Flower of the Underworld

by Cirice Gray

In the depths of Elysium's Underworld, a fragile acolyte serves the faith of Lord Hades in the temple Meténeion. For Madalithea, devotion is both armor and anchor—each ritual a step further into the shadows that raised her.

But when divine attention falls upon her, she learns that some flowers bloom brightest in darkness. Flower of the Underworld is a tale of mortal metamorphosis and divine attention, where even the most delicate bloom must explore how devotion—to gods, to lovers, to oneself—can both wound and heal.

186 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2025

Reviews

[Jayla Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly strong and polished character writing - this is an easy and obvious recommendation for anyone who's read The Hades Calculus and wants more work that feels like it expands both the world and its themes. I especially want to praise the dialogue, which I felt maintained an impressive balance between typical prose writing (meaning, people delivering lines with perfect dramatic timing and gravitas) and occasionally lapsing into a more authentic voice, with characters fumbling for the right words to describe their inner turmoil. I know it isn't uncommonly done, but it IS uncommon that I actually pause to fully appreciate it in the moment, like I did while reading this novella.

The only thing keeping this from being a "true" 5-star rating for me (I'd give it around a 4.8) is how much I wanted the story to keep going, and I agree with another review here that I would've preferred to end back in Mada's POV. I'm thrilled to hear that there's more to come and can't wait to see what else this author has in store!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story set in the Gunmetal Olympus universe, extending on the story presented in the Hades Calculus novel. This story follows an acolyte of Hades, Madalithea, as her life changes once the divinity she worships turns its gaze upon her.
The writing style is nice and I really enjoyed Mada’s character, especially in the beginning. She carries a deep hurt from childhood abuse and it was interesting to see how she deals with that trauma. The romantic/erotic aspects of the story play a big role and it was really intriguing to see a transfem character, who struggles with atrophy and still has an active sex life. I also found Mada’s asthma an intriguing aspect, the limitations it places on her life clear and harrowing.
I wish there had been a bit more time spent to build up Mada’s backstory in the beginning, instead of the POV change to her mother’s perspective in the end, which I found less interesting than Mada’s own perspective on her childhood. At points the various people interested in Mada also seemed a bit disjointed, as if this had been written as various short stories to explore her character, instead of as one single journey (I kept waiting for Dionysus to be brought back up, but that didn’t really happen). I did like that Mada had friends/jealous humans on her side as well, that made her life outside of her interactions with the Gods/God-Chosen a bit more fleshed out and I liked that.
Definitely still a really interesting story set in this universe, expanding the world a bit more towards the mortal side and especially the worshippers side of things. It also embraces this mortal whose life gets a lot more complicated after the Gods pay attention to her vibe of Greek myth very well, which was lovely. I also like an ending that is terribly bittersweet, like this one has been, so I enjoyed reading it. All in all, definitely an author I will be looking forward to reading more from!

TW: child abuse, dubious consent (dream/Greek god logic), illness, shame

[Samrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this, especially for a first novel. I think it's uneven in a way that does evoke its origin as an anthology of shorts, to the point where I fully thought it was a round robin. There's something about the style that evokes fanfiction very strongly, separate entirely from its generic status. I did not care for the ending not being from Mada's perspective, but want to let the book sink in more before really deciding how I feel about this.

I look forward to reading more work by the author.