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Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite
Olympian Confessions: Hades and Persephone by Erin Kinsella finds Persephone stuck in the security of her home on Olympus, with her mother, the goddess Demeter, constantly watching over her, and her only friends being the nymphs selected to look out for her. She's determined to prove herself as more than Demeter's daughter. When she gets the chance to attend a festival, she catches the attention of the last person she expects: the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. When Hades sees Persephone for the first time, he doesn't expect to be so drawn to her. As the two of them become closer, Demeter grows angrier and the mortals suffer in her wrath as their crops die. Persephone is determined to prove that she's capable of bringing life back to the mortals and a new future to the Underworld.
Demeter is one of the main antagonists against Persephone, fully believing that Hades is as bad as Zeus and Poseidon, and blaming him for everything they have done. She has a controlling and wrathful nature, but Erin Kinsella gives her many layers, and draws sympathy for the character and that allows for a certain amount of understanding of her actions. However, Kinsella makes it very clear who the villains of the story are. Hades and Persephone's love is something sweet in the darkness of this world of gods, finding happiness even during tragedy and the brewing of war. On the surface, Olympus has always been seen as a paradise, but it's clear that this isn't a paradise as Zeus and other gods are truly the villains playing with women and mortals like toys.
Olympus is a place where Persephone feels suffocated and trapped, using the Underworld as a means to escape, but it's also a place where real beauty is found. It's a place where she finds love and a home. One of the amazing parts of the story is how the daemons are flipped, and aren't evil; instead they're friends and allies, with Evaristus being one of the sweetest characters. Hades and Persephone is an amazing read for those that obsess over mythology retellings, one that's beautifully written with a sweet twist of a love story, the darkness of the gods, and a strong-willed Persephone who becomes the hero the gods need.
