Infernal

Shadow Guild: Hades & Persephone #1

by Linsey Hall

A dark god rises...

As a librarian in the most gorgeous library in the world, I'm living my book nerd dreams. The hallowed halls are my haven, until the specter of a dark god begins to haunt my days and nights.

When he kidnaps me, the lethally beautiful god gains a name: Hades. That should make me Persephone, but I’m no goddess. So why does he want me?

While I'm trapped in his castle, I set out to discover what his deadly plans entail. When I learn what he wants me for, I'll do whatever it takes to escape, including seducing the brooding dark god. Yet there’s more to him than I realized. More to us. Despite the cracks that I put in his armor, he still wants me for a darker purpose--something that would bring about the end of the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Paranormal, Retellings, Fantasy Romance, Greek Mythology

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2020

About the author

Follow me!

For giveaways, contests and book discussion join my Facebook group
here!




Before becoming a writer, Linsey was an archaeologist who studied shipwrecks in all kinds of water, from the tropics to muddy rivers (and she has a distinct preference for one over the other). After a decade of tromping around in search of old bits of stuff, she settled down to start penning her own adventure novels and is freaking delighted that people seem to like them. Since life is better with a little (or a lot of) magic, she writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Reviews

[Lucie V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

✅ Hades and Persephone retelling
✅ Gorgeous cover
✅ Magic
🆗 Pace
🆗❌ Characters
🆗❌ Very convenient plot
🆗❌ Underdeveloped world-building
❌ Romance? Can it even be called romance?

Meh. 1.5 stars I guess...

Infernal is a retelling of Hades and Persephone’s myth, with all the basic elements. Seraphia has light plant magic, while Hades has dark shadow magic and is as cold as the Arctic. When Hades kidnaps Seraphia from the library where she works, and brings her to the Underworld because she’s “the pawn” he needs to accomplish his mysterious quest, Seraphia decides to try to use him instead to find a cure for her dying friend. I honestly gave this book a chance mostly because of its cover, and because I do enjoy a good Hades and Persephone retelling, but this one did not deliver. The pace is too fast, the dialogues are awkward, the “romance” has no sexual tension or chemistry, and the “action” leaves much to be desired.

Dark magic was devoid of goodness. It served only itself, an instrument of pain, destruction, and oppression. It was used for evil, selfish purposes. Whereas light magic was all that was good or even neutral in the world.

The world-building, and characterization are lacking, sadly. It is explained in the first few chapters that the Guild is a supernatural town within London, and it’s a haven for supernatural beings such as vampires, faes, mages, seers, and werewolves (to name only a few). I have to say though that we do not see many supernatural beings besides Seraphia and two of her friends that can do magic. Some pieces of information that seem relevant are just dropped here and there, without further explanation.

The magic system seemed interesting; each person has a magic signature that is linked to the 5 senses. The more powerful the magic is, the more senses will be touched by its signature… But that’s about all we know of the magic system. Things are told, but not shown, and the descriptions are quite basic. The pace was also pretty fast, making it hard to really get immersed in the story, especially considering all the potential there was for intricate world-building with The Guild and Hades’ realm.

My terrible, wonky plant magic went out of control anytime I felt strong emotion. Trees died, vines grew seven hundred feet long, entire crops would wither.
(…)
Caring for people was a surefire way to develop emotions, which was a surefire way to cause catastrophic damage to the natural world.

Seraphia has nature magic that is linked to her emotions. Unpredictable results happen whenever she is feeling a strong emotion. Seraphia’s grandmother warned her to hide her magic and be careful, or he would find her. Does she have a mother or father figure present in her life? What are her goals in life? What are her dreams? I still have no clue… Her character is unidimensional and sadly a little annoying too.

Despite his otherworldly beauty, there was no humanity behind his eyes.
Though he appeared to be made of flesh and bone, I’d bet anything there was nothing but cold, hard glass beneath the black armor covering his broad shoulders and chest, a strange matte metal that twisted with tiny, glowing silver symbols.

I was a riot of emotion around her. Useless, weak emotion. Anger. Frustration. Desire. I hated how it distracted me. Distorted my thoughts. Things had been ordered before she’d arrived. Disciplined.

Hades is all dark and cold and he too lacked depth. Hades, who never had any sensations or emotions, just suddenly felt all mushy and weird when he was with Seraphia. He seems to be conflicted and to struggle with these new sensations he feels, but I felt no chemistry at all between him and Seraphia. How am I supposed to believe that she is the one that allows him to feel the warmth and even emotions when their interactions are stilted and very much awkward? There is no chemistry at all between them, and even their “hate” felt weak.

I was a game piece in a deadly competition I didn’t understand.

All Hades needed was to keep Seraphia alive long enough for her to fulfill her purpose and he then planned on getting rid of her, but somehow, she unravels all his cold and unfeeling persona in a few days. He is a few centuries old but gets all flustered and unsettled because he read a few pages from an erotic book Seraphia was reading. He did not give a shit about her, but then suddenly he imagined himself on his knees and pleasuring her… It was not an insta-lust relationship exactly, but it was honestly very close to it in my opinion, and I am not a fan of insta-love or insta-lust at all.

Then, there is the fact that Hades is portrayed as a part-time idiot. The fact that he is on this big quest of his because the shadows told him what to do does not make him appear very clever. He just listens to the shadows, even though he has no clue about their provenance, or how they know what to do. He is also a lying and manipulative god, which is not a surprise, but some twists that should have been surprising were not because we could see them coming from the very start.

He stood stock still, his gaze on my face, not even bothering to look at the dress that felt suddenly too tight.
Oh, fates, this had been a bad plan. He was God of the Underworld, possessed of a soul that was so frozen over it probably didn’t even exist anymore. His entire being was ice, from core to surface. And I thought I’d woo him to my side with a skimpy dress?
Yeah, right.

The relationship between Seraphia and Hades was really awkward at first. Seraphia decided to try to seduce Hades in hopes of being able to escape or learn relevant information, but the dialogues between them were often awkward. They both tried to lie and manipulate the other, creating a few rounds of “I betray you” / “you betray me”, but I felt no angst or tension. It just added length to the book and everything could have been achieved much quicker, and with more logical solutions too.

Seraphia often behaved or had reflections about Hades and Lucifer (yes, Lucifer is somehow involved in the story, but I still don’t know why he’s there since he brings nothing to the plot) as if she knew them and their personality, after spending a few minutes with each of them. She was so confident that she could see right through them, but also that she could be sneaky without them knowing about it… I did not enjoy her overconfidence because it felt as if it came from a lack of life experience instead of real knowledge. It felt like a brash 16 years old running headfirst into danger without taking the time to think, rather than a grown-up being able to read and understand people and the ability to plan a sound strategy.

“You dare to bargain with the king of hell?”
“I’ll dare anything.”

I am not sure if Seraphia was being brave or dumb during the first half of the book. She kept on provoking and goading Hades, without a care about the fact that he was very powerful and did not care about her at all. Honestly, this “badass” side of her annoyed me. I love strong and snarky heroines, but in her case, I did not get the feeling that Seraphia was a strong badass woman, just that she was impulsive and reckless, trying to show how tough she was, even though it was a stupid course of action.

Most of the important information Seraphia learns in Hades’ realm is just conveniently dropped into conversations, or conveniently overheard while other people were talking about it. Doors are surprisingly, but very conveniently, unguarded and unlocked, people are helping her even if it means risking their lives for a stranger, just because she asked and said please.

Overall, I am disappointed by that book, mostly because of the lack of chemistry between the two main characters, the too-fast pace, the very convenient plot, the underdeveloped world-building and weak characterization, and the MC that was annoying me most of the time… The one thing that redeemed Seraphia a teeny tiny bit is that she loves books. Besides that, she’s bland and boring…


Follow me on Instagram 🙂

[Christy Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Infernal is a twist on the Hades and Persephone myth, which should be good. While I always thought the myth was creepy, I figured a twist on it might be good. Honestly, this doesn’t do it for me.

The basics are here: kidnapping, light of Persephone, dark of Hades, pomegranates, the Underworld. Unfortunately, the characterization, world-building and description are seriously lacking. This is the first book in a fantasy series, but I really don’t know the rules of this world. The characters live in Guild City, a hidden magical city in London, and a bunch of tiny details are dropped into the narration (people can be brought back to life, there are shape shifters, there are different kinds of magic). We are told all these things but they aren’t shown to us. There are muddled elements, like the addition of Lucifer and the fact that Tartarus sounds more like Hell than it should. I wish Hall had done more research. Hades is NOT the lord of Hell.

She could have built the relationship between Seraphia and Hades but she wastes time on a library, friends back home (Why not a mom figure? Where is Demeter?), sneaking around to eat protein bars and what feels like a random fight with Zeus (who HATED to go to the Underworld and sent Hermes in his place instead). There are so many things Hall could have taken from the ancient myths to help her be inspired, but the lack of research shows in the lackluster development in plot and characters. She spent most of her effort on two romantic interludes, so there’s that. So much potential wasted.

[ren ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was my first Linsey Hall book. Infernal is a good start to what looks to be a promising series. I enjoyed the writing style and its unique blend of different mythological characters and fantasy creatures. The inner conflict Hades was battling was intriguing and the female protagonist was also really badass!

However, I felt like the dialogue was really stagnant and awkward at points, especially in the first half. The minor characters fell flat and lacked dimension. So in other words, because I didn't care for the characters, the stakes weren't high enough for me to get completely invested.

The pacing of the story was too fast for my liking. And given the intricacies and complexities of a world with so many different species and characters, I was expecting more world building.

Despite these criticisms, I'm a still a sucker for Hades and Persephone retellings and will probably continue with this series and see where the author takes Hades and Seraphia.

Rating: 3/5

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this is the first of a series, the whole thing is part of a bigger "Shadow Guild" series. And they're structured such that I'd recommend reading the other series (The Rebel) first.

So this was a huge disappointment. I knew I was in trouble when we got our first Hades PoV. That guy is an unrepentant snot and I didn't care for him, even a little bit. The author does a bit of light/dark metaphor stretching and then makes Hades all dark, actively courting "the shadow" that tells him things we can already tell are lies that he nevertheless believes. So he's serving evil because it's good at lying, more or less.

I'm glad I slept on it before reviewing because it gave me time to figure out why I was so disquieted by the story. And I think it comes down to the author manipulating Hades to be an idiot. He's such a giant jerk that it nearly slipped by me. I mean, he's a lying, manipulating bastard at the best of times. And he even telegraphs his betrayal by us being in his head when he makes a promise he has no intention of keeping. So when Seraphina fulfills her end of a bargain and he goes "nope, hahahah" it wasn't a shock. Only it should have been a shock! Because him refusing to deliver on that promise is the linchpin of all of the conflict.

I mean, Seraphina is kind of softening to him. She's not really all that eager to return to her home. And if it weren't for her friend dying and needing help only Seraphina can provide it's even odds that she'd have stayed just to hang out with the hottie that respected her (if explicitly only for her power and what she could do for him). So if he had delivered on his promise, a promise that would cost him literally nothing, all of her resistance would have melted away to practically zero. But no. He's a lying bastard because the author chose to make him a senseless idiot so we get a couple of rounds of betray-you betray-me, instead.

So yeah, this story is dumb. Hades is dumb. I would hate the light/dark metaphor made manifest anyway. But adding stupid to it drove me to subterranean levels of disinterest. And hey! I can tell I've reached the end of what I have to say because now I'm making underworld jokes. Sigh.

A note about Steamy: There's some minor, but explicit, sex in the story. It's just barely enough to trip my steamometer, so the very lowest of my steam tolerance.

[Naia Pard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad book.
I have to start like this, as a reminder to myself that a book does not write itself and the author had clearly put some effort into it.

However:
“The twisting vines that crept up my arm from wrist to elbow were magical markings I’d been born with but liked to keep hidden.”

A library with animated books and swirling dark vines as a tattoo. Does this sound familiar, yet? (House of Earth and Blood, A Court of Thorns and Roses)
But who am I to complain if certain aspects seem to coincide with other motives that have appeared in other (quite popular) books? After all, it all comes down to writing your true self and bringing your truth to the page.

“Powerful supernaturals had all five signatures. This guy . . . A sixth sense needed to be invented to accommodate the sheer force of him.”

Give me a break. Why do they all the time have to be the most out of everything? I would like to see a male love interest that does not have to be literally the god of death and then some more to fill the top of the list as a respectablelove interest in fantasy. (for more references A Deadly Education).

Truth be told, it is my fault that I keep returning to retellings of Persephone and Hades only to then write reviews of two-three stars about them after barely (begrudgingly) making through the entire novel.

I can`t help myself!
I get bored and I can't just read Shakespeare before bed, can I?

This book, like many of her genre is about this girl that is kidnapped by a dark and mysterious presence into his realm in which he is the god over death---because what could be more sketchy than that?
The rest of the book is about this girl failed attempt at trying to not have feelings for the sketchy king and failing splendidly at it. Really, the enjoyment of the raeder seems to be retracted at this point from the much awaited defeat of the captive—that gets to be truly in love god forbid to spot some Stockholm symptoms in her manifestation.

The particularities that made this books were:
-the girl had any other name but Persephone
--she did not know she was a goddess
--she has a brutal/violent relationship with Hades (almost leaning towards “daddy issues”)
--she uses the excuse of saving her friend as a reason for vengeance against the god
--she does not make any friends in the underworld
--she is a bit of a bore
--she is common (like many other Persephones of many other similar books).

“The plant in front of him vibrated, as if it were responding to my anger. The vines trembled and twisted, and I could feel them waking up from their long slumber. Connecting with me. I let the rage fuel me, feeding it into the plant.”
This was a quote that represents her inability to fit as a goddess. Instead of loving them plants she sees them as weapons at the first chance she got to hit her lover, because why not sprinkle some domestic affairs between all of it?

Instagram\\my Blog\\

[★Me Myshelf and I★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit I read this solely based on the cover



Which doesn’t always end well, and I was a bit sceptical but it caught me by the end of book 1.
The best thing about this series is it’s complete! So I ended up binging all three and this is kind of a series review rather than book 1 alone. No spoilers I promise.

First thing that struck me was the fact that the Shadow Guild is obviously part of a larger world and the other characters clearly have their own stories. It’s not essential to read the others though, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment and it completely standalone.
I also don’t really have the desire to go back now and read those other stories I kinda just like Hades & Persephone.


Lore Olympus- so goooddd)

And who doesn’t like a good Hades & Persephone retelling. It’s the ultimate love story, I can see why authors love writing them as much as we love reading them. Good & Evil, life and death, light and dark... they are the ultimate opposites attract love story.

The Hades we meet here is unfeeling, dead inside, no knowledge or care for feelings at all. It was written quite convincingly too, it wasn’t some magic mate-bond cures asshole in 2 chapters, and I liked that! Seraphina (aka the Persephone of the story) has her work cut out for her trying to get past that icey exterior.
It was slow burn but still had a bit of tension there to keep us romantics reading!
I’m a massive fan of Greek mythology and this had a lot of it while still remaining in the world of the London Guilds at the same time!

Halfway through book 1 I wasn’t convinced but by the end I was downloading that sequel right away! Book 3 was a little rushed and a “race to the finishing line” but on the whole it was a really enjoyable series.

The cover pulled me in and the contents didn’t let me down
I call that a win



Not RH for those following my reviews looking for a RH read and I would class it as NA.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am about to use one review for 3 different books I have read, so be prepared when you see my review over and over again.

I read one Hades and Persephone type book and I decided I just might have found a new trope to sink my teeth into. The gods are laughing at me right now.

A bunch of nothingness and the little that happened was so boring that I might have preferred a bunch of nothingness. The plot was dry, everything that happened could have been achieved with a quicker solution, instead we had to sit through pseudo action scene. Wasn't worth it.

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half
Well as a confirmed book worm I was really looking forward to finding out about the librarian Seraphia . She's played a somewhat minor role in several previous books but her life is anything but ordinary. She's plagued by nightmares of a shadowy figure and although she has earth magic struggles to use it. Being pulled into the Underworld by the living embodiment of her dreams might sound like the worse thing that could happen but it's certainly not. That's because Hades (yes THAT Hades ) believes that she's his Persephone and he's determined to release darkness unless Seraphia can bring some light into his life.
I really enjoyed this although initially wasn't exactly sure where the author was going with it. I'm still left wondering how everything will play out but definitely feel I want to know more. I love this authors work as she frequently brings myths and legends to life in her stories so it will be interesting to discover how this version of Hades and Persephone comes together. I might have thought Seraphia was a side character previously but she's certainly rapidly changing my opinion and I look forward to discovering more about this couple.
This voluntary take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is one of my many favorites, and she has started a new series that is very different from what she’s recently written. All I can say is wow! This book is full of hope and despair, darkness and light, and I loved every minute of it. I loved getting to know Seraphina’s past and getting a glimpse of the man of her future. Hades is so full of darkness with very little light that at times you despair he’ll ever reach the light. Their love story is going to be a rough road, but I loved the steps they’ve taken in this book. There is suspense in this, but this is more of a romance, and an excellent one at that. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this so much, I love the Hades and Persephone myth so was so happy that this was done so well, that she didn’t Instantly love Hades, I mean he kidnaps you and treats you awful and wants you to do something awful, so why would you (yet some authors still do instalove, which is fine in some cases but not this myth !) I’m interested to see how she will fall for him and hopefully save him. Can’t wait for the next instalment

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was flat. The characters, the writing, the objective. Hades was a blank hot piece of ass. Persephone was flat and the dialogue was dry. It was hard to be lured into it.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really liked this

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

big meh for this book. honestly, it was very promising but the execution was lacking and the characters were very uninteresting.
also, very very toxic relationship. hated Hadès, he can stay in hell.

[Tracy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

New take on Hades and Persephone

Once I got half way in, I flew through it. Infernal had some aspects that mirrored Beauty and the Beast. 😉 Also really interesting, mashing characters from completely differnet myths. Who would've expected Lucifer to make an appearance in the realm of Greek gods? Not this girl. Now I have more questions than answers, so *of course* I have to pick up the next one, right? Spoilery questions ahead:
.
.
.
.
.
Like, why are Seraphia's powers bound? Who did that to her, and how is she a mortal if she's actually Persephone? Probably some jerk god, right? That's usually how it goes. 😐 Hoping all of that is rectified and there's some plot twist that throws us all for a loop in the following books. 🤞

One of the other things I enjoyed was the chemistry between the characters. Complete opposites, but they can't seem to resist each other. The best trope - enemies-to-lovers. Anyway, I'm downloading the next in series right now. Hope you enjoyed it, too.

[Jera16 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sm zalublena v stil pisanja? Ne… A je to najbolsa kniga k sm jo prebrala? Absolutno ne… A me je se useen zanimal kva se bo zgodil? Kinda🤷‍♀️

[spring ~♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

“I want to save you, you know.” She swallowed hard. “I can feel the darkness inside myself, yet I choose light. You could, as well.”

I swear I tried too hard not to imagine them as Rey and Kylo Ren but...
this isn't a persephone hades retelling, it's a Star Wars retelling. Change my mind.

[Amber Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh-My-God!!! My favorite story by one of my favorite authors!!! I can't fricking wait to read this!!!


Updated Review:
Inferal folows the same writing style as Linsey Halls other books/series with the Hades + Persephone story as the plot. Like all her other books I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be eagerly waiting for the rest to come! All I can say is I really hope the rest are wrote/released ASAP because I totally hate waiting lol. When I seen what this was about tho I couldn't wait until the whole series was finished.
It would be awesome tho if all of the 5 books (to the mini series usually) could just be all smashed into one book so I didn't have to wait.
But, regardless I'm happy with the retelling and recommend reading her other books as well if you don't get her writing style from this one alone.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @36%. I loved the idea of the story. The execution was rather mediocre. I just couldn’t stop thinking about other dark, handsome, and dangerous male leads that were written much better. We actually get Hades’ POV which takes away half the mystery because he’ll literally tell us how he felt about the encounter he just had with Seraphia. The romance just seemed so ham fisted. Seraphia describes him as smelling of ash and fire, oh, but why does she like it? And oh he’s so cold and uncaring, leaving flayed alive people hanging in the town square, but every time he touches me, I burn and see that he’s affected the same (dilated pupils, increased breathing, etc) to the point where she’s planning on seducing him to get what she wants. Oh but wait, Hades is a machine and doesn’t feel human emotions or urges. See? Ham-fisted. Also, I don’t buy that she’s that smart. She’s so obvious about questioning the maid and the apothecary to find a way out of Hades and they only answer her because the author wrote them to. If they truly lived in his dominion and are at risk of eternal torture, I’m sorry but I’m not telling you ANYTHING. Not risking my life for some rando stranger. Don’t let my review stop you from downloading a sample to see if you enjoy it. Seems like I’m a minority around here. If you like a portal romance with gods, I’d recommend Bound to the Battle God by Ruby Dixon. She wrote it chapter by chapter for free on her blog so it’s a bit long and winding but the chemistry between the two is a delicious slow burn.

[Zen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I'm always game for a Hades and Persephone retelling. It feels very early in this series for some reason. There were things that Seraphia did that I just didn't understand. For example, why didn't she just get Hepatitis to take the potion to Mac. It seems like it would have worked better that way. She wanted to stay. She jus didn't want to want to stay. Maybe she will start to make more sense in the next novel.

[madirosereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Linsey is an incredible writer with an entire world of books yet with this one she hits on a theme she really hasn’t ever touched on in the past. I’m really loving the enemies to lovers theme shes working with. The story was flawless and constantly keeps you wanting to finish just “one more chapter” before putting it down. I cannot wait to see where Seraphia and Hades story takes them next because it’ll surely be a wild ride!

I received an advanced copy for my honest review and I can truly say you won’t regret read this one

[Sristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the Entire Series:

One word - Tedious.
Reading the series felt like tediously dragging through it. The characters were mostly 2D lacking depth.
Had the feels of a YA.
Should have know better than to trust that.

Should have DNFed but this is the result of lack of available interesting material - you throw yourself at the first prospect. 😉

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

MEINE MEINUNG
Als Seraphia von einem mysteriösen Schatten gekidnappt und in die Unterwelt gebracht wird, ahnt sie zunächst nicht, dass der Gott Hades dahinter stecken könnte. Doch der hat ein scheinbar großes Interesse an ihr und erklärt ihr, sie sei die Göttin Persephone - was ein Quatsch! Während sie also schon in der Unterwelt festsitzt, versucht sie wenigstens, Hades' großen Plan herauszufinden, um ihn verhindern zu können. Doch dabei stellt sie immer mehr fest, dass ihre Verbindung zu ihm vielleicht doch viel größer ist, als zunächst angenommen.

Als wahrer Bücherwurm liebt Seraphia die Arbeit in der Bibliothek, und auch wenn ihr Leben zunächst recht unscheinbar wirkt, versteckt sich noch einiges hinter der Bibliothekarin. Sie hat nämlich magische Kräfte, nur wenige und weil sie nie üben durfte, ist sie auch nicht sonderlich gut darin, doch sie ist mit der Erde verbunden und kann ihre Magie an ihr und den Pflanzen anwenden.
Im Laufe des Buches zeigt sie sich sehr selbstbewusst, taff und kämpferisch, was ich sehr an ihr mochte. Sie lässt sich auch von Hades nicht einschüchtern gibt ihm stets Widerworte. Außerdem ist sie sehr loyal und steht zu ihren Freunden, für die sie alles tun würde. Insgesamt mochte ich sie sehr, auch wenn mir noch ein wenig gefehlt hat. Ich habe erst im Nachhinein bemerkt, dass dieses Buch zwar Teil 1 der Hades & Persephone-Reihe ist, aber schon der 6. Teil aus dem Shadow Guilt Universum. Vielleicht lernen wir sie dort schon in kleinen Grundzügen kennen, hier hatte mir aber wie gesagt eine kleine Einleitung zu ihrem bisherigen Leben gefehlt. So habe ich mich zum Beispiel die ganze Zeit gefragt, in welcher Bibliothek sie arbeitet und warum es keine wirklichen anderen Mitarbeiter dort gibt.

Die Geschichten über Hades kennt man ja, zumindest ein wenig. Da ich nie großes Interesse an der griechischen Mythologie hatte, kenne ich wirklich nur das bekannteste über die Götter, war hier aber kein Problem. Hades ist also der Gott der Unterwelt, er lebt dort in seinem düsteren Reich, in dem es keine Freude und keinen Spaß gibt. Er bezeichnet sich selbst als Maschine, Gefühle kennt er nicht und zum Vergnügen macht er schon mal gar nichts. Er ist eigen, sehr von sich überzeugt und zeigt sich stets Gefühllos, doch schnell merkt man, dass auch er Ängste hat und verletzlich ist. Ich mochte ihn ganz gerne, auch wenn er mich bis zum Ende nicht absolut umhauen konnte. Auch hier fehlte mir einfach noch etwas.

Der Roman ist in der Ich-Form, wechselnd aus den Perspektiven von Hades und Seraphia geschrieben worden. Der Schreibstil war gut verständlich, dafür dass Englisch nicht meine Muttersprache ist. Ich hatte keine großen Probleme in das Buch zu finden und habe auch alles sehr gut verstehen können. Leider wirkte der Schreibstil immer wieder sehr abgehakt auf mich. Für mich persönlich ganz gut, da die Sätze so viel leichter zu lesen und zu übersetzen waren, aber wenn ich im Nachhinein drüber nachdenke, waren die Sätze teilweise etwas plump.

Auf die Handlung war ich sehr gespannt. Wie schon angesprochen habe ich mich nie großartig mit der griechischen Mythologie beschäftigt, auch wenn ich sie schon immer ganz interessant fand. Mir fehlt also ziemlich viel Vorwissen und ich kenne auch keine anderen Bücher zu dem Thema. Das war aber alles kein Problem, mit den Figuren bin ich schnell zurecht gekommen, vor allem weil das meiste auch hier noch einmal erklärt wurde.

Die Handlung fängt sehr spannend und fesselnd an, sodass ich das Buch gar nicht weglegen konnte. Während sie also von Hades gefangen gehalten wird, versucht sie nicht nur herauszufinden, was sein großer Plan ist, sondern auch, wie sie ihre Freundin zu Hause vor seiner Vergiftung retten kann. Sie befindet sich also gleich in einem großen Zwiespalt, zwar würde sie am liebsten direkt aus der Unterwelt fliehen, doch dann findet sie kein Gegengift für ihre beste Freundin. So ist sie gezwungen zu bleiben und lernt Hades sowie seinen Plan immer näher kennen.

Wie gesagt war ich gleich ganz gefesselt, es geht spannend los und die Spannung nimmt auch kaum ab. Ich habe die Geschichte sehr gerne und gebannt verfolgt und habe mir auch direkt den zweiten Teil geholt, weil ich es gar nicht abwarten konnte, wie es weitergehen würde.

Trotzdem muss ich auch zugeben, dass es für mich noch nicht perfekt war. Trotz der Spannung fehlte mir noch ein wenig was an Tiefgang und mehr Emotionen. Auch hätte ich gerne mehr über die Unterwelt erfahren. Es wird zwar einiges erklärt, aber ich wäre gerne auf noch mehr Charaktere gestoßen.

FAZIT
Ein spannender Auftakt einer vielversprechenden Reihe! Die Idee hat mir sehr gefallen und auch die Umsetzung konnte mich bisher sehr begeistern. Es hätte ruhig noch etwas mehr Tiefgang geben können und die Charaktere waren mir auch teilweise ein wenig zu flach, aber ich bin sehr gespannt, wie es weitergehen wird!

[Evie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t have high expectations of this book going in and I was not pleasantly surprised. I’m a real sucker for the fantasy romance genre and of course I enjoy sexy chemistry between two unrealistically attractive characters but, seriously, please make an attempt at the plot. It really felt like the author set up every scenario in this book to lead from one almost sex scene to another and spent no time considering how the story would actually function. The writing is so atrocious it’s almost funny. There is an almost criminal overuse of the phrase “mullioned windows” and the word “austere”. Was there even an editor on this project?

That being said: yes, this still entertained me (I don’t know what that says to my character) and yes, I’ve downloaded and started reading the second book (the author has not yet taken up a thesaurus). I was actually upset by how wasted the potential for this book was. I love the Hades/Persephone pairing, I think that the combination of accurate mythology and a hot power dynamic could have been really interesting. Unfortunately, no one who worked on this book had a similar vision for it's greatness and left it to die in the category of middling-bad (read: just bad).

[Aimee Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seraphia is trying hiding from whatever is looking for her. She keeps seeing the dark mist that starts to look like a man. She has not used her magic because of this would happen. Seraphia has had a partly bad night,when Mac comes to visit her. Mac gets touched by the mist and is hurt. Seraphia will try to help Mac and gets kidnapped instead.
The man tells her his name is Hades, she is not who she thinks she is. He has been waiting for a long time to get her. He tells her he needs her for his plans and she is a pawn. Seraphia is only concerned with getting help for Mac. Seraphia makes a deal with Hades, travels with him.
As she is stuck there, she starts to see there is more to this cold man. Seraphia is attracted to him and sees glimpses of the man he could be. Seraphia learns about who she is, her magic and what her future might hold. She will fight with everything in her.

This is book was so good. You are drawn to the story very quickly. The author has blended, the action, mystery and much more into this book. There is so much more than what I wrote, I didn't want to spoil anything for the readers. I highly recommend reading this, you will enjoy it. I can't wait for book 2.

[Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seraphia, a secondary character in the Shadow Guild series, had been noticed strange and broken-looking at the end. In this first book of her own series, the mystery of what was affecting her is revealed to us and we accompany her on an interesting adventure where darkness wants to reign. Long hidden from something sinister and unknown, Seraphia faces a dire situation. Hades has found her Persephone and will use all his powers to get what he wants or rather, what he needs to do. With an interesting cat and mouse game Hades and Seraphia fight with their feelings and emotions that put them at a disadvantage while struggling one against the other. Good start for this story where it seems that the heroine's nemesis is the hero, and we are given a glimpse of something mysterious that is moving the tiles behind the scenes. I always enjoy how the author makes use of historical, mythological, and legendary characters to create a fantasy that, in addition to entertaining, broadens my knowledge. Action, suspense, mystery, magic, gods, a new familiar, romance and passion.

[Books In Brogan]

Not the best of Linsey Hall books.  I liked the connection to the previous series but "hero" was someone I really couldn't connect with.  Usually, her male protagonist starts out the bad boy but you can still see the future good in them.   Unfortunately, her Hades was not written this way so I really didn't like the book.   Hopefully, the next one will be better.
This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan

[Daniella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia diferente sobre hades y persephone, para nada fue lo que me esperaba, no me esperaba que la historia tuviera magia y seres sobrenaturales como cambiaformas y brujas algo que en realidad me gusto ya que le da su toque original a la historia, el libro al inicio nos introduce a este mundo lleno de magia, seres sobrenaturales y dioses, conocemos a nuestra protagonista que al parecer es persephone aun no sabemos exactamente el como es que ella es la diosa persephone como nació, quienes son sus padres y quien sello sus poderes, espero que en los próximos libros nos aclaren mas sobre el pasado de seraphia/persephone.
En cuanto a hades es un personaje complejo que se pinta mas como un antihéroe que un héroe como tal, me llamo la atención ciertas cosas que se cuentan sobre el. como su nacimiento el cual es totalmente distinto a como se cuenta en la mitología, esto y su relacion con la oscuridad y como esta lo utilizo para llevar a cabo sus planes es bastante interesante y me tiene intrigada el si hades será capaz de romper la conexión con esta y dejar de lado sus planes malignos.

[Lita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 5 star read from Linsey Hall. In this book Seraphia is kidnapped by Hades and taken to Hell. Turns out she's actually Persephone but doesn't know it or really accept it -mostly. She wants to escape because Mac is slowly dying from exposure to a dark mist that came from Hades. She wants to heal her. So this book about her imprisonment, attempts to escape and feeling for Hades. He needs her to fulfill a plan and after exposure to her finds himself needing her on an emotional level as well. He refuses to free her and is intent on forcing her to stay and help him with his plans.

I highly recommend this book.

[Savannah Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seraphia's book and it was worth the wait! I couldn't wait to find out what secrets she's been hiding and keeping from her friends. It did not disappoint. I was blown away! Seraphia and Hades have chemistry off the charts (once the ice wears off a little). They both have their own plots to achieve. Seraphia comes out of her shell and fights for what she wants. Both characters have to be a little devious with the other try try to get what they want. It was so much fun to read. Hades is a "baddie" but is he all bad? I love Infernal and can't wait to read more! You can not go wrong with Linsey! Everything she writes is amazing! I highly recommend this book!

I recieved an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[DeljM · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed. I really thought I would enjoy any retelling of Persephone and Hades but this book was not great. The world building was lacking massively, the characters didn’t have any depth and the plot was very convenient.

There was things I couldn’t make sense of like how far Seraphina went for a friend she’d only known for a blink. What was the crack with her being called Seraphina but being Persephone? The world building didn’t allow for even a hint of explanation. Then there was Lucifer……how and why? This is a series and I’m can only assume some answers may provided further on but I’m out. It was at least short.