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Deviant or Divine
A multitude of threads make up the fabric of the Universe. Some are gilded, some are frayed, and some are dipped in kerosene.
Chosen by the gods.
Ensnared by the Fates.
Will she bloom, wilt, or wither?
Leila wakes up with nothing— no memories, no past— only the powers granted to her by the goddess Persephone. Navigating her new life is a challenge when she lives in New Olympus: a magical city where the Greek myths are a reality. When she’s forced to stay the winter secluded from everything with the one person she hates, following Persephone’s path becomes darker than she could’ve ever imagined.
Blake may be one of the strongest in New Olympus, but his powers gifted by Hades have always been a source of strife and exclusion. Now he has friends and a girlfriend who offer him a respite from his past and the stigma of his powers. When Leila arrives, his carefully constructed peace starts to crumble as he fights the pull to be around her. With winter comes a deadly test of his control, his allegiances, and his sanity.
In a city threaded by destiny, Blake and Leila could be the spark that ignites their world into chaos. Fate and free will collide in this modern adaptation of Greek mythology.
A dark and dangerous debut by young adult fantasy author Hunter kay.
Chosen by the gods.
Ensnared by the Fates.
Will she bloom, wilt, or wither?
Leila wakes up with nothing— no memories, no past— only the powers granted to her by the goddess Persephone. Navigating her new life is a challenge when she lives in New Olympus: a magical city where the Greek myths are a reality. When she’s forced to stay the winter secluded from everything with the one person she hates, following Persephone’s path becomes darker than she could’ve ever imagined.
Blake may be one of the strongest in New Olympus, but his powers gifted by Hades have always been a source of strife and exclusion. Now he has friends and a girlfriend who offer him a respite from his past and the stigma of his powers. When Leila arrives, his carefully constructed peace starts to crumble as he fights the pull to be around her. With winter comes a deadly test of his control, his allegiances, and his sanity.
In a city threaded by destiny, Blake and Leila could be the spark that ignites their world into chaos. Fate and free will collide in this modern adaptation of Greek mythology.
A dark and dangerous debut by young adult fantasy author Hunter kay.
341 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 2021
8 people are currently reading
1532 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 22, 2022
Just finished this book! The author did a great job at keeping me curious, wondering what would constantly happen next. The narration of the story provided a lot of insight on each of the characters, allowing us to truly get to know each and every person. I am looking forward to reading the next one!
June 3, 2022
I've read many different forms of this book and I'm so excited to see it in an all-new way! The writing is captivating and the idea is a fresh take on the myth. I highly encourage you to grab a copy now!!!!
May 31, 2022
If there is one thing I live for, it’s Hades and Persephone retellings. Deviant or Divine is an incredibly fresh and unexpected take on the story and I highly recommend this if you eat up any and all Hades/Persephone lore.
Amazing debut novel and I am so excited about this author!! Cannot wait to see where this series goes!
Amazing debut novel and I am so excited about this author!! Cannot wait to see where this series goes!
October 17, 2021
I highly recommend this book! I was hooked from the start and read it in one sitting. It’s such a fun and fresh take on the Hades and Persephone story and I can’t wait to read the sequel!
December 24, 2021
I’m not the one to read a book with Greek mythology, but I loved this book! Can’t wait for the next one.
January 30, 2023
3.5 Stars
I love Hades/Persephone adaptations and, overall, this one did not disappoint. Think a contemporary YA retelling of Greek myths mixed with the TV show Once Upon a Time. There's lots of potential here, just a few gaps or holes that will hopefully be cleared up with any sequel. I enjoyed the multiple POVs as well. These were easy to follow, offered another perspective, and it kept the pace flowing. Would definitely give any additional books by this author a chance.
GoodReads FirstReads Giveaway
I love Hades/Persephone adaptations and, overall, this one did not disappoint. Think a contemporary YA retelling of Greek myths mixed with the TV show Once Upon a Time. There's lots of potential here, just a few gaps or holes that will hopefully be cleared up with any sequel. I enjoyed the multiple POVs as well. These were easy to follow, offered another perspective, and it kept the pace flowing. Would definitely give any additional books by this author a chance.
GoodReads FirstReads Giveaway
January 13, 2023
Thank you for the free copy in the giveaway!
I was a little nervous, seeing some of the reviews, but I thought this was pretty good! I'm a sucker for Greek mythology.
I do have to agree with some critiques, though. Everything moved way too fast, it could have been like 20% longer, and there were too many perspectives. It would have been more enjoyable with half the amount of people getting their own chapters, especially when they didn't always have anything unique or compelling to add to the story.
Looking forward to the next installment!
I was a little nervous, seeing some of the reviews, but I thought this was pretty good! I'm a sucker for Greek mythology.
I do have to agree with some critiques, though. Everything moved way too fast, it could have been like 20% longer, and there were too many perspectives. It would have been more enjoyable with half the amount of people getting their own chapters, especially when they didn't always have anything unique or compelling to add to the story.
Looking forward to the next installment!
July 2, 2024
This book actually BLEW ME AWAY! I met the author in person at a convention, and she was super sweet and awesome to talk to. I love Greek retellings (especially about Persephone, hence my name). This book went against all my expectations. I had a couple of qualms here and there, like the aftermath of the Winter Solstice, but I think overall this book is 5⭐. The world building was really something and it just makes me want to know so much more about the world and the Vessels. I can't wait for more of this story and more from Hunter Kay!
November 23, 2022
It wasn't great. I loved Blake and Leila's story but the whole thing felt sort of rushed. One moment he's poisoning her and the next they're in love, it left me whirling. Also the multiple perspectives were nice but by the middle of the book I only wanted to read about Blake and Leila and everyone else was just boring. I think for a first time author, the book had a lot of potential and was very original but I think plot just needed some work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2024
Abandoned at 26%
The first thing I noticed in the table of contents was that there are a LOT of POVs. There are some errors or bits that didn't make sense (p6 "Leila didn't see a resemblance even recognized Camille's face"). At 15% I was still insanely confused because basically nothing is explained and Leila is just supposed to follow people around. Even when she asks questions they're just like "you'll find out at school". Dude, she has amnesia and no one cares. They just take her to a party to get drunk and play truth or dare. I am sure this book is probably really good for some people, but for me personally the constant jumping between POV that don't seem to have any bearing on the story and learning nothing as you go just pushed me off of it.
Each person on New Olympus is a mortal vessel for a god or goddess and when they appear they are Inducted and receive their gift from their deity. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who a vessel is, what age they are, or when they will appear. Leila wakes up naked in a clearing near New Olympus and all she remembers is she is 17 and her name is Leila. After that, she just goes along with Camille. Everyone is supposed to be Inducted by age 10 so Leila is really rare at 17.
You start off not knowing anything about the world since Leila doesn't know anything. It is really confusing since you switch quickly to Blake's POV and a few things get explained but not much.
Apparently, Blake has been Hades' "vessel" since he was 4 and that means no one likes him and they all avoid him. You then swap to Alicia for a few pages and it could just be me, but a lot of what Alicia thought didn't make sense. Back to Leila now and Camille is driving her somewhere and talking about growing up in New Olympus. Still nothing is explained about what the hell is happening but Leila just goes with it. After the partying, she gets brought back to Cami who brings her to the school for "orientation" which involves watching a short propaganda video that just says something along the lines of everyone died and the gods chose a few humans to be their vessel and survive on New Olympus. Then you watch a video about your deity's myth but OF COURSE there is no video for Persephone so they watch Demeter's video which obviously makes Hades the bad guy and Cami won't let her watch Hades' video.
It is clear this "school" is being used to groom the vessels to follow a particular way of thinking and biases, otherwise they would either have no myth telling, a general myth telling, or at least a more neutral version. That is likely the main battle that is going to be through the series if Harvey's chapter is any indication, but I couldn't connect with the book.
The first thing I noticed in the table of contents was that there are a LOT of POVs. There are some errors or bits that didn't make sense (p6 "Leila didn't see a resemblance even recognized Camille's face"). At 15% I was still insanely confused because basically nothing is explained and Leila is just supposed to follow people around. Even when she asks questions they're just like "you'll find out at school". Dude, she has amnesia and no one cares. They just take her to a party to get drunk and play truth or dare. I am sure this book is probably really good for some people, but for me personally the constant jumping between POV that don't seem to have any bearing on the story and learning nothing as you go just pushed me off of it.
Each person on New Olympus is a mortal vessel for a god or goddess and when they appear they are Inducted and receive their gift from their deity. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who a vessel is, what age they are, or when they will appear. Leila wakes up naked in a clearing near New Olympus and all she remembers is she is 17 and her name is Leila. After that, she just goes along with Camille. Everyone is supposed to be Inducted by age 10 so Leila is really rare at 17.
You start off not knowing anything about the world since Leila doesn't know anything. It is really confusing since you switch quickly to Blake's POV and a few things get explained but not much.
Apparently, Blake has been Hades' "vessel" since he was 4 and that means no one likes him and they all avoid him. You then swap to Alicia for a few pages and it could just be me, but a lot of what Alicia thought didn't make sense. Back to Leila now and Camille is driving her somewhere and talking about growing up in New Olympus. Still nothing is explained about what the hell is happening but Leila just goes with it. After the partying, she gets brought back to Cami who brings her to the school for "orientation" which involves watching a short propaganda video that just says something along the lines of everyone died and the gods chose a few humans to be their vessel and survive on New Olympus. Then you watch a video about your deity's myth but OF COURSE there is no video for Persephone so they watch Demeter's video which obviously makes Hades the bad guy and Cami won't let her watch Hades' video.
It is clear this "school" is being used to groom the vessels to follow a particular way of thinking and biases, otherwise they would either have no myth telling, a general myth telling, or at least a more neutral version. That is likely the main battle that is going to be through the series if Harvey's chapter is any indication, but I couldn't connect with the book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews