A game of fate: Ade, Vol. 1

Hades Saga #1

by Scarlett St. Clair, Luca Sbaragli (Narrator), Marco Machera (Translator)

Prendetela, e distruggerò questo mondo. Prendetela, e vi distruggerò. Prendetela, e porrò fine a noi tutti. Ade, dio dell'Oltretomba, è noto per il suo dominio inflessibile, i night club lussuosi e i contratti impossibili. Abituato a esercitare il controllo, quando scopre che le Moire hanno scelto Persefone, dea della primavera, come sua futura moglie e regina, rimane basito. Nonostante subisca il fascino del dio dei morti, Persefone, un'ambiziosa studentessa di giornalismo, è determinata a mettere Ade alla gogna per i suoi comportamenti crudeli e spietati. La dea lo sfida a ogni passo, sebbene l'attrazione tra i due sia esplosiva. Ade si confronta con l' dimostrare che la sua futura sposa ha torto. Nonostante si impegni al massimo, esistono forze che mirano a dividerli, e si rende conto che, per conquistare il suo amore proibito, farà qualsiasi sfiderà anche il Destino.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Romantasy, Audiobook, Greek Mythology, Retellings

Audible Audio

First published September 18, 2020

About the author

International and USA Today Best Selling author Scarlett St. Clair is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and the author of the HADES X PERSEPHONE SAGA, the HADES SAGA, KING OF BATTLE & BLOOD, and WHEN STARS COME OUT.

She has a Master's degree in Library Science and Information Studies and a Bachelors in English Writing. She is obsessed with Greek Mythology, murder mysteries, and the afterlife.

If you are obsessed with these things, then you'll like her books. You can find pictures of her adorable dog Adelaide on her Instagram at @authorscarlettstclair.

Reviews

[human · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was basically just A Touch of Darkness but told through Hades' perspective.

So, naturally, everything was 100x funnier and 100x less annoying. (Basically, Hades spends the entire book being angsty and horny.)

The writing is still the same, the drama is still the same, and, of course, the smut is the same.

There was, however, an additional plotline because apparently he doesn't just simp for Persephone in his free time, and we see a lot of the other gods, too, which I enjoyed as well.

Overall, this was probably better than A Touch of Darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

why didn't they stick to the same font family as the main series??
my EYES
rtc

[• Lindsey Dahling • · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does this book add much to the plot of book 1? No.
Did I read this book for plot? Also no.

If you’re like me and reading this book for territorial, ready-for-bone-town-24/7 Hades, then hot damn will this pay off. I’m pleased. No complaints.

The book does have other charming elements:

1. It brings me life each time Hecate calls Hades an idiot.
She’s not wrong. I laugh every single time.

2. Hades’s banter with Hecate and Hermes.
The way all three of them troll each other is truly spectacular, particularly how the two of them love to gang up on Hades. 🤣😈

3. “Fucking Fates.”
Hades is really sick of their shit and I need his catchphrase engraved on my tombstone.

4. You get to see more of the other gods.
My Greek mythology knowledge begins with Disney’s Hercules and ends with the first Percy Jackson book, so this was exciting. I especially liked seeing Hephaestus. Didn’t even know he existed before reading this, so this was a very educational experience.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️ A story about how Hades’ d!ck gets hard every time Persephone walks in the room

This story added absolutely nothing of value to this series. Sure, it’s nice to have Hades POV but not when there’s hardly any depth to him. I felt like I understood his character more from A Touch of Darkness .


And the way this story was told . . . it was disjointed, often skipping from one scene to the next without any warning. I never felt like I had time to connect to what was going on before we moved onto another scene.


The romance (if you could even call if that) was nonexistent. Its was all about sex for Hades, even though we know that’s really not true. But that’s how it comes across. Every fucking time Hades sees Persephone, his dick gets hard and he’s on the verge of coming. First off, slow down buddy, she’s more than just a piece of ass. Second, it’s like the author forgot to write about their emotional connection and made their relationship entirely superficial. Plus, all the sex scenes were rushed. One minute they’re playing cards and the next he’s making her scream his name while ‘balls deep’ inside her. The way their entire relationship was written is such a turn off.


Here are just a few (ridiculous) examples of Hades getting horny:

When he sees Persephone for the first time:
"His cock grew hard, pinned against his leg and trousers."

When he thinks about Persephone:
"His head started to rush, and a warmth spread through him that went straight to his cock. He groaned; he was going to have to expel some of this energy."

When Persephone looks at him:
"She lifted her chin and narrowed those lovely eyes, and he had the fleeting thought that he would like for her to look at him like that while she rode his cock, hard and fast."

When Persephone leaves him:
"Hades teleported to his chambers, naked, cock straining, desperate for release. . . he braced himself against the table and wrapped his fingers around his swollen length, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes."

When they play strip poker:
"Lust ran through his veins, straight to his cock. . . He wanted her naked, spread before him. He wanted to be balls-deep inside her."

When he wakes up next to Persephone:
"Hades woke instantly, his cock hard."

When they have an argument:
"She crossed her arms over her chest, and he couldn’t help letting his gaze fall there. . . "
*Eyes up, buddy.

When Persephone dances:
"It wasn’t long before she approached him, eyes burning and body dripping in gold. It was something out of a fantasy, and he could not help imagining her kneeling before him to take his cock into her mouth. Already it strained, restricted by his robes."

When Persephone teaches him how to bake:
"Hades left the kitchen, disappearing down a hallway until he found the bathroom. He shut himself inside and leaned against the door, reaching into his pants and clasping his cock. He’d have much rather had Persephone’s hand on him, her mouth around him, her sex clenching his own, but this would have to suffice until they were alone. He worked himself until he came."
*This one is ridiculous. He legit has to go to the bathroom to rub one out. He couldn't wait a few hours till they were alone and could bang??? Good gods, he has no control.


Hades is a horny mofo, and honestly, it's a bit much. He's over a million years old, so why is he acting like a horny teenager? It's one thing to be desired, but an entirely different thing when it becomes a weird sexual obsession. I was really hoping for some good insight into Hades' emotional connection to Persephone, but all we got was horny Hades. I know he views Persephone as more than just something to put his d!ck in, he even says it, but there wasn't enough character development or inner dialogue for me to actually believe otherwise.


The only thing I enjoyed was the additional world building aspect i.e. learning more about the Gods, Fates and the storyline with Sisyphus. These side plots were interesting and helped explain the politics, history, and personalities of the gods of Olympus. I especially loved every encounter Hades had with Hecate, Hephaestus, and Hermes. But while I enjoyed these scenes, I was mostly reading for Hades x Persephone, and that aspect of the book sucked. . . so hence, the overall disappointment.


While this book did not live up to my expectations, I'll still continue reading the series because I’m intrigued by the general storyline and I like the world-building. Just hoping that Scarlett St. Clair finds a way to show depth between Hades and Persephone in the next books.

[Megi Bulla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un po' meno, Ade. Un po' meno.
Ok che lei è bellissima ed è tutto quello che hai sempre desiderato, però cribbio fatti una doccia fredda ogni tanto.

Bollenti spiriti a parte, questo libro mi è piaciuto più di A touch of darkness. A differenza del primo volume, qui la trama è più definita e ho trovato piacevole seguire la storia del Dio degli Inferi, tra un'anima da salvare e una da punire.

Mi è dispiaciuto vedere che alcune volte le conversazioni non fossero riportate pari pari al primo libro, ma oltre a questo è stata una lettura davvero piacevole.

Sono sicura che ognuno avrà una sua opinione riguardo a questo libro (giustamente), ma non pecco di arroganza se dico che siamo tutti d'accordo che il miglior personaggio della saga sia Ecate, vero?
Più capitoli con Ecate ed Ermes a prendere in giro Ade, grazie.

3 stelle belle piene.

[Poppyflowerjj · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐
2.5/5 🌶️

“Are you well?” GODS. I LOVE THAT. Love that…

A Touch of Darkness from Hades’s POV. This was perhaps the BEST retelling of a good book from the romantic partner's POV EVER. I've always been a big fan of the Hades and Persephone myth. Their physical attraction to each other and the Greek mythology was brilliant.

Quotes:
“Take her, and I will destroy this world. Take her, and I will destroy you. Take her, and I will end us all.”

“No one prays to the God of the Dead, my lady, and when they do, it is already too late.”

[Maditales · Rating 2 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Okay so this is a touch of darkness out of hades Perspective and yes I did really REALLY love this sometimes embarrassed, confused type of Hades but wow there were wayyyyyyyy too many sex scenes for my liking.
Do not get me wrong, the plot was there and the characters too (I especially loved how we saw the business side of Hades) but it was just a bit too much and repetitive.

[Yana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can tandem read these books, DO IT!!!

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

🌟 2.5 stars

You know when something is so bad, it’s entertaining? That’s this book. There’s nothing objectively great about it, but I also couldn’t stop reading, so I’m torn rating it.

For reference I gave A Touch of Darkness 3.5 stars. I’m being harsh on this because this book didn’t need to be written. It takes place in the exact same timeline as A Touch of Darkness but it offers NOTHING to the story. In A Game of Fate we get Hades perspective, however the books are told in third person so it could have easily been one dual POV book.

In saying that, I felt like I got more out of the story in Persephone’s perspective — Hades’ just ruined it. This book is just sex, Hades thinking about how much he wants to bang Persephone and thinking about how hard he is 24/7. Sometimes we just don’t need the male POV okay!! 😭

If you haven’t read this series you could either tandem read this with the first book or skip it entirely and go straight to a A Touch of Malice.

I’m excited to get back to my girl Persephone because I know their relationship is more than just sex but you wouldn’t think so based on this book! I love 🌶️ but I don’t need to hear the same book again in worse way.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Greek Mythology god, Hades' perfection is irresistible and tempting as hell.



“She looks so…happy,” Hades said, more to himself than anyone else, but Hecate was there to answer.
“Of course she’s happy. She just spent four years in purgatory.”
“College, Hecate,” Hermes corrected. “I think you mean college.”
“Same thing,” she shot back.



I love them.:)

Full review for book 2, jumping to it!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[paige (ptsungirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What was evil to one was a fight for freedom to another."

°•*⁀➷

I love the push and pull between Hades and Persephone no matter what version of them I am reading. It's entertaining and always incredible as far as the romance goes. This series is not the exception.

I read Persephone's perspective before I read this and wanted to give myself enough time in between to not feel like I was reading the same book for the second time when I read Hades. And I'm so glad that I did. I feel like I would have enjoyed his perspective more anyways, but with the time between, I enjoyed this so much.

I found Persephone to be very whiny and a lot of her decisions to have no true base, but when you read them from Hades side, and you see her struggle... it made it feel almost realistic (I say almost because she should have treated him better. Everyone should).

I love Hades. I love that current stories paint him as the misunderstood God with a bad reputation. I can't wait to see what he has to say about the next book... because from Persephone's side, I did not like it very much at all.

- Paige

[EMthebooktrovert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge greek mythology fan (basically anything fantasy) and I really enjoyed this author's modern retelling especially from Hades's POV. Interesting premise, characters and plot. Read this back in 2022, and I remember being captivated by the sexy, mysterious and domineering Hades. I enjoyed this more than the supposedly 'official series'.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, my first impression of this book was that Hades's PoV is cute. My second impression is that this and A Touch of Darkness should've been squished into one book, but with alternating PoVs.

The reason is that this series is a companion to the main series, and I don't think it stands that well on its own.

For example, all the jumping around. If I hadn't read the first Persephone book I'd be lost as to how the characters were suddenly in a different place, and the connection between them seems slightly less real in this one.

I did guess correctly that Hades knew Persephone was his fated lover from the start so that was nice, but he didn't always act like it.

I do want to read A Game of Retribution (I have to, in fact), and I thought I could read that one first instead of A Touch of Ruin, but judging by this book I'm not so sure...I think I'll have to read Persephone's PoV first again to get the full picture and then Hades's PoV for the fillers.

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hades has discovered what the Fates have instore for him, that Persephone is his future wife. Persephone is very strong willed and makes it quiet hard for Hades.

I did like this book, the story was good and character building was well-developed. However, after about the 6th smut scene I kind of just switched off.

A little less smut and this would have been a 4 star for me. I read this book as I received an ARC for the second book.

[Ms reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars ⭐️

I read this right after reading A Touch Of Darkness, which is Hades and Persephone’s story, told entirely from her POV . I thought this book would be essentially the same story but told from his perspective.

I don’t normally like books like this. I’ve always felt that these types of books were kind of a money grab, because it’s basically a recycled plot, just with different inner monologue. BUT I actually really loved this one! Largely because it’s NOT the same story as A Touch Of Darkness. The only parts that were the same were the parts where H & P were together, but this book had an entirely different plot from ATOD, and the plot in this one was actually WAY better than ATOD.

This book was also smuttier than ATOD. The author actually used grown up, R rated words, to describe body parts, as opposed to “centre” and “hardness” 🙄, which was one of the things that annoyed me about ATOD. There were also additional smexy scenes that weren’t in ATOD. I loved everything about this book!

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

this review is going to be the same thing i write for every book that has been rewritten from the POV of the male main character - this is really nothing new, but i obviously must enjoy the story if i am willing to read it again.

i do like how the reader gets some glimpses into the life of a god - we didnt get to see a lot of that in ‘a touch of darkness.’ i also found hades to be a much more sympathetic MC than persephone - i could relate to his decisions and feelings more.

overall, this is exactly what i expected it to be. nothing more. nothing less.

↠ 4 stars

[Karsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

For every book that's only written in one POV, we deserve the exact same book in the other POV. Thank you Scarlett for adhering to this 👏😂

[Devanshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Persephone : *exists*
Hades jr. : It's my time to RISE and shine!!!

You know how there's this joke going around about women written by male authors? This was the exact opposite. Like, this has to be the most horniest Hades in all of the history of Hades. And it's hot at first, but after a while, it's just plain creepy. And also, it sounds painful.
It should have been toned a bit down because the plot was actually intriguing but Hades's hard on was literally getting in the way of everything.
But i loved Hermes. That man/god is the best thing about this series, no matter what pov.

[Kiandra 🦋 · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ✩ ✩
Although, Hade’s pov was slightly better than Persephone’s. I just can’t with this. Nearly all of his chapters had something about being horny, get it together dude. Not to mention, for some powerful God he sure is stupid. This is also a no from me.

[Hilal Kahraman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This user is a whore for Hades

[Yeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

~3.5 stars~

If you ask what my main problem with the A Touch of Darkness series is I would say:

PERSEPHONE

so naturally, everything was 10 times better and not annoying the way Persephone thinks. in Persephone's pov, Hades were only there for just smut (I refuse to say that cringe 3 word 🤐). even though I have to admit, in here Persephone basically was the same thing Hades was in that books, I preferred the way things handled here. It was less cringy to be honest.

Also, Hades is much more compelling and complicated god that to only be occupied with Persephone's need. Here, I could see what was really going on behind Persephone's back in that series. we didn't get to see a lot of that in ‘a touch of darkness.’ I also found Hades to be a much more sympathetic MC than Persephone

So, If you ask me honestly, I would have say just go ahead and read this series instead of A Touch of Darkness. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[R Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF …. Really hypocritical main character. Doesn’t like violence against women but the woman he supposedly loves ends up indebted to him. Control is a form of violence - and saying you’re using it as a way to bring out their best/improve them….. a justification I’m sure many men use. Just ugh

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically POV switch retellings have been mostly misses for me but this one was a total hit! I loved getting Hades perspective on how things went down in A Touch of Darkness and even better it was great to see more of what some of the other Gods were up to that we had not previously seen in ATOD. More Hecate and Hermes is NEVER a bad thing imo and I really enjoyed the happenings with Aphrodite and Hephaestus as well. It was fun and surprisingly fresh and I can't wait for more!

[moniqueॱ◌̥*⃝̣ ⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5⭐️

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!!!!!
I’ve never read a Hades and Persephone retelling before and have always been curious why people love their retelling so much… and now I DEFINITELY understand why people adore them soooo much!!!

I don’t know much about their actual mythology but this retelling was to die for!!! It was so so so good! I just adore their relationship so so much and I totally get the love and adoration behind them! It was just amazing and makes me want to read all of the Persephone and Hades retellings there are!!

First of all, I know that this series is also told from Persephone’s POV but I heard that people preferred Hades’ POV over hers and while I don’t know about Persephone’s books, I absolutely loved Hades’ POV!!! He’s absolutely amazing and I just loved seeing for once only the MMC’s POV!!

His thoughts and feelings towards Persephone were just to die for!! The way he literally tried everything to change for her because he thinks she deserves only the best and even bends the rules for her?!?! Ugh it was too good to be true!! Irl men should take Hades as an example when it comes to treating women!!

Other than that he was also a very interesting character! I loved learning about his background story, his thought processes and his life as God of Death. He’s just such an interesting character and I’m honestly in love with him!!

Persephone was a bit whiny at times and tbh I didn’t like how she tried to change rules in the underworld even though she clearly had no idea how things work down there. It was a bit annoying at times but I do still like her. She’s just a very warm-hearted and nice person who tries to please everyone even though sometimes it isn’t possible to do so.

Now, to their relationship. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!! I loved their dynamic, banter, tension and chemistry so so much!! It was so well written and I honestly fell in love with these two!! They’re literally meant for one another! Also the fact that their love is (kind of) forbidden makes it so so much better and the fact that they’re opposites from each other made it even better!!!! It was just so freaking amazing I honestly can’t get enough of them!!
Also the spice in this book? Damn it was so freaking good. Like the sexual tension between these two was THICK!!!

I also loved the plot in this book! Seeing all the different Greek Gods, their roles in Olympus and Hades relationship towards them was very interesting to read about and one of the many aspects I love Greek Mythology so much!

Overall, I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and maybe find even more Hades and Persephone retellings to swoon over! So if anyone has any good recommendations, leave them in the comments down below please, thank you!! <3

[Leah City of Words and Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hades und Persephone forever! 🫶🏻
Ihre Liebesgeschichte ist so schön, verletzlich, spannend und nervenaufreibend. Den ersten Band aus der Sicht von Hades noch einmal zu erleben, hat ganz viel Spaß gemacht. In seinen Kopf gucken zu können ist sehr spannend und ganz anders, als ich es vermutet hätte. Vor allem gab es auch einige Szenen, die man aus „A Touch of Darkness“ noch nicht kennt.
Von mir eine klare Leseempfehlung.

[Kiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Hades' pure heart, such a gentleman
the way he called Persephone “darling” in his mind🤧
and he is a feminist king so😭🔥🔥😭🤭😍

[Jackie ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why do I keep trying to read spicy audiobooks? It just leaves me feeling uncomfortable and kinda grossed out.

[Δανάη Ιμπραχήμ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Game of Fate is basically A Touch of Darkness from Hades's POV. And like so many readers I liked it better. This book had more magic, more Hades interracting with other gods and we got to see how exactly he rules Underworld. We also got deep into his soul. We already knew that in St Clair's universe, Hades isn't the brutal, heartless god we've seen in other adaptations. He's actually come a long way since antiquity, cares about the souls and wishes to help those who want to be helped. Not to mention how much he hates predators and is super cute with his animals. Best Hades depiction ever!

From time to time I wished this was the main book series and not the side story. We understood better the Fates' games and how it affected his connection with Persophone. However, there were a few moments where he might seem a little obsessive, if we hadn't known how Persephone wanted to get into her pants since day one. So I guess the parallel thing is going somewhere and I'm still curious to see how the story will flourish.

P.S. I want more Aphrodite and Hephaestus if not an entire series about them. And they better fix their relationship because they adore each other and this is torture.

[Danielle (The Blonde Likes Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did really like A Game of Fate, I preferred reading Persephone's POV in A Touch of Darkness. I felt like ATOD did a great job of really building up the tension between Hades and Persephone, as well as allowing the reader to better understand how Persephone's opinions about Hades changed over time. I did appreciate seeing Hades' perspective in this book, however without understanding Persephone's mindset shift, it felt like they quickly went from "enemies" to lovers, and it made that transition feel more abrupt. That said, I still really liked the book and can't wait for A Game of Retribution!

[Aaliyah Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this one a while back (2 or so months ago) but luckily i had also read this story in persephone’s POV as well last year.

I love them both, my babes Persephone and Hades!!

This one was more political intrigue and business but with the obvious romance!

It was super interesting see this story in hades POV because damn something we didn’t get to know or see go on in persephone’s pov was so interesting

If you’re gonna read this series! highly recommend also reading hades books!

There wasn’t as much angst but i still really liked it!❤️

3.75/5⭐️

[rachel (taylor’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was basically a touch of darkness but less annoying and 100 times funnier