viscountess_black's Reviews (427)

OMG, this is getting better by the minute

Short and sweet.
It's one of those stories you can listen to while knitting beside a fire. It's cosy and warm.

Finally finished it.
What to say about it? I absolutely despise the ending couples, the endings of the characters, how Natasha and Sonya could have such an awful life at the end. Pierre too. I kind of liked him at the beginning, two books later, I don't anymore. I loved the political and socio-cultural analysis of Tolstoy and his descriptions of the war, tho. It was interesting to read the development and end of the war through the author's eyes.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's genius, it's well written and I fell in love with the characters, but suffered with and for them too. It's a big yes for The Secret History fans.

In Midnight Ruin we follow the story of Eurydice, sister of Persephone, now living and making her life in the lower city, where Hades reigns. Here she gets to know herself in various aspects of her life, yes, including the sexual one (this book IS spicy). We have a beautiful yet coddled (and because of that, uncomprehended) heroine, her best friend (the extra hot Head of Security of Hades, which already makes things complicated) and her ex, the artist that broke her heart.

Let's start with what I did like: I was so surprised at how open the author is concerning sexuality and gender fluidity, it's amazing to see the characters being not only accepted for their own preferences but just being a part of the community, no questions asked. Just existing and coexisting like the human beings that they are. This book is a big yes for the LGTBQ+ community, and I LOVE that.

Now, let's go with my personal opinion:

I am going to be honest. I didn't like it AT ALL.

At first I thought this was going to be a Greek retelling (if you've read Natalie Haynes' books or The Song of Achilles, you'll understand what I mean) BUT it couldn't be more different. Silly me, I didn't thought of checking before and I got surprised when I noticed this book is in fact the book number six of the Dark Olympus series. Honestly, silly me. I don't have anything against the series or even the author, it's just that it didn't appeal to me. It kind of reminded me of my first teenage books, because it reminds me (the vibes of it) of Beautiful Disaster. Yes, I know it's not the same. Yes, I know it doesn't compare. I just mean THE VIBES.

I thought it was going to be something completely different and that affected how I read the book, I struggled to come to terms with it. Still, I don't think it's a bad book, it just a book for me. I'd say you give it a chance, you never know and you might like it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Katee Robert for giving me a free digital copy of this book to review.

Edit: I simply love this book. It's 2:21 a.m. and I should be sleeping because I work tomorrow, but I needed to finish it.

An excellent adaptation with a few added scenes that make the book the more enjoyable.
I loved every minute of it.

I FINALLY finished it.
Damn, that feels good. It's a good story, excellent world building. Just. Excessive. Description.
Or at least, that's what it seemed to me and why it took me so much to finish it. Still, I'm curious about the fates of all the characters.