Out of the Shadows: A Greek goddess retelling

by Fan T. C.

For a century, Persephone has lived among mortals—hidden, sheltered, and unaware of her true nature. Her mother insists she’s human, gifted only with a mysterious longevity. But divinity can’t be denied forever, and Persephone is beginning to awaken.

Then he a stranger cloaked in shadows and secrets, unraveling everything she thought she knew.

As her powers surge and the truth comes to light, Persephone faces a devastating truth—if she ever falls in love, a curse will destroy her family… and claim her life.

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2025

About the author

Fanny Teresa Crispin (aka FanTC) is a YA fantasy fiction author. Books captured her imagination at a young age when her mother used to read to her at night, but it wasn’t until her high school years that she began writing her own stories. Some 20 odd stories later, her friends convinced her to publish, so she began the long journey to putting herself in print. In 2014, she published her first novel CLOCKWORK DREAMS. Since then, she has published SIR IVAN’S TRAIN; DRAGON KING and the sequel WIZARD RING.

Reviews

[shawn murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the Shadows by Fan T. C. A fast enjoyable story about a retelling of Persephone and Hades.

Persephone is hidden and unbeknownst to her she has great powers but has been cursed. She is not allowed to fall in love.

Smart buildup and flow to the story. I really liked this book, good writer.

[Keri Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the only modern romance I rated 4 stars. I'm not much into romance, but I do like Fan T. C's novels and decided to give this a shot.
     Sooooo, not into the romance, but the story was still interesting. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a completely original way to retell Persephone and Hades story, but it FELT original to me. It read very smoothly, and I really enjoyed the unknown (to me) tidbits of lore (not sure if it was all Greek or a mixture of other cultures too. I'm not that versed in it to know). I really enjoyed how the author wrote the story. It all blended so well together, and the author did such a great job building her world to feel so .... Like...real? I mean, this is a world with gods and magic and all the works, but it read almost like it was common place, like these things are real to these ppl, so when it happens it's surprising but not blow your mind shocking. Which definitely gave it a stronger sense of realism and made it feel less fantasy--almost. Or maybe it's just me. I read a lot of fantasy so I could just be getting numb to it. Lol.
The characters are all quite fun and party-goers. I suppose that fits with the typical greek "god" type. (They sure did seem to have nothing going on but parties or bloody feuds). The story keeps a steady pace. Nothing particularly gripping happens and the conflict gets resolved (or somewhat resolved) fairly quickly, but this is a rooooooomaaaaance so it stays pretty true to its genre.
All in all, I give it a solid four stars for an interesting take on the original Hades and Persephones (although, my darker side much prefers the evil dark lord kidnapping beautiful innocent girl type of story heh heh heh), for lively characters, and for actually giving purpose for the gods in the afterlife. 
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys greek mythology and romance, but especially to those who like romance.