This book was painstakingly stupid. Like so stupid it gave me pain. Why you may ask? Well I'm here to tell you why, or else why did you click on my review?


Retelling(s) - Hades and Persephone


The Terrible Writing


What I want to know, is wtf is this writing? This writing is so flowery, that I wanted to puke. And the fucking metaphors, God the metaphors.


'“I wanted a love thick with time, as inscrutable as if a lathe had carved it from night and as familiar as the marrow in my bones. I wanted the impossible, which made it that much easier to push out of my mind.”'


'"I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams," he said, brushing his lips against my knuckles. "I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars." He moved closer and a chorus of songbirds twittered silver melodies. I want to measure eternity with your laughter."'


'“What I wanted was a connection, a shared heartbeat that kept rhythm across oceans and worlds. Not some alliance cobbled out of war. I didn’t want the prince from the folktales or some milk-skinned, honey-eyed youth who said his greetings and proclaimed his love in the same breath. I wanted a love thick with time, as inscrutable as if a lathe had carved it from night and as familiar as the marrow in my bones. I wanted the impossible, which made it that much easier to push out of my mind.”'


'“I know emptiness. I know the taste of blood against my teeth. I know what it is to fill your belly with iron. I know hunger. I know pain. I know memories that won’t stay. I know the ghost of life and the perfume of souls.”'


'“I take inspiration where I can, and devour it in one piece like I'm starving. Not because I think it's something fleeting that will never return but because I think the best inspiration is the kind that makes you feel urgent. Like you're racing against yourself to get a story on the page while you still remember what that magic feels like.”'


AND THOSE ARE JUST EXAMPLES!


Imagine reading a book with metaphors like that (that make no fucking sense may I add), on every other page.


TERRIBLE ROMANCE


So our girl, Maya is being forced to marry a guy, ok? Get that. And here is exactly what she says after she finds out she's forced to marry a guy:


There was another sorrow, tucked beneath my surprise. Although I had never envisioned marriage, I had thought of love. Not the furtive love I heard muffled in the corners or rooms of some of the harem wives. What I wanted was a connection, a shared alliance cobbled out of war. I didn't want the prince from the folk-tales or sim milk-skinned, honey-eyed youth who said his greetings and proclaimed his love in the same breath. I wanted a love as thick and as familiar as the marrow in my bones. I wanted the impossible, which made it that much easier to push out of my mind."'


Obviously, she's pretty sad, and maybe even a little pissed about this alliance, couldn't we all agree? NOT EVEN, NOT EVEN 100 fucking pages later she's completely 'enraptured' in Mr. "I can give you worlds'. And how she justifies this pull to marry this dude you may ask?


'"Something else guided my hands.'"


Oh give me a fucking break.


And then, it gets fucking worse. And you know why? Because our alpha male love interest (with dare I say, NO PERSONALITY) is a cheese ball, with the cringiest lines you can conjure.


'“I love you," he murmured into my hair. "You are my night and stars, the fate I would fix myself to in any life.”'



“No matter where we are, we’ll always share the same sky. We can always find each other in the same constellation.”



“The truth,” said Amar, taking a step closer to me, “is that you look neither lovely nor demure. You look like edges and thunderstorms. And I would not have you any other way.”



“My star-touched queen,” he said softly, as if he was remembering something from long ago. “I would break the world to give you what you want.”



“Then what do you want from me?"
"I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams," he said, brushing his lips against my knuckles.
"I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars." He moved closer and a chorus of songbirds twittered silver melodies.
"I want to measure eternity with your laughter." Now, he stood inches from me; his rough hands encircled my waist.
"Be my queen and I promise you a life where you will never be bored. I promise you more power than a hundred kings. And I promise you that we will always be equals.”


And finally


“'You know nothing about me."
"I know your soul. Everything else is an ornament.”'


*GAGS*


Next, our weak, idiotic main character named Maya.


God, Maya is such a weak bitch. She has no backbone, and no personality and God she's STUPID! For example:

"'Do these past days mean nothing?" he asked, so gently that my weak self curled around his words. But I would no longer be weak.'


And I was thinking, oh thank God she's finally growing some back bone. But not even two paragraphs later she says this:


"'My promises were true. You seek to punish an illusion without fully knowing. What were your kisses, them? Vengeance?"
The wall of flames shimmered away. Anger still flared inside me, but now it was mixed with something else. Something I couldn't push away, despite fury. Want.'


Never mind then.


And when I mean stupid, Jesus I mean stupid. I can't say much, because spoilers, but please take my word for it.


And finally, The Plot


And honestly, I can't say much about the plot, because there isn't one. Or if their was I couldn't see. And even though their isn't a plot, I felt like everything was going over and over and over again. It was repetitive.


Anyways, I'm super dissapointed in this book. I've really wanted to like [a:Roshani Chokshi|13695109|Roshani Chokshi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544538355p2/13695109.jpg] as an author. I really tried to like this book too. But I don't, and I just don't think she's the author for me.

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Get ready for my rant review, coming soon