If Madeline Miller wrote a Hades and Persephone retelling I feel like it would be the definitive one. I've never read one that I found as compelling as I find the actual myth, which is disappointing.
"I want there to be pining, I want there to be yearning." OMG I feel that. I'm ace and have no interest in any form of erotica or smutty content but omg I love the whole "courtship" aspect of romance novels so......
I don’t know if you are aware of Overly Sarcastic Productions here on UA-cam, but a couple of weeks ago Red did a deep dive with the Hades and Persephone myth. I think you will like it.
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Yeah hahaha that is so true XD for me it technically is the Bear and the Nightingale series... But then that's more so based on Russian/Eastern European fairytales and myths and not Greek mythology (even if they basically are based on the same sources), so I'm still looking for a great actual Hades and Persephone retelling
I’m so glad you liked Keturah and Lord Death! I read it as a young teen, and I recently reread it to see if it held up, and I feel like I liked it just as much as an adult.
Totally agree about the Persephone character in A touch of darkness. I had to DNF the sequel because she wasn’t getting any better. That and the pacing of their relationship was so weird. They were having sex before there was any kind of trust or respect between them.
Yay so glad you finally did this! Can't wait for your ranking. I've read Abandon in 2012 when it came out and really liked it but back then I used to love Meg Cabot books which I don't anymore so I don't think I would read it now either (though I still adore her Mediator series, that's just a lot of fun). I remember another one from early 2010s, the Goddess Test I think it's called? Don't remember much about the plot of that one tbh. The only piece of modern media which has done Hades and Persephone (and Orpheus and Eurydice) justice is the Hadestown musical imo. Lore Olympus sound pretty good though, I might have to check that out.
I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned Linda Sejic’s Punderworld webcomic. There are only 19 episodes so far, but the art is great and it’s got a ton of humor.
I just recently started branching out from my typical reads. Love the Hades and Persephone story. So I have not been down the rabbit hole on this trope. I just picked up the Nevernight series because it sounds amazing. Based on your video that's the best place to start.
I read The Hades Trials trilogy by Eliza Raine and Rose Wilson. Whole trilogy is on kindle unlimited. It hits a lot of the points that you want, but it is a literal retelling. All the Greek gods are present the main girl is Persephone. I loved the trilogy and liked the spin on the myth. It’s new adult fantasy romance. But the romance is super slow burn and angsty. Give it a shot. Book 1 is like 200 pages. All of them are pretty short, but I blew through them and loved them.
@@ThoughtsOnTomes yeah I always check your reviews and discussion 💯🔥..... Because you speak of your mind and like never cower even if the book has a huge fandom... Keep watching and reviewing like that ♥️👍⭐
Not a Hades and Persephone retelling, but please give Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith a read. It has more of Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera vibes, but the Azrael character is my favorite version of Death personified ever.
A deal with the elf king made me sprang my eyes from rolling so hard. Dnf ed at 55%. I just couldn't ... the writing was sooooo bad that I dnf ed the author all together.
i've been playing gods of olympus for the past month instead of reading. so greek myths stories and characters are where my heart's at right now. the first book sounds really interesting.
One of my favorites (and I think this is an unpopular opinion lol) is Goddess of Spring by PC Cast Its in the Goddess Summoning series (but they can be read as standalones). And it is kind of a direct retelling, but with a big twist. Im sure its considered trashy romance, but its one of my fav comfort reads lol
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Now that you are reading more adult romance, I think you will enjoy it. A few years earlier I don't think you would have enjoyed it quite as much.
I am so excited for this video I love love love love Hades and Persephone they are my favorite of all the gods!!!!! and this has nothing to do with blog but your nails in this video are giving me life I love them!!!!
Hi Sam. I'm already waiting for the next video about Hades and Persephone retellings because we have pretty much the same taste in books and I've already read the ones you talked about in this video 😁
I wouldn't ever bother with Abandon tbh. It's the one Meg Cabot book I've read and not liked anything about, and I read it when it was new out and I was the target audience age and normally adore Meg Cabot.
To me "A Touch of Darkness" feels like the combination of tv series "Lucifer" and the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey". Not the Hades and Persephone of I've imagined. But It was Ok. I liked it but didn't love it.
I've recently read A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean, which also turned out to be a Hades x Persephone retelling AND I HAD THE SAME ISSUE. Why must "Persephone" character be this much of a doormat when she falls for Hades? Wasn't obsessed with that. Madeline Miller needs to take a crack on them. P.S. Can't wait for the ranking video!
I was hoping for that last book that, although I am not fond of this trope, she had amnesia. Maybe something happened on her ascension to Earth or Mt. Olympus and forgot who she was and Hades had to convince her that she was his wife. Crap, I should write that myself and I agree early kissing or sex scenes are unnecessary and really doesn't further the plot or endear them to me as a couple.
Loved seeing this. I would also say take a hard pass on The Power of Hades if it's on your list. It's not a great one, and it's drug out over multiple books like A Touch of Darkness.
did you find a list somewhere of a bunch of these and you chose from them? I've never found a version of this that i liked. i'm considering writing one but, it is so common, but again, i haven't liked anyone's take. Funny though i often see overlap of Hades and Persephone and Beauty and the Beast.
I didn't even get half way through A Touch of Darkness. Persephone acts like a petulant child and the writer puts her in situations that she doesn't deal with like a normal person would, purely to move the plot along. I binned it.
After watching this vlog (love it!!!) I realized that I might be reading a hades and persephone series and didn’t even realize it 😂 The first book is “Rhapsodic” by Laura Thalassa and the series is called “The Bargainer series. Really enjoying it💕
Don't know how much it's gonna deal with Dionysus (or how it'll interpret that relationship), but Ariadne by Jennifer Saint comes out next month. I'm dying for a good Dionysus/Ariadne book myself.
@@Seolhe I’ve read some reviews from people who’ve read early copies, and unfortunately it seems the Dionysus and Ariadne parts of the book won’t be a love story.
Hi I read a touch of darkness two weeks back and totally thought you might like it a little bit. So I agree with you about how there is a purposeful miscommunication between Persephone and all the characters in the book and how Hades is always trying to prove he is not a bad guy. He is alpha male in this book, but you will see it more in the second book. In the touch of darkness, it was everyone around him who is trying to prove to Persephone that he is not a bad guy. The first book reminds me of Lore Olympus. Are you going to read the other books to the series?
There’s a hades and Persephone webtoon by naver called lore Olympus it’s really good!!! The art is very different and the story is rooted in modernity Wait you just mentioned it 😭
I’ve always really wanted to read a gender bender version of this myth. The idea of a bad ass hades woman really speaks to me. There’s this series called seeds I think that seems to get mixed reviews, some people loved it and some said it was too slow, but tbh I feel like a lot of the negative reviewers seemed to be wanting more of a fast paced erotica type book so it might be more what you want.
I found A Touch of Darkness so dreadful and juvenile. It reads like a fanfiction and in some parts even reminded me of 50 shades of grey, which I did NOT appreciated. Obviously, it wasn't the retelling of Hades and Persephone that I expected.
If Madeline Miller wrote a Hades and Persephone retelling I feel like it would be the definitive one. I've never read one that I found as compelling as I find the actual myth, which is disappointing.
it would be THE retelling
FACTS
Where is the petition? I would like to take forth my signature.
instablaster.
"I want there to be pining, I want there to be yearning." OMG I feel that. I'm ace and have no interest in any form of erotica or smutty content but omg I love the whole "courtship" aspect of romance novels so......
Yessssssss
I don’t know if you are aware of Overly Sarcastic Productions here on UA-cam, but a couple of weeks ago Red did a deep dive with the Hades and Persephone myth. I think you will like it.
ugh yea love what you said about the early kissing, takes away from true yearning!!!
I just finished a touch of darkness and I thought to myself there has to be something better. I want slow burn, angsty read. Not that. 😭
I looooove Hades and Persephone... But I've never read like a REALLY good retelling... Hope I may find one in this video XD
A truly great retelling is basically impossible to find lol it’s my unicorn
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Yeah hahaha that is so true XD for me it technically is the Bear and the Nightingale series... But then that's more so based on Russian/Eastern European fairytales and myths and not Greek mythology (even if they basically are based on the same sources), so I'm still looking for a great actual Hades and Persephone retelling
I think so far one of the best Hades and Persephone retelling is Lore Olympus
for sure
@@ThoughtsOnTomes true.. but as of the present webtoon season. Of lore. I don't know where it was going anymore..
I’m so glad you liked Keturah and Lord Death! I read it as a young teen, and I recently reread it to see if it held up, and I feel like I liked it just as much as an adult.
Totally agree about the Persephone character in A touch of darkness. I had to DNF the sequel because she wasn’t getting any better. That and the pacing of their relationship was so weird. They were having sex before there was any kind of trust or respect between them.
yes!!! the sex was so out of no where
@@ThoughtsOnTomes I poorly written I might add...I felt like it was rushed in a way
Yay so glad you finally did this! Can't wait for your ranking.
I've read Abandon in 2012 when it came out and really liked it but back then I used to love Meg Cabot books which I don't anymore so I don't think I would read it now either (though I still adore her Mediator series, that's just a lot of fun). I remember another one from early 2010s, the Goddess Test I think it's called? Don't remember much about the plot of that one tbh.
The only piece of modern media which has done Hades and Persephone (and Orpheus and Eurydice) justice is the Hadestown musical imo. Lore Olympus sound pretty good though, I might have to check that out.
I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned Linda Sejic’s Punderworld webcomic. There are only 19 episodes so far, but the art is great and it’s got a ton of humor.
I just recently started branching out from my typical reads. Love the Hades and Persephone story. So I have not been down the rabbit hole on this trope. I just picked up the Nevernight series because it sounds amazing. Based on your video that's the best place to start.
I read The Hades Trials trilogy by Eliza Raine and Rose Wilson. Whole trilogy is on kindle unlimited. It hits a lot of the points that you want, but it is a literal retelling. All the Greek gods are present the main girl is Persephone. I loved the trilogy and liked the spin on the myth. It’s new adult fantasy romance. But the romance is super slow burn and angsty. Give it a shot. Book 1 is like 200 pages. All of them are pretty short, but I blew through them and loved them.
A court of Mist and Fury was a very good retailing too 🔥🔥💯💯.....
Oh I know I've already read that one lol
@@ThoughtsOnTomes yeah I always check your reviews and discussion 💯🔥..... Because you speak of your mind and like never cower even if the book has a huge fandom... Keep watching and reviewing like that ♥️👍⭐
The way this has made me want to read Hades and Perseophone books but hasn't given me any to pick uuuppppp
lol I'm so sorry I hope my ranking video will help!
@@ThoughtsOnTomes fingers crossed! 😂
Not a Hades and Persephone retelling, but please give Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith a read. It has more of Beauty and the Beast/Phantom of the Opera vibes, but the Azrael character is my favorite version of Death personified ever.
I second this! It’s so good!!!
You are so strong for even finishing a touch of darkness cause I just couldn’t do it. I had to dnf it.
its v bad
A deal with the elf king made me sprang my eyes from rolling so hard. Dnf ed at 55%. I just couldn't ... the writing was sooooo bad that I dnf ed the author all together.
Yeaa it wasnt a fav of mine either
what does it say that I've read way worse writing than that... in fact there was worse writing in one of the other books in this vlog lol
I agree the writing was bad
the cover of the book looks boring enough that i won't even add to my tbr.
There is also The Hades Trials trilogy from Eliza Raine which I really enjoyed reading ✌️and as you may like yearning level is quite high lol 😆
Try the Rhapsodic series. I was entertained enough to read the entire trilogy and interested to see what you think of it
Court of the underworld has a decent hades and persephone. Its book 3 called Hades
I'm also part of Pothos now
Demon King by Elizabeth Briggs is a decent Hades and Persephone retelling.
i've been playing gods of olympus for the past month instead of reading. so greek myths stories and characters are where my heart's at right now. the first book sounds really interesting.
Looking forward to this vlog so much
One of my favorites (and I think this is an unpopular opinion lol) is Goddess of Spring by PC Cast
Its in the Goddess Summoning series (but they can be read as standalones). And it is kind of a direct retelling, but with a big twist. Im sure its considered trashy romance, but its one of my fav comfort reads lol
That is one of my favorites as well. I loved the soul scene, it sticks with me years later.
@@EasternSunsetCreatesReads I haven't seen many people read this series and I just adore it!
I've heard about that one before! I'll have to give it a shot.
@@jordaneasterwood7311 I really enjoyed the whole series but Goddess of Spring was by far my favorite, for obvious reasons!
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Now that you are reading more adult romance, I think you will enjoy it. A few years earlier I don't think you would have enjoyed it quite as much.
I quite enjoyed pc cast's Goddess of Spring
I am so excited for this video I love love love love Hades and Persephone they are my favorite of all the gods!!!!! and this has nothing to do with blog but your nails in this video are giving me life I love them!!!!
Hi Sam.
I'm already waiting for the next video about Hades and Persephone retellings because we have pretty much the same taste in books and I've already read the ones you talked about in this video 😁
I wouldn't ever bother with Abandon tbh. It's the one Meg Cabot book I've read and not liked anything about, and I read it when it was new out and I was the target audience age and normally adore Meg Cabot.
I love hades & Persephone so I’ll definitely need to check these out ASAP
off topic, but your skin is beautiful!! it’s glowing!
Thank you!
Emma Hamm wrote a good Hades and Persephone book. 🌺🤗🌞
Hi Sam Keturah and Lord Death is going on my TBR. All you need to say is Winternight Trilogy and you've got me.
enjoy!
To me "A Touch of Darkness" feels like the combination of tv series "Lucifer" and the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey".
Not the Hades and Persephone of I've imagined. But It was Ok. I liked it but didn't love it.
I've recently read A Rogue by Any Other Name
by Sarah MacLean, which also turned out to be a Hades x Persephone retelling AND I HAD THE SAME ISSUE. Why must "Persephone" character be this much of a doormat when she falls for Hades? Wasn't obsessed with that. Madeline Miller needs to take a crack on them. P.S. Can't wait for the ranking video!
I think you'd enjoy Persephone by Tamino (its a song not a book)
I was hoping for that last book that, although I am not fond of this trope, she had amnesia. Maybe something happened on her ascension to Earth or Mt. Olympus and forgot who she was and Hades had to convince her that she was his wife. Crap, I should write that myself and I agree early kissing or sex scenes are unnecessary and really doesn't further the plot or endear them to me as a couple.
omg yes I was hoping it would be something like that so it made more sense!
Would love to hear your recs for favourite retellings of Persephone and Hades
There are sadly so few lol
You should read Kingdom of the wicked by Kerri Maniscalco!!!!!
Loved seeing this. I would also say take a hard pass on The Power of Hades if it's on your list. It's not a great one, and it's drug out over multiple books like A Touch of Darkness.
Have you checked out the Theia Mania comics by A-Gnosis/Li Österberg?
did you find a list somewhere of a bunch of these and you chose from them? I've never found a version of this that i liked. i'm considering writing one but, it is so common, but again, i haven't liked anyone's take. Funny though i often see overlap of Hades and Persephone and Beauty and the Beast.
I keep a running list of Hades and Persephone books I see mentioned and these were a few I hadn't read yet
Sam! Sam you need to read 'House of Bastiion' by K.L. Kolarich!!! I swear you're going to looooooovvvveee it!!!!!!
I didn't even get half way through A Touch of Darkness. Persephone acts like a petulant child and the writer puts her in situations that she doesn't deal with like a normal person would, purely to move the plot along. I binned it.
Honestly I wish I saw these comments before buying it because everything I'd seen before this was raving about this book
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Me too! The reviews I saw were raving about it??
After watching this vlog (love it!!!) I realized that I might be reading a hades and persephone series and didn’t even realize it 😂
The first book is “Rhapsodic” by Laura Thalassa and the series is called “The Bargainer series. Really enjoying it💕
One of my favorite series! Definitely read the novella that goes with it.
While we’re on the subject of Greek mythology, anyone know if there are any Ariadne and Dionysus books?
Bull God by Roberta Gellis is a really good one
Don't know how much it's gonna deal with Dionysus (or how it'll interpret that relationship), but Ariadne by Jennifer Saint comes out next month. I'm dying for a good Dionysus/Ariadne book myself.
@@Seolhe I’ve read some reviews from people who’ve read early copies, and unfortunately it seems the Dionysus and Ariadne parts of the book won’t be a love story.
@@marnetteryes2613 Can't say I'm entirely surprised, but oh well. Still excited to give it a read.
Im writing a cyborg retelling short story if you are interested for your next reading of persephone
have you played the video game hades? i highly recommend it!
no but I want to!
Hi
I read a touch of darkness two weeks back and totally thought you might like it a little bit. So I agree with you about how there is a purposeful miscommunication between Persephone and all the characters in the book and how Hades is always trying to prove he is not a bad guy. He is alpha male in this book, but you will see it more in the second book. In the touch of darkness, it was everyone around him who is trying to prove to Persephone that he is not a bad guy. The first book reminds me of Lore Olympus. Are you going to read the other books to the series?
There’s a hades and Persephone webtoon by naver called lore Olympus it’s really good!!! The art is very different and the story is rooted in modernity
Wait you just mentioned it 😭
lol
I’ve always really wanted to read a gender bender version of this myth. The idea of a bad ass hades woman really speaks to me. There’s this series called seeds I think that seems to get mixed reviews, some people loved it and some said it was too slow, but tbh I feel like a lot of the negative reviewers seemed to be wanting more of a fast paced erotica type book so it might be more what you want.
You’d probably like The Dark Wife! It’s sapphic so not completely gender bent but I liked the hades in that one.
I found A Touch of Darkness so dreadful and juvenile. It reads like a fanfiction and in some parts even reminded me of 50 shades of grey, which I did NOT appreciated. Obviously, it wasn't the retelling of Hades and Persephone that I expected.
yes the writing is categorically bad
Touch of darkness is very very bad
So is a deal with the elf king. I have never in my life read something that awful.
@@juliaionescu2785 I read it ! The world building was confusing and Elf king character was not brought out though I liked their chemistry
Touch of Darkness is definitely worse than A Deal with The Elf King
@@ThoughtsOnTomes exactly 👍
You should read the web series Lore Olympus 🥰 its SO good!!!
lol I literally mentioned catching up on it in this vlog