for A Touch of Chaos. 😫

I really enjoyed this book because it showed such a wide variety of challenges Persephone faced whether it be emotionally, physically or magically. She struggled with every aspect of her life especially in her relationship with Hades, but even with all her struggles and mistakes, she still went through a lot of character growth and maturity. Unfortunately that didn't stop her from all the pain and anxiety she experienced but it did make her more relatable.  I've really enjoyed seeing her grow and become stronger against her mother. She's learning how to control her magic and wield it without hurting herself. 

I definitely enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the book as well. I couldn't believe so much happened and I was literally on the edge of my seat, biting my nails at certain points because so many disasters could have been averted but weren't. I definitely appreciate how well the author paced the story and let things fall into place without rushing the process Persephone and Hades had to go through. I think it shows that even though they're God's, they're still capable of doing things like mortals. 

I highly recommend this series to all my Greek Mythology lovers as well as fantasy lovers. This book has revenge, death, pain, love, sex, passion, heartbreak, forgiveness, and growth. There's something for everyone. 

I felt as though Persephone was always trying to retaliate against Hades and that part kinda got old. I was entirely shocked with the whole Lexa situation that was something else. I didn’t like Mr janitor guy from the beginning and didn’t know where his character was going. I’m still not the biggest fan of Luice though like when Antoni was like once a traitor always a traitor I was on edge from that point forward. 

Amazing. The tension, the wit, the smoldering... 
My ONLY reason for the 0.25 star penalty is the CONSTANT miscommunication. Other than that, pure GOLD.