So this is a Hades and Persephone reimagining I've wanted to read for a long old time now, and it certainly didn't disappoint. With a mafia romance slant and MCs with a taste for each other's blood, it's everything you'd hope for from this particular sub sub-genre. And yet, there's something I can't quite put my finger on that's missing.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest draw in this book is our MMC Kal. Fulfilling all of the usual morally grey personality traits we love, he's very appealing and enjoyable to read about. Likewise, our FMC Elena also lives up to her role as this world's version of Persephone (apart from the fact she's awful at gardening!) and, while she can come across as petulant and bratty, she too slots nicely into the roster. But theree in itself I think is part of my issue; there's nothing that really makes them unique, or stand apart from the crowd. 

The narrative flows very well and goes at a nice even pace, making it easy to read, digest and enjoy. It is dark in some respects, but I'd place this more at the 'baby dark' end of the spectrum - there are some depictions of mob justice, but it's mostly inferred rather than graphic. There are a few moments where I felt the plot got a little tangled up in itself, like the author was trying to juggle too many ideas in the space of one book, so there are a couple of plot points that I essentially just let wash over me. However, I didn't find it that detrimental to the reading experience.

I also like the callbacks to the myth, and Greek tragedy etc in general. There's plenty of poetry references too which, although I'm not a huge fan of poetry, really helped with the emotion and gave Kal a way to express himself more softly. Plus it's a great foil to his 'touch her an d!e' moments! In spots, the writing itself was almost poetic and it gave even more depth to Kal and Elena's feelings for one another. Some of it is totally swoonworthy!

The version I've got is the reissued, 'traditionally' published edition, meaning it's full of extras including a bonus epilogue, colour art, author's footnotes and the prequel novella (which I will come back to shortly). The author's footnotes are lighthearted and give a little bit of an insight into the process behind writing the story, and it was cute to read them as I went along. Part of me was expecting them to pull focus, but actually they do add a little bit more enjoyment. The bonus epilogue is a nice little extra segue into the next book in the series, and I can't help but love the "bad guy becomes a softie when he becomes a parent" trope.

As for that "prequel"... that in itself is a good read, but the author's introduction to it and other author's notes are contradictory, which bugged me. At the front of the book, it states that you may find the novella prequel helpful for context, but it's placed at the back of the book. There is also a footnote in the main story that suggests this. However, when you flick to the back to start reading it, the author's intro implies that it "didn't fit" at the front of the book because it was written separately and without the H&P myth in mind. Except the characters refer to each other as Hades and Persephone within the novella, and it is a genuine prequel which can be read without fear of incurring spoilers. I read it after the main book, but actually I feel like it does give some good context to the world and characters, and I do kind of wish I'd read it first...

I'll be interested to see how the other stories in the series are tied together as my understanding is they are interconnected standalones. And I will be reading the rest of the series - of course I can't stay away from Greek myth retellings!