Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Dark Olympus #1
Contemporary Fantasy/Mythology Retellings
June 1, 2021, by Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC

Reviewed by Angela

After seeing Katee Robert talk about this new series on Twitter I will admit to being intrigued and as I’m always up for any kind of mythology retelling I immediately added it to be TBR list.

I’m not sure what sub-genre to classify this book as. Definitely a retelling, and it IS a sort of fantasy since we are talking about Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Persephone, etc…, but these characters seem more like high flying billionaire politicians than gods. They don’t have any special powers, other than sex appeal I guess. And each of their positions is inherited like royalty. So maybe, erotic contemporary fantasy? Anyway, IT DOESN’T MATTER. This book rocked my socks off.

Persephone, and her sisters, are pawns to their mother’s ambitions. As the newly minted Demeter, she wants to keep climbing the power ladder, and one way to get there is a marriage between Persephone and Zeus. Persephone would effectively become the new Hera and a member of the thirteen. The thirteen are the ruling power of Olympus. Only Zeus’s last several wives died mysterious deaths and Persephone is filled with dread at the thought of a marriage to him. So she runs and ends up in the lower city. Which is Hades’s domain.

Hades rescues Persephone, but he also sees a way to finally get back at Zeus for the murder of his parents. They strike a deal, he will protect her for the next three months until she comes into her trust fund, and she will stay with him as his very public lover. She will be ruined and he will get his revenge.

To be honest, I was not expecting Hades to be such a wonderful caretaker, and almost right from the start. He carries her when her feet are injured from her mad dash to escape the city, he worries if she isn’t eating enough, he makes sure she has what she needs both physically and emotionally and I loved it. He’s supposed to be this hard-core alpha, but he was actually an amazingly sexy cinnamon roll.

Persephone is like a ray of sensual sunshine breaking through Hades’s walls and getting to the heart of him. They had tremendous chemistry, and let me tell you, absolute burn it all down sexiness together. One of his kinks is public sex and Persephone has no problem getting down and dirty with him. This book will singe your eyeballs with its hotness. I was not prepared. As they fall in love, they also realize their time is limited and will do whatever they have to do to protect each other. One of my favorite things? Persephone saves Hades and the lower city, she is the one who figures out a way for them to overcome the odds, defeat the bad guy, and be together.

There are frank conversations about consent and birth control and trust. There is hot sex and two people being completely honest with each other about their pasts, what they want, and what they need. There is interesting world-building and a different take on the Persephone and Hades mythology. Even the secondary characters are striking and charismatic and I can’t wait to read their stories. This book has everything and I enjoyed it so much.

Highly recommend.

Final grade- A

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