Queen of the Underworld is the prequel to Felicity Heaton’s Guardians of Hades series. Having read Ares and Valen the first two books in the series, I was curious to see where it all began, hence my decision to read Queen of the Underworld.
Title: Queen of the Underworld
Hades, the wickedly dark god-king of the Underworld, needs a queen. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Author(s): Felicity Heaton
Series: Guardians of Hades #0.5
Also in this series: Ares , Valen
Published by Self Published on January 31, 2023
Pages: 418
Genre(s): Paranormal Romance
Source: Author
Format: eArc
Purchase: Amazon
Rating:
Series Rating:
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And heโs chosen Persephone.
All Persephone has ever desired is control of her own life, and someone noticing her once in a while. Kept in her motherโs shadow, and overlooked by the entirety of Olympus, her dream seems impossibleโฆ and now sheโs doomed to wed a dull god of her motherโs choosingโฆ
Until she crosses paths with a handsome, dark warrior who rouses wildfire heat in her veinsโa male whose immense power is unmistakable, and who matches the fearful tales whispered in Olympusโstories of a cruel, heartless king who rules his realm of death with an iron fist.
When Hades abducts her and imprisons her in the depths of the Underworld, a dormant part of her awakens. And as she slowly discovers the truth about him, Persephone isnโt sure whether the snarling, dark beast of a king is her doomโฆ or her saviourโฆ but she knows one thingโฆ
She will embrace the fire he awakens in her with every heated glance, and every vicious growl.
And use it to tame him and forge her dreams into reality.
Because, Persephone, the quiet, gentle goddess of nature, desires a king.
And nothing will stop her from claiming his black heart.
Queen of the Underworld is a forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance novel retelling the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, and a prequel in my Guardians of Hades series. In the vein of an adult beauty and the beast, it features a grumpy-sunshine pairing that will steal your heart, with a secretly cinnamon roll hero and a secretly fiery heroine, and a powerful forever kind of love. All Guardians of Hades books have no cliffhangers, a guaranteed happily ever after, and some strong language. Enjoy!
It pains me to have to write this review, especially since the author is a favourite of mine – and Iโve enjoyed all her books that Iโve read so far. Unfortunately, Queen of the Underworld did not fall into my favourite category. I had high hopes for Hades and Persephoneโs story, but it failed to deliver as per my expectations.
The story started out with Hades dreaming of finding love like his brothers Zeus and Poseidon.ย He teleported to Olympus where he landed in a special garden. In this garden he saw the beautiful Persephone and he knew he wanted her for his queen. He approaches Zeus seeking permission to take her as his queen. When Zeus granted him his wish he kidnaps her and takes her back to his kingdom, the Underworld. The events which unfolded from this action led to many angsty moments between the Hades and Persephone.
Queen of the Underworld did not come close to what Iโve come to expect from this author. This was longest and painfully boring story Iโve read in the longest time. It took me eight excruciating days to get through this one. It would seem Iโm a sucker for punishment.ย
For the majority of the story readers are subjected to Hades and Persephoneโs insecurities, uncertainties, indecisiveness and constant woe is me internal monologue. One minute Persephone is thinking of ravishing Hades then the next she wants nothing to do with him. Hades also runs hot and cold for most of the story. At one point he is calm and then the darkness takes over and he becomes a raging monster. Now I have no problem with their insecurities, especially after learning the reasons behind them – but when the majority of the story focuses on it with nothing much else happening besides the charactersโ never ending internal monologue, then thatโs where I would have issues.
An event with one of Hades warriors had the potential to change the trajectory of the story and bring some colour into what was becoming a lack luster story. Alas, not much happened and that aspect of the story was short-lived. It wasnโt until the last couple of chapters that the story took a turn, culminating in a magical ending that would have been worthy of a great love story.
I loved the world the author created in this series and I enjoyed seeing how it all started. It was interesting seeing the Underworld and Olympus through the authorโs eyes.
Despite my disappointment with this installment, Heaton remains on my favourite authorโs list.ย
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- Blitz: Devney Perry - March 19, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Ah man, it happens even with favorite authors and series, but sorry this one was only so-so for you when you were so excited to read it.
A good honest review, Nadene.
Ooo, the hot and cold would make me crazy. I am, however, craving a pomegranate! It’s hard when books by authors we love fall flat for us. Hope her next is a five star for you.
I am sorry that this one wasn’t as good as you had hoped it would be. I hate it when it takes me that long to get through a book.