Title- Neon Gods
Author- Katee Robert
Series- yes, but the next are a side story of different characters.
Rating– 4.75
Genre- erotica, Greek mythology retelling, adult contemporary romance
POV- dual – Hades and Persephone
Trope- forbidden love
Cover– The image was appropriate but I didn’t really understand the term “neon” in the title, it didn’t have much revelance.
Comps– Promises and Pomegranates and A Touch of Darkness and Fifty Shades of Gray
Plot/Blurb-
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…
First chapter-
So I wish in retellings, the author used new/made up character names. This is the third series recently where I’m reading Hades abs Persephone. It’s confusing to keep their characters straight when the stories slightly differ from each other. Why can’t this be based off the Greek gods but the chapters s be named Hunter & Penelope? It would make my life much easier
Chapter 1- it’s interesting that these characters, whether they’re people or gods take on that god for a certain amount of years. Like Demeter has been Demeter for 10 years. Zeus became Zeus at age 30. That’s unique
Character Development- Persephone needs to learn who she is, what she wants and how she wants to define flying “free.” Hades needs to learn he can trust someone to not leave him.
Best part- the spice! Hot! Hot!
What I would change- a bit more depth to both their pasts. We had some, I wanted another layer. I wish they both had a more drastic flaw or at least more flaws in general. They were both good people, like too sweet (who just happen to enjoy kink lol)
Setting- The upper city and the lower city and his “sex dungeon” were all shown well, but not over the top. I could always picture where I was in the scene.
Prose- above average
Character goals/motivations- They both want revenge on Hades
Theme- sex is better when you perform in front of others? Uh … no that’s obviously a joke, is it?
Dialogue- sometimes the dialogue is confusing because the second characters response to what’s as said is on the same line instead of starting fresh. I have to reread a lot
Inclusivity– both mention past lovers of the same sex, MM, FF. There is one tertiary character who I recall being Black and I appreciated that a few other side characters were actually described as being white because these days a lot of authors (including myself) will mention a character is Black, but not state the color of skin of others, showing the assumption that Black is ‘out of the norm’ and needs to be mentioned. What I try to do in my writing, is every time a character is described with dark skin, there is also one defined as light skin. Otherwise we are creating a false standard. Aywho…
Ethics – I almost think the author was too cautious and could’ve made their decisions a bit edgier/morally gray when it came to alliances/deals/etc
Conflict/tension/obstacles- Zeus was their problem, but there weren’t too many mini obstacles along the wayPacing- fast in those sexy times
Thoughts while reading-
Page 42- she’s an endearing rambler
Page 46- omg their sense of humor is sooooo refreshing and totally my style
Page 159- so I love their dynamic and personalities. Their chemistry flows more naturally than most pairs I’ve read about. At this point I wish she had a secondary goal because right now she’s just waiting around until her birthday. I wish she also had something on the side with a time crunch.
Page 195- I wish we had more internal thoughts of her processing what just happened before moving on
Page 279- the announcement seemed kind of forced after it was obviously implied from actions lol
Page 344- I’m hoping that’s the fake climatic scene because Persephone is the main character so it seems like this should be her big moment. Also… the events feels a tiny bit cliche, like a cop-out
Ending– highly satisfied with the end result. The side-plot was tied in a neat little bow and was easy to follow and simple which was a good thing so things didn’t get too confusing or heavy. I probably won’t rush to go read the second book in this series because it’s based around a different set of characters. The writer is great and I’d refer back to her work in the future when I’m needing some sexy times.
Cassie Swindon 