He had never doubted himself, but he doubted everything when it came to Persephone… even their fate." Hades, God of the Dead, does not take sides or bend the rules. He makes no exceptions to these values—not for god or mortal, even his lover, Persephone, Goddess of Spring. But with the spin-off series, we finally have answers! This series is so much more detailed and developed. The overall narrative is so much better! Honestly, if the author had just made the main series a dual POV so many of the issues I have with the main series wouldn't even be a problem. Unfortunately I have to read the main series before reading these books though otherwise I don't think it would make much sense. As annoying as I find Persephone's character, her perspective is necessary for the story. Hera, Goddess of Women, as always we know her, has a plan against her beloved husband. Hera made Hades perform a series of labors in exchange for blessing his marriage! You want a queen,” she said. “So teach her how to live within your realm. Teach her to use her magic. Teach her to be a goddess, and stop trying to fight all her battles”.

And the thing I was hoping for, but didn't get is Minthe. No reaction to her plant-ification whatsoever. Perhaps it'll be in another book? I badly want to see it. Plus my love for Sephy & Hermes is unbeatable too. And Hecate. They are the quad character group we all need in our lives and A Game of Retribution solidified that fact once again.Everything really comes down to how awful Persephone is as a character. Girl, you are 23 and left the house for the first time like two years ago—get over yourself. She causes so many problems by being downright annoying and naive. And I realize that this book, being from Hades POV, is forced to fit within the confines of her story, but I get absolutely nothing from Persephone to make any of her actions work. Every event that happens, like her friend being in a car accident or a kidnapping, comes out of the blue and feels so shoe-horned in, making her look like an absolute dumbass. I love all the references to Greek Mythology! With Hera’s challenges and a deeper understanding into the workings of the Underworld. I didn’t get the Ariadne/Dionysus subplot so much but I think it could be a precursor to their own book. You scared me,” Hades said simply, lips curling at the sight of the god’s pain. “I did not,” Hermes said, dropping his hands. Any evidence of the strike to the face was already healed. “You wanted to punch me.” “Don’t give me an excuse,” Hades said, making his way to the bar, where he poured himself a drink. “To what do I owe your visit, and what can I do to prevent it in the future?” “Rude,” Hermes said, sauntering to the bar. “You’re talking to a hero.” The pro (note the singular), this is probably the first book in this series that hasn’t been full of mistakes and errors so I guess that’s a plus. Hades, God of the Dead, does not take sides or bend the rules. He makes no exceptions to these values-not for god or mortal, even his lover, Persephone, Goddess of Spring.Usually, fear prevents retaliation.But not this time.When Hera, Goddess of Women, approaches Hades with a plan to overthrow Zeus, he declines to offer help. As punishment, Hera sentences Hades to perform a series of labors.

Hera, Goddess of Women, wanted Hades to help overthrow Zeus. When he refused, she punished him by requiring him to successfully complete a series of seemingly impossible labors intended to sabotage his relationship with Persephone.A Touch of Ruin από την πλευρά του Άδη, ενώ παρακολουθούμε τον ίδιο να προσπαθεί να φέρει σε πέρας τους άθλους που του επιβάλλει η Ήρα. Ήταν με άλλα λόγια γεμάτο δράση και σασπένς. Από τη μία χαίρομαι που μέσα από τα βιβλία του Άδη βλέπουμε περισσότερο τον κόσμο των θεών και της μαγείας, με τη συγγραφέα να χειρίζεται έξυπνα τη μυθολογία (βέβαια, αγάπη, η Λήμνος δεν είναι στη μέση του ωκεανού. Το Αιγαίο είναι μία λιμνούλα μπροστά στον Ειρηνικό). Από την άλλη, στενοχωριέμαι που όλα αυτά τα αγνοεί η Περσεφόνη. Υποθέτω πως αυτά τα μυστικά οδήγησαν στο τέλος του τρίτου βιβλίου. Όπως και να έχει, η συγγραφέας με μάγεψε, με συνάρπασε και θεωρώ ότι γίνεται ακόμα καλύτερη. Το aesthetic των βιβλίων της ήταν κορυφή από την αρχή και με το πολύ γράψιμο εξελίσσεται. Οι περιγραφές μαγείας είναι οι αγαπημένες μου, καθώς κάνουν τα βιβλία πιο ατμοσφαιρικά. Likewise, in Persephone's PoV she was a lot more annoying than seeing her in Hades's PoV now. I almost didn't feel like she regressed in her confidence/powers, but it was still evident, just to a lesser degree. For example (and this isn’t a spoiler because you’ve literally already read this conversation in ATOR), there’s this one interaction between Hades and Persephone where he says, “The souls miss you, Persephone.” I miss you. “Do not punish them because you are angry with me.” It’s a really heart wrenching part of ATOR. However, when Hades says it in this book, it comes completely out of left field. He hadn’t been to see the souls in her absence. Hadn’t thought about them. Hadn’t even walked by them. The souls literally never crossed his mind in her absence, so why would he say this here? HE LEGITIMATELY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THEM ONCE. There is literally no reason he would say this line from this POV. In this book, Hades is just…empty. Perhaps most significantly throughout the evolving character development, this story highlighted the importance of unconditional love and trust at the core of any relationship. The dialogue is what really annoyed me. It was 90% dialogue from ATOR, which, okay, whatever. But, it felt completely empty and inorganic from this POV.