Thank you to Katee Robert, NetGalley, and Sourcebooks for the advance reader copy of Neon Gods, the first story in the Dark Olympus series.

I was over the moon to be approved for a copy of Neon Gods from Sourcebooks on NetGalley. I absolutely adored Katee’s series on Disney Villians, Wicked Villains. Like I really really loved the Wicked Villains series. And as someone who has always been a Greek mythology fan, I was so ready to dive head first into this Hades and Persephone retelling.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“He was supposed to be a myth.
But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell…
…he was, quite simply, mine.

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth…a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed.

Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her—for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…

A modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that’s as sinful as it is sweet.“

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: This modern version of Olympus brings the roles of gods and goddesses as titles. These titles can be inherited by your child like Hades, or married into like Hera or appointed like Demeter. The new Demeter has three daughters and one of them is Persephone. Unlike the myth, Hades does not steal Persephone away from her mother. When Demeter and Zeus agree to marry Persephone off to him, Persephone ran. And she ran right into Hades’ arms. When the story starts Persephone seems nothing more than a high society girl, all prim and proper; even virginal. She really has much more bite. Hades is a complicated soul, with a dark past and a need for revenge that runs deep. Persephone the smart girl she is takes advantage of it. Hades is your classic domineering alpha, while really he is still that broken little orphan boy who has cut himself off from everyone.
• Setting: This take on Olympus is a little tweaked. There is an upper city and a lower city, separated by a treaty. I loved the small medieval town feel to the lower city versus the bougie upper city. The setting really informed the characters, as the lower city showed off how Hades is in touch with his people. And this is in direct contrast to how Zeus rules over the upper city.
• Pacing: This is a much longer story than Katee tends to write and I loved it. The nature of the increased length really allows for the reader to fall deeper in love with the characters, world, and romance. I never wanted this story to end and I even delayed finishing it. I read it over three days so I would not engulf it in one.
• Romance: Katee has always written top-charting romantic scenes. What is so special about this story is the powerfulness of the love she wrote between Persephone and Hades. I just love these all-encompassing romances, where the hero and heroine both need each other. For someone Hades, Persephone is a chance like he has never had to open up and trust again. For Persephone, Hades is the first person in her life to push her, and take her out of her comfort zone, to build a stronger more confident woman.

Pre-Order a copy here… (get in on that signed postcard)

Words and Kisses: https://wordsandkisses.com/products/neon-gods-by-katee-robert
Aunties: https://www.auntiesbooks.com/book/9781728231730

Neon Gods receives five out of five stars.

Thank you again to Katee Robert, NetGalley, and SourceBooks for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!