King: A Dark Hades & Persephone Retelling

by Kate Bonham

From bestselling author Kate Bonham comes another spine tingling retelling.

Halen has always been cast out as the unmentionable son of his rich father and socialite mother.
His older brother Zane has always been the most desired, and when his father decided to retire, everything went to
Zane.

For years, Halen harbored nothing but ill will to his brother, hatching a scheme to bring him and his entire inherited empire down.
Then...he finds someone who will be the very one to bring Zane to his knees.

Kidnapping Zane's young lover, Halen has everything he ever needs to defeat his brother once and for all.

Or so he thinks...he had no idea he would fall for the young beauty, and reveal a dark side to the woman who would test everything
he ever thought he wanted.

Now, he's the one with something to lose...

A dark Hades and Persephone retelling with a modern mafia story.
There may be some triggering scenes in this story. Please proceed with caution.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Mythology

206 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2023

About the author

Kate grew up in Western Sydney, in Australia, and remains there today. She has always loved the written word, being influenced by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, JR Ward and Anne Rice, she ventured into writing at a young age.

Finally taking the plunge in 2016 and publishing for the first time. Ever since, she’s been trying to bring the worlds she’s created in her head to the page for everyone else to enjoy as much as she does.

When she’s not writing, she’s looking after her bevvy of pets including snakes, lizards, axolotls, birds, a turtle and a dog with her husband Kyle.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

mind blown!

5⭐️
3🌶️

I love Greek Mythology and Hades and Persephone have always been one of my favorite stories.

Well Halen and Paisley certainly did the retelling justice. Halen was dark, broody and dangerous and I loved that Paisley was just as ready to kick some serious a$$.

The characters were great but it was the plot that totally blew me away. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen Kate completely blew me away.

I won’t give anything away but just wow! What a twisted and unpredictable story— in the best way!

Definitely worth the read!

[Ebony Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Hades & Persephone retelling. I didn't know it was a retelling until the pomegranate tree; that's when it all clicked. Crime lords in place of gods. A city of corruption and greed.
What was missing for me was retribution. I needed to see Daniela suffer a long, slow, and painful reaping for what she did. But I'm glad the pomegranate tree survived.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had all my favourite tropes. Reading this book was easy, the world building was good without being complicated and the story line flowed from character to character. I'm also a sucker for a Hades and Persephone romance 😘 who knew I'd be into Percy as well.

[Fiona Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5 stars

Zane and Halen are brothers, but any thoughts of brotherly love was blown out the water many years before this story takes place. Zane was too much like his father for Halens liking, so he mainly stays out of his way. Living in his underground palace Halen rules his kingdom with a fair hand, unless crossed.

For years the brothers have managed to live apart with no issues. However it soon becomes clear that plans are afoot to banish Halen from his kingdom. He has to come up with a plan to avoid this at all costs.

The plan, kidnapping someone Zane is close to, leads to no end of problems for both brothers.

The story is a dark one, be warned, but it’s a good one. So good in fact that I read it in one sitting. What the characters go through isn’t nice, but everything happens for a reason.

You will never look at a pomegranate in the same way once you have read this story

[Alex Bergland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Hades and Persephone retellings which is the only think that stopped me from DNF'ing this one. I really wish I did. The author never took the time to develop the relationship, so I didn't care about either character and certainly didn't care about their love story. The book felt like a couple of scenes written than loosely tied together to form a book. The "twist" was super bad and generally the entire book lacked personality. Not good in any way.

[Kailynn Rene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halen & Paisley

Oh how I love Hades- Persephone retellings. This one was beautifully done with a HEA (for now I feel). I definitely can't wait to read the next book and see where their story goes next, with how this book left off. Packed with twists I didn't see coming (especially in regards to Paisleys past and just how connected they are).

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Brittany Metcalf · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars....I got through this book really quickly, and I enjoyed both of the main characters' perspectives. This is a dark Hades and Persephone retelling, and it definitely gets pretty dark, so I would look up trigger warnings if you plan on reading this. I enjoyed the writing, and I'm looking forward to picking up more from this author!

[Lauren Cashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An all-consuming story with subtle references to the Underworld which I loved. The characters, the story, the world building was great. It was a shorter read compared to other books but it made me all the more obsessed. Yhere were a few grammar errors but that would be my only negative about this book!

[Lauren Darlington · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a self proclaimed Greek mythology nerd and love everything to do with Hades & Persephone retellings. This one fell flat. The characters weren’t developed, their relationship felt rushed and then also underdeveloped. I didn’t care about either of them and didn’t care how the story ended, which is highly unlikely me.

[Alice Bloomfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An interesting take on the Hades and Persephone myth. I enjoyed that some of the themes are the same but the names aren’t the same. The writing is good and the spice is pretty great. Very keen to see this author at a book signing later this year!

[Ashlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

King is a lovely adaptation of hades x persephone. With cruel parents, manipulation and a stubborn FMC. It has a good solid plot with spice but it needs little bit of editing and polishing.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5
Quick read on a retelling of Hades and Persephone
Check trigger warnings on topics and content

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise, this was a unique retelling. The plot was good but the ending felt super rushed.

[Isobel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abdicate.