Hello everyone!
Back with another book review tonight, and once again I've fallen down the rabbit hole of Greek mythology. This happens to me every once in a while - if I'm not traipsing around Middle Earth then I'm going to be running from Cyclopses and giants with Percy Jackson.
Or, in this case, I will be learning a whole new deal about Greek gods in modern world from Kaitlin Bevis.
A while ago, I reviewed the first in her Daughters of Zeus book series, Persephone, and I do have to admit that the first one was a little so-so in my opinion. As it turns out, the second didn't exactly make it to my favourite books list, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the story at all. It just means I'm working my way through this and am going to, eventually, see light at the end of the tunnel.
Still, considering it IS about Greek gods, you know I'm going to be reading to the very end. There's just nothing that can stop me on that account, after all.
So without further ado, let's check in with our book review of the week, shall we? Daughter of the Earth and Sky, by Kaitlin Bevis.
If we recap book one VERY briefly (the link to my review can be found at the bottom of this page, as per usual with series): Persephone thinks she's just a normal teenager but actually, she's the goddess of springtime, and her mother, Demeter, has been keeping her sheltered and safe from Zeus, who for some inexplicable reason is hunting his brethren and wants his children for their powers. Naturally, this lands Persephone in trouble and in marriage with Hades, against her mother's wishes, but she finds that her mysterious husband is the only one she can fully trust. Together, they make a run through her emerging powers and stop Boreas, God of the North wind, who was trying to take Persephone to Zeus.
Now in book two, things are sort of ... so-so.
Persephone and Hades are still trying to sort out their relationship. Namely, Hades thinks he's too old for the girl and wants to keep it as platonic as possible until she's a little older than sixteen/seventeen (here I start singing Sixteen Going on Seventeen, ignore me) despite the fact he's so in love with her that it's painful to watch. Persephone, in turn, is equally in love with him but generally allows others to tell her that it's just an infatuation she'll grow out of as a goddess, because relationships between the gods are a bit different to human ones.
The entirety of the book, basically, is spent as sort of walking the wire between the life Persephone had been raised for - aka mortal - and which she wants, and the one she now needs to somehow embrace - which is being a goddess with the worshippers giving her powers beyond her control.
Hades does a good job siphoning off the excess through their connection, but still.
We spend very little time with the original Underworld gang - Cassandra, Hypnos, etc - but we DO remember that Persephone made a binding promise to one Thanatos that she will never help Hades against him.
Which is kind of a problem because Thanatos is working AGAINST Hades and with Zeus to gain control of the underworld.
Persephone can't do anything about it - nor can she SAY anything about it, and it makes her miserable and draws a wedge between her and Hades, who doesn't understand what's going on and can't see anything through their connection, either.
Of course that's not the only problem, either; Persephone is still trying to heal Orpheus' wife, unsuccessfully, and her relationships with her mother, and her best friend/high priestess Melissa are moe strained by the minute.
Not to mention that she has a weird dream about a flame-haired girl on the beach which leads to Hades and herself discovering Aphrodite where Poseidon calls them to the location.
Now, Poseidon is a whole other ballgame, and I'm kind of insulted a little bit on his behalf considering what I know of him from Rick Riordan's Jackson series, though I will admit that the whole Poseidon/Demeter thing IS a bit .... well, not cool. And not just a bit, either.
Then of course there's the fact that Hades had a thing with HERA before she married Zeus ... and you've got a melting pot of completely gaga gods and goddesses.
And me trying to sort it all out.
Aphrodite was apparently created by Zeus, which is different to how he usually gets kids these days (and a different take on her in general considering Aphrodite was in fact made, and as such is not one of Zeus's children as sometimes shown), but she's loyal to family and Persephone promises to look after her.
This results in her almost losing her best friend Melissa, getting manipulated and completely emotionally drained to a degree that she loses weight dramatically, bullying, and physical torture by the Reapers working for Thanatos who have orders to make her suffer.
Hades doesn't get it until she almost makes him swear away his power, at which point PERSEPHONE swears she will NEVER make him do it.
Pro tip: when a god swears that kind of thing, they lose all their power.
This also helps unravel everything as, having noticed how Persephone has memory gaps all over, Hades now has access to everything in her weakened state and sees just what's been going on (including but not limited to the latest Reaper attack on her; the Reaper does not make it).
They forge a plan to stop Zeus, but are caught off-guard.
Zeus had been masquerading as Joel, the "mortal" boy Persephone had sort of been going out with, and he takes Persephone captive, whisking her off before Hades can do anything about it.
Left behind is Aphrodite, who had worked with Zeus because of that fatal flaw he'd programmed into her makeup: loyalty to family, which means she will ALWAYS be loyal to them, no matter what they ask her to do - even when she knows it's wrong.
But while poor Persephone is submitted to leery suggestions and torture by lightning, Hades is prepared to tear the world apart to find her.
And THAT, my friends, is something I will be GLAD to see!
This book still had certain flaws, as in, it moved SO fast sometimes that I had a hard time keeping track, but equally it had a lot more action in some aspects and is gearing up towards number three, the last in the Persephone trilogy, which promises to be a bang. Persephone was occasionally still someone I'd love to shake a little, but I was too busy being annoyed with Melissa and her attitude than anything else - plus, I was distracted by Hades.
Let's be honest, we're all reading this just for Hades.
As for Zeus ... how can he be that much more powerful than the other gods? From my understanding, the Olympian council, or at least the original trio, Poseidon, Hades and Zeus, brothers of a sort, were on equal standing and could literally tear the world apart if they went at it. So that's a question I'd love to have answered in the third book.
All in all, however, this was an enjoyable afternoon read and didn't take too long to finish, so I recommend it if you want to see a diferent take on the Olympians!
Now, bring me book three and everything will be fine.
xx
*image not mine
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