A Touch of Darkness Review

Respect could build an empire. Trust could make it unbreakable. Love could make it last forever.

A touch of darkness, scarlett st. clair

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Author: Scarlett St. Clair

Publication Date: 20 June 2019

Publisher: Independently Published

Page Count: 353

Reading Method: Physical

Dates Read: May 1 – 3

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Synopsis: 

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.

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Review: 

Oh – oh my. Did anyone else fall in love with Hades from the Disney animated Hercules?  Like, yes… he’s a cartoon with blue hair and an impossibly large chin.  But the sass, the sarcasm, the plan to overthrow Olympus – quite difficult to resist.  So of course I had to read A Touch of Darkness, the sexy modern retelling of Persephone and Hades.  

This book is so dang hyped, and with the upcoming release of the third book in the series, it’s been promoted harder than ever.  If you’ve been following along for any amount of time, you know hyped books make me nervous – I’ve been scorned in the past (*cough cough* the Night Circus *cough*).  But I got over my fears because my love of Persephone/Hades is too great. 

Plot: 

Persephone is just trying to get her degree and make a name for herself as a journalist, but somehow gets swept up in a deal with the god of the Underworld – I mean, we’ve all been there (jk).  She’s challenged to bring life to the Underworld, but the problem is, her powers don’t exactly work the way they should. Personally, I loved the storyline.  There was betrayal, sketchy hot guys, Underworld celebrations, swanky parties and nightclubs, oodles of chemistry. 

Characters: 

The entire story is told from Persephone’s view point.  She was smart and driven but there were times I wanted to shake her and say “stand up for yourself!”  Persephone has a lot going on.  Her mother raised her out of the public eye and she is only allowed to go to New Athens if she disguises who she really is.  It would majorly stink to not be able to be honest with anyone about who you are and live with the fear of your mother’s wrath.  I feel like Persephone really comes into her own when she starts to work through her deal with Hades.  It was nice to see her come out of her shell and embrace who she is.  

Hades…. sigh.  Dark and mysterious, but fell a little flat.  I wanted to see more from his character than we got.  I liked that we saw different sides of him in the Underworld, but I just needed a little more to push me from like to love.  Hopefully we’ll learn more about him and develop his character a bit more in the next book.  

Writing: 

This is where I struggled with A Touch of Darkness. Everyone seems to love this book, but when I started it, it took me quite a while to get into the writing.  I thought, with it being an erotica retelling that the writing would feel more mature.  Unfortunately, it felt very much like it was written YA (obviously not the content).  I mean, it makes it easier for readability but it kind of messed with the vibe of the book.  Ultimately not bad, but it just felt a little out of place.  

Overall: 

I liked this retelling, but I didn’t love it.  The writing style was a little immature for my tastes and the characters didn’t quite give me what I wanted, but there’s room for growth in the next book – which I will definitely be reading. I liked the modernized aspect and the interactions of the gods and look forward to more Hades and Persephone steamy scenes in the future. 

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