In the Shadow of Demeter

by Vic Malachai

The daughter of King Zeus of Olympus lived a small life. The least of his sons and daughters, hers was not the moon, or love, or battle…so low that she should have more rightly been numbered among his demigod children. Kore lingered at the edge of the feast hall, watching the great gods and goddesses revel. Too useless to sprout the grain with the nymphs, she followed her mother, Demeter, through the fields and made the flowers bloom, and she wasn't even too good at that. But what she liked best was when she was allowed to wander the woodlands and towns of the mortal world alone.

It was there she found her destiny, one that would shake the world from the top of Olympus to the depths of Hades. Kore does not belong in the shadows, and she is not the Goddess of Flowers, spring or otherwise. But things never start out that way. It started, as many stories do, with a boy and a girl in a meadow.

This is not the story passed down from Demeter's priests and priestesses. It is not the song sung for Demeter by her nymphs as her tears make the seasons turn. But it was never Demeter's story to tell at all.Grab your copy today to hear Persephone's side of the tale!

“In the Shadow of Demeter is broadly a captivating addition to the world of Greek mythology fiction, but at its core (no pun intended) is a story about never fitting in and the desire of wanting to belong and finding your place. Although I’m not incredibly familiar with a lot of Greek mythology beyond the most well known, Vic Malachi did a great job of telling the story in a way that everyone could follow, and included such a rich history to go with it that I was able to be fully immersed in the world." - Four Stars"I found this an entertaining twist on a classic myth, and I feel like I added a little more to my knowledge of Greek mythology. I enjoyed the story of Persephone coming into her own. I also really liked the descriptions of the various realms of the gods, they made me wish I had the talent to paint a picture of them. Recommended, even if you know nothing about Greek myths."-Five Stars

Genres: Greek Mythology, Mythology, Retellings, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Gods

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2021

About the author

I started writing with my sister and a friend of ours back in high school. We enjoyed it and even finished one of our projects. One day in the bookstore I picked up a book and thought, even I could do better than this! Now I write in-between dodging grad school classes, baking, and wasting time exploring other people's worlds.

Reviews

[Bon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was looking for in a retelling, I prefer more romance. Solid volume of myth content if that's more your jam, and a cool title.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addiction to Hades...

This book was everything (and more!) I was looking for after my stint playing Hades on Nintendo switch. It dragged in some places but it was well worth the price! I especially loved that this wasn't a smut, love or lust at first sight novel like so many other books about Persephone.

[Allison Tebo]

Not badly-written, but some of the content made it definitely not for me.

[MBenzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more Greek Mythology re-tellings I read, the more into them I become. I feel myself in danger of spiraling into an all-out obsession as I did during my Tudor period of 2008-2018.

ALL TUDOR, ALL THE TIME.

It was a lot.

I'm trying to pace myself with the Greek books, though, and I think doing so has helped me enjoy them all the more.

I loved Kore/Persephone's story and how she went from living as an invisible servant to her mother, Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture, to the powerful yet still kind and caring Queen of Hades.

Having known nothing about any of these people before reading, I found Demeter's behavior somewhat perplexing. For someone who never showed Kore much attention, she sure did throw a doozy of a tantrum when Persephone fell in love with Aidoneus!

I admittedly had to do a LOT of googling during this book because, as I've said, I knew who almost no one was, but I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to whatever comes next from Vic Malachai. For being a debut novel, this story was really well done.

I don't know how this compares to other Hades/Aidoneus/Persephone re-tellings, as this is the only one I've read, but I definitely recommend it!

[Thu Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the cleanest version of Hades and Persephone that I have read. The best interaction we get was a few chaste kisses. Probably because the whole book is not centred on the romance itself but the life of Persephone. The majority of narrations were from P's perspective and half of the story was about her life after the pomegranate deal was made. I like the idea of attributing ambrosia to Persephone and only her. It's sad that there is no reconciliation between Persephone and Demeter at the end. While I enjoyed the mythology tone of the book, I feel the language of conversation is out of place.

[maité · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐
solid chunk of myth retelling in a unique way and great character development as I remember it from the myths. light on the romance but that didn't make it less of a good story

[Peter McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kore is a young Theoi (term for a Greek god/goddess) and the daughter of Zeus and Demeter—the goddess of harvest and agriculture—who is struggling to find her purpose, so much so that she has been largely forgotten by the other Theoi and tossed aside as insignificant. Only when she befriends the god of the Underworld and through him eventually finds her gift does she truly find herself and her own path, in the retelling of one of Greek mythologies most intriguing forbidden—or at the very least heavily frowned upon—love stories.

“In the Shadow of Demeter” is broadly a captivating addition to the world of Greek mythology fiction, but at its core (no pun intended) is a story about never fitting in and the desire of wanting to belong and finding your place. Although I’m not incredibly familiar with a lot of Greek mythology beyond the most well known, Vic Malachi did a great job of telling the story in a way that everyone could follow, and included such a rich history to go with it that I was able to be fully immersed in the world. I particularly liked how the beginning of each chapter provided a little bit of backstory to the Greek Theoi mythos. The character development of the protagonist, Kore, throughout the main narrative was well plotted out and enjoyable to read.

[Maja (Taylor’s Version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this even though a lot of scenes were a bit rushed. I did not like how Demeter was portrayed here as I don’t share the opinion that she was an overprotective mother(I could rant more about this but I won’t)

[Aimée Challenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. I don't want to discourage people retelling Greek myths. I didn't fall in love with this book like I have the other retellings. It took me a while to get into it too.

[Priscilla Montoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best retelling of Hades and Persephone I've ever read. Highly recommend.

[Ginger Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Shadow of Demeter by Vic Malachai is the story of Persephone and Hades. It basically turns the traditional story on its head. Persephone is the daughter of Demeter. In the traditional version of the story. She is abducted by Hades and taken to the Underworld where she is held against her will. Demeter misses her daughter and wanders the earth looking for her, while the earth languishes because Demeter is not making things grow. In this version of the story, not even the names are the same. Demeter is the mother of Kor (ancient Greek for girl). She meets Aidoneus, the Lord of Hades, and falls in love. He gives Kor the name Persephone. She goes willingly with Aidoneus to Hades and becomes his queen.

Demeter hates Hades before Kor runs off with him, but she really hates him when she finds out that her daughter is with him. Demeter appeals to Zeus and he agrees that Persephone will stay have the year with Demeter and the other half with Aidoneus in Hades. Demeter and Persephone have more of a rebellious daughter-controlling mother relationship, and Persephone can't wait to go back to Hades. That may feel like a spoiler, but it isn't. All that happens in the first third of the book. Then, the story goes to a place that even those familiar with Greek myths may not see coming.

I recommend the book, but I would recommend reading it and not listening to it on Audible. The Audible version is read by AI and AI has a flat reading of the dialogue, with interesting pronunciations of some fairly common words.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling of a familiar story

The author has breathed spectacular life into all of the familiar characters in the Persephone myth. Persephone is the true heroine in this story. Had a lot of difficulty putting this down.

[Vic Malachai · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first book! A tribute to my favorite greek myth.

[Lisa Torcato · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's so devastating to see how easily women equate abuse with love.
Those who read sources like Homer and Ovid know that Persephone was abducted, raped, and force-fed the pomegranate seeds that would keep her imprisoned in the Underworld. All done by her uncle, Hades, brother to Zeus, her father.
Instead of addressing the proverbial elephant in the room, namely the way Greek mythology annihilates women's agency, most of the retellings of Hades and Persephone romanticise this awful myth. Worse still, they demonise a mother (Demeter) who became worried sick with the disappearance of her daughter and tried to free her by any means available to her.
I have still to see a decent retelling that will not settle for the Queen of the Underworld consolation prize trope.
To say that it's fiction and every author can write their version is a poor excuse, given that this myth is in the background of their retellings.
The latest archaeological evidence shows that Demeter and Persephone are survivors of matriarchal societies (which worshipped nature/nurture goddesses) that predate the devastation wreaked by the patriarchal Indo-Europeans.
While modern women continue to write and read twisted versions of toxic masculinity, real progress in gender-equality awareness will be stalled.

[Victoria Ivicek · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's okay. The story was enough to keep me interested but it's not the character driven romance I was expecting. I'm never a fan of authors who turn Demeter into a one dimensional, delusional, angry helicopter parent. She's so much more complex than that. All the characters seem rather devoid of passion and one or two declarative statements can account for huge swaths of time that might have been fleshed out better.

I did enjoy the story of the Primordials and the Titans that preceded each chapter with a few paragraphs. That was well done.

[Theresa Boat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable retelling of Persephone's journey in a condensed story. I appreciate how much the author was able to put into the novella; even if it seemed to jump without much flow in parts, it was forgivable.
I do recommend this to anyone that enjoys Greek mythology. If you're looking for a love story, this isn't it (which I was grateful for). While the journey to becoming Hades' queen is a large portion of the story, it doesn't get wrapped up in the "heat" of her and Aidoneus' love.
Just a nice, unique retelling that I'm glad to have read :)

[Jay Wittner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book works really well on two levels. The main story focused on Persephone is beautifully written and would be a good read by itself. Interweaved with the main story is a broader story on the major characters of the classic Greek myths. Before starting the book my knowledge of Greek myths was minimal. While you may enjoy the book even more if you are well informed on the Greek myths, it's a wonderful story even if you begin knowing nothing about Greek myths!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terrible, but not my favorite - really great conglomeration of multiple Greek myths. It dragged a little bit in the first half but the second was definitely more interesting.
Wish we had gotten a little more of the romance between Aidoneus and Persephone as it was a bit dry and the driving force for the whole book hinges on their mutual determination to defy all of Olympus in order to be together and that lacked a little for me. However, the plot moved along at a steady rate.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

This was sweet and perhaps the most straightforward telling of Hades and Persephone that I've read. I love Hades and Persephone and this was a good addition to the retellings. I would have enjoyed it a touch more if certain scenes were more fleshed out, but overall it was a great story of personal growth and independence.

[Nadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. After 3 days I am still on page 30!
IMO a horrible retelling. This original myth is not a love story, but a brutal kidnapping, rape, and deception story. As well as a mother’s love for her child… what this story is, is not a retelling, but a new story with the names of the same characters. I also felt it was VERY poorly written.

[Ilsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the worst Hades and Persephone retelling, certainly not the best. It felt very tame and it was an easy-read. It didn't feel overly original, which I kind of appreciated, but it didn't really inspire me to zip through reading it. There wasn't a lot of depth here, but for a short book, it was still an enjoyable read.

[jessica mckellar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Romance was sweet but it was abit slow and the end felt anticlimactic with no real conclusion. I love Greek mythology and didn’t like the creative liberties the author took in describing Cronus vs the first Greek gods.

[Julia Norge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a lot more political games than I expected, and perhaps the pacing was a bit odd. I did have fun reading it, though, and it was an interesting spin on the myth.

[Sarah Nestler · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up

[Martina Forisova]

It was boring. I was 30 percent in and there was nothing to keep me interested.

[Saiejaha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started, as many stories do, with a boy and a girl in a meadow.

AND I LIKED THIS BOOK!

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read it's a cute version of persephone

[Lauren Riser · Rating 4 out of 5]

More mythology retelling than a story, but I love the take on Persephone. It kind of felt like reading one of those Greek myth books I found in middle school and would read instead of doing work.

[Michelle Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to an audio version. Enjoyable.

[Isabella M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually loved this interpretation. It was a pleasant story and I liked the evolution of Persephone’s character. Wasn’t quite exciting as I expected or hoped but nevertheless it’s a solid read