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Queens of Olympus #0.5
Persephone's Replacement: A Prequel to Trouble In Hades
Entering the Underworld to become the next Persephone was all part of Penelope's plan, but even she wasn't prepared for what she'd find there.
Between the overcrowded docks, a sad Cerberus, and an ineffective Hades, she soon realises she may have bitten off more than she can chew.
But Penelope is determined to make a difference in the Underworld, and the only way to do that is to go through with the inauguration ceremony and take her place as a Queen of the Underworld.
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Persephone's Replacement is the prequel to Trouble In Hades, a fantasy retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with an f/f romantic sub-plot.
Between the overcrowded docks, a sad Cerberus, and an ineffective Hades, she soon realises she may have bitten off more than she can chew.
But Penelope is determined to make a difference in the Underworld, and the only way to do that is to go through with the inauguration ceremony and take her place as a Queen of the Underworld.
-
Persephone's Replacement is the prequel to Trouble In Hades, a fantasy retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with an f/f romantic sub-plot.
51 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2021
93 people are currently reading
598 people want to read
About the author
Arizona Tape
237 books787 followersArizona Tape lives her dream life hanging out with her dog and writing stories all day.
Her favourite books to write are urban fantasy and paranormal romances with queer leads, stories that she wished were around when she was younger.
When she’s not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm in the kitchen, watching shows that make her cry, or trying her hand at her new hobby of the week.
She currently lives in the United Kingdom with her girlfriend and her adorable dog who is the star of her newsletter. Sign up here for adorable pictures, free books, and news about her books: www.arizonatape.com/subscribe
Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/arizonatapeauthor
Reader Group: http://facebook.com/groups/arizonatape
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/arizonatape
Instagram: http://instagram.com/arizonatape
TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@arizonatape
Her books are available on all retailers and can be requested from most public libraries.
Her favourite books to write are urban fantasy and paranormal romances with queer leads, stories that she wished were around when she was younger.
When she’s not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm in the kitchen, watching shows that make her cry, or trying her hand at her new hobby of the week.
She currently lives in the United Kingdom with her girlfriend and her adorable dog who is the star of her newsletter. Sign up here for adorable pictures, free books, and news about her books: www.arizonatape.com/subscribe
Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/arizonatapeauthor
Reader Group: http://facebook.com/groups/arizonatape
Bookbub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/arizon...
Twitter: http://twitter.com/arizonatape
Instagram: http://instagram.com/arizonatape
TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@arizonatape
Her books are available on all retailers and can be requested from most public libraries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 5, 2024
I have never read any of Arizona Tape's books so this was rather a first for me and I wasn't quite sure what I was about to get myself into although I hoped that it would be a good book. After starting to slog my way through I chose to see if I could find the actual original book for the series while finding out that the author has a strong leaning towards LGBT characters, which kind of had me worried with the story I was reading.
Persephone's Replacement may have only a very small breath of the same LGBT suggestion but not enough to actually make the book a romance of any sort. Instead the book itself basically explores Penelope as she makes her way down to the Underworld to take over being the new Queen of Hades, what she finds there, a few thoughts of things that she definitely wants to change from what is in place and setting the stage to make this book rather a feminist book since all of the Hades' replacements are worthless kings who don't really care about what is going on or tradition as long as they can do whatever they wish.
The few hooks that I found in the book itself such as the little orphan boy going through processing, Molly the Gorgon and the caged up Cerberus were almost all answered within the epilogue that basically occurs during the midst of the term for our Penelope so why would I as a new reader to the series be encouraged to track down the book? True the epilogue doesn't answer what happened to the said little boy but that isn't really a justification to get a book that I may not even like.
Meanwhile there also was just not enough realism to the book itself. What happened to immortal Hades and Persephone that they were replaced with human substitutions for a decided term (collectively these terms make it sound like the replacements were still originating in Ancient Greece even long after the Grecian Ages were over)? Is Zeus who makes the decision also a human replacement instead of an Olympian? How is Persephone considered an Olympian queen when she wasn't? How does the original goddess' role flowers and spring work upon returning top-side when her replacement sounds like she is basically restricted to living in Hades all year? And really you want to tell me that at her inauguration she had gone a whole week without eating something when a few pages ago she had tasted some strange purple fruit when roaming the trails in the hills surrounding her palace?
Collectively with the answering of the major hooks, the confusion about the Greek mythoi included and also the changes to the same I just cannot see myself being too thrilled to try any other books
of the Olympian Queens even to answer my abovementioned questions. And so it is time to shelve this series for good.
Persephone's Replacement may have only a very small breath of the same LGBT suggestion but not enough to actually make the book a romance of any sort. Instead the book itself basically explores Penelope as she makes her way down to the Underworld to take over being the new Queen of Hades, what she finds there, a few thoughts of things that she definitely wants to change from what is in place and setting the stage to make this book rather a feminist book since all of the Hades' replacements are worthless kings who don't really care about what is going on or tradition as long as they can do whatever they wish.
The few hooks that I found in the book itself such as the little orphan boy going through processing, Molly the Gorgon and the caged up Cerberus were almost all answered within the epilogue that basically occurs during the midst of the term for our Penelope so why would I as a new reader to the series be encouraged to track down the book? True the epilogue doesn't answer what happened to the said little boy but that isn't really a justification to get a book that I may not even like.
Meanwhile there also was just not enough realism to the book itself. What happened to immortal Hades and Persephone that they were replaced with human substitutions for a decided term (collectively these terms make it sound like the replacements were still originating in Ancient Greece even long after the Grecian Ages were over)? Is Zeus who makes the decision also a human replacement instead of an Olympian? How is Persephone considered an Olympian queen when she wasn't? How does the original goddess' role flowers and spring work upon returning top-side when her replacement sounds like she is basically restricted to living in Hades all year? And really you want to tell me that at her inauguration she had gone a whole week without eating something when a few pages ago she had tasted some strange purple fruit when roaming the trails in the hills surrounding her palace?
Collectively with the answering of the major hooks, the confusion about the Greek mythoi included and also the changes to the same I just cannot see myself being too thrilled to try any other books
of the Olympian Queens even to answer my abovementioned questions. And so it is time to shelve this series for good.
February 21, 2023
I thought the idea behind this was interesting and Kobo had it as a free download. Some of their cheap/free ebooks have resulted in me going on to pay full price for the rest of the series, but not in this case...
I only lasted two pages.
The start failed to hook me. The descriptive text of the protagonist arriving in Hades gave almost no visual detail at all. She arrives on a 'boat'. No clue as to if it's propelled by wind or oars or simply drifting along the Styx. No feel for colour (or lack thereof), no sense of the emotions of her fellow travellers.
It's 'large'. That's all we get.
I also had to look up the word 'karve', which I wouldn't have minded so much if she'd bothered to describe what she was thinking of. (She had expected a 'little raft or karve'. Turns out that a karve is more like a Viking longboat than anything else, and, as far as I can ascertain, were never used in ancient Greece. Which isn't to say the Greeks didn't have something similar, but they'd probably have called it a galley...)
In spite of the distant harbour being surrounded by mist, she can pick out individual dock workers.
Even Persephone gets no more initial detail than being described as 'regal' and wearing a green scarf.
At which point I decided I had better books to read.
I only lasted two pages.
The start failed to hook me. The descriptive text of the protagonist arriving in Hades gave almost no visual detail at all. She arrives on a 'boat'. No clue as to if it's propelled by wind or oars or simply drifting along the Styx. No feel for colour (or lack thereof), no sense of the emotions of her fellow travellers.
It's 'large'. That's all we get.
I also had to look up the word 'karve', which I wouldn't have minded so much if she'd bothered to describe what she was thinking of. (She had expected a 'little raft or karve'. Turns out that a karve is more like a Viking longboat than anything else, and, as far as I can ascertain, were never used in ancient Greece. Which isn't to say the Greeks didn't have something similar, but they'd probably have called it a galley...)
In spite of the distant harbour being surrounded by mist, she can pick out individual dock workers.
Even Persephone gets no more initial detail than being described as 'regal' and wearing a green scarf.
At which point I decided I had better books to read.
April 28, 2024
A very quick read, understandable for a prequel, but still sad because I want so much more of the meat of this Persephone/Hades lore the author is building. I admit, I wasn't a big fan of the 150-year jump ahead we got in the epilogue because I really wanted to see more of Penelope's development. We never even saw her adapting Cerberus to her side, which feels sad. If there's a Persephone/Hades volume that fills in that gap, I'd love it, but I suspect any book on that lore in the series will pick up after this epiloque.
I did notice the official book 1 of the series starts us with the lore of Zeus, so it seems we left the Underworld to begin the series. Feels a tidbit bait-and-switchy to have me fall in love with these Underworld characters in a prequel, but now they've already have had 150 years of events happen to them off screen at the end and when I begin the series I have a new set of characters to get attached to and wonder when I get to see my original ones again.
I'm keeping it 4 stars because I genuinely did enjoy it, which is why I want so much more, but if I'm speaking honestly - the book 1 of the series needs to be good, or this would drop to a 3 star for the lack of payoff.
I did notice the official book 1 of the series starts us with the lore of Zeus, so it seems we left the Underworld to begin the series. Feels a tidbit bait-and-switchy to have me fall in love with these Underworld characters in a prequel, but now they've already have had 150 years of events happen to them off screen at the end and when I begin the series I have a new set of characters to get attached to and wonder when I get to see my original ones again.
I'm keeping it 4 stars because I genuinely did enjoy it, which is why I want so much more, but if I'm speaking honestly - the book 1 of the series needs to be good, or this would drop to a 3 star for the lack of payoff.
January 5, 2022
This is a NON-SPOILER REVIEW of Persephone's Replacement by Arizona Tape. This quick read is a prequel to Trouble in Hades and part of the Queens of the Underworld series. This entertaining read gives a major spin to the Hades and Persephone myth that we have all come to know and sometime love. In this read, The Persephone is a title that is about to be passed on and the new Persephone is about to be inaugurated. This read is simply an explanation of the changes and workings of Hades and the main players. The rest of the series should be really interesting...
This honest and voluntary review was made possible by reading a copy through Booksprout.
This honest and voluntary review was made possible by reading a copy through Booksprout.
December 27, 2021
I enjoyed how Arizona Tape changed the normal story to the original Hades and Persephone having retired long ago and Zeus's children replacing Hades and a mortal woman taking the mantle of Persephone. In this prequel we have Penelope entering the underworld to take up the mantle of the new Persephone. As she learns, she looks for things she can fix and help with since the Hades she's dealing with is basically crap. Ending with the her on her way to meet the latest. Curious to see how this series continues.
January 4, 2022
Arizona's story is a good entertainment. And how she developed this theme was really surprising.
I never couldn't imagined the gods being replacing in all these years. It was really cool.
This book is so easy reading, so fast to finish. :D
Now I'd like to know more about the other books and see what Arizona's will do. ^^
I recommend this book if you like a good story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I never couldn't imagined the gods being replacing in all these years. It was really cool.
This book is so easy reading, so fast to finish. :D
Now I'd like to know more about the other books and see what Arizona's will do. ^^
I recommend this book if you like a good story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 12, 2022
This was a short story that is a prequel to a series. There really wasn't enough to feel satisfied, I did like the meeting of Penelope. However, I feel like this could have been apart of the first book. It is short enough to be added to the book, but it's a good start. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 18, 2024
I really enjoyed this novella, I really liked the take on Persephone being a changing person... One Persephone until the next one takes over.
I loved how inquisitive Penelope was and I'm really looking forward to seeing her settle into the role of Persephone.
Arizona Tape's writing style eases you into the story and grips you, it was easy to read but still get swept away into the storyline, a short but sweet telling which leaves me wanting to read more.
I loved how inquisitive Penelope was and I'm really looking forward to seeing her settle into the role of Persephone.
Arizona Tape's writing style eases you into the story and grips you, it was easy to read but still get swept away into the storyline, a short but sweet telling which leaves me wanting to read more.
December 30, 2021
We have a short prequel on Penelope taking over as Persephone. Tells what she sees and feels about how its ran in the underworld. She wants to make a difference, but we will have to wait until "Trouble In Hades" comes out to see if she really did.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 5, 2022
This tale of Penelope becoming the new Queen of the underworld is a delightful undertaking by Arizona. It’s a refreshing little prequel to The Queens of the Underworld series that will open your mind to the retelling of Greek mythology.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 20, 2023
This one is the prequel to a series, and I think I would have gotten more out of it had I actually read the series. It’s more of a prologue to another book than a book on its own, and is really just setting up for a story. It feels like the sort of story you can safely skip, but if you’re a super fan of the world you’d want this little bonus of before.
January 8, 2026
Lovely read
Looking forward to the series.
I've been a mythology fan for what seems like forever. Bulfinch's Mythology was great. I really like how authors take and remake myths and legends. On the big screen, in book after book, they are a tremendous joy to discover.
This is a prequel to the series Queens of Olympus. Can hardly wait to get started.
Looking forward to the series.
I've been a mythology fan for what seems like forever. Bulfinch's Mythology was great. I really like how authors take and remake myths and legends. On the big screen, in book after book, they are a tremendous joy to discover.
This is a prequel to the series Queens of Olympus. Can hardly wait to get started.
December 2, 2021
This was a short but captivating taste of what should be a very entertaining series. Great world building to set the scene for the rest of the series. I can't wait for the first book.
Enjoyable read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Enjoyable read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 11, 2021
I loved this introduction to the series. The twist on the mythology is just so enjoyable and the characters have so much depth.
This is a series that you certainly need in your life if you want chemistry and awesome characters that will just capture all your attention.
This is a series that you certainly need in your life if you want chemistry and awesome characters that will just capture all your attention.
January 3, 2022
Different Twist
I really enjoyed this prequel... it gave a new flavor to the story of Hades and persephone.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens next!
I recieved an ARC for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this prequel... it gave a new flavor to the story of Hades and persephone.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens next!
I recieved an ARC for my honest review.
January 15, 2022
Persephone's Replacement is the prequel to the Queens of the Underworld series and is an interesting take on Hades and Persephone. This is a good intro to the series and I look forward to reading the next book. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
January 16, 2022
unsurprisingly to the reader, making changes in Hell is not as simple as Penelope imagines.
The new Persephone has some twisted connections and challenges ahead!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The new Persephone has some twisted connections and challenges ahead!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 26, 2022
History Retold.
Penelope descends to the underworld to manage the travel of the dead into the realm of Hades. Replacing the previous Persephone who has reigned for 250 years is a huge responsibility and the challenge for which she has volunteered. Great prequel.
Penelope descends to the underworld to manage the travel of the dead into the realm of Hades. Replacing the previous Persephone who has reigned for 250 years is a huge responsibility and the challenge for which she has volunteered. Great prequel.
March 29, 2023
I read this before I started writing reviews.
REALLY enjoy this author and this series. I've already read all the sequels (‘Trouble In Hades’, ‘Apple From Aphrodite’, and ‘Harvest Of Dionysus’) and am awaiting #'s 4 and 5 ('Council of Poseidon' and 'Burden of Hecate').
REALLY enjoy this author and this series. I've already read all the sequels (‘Trouble In Hades’, ‘Apple From Aphrodite’, and ‘Harvest Of Dionysus’) and am awaiting #'s 4 and 5 ('Council of Poseidon' and 'Burden of Hecate').
August 15, 2023
didn’t realize how short this prequel was (literally a less than 20 minute read) but despite it being super detailed it was interesting? kinda interested in reading the first actual book of the series though i hope there’s more actual details in it than this
August 21, 2023
3 stars. A pretty good prequel novella all about how Penelope becomes Persephone. I thought it was interesting if not a bit underdeveloped. It could’ve easily been longer and more fleshed out but for what it is it wasn’t bad at all and the ending leads perfectly into book one of the series.
March 21, 2024
This is a prequel to Trouble in Hades. I enjoyed reading and look forward to finding out more about penelope's reign as persephone. I wish we saw more of the 150 years and how she rescued cerebrus. A short read but gives you an entertaining insight to the series and the auhtors writing style.
November 1, 2024
It’s super hard because the background and world building of the book sounded interesting and it actually was interesting but since it just the prequel and I have to pay to read the other books it deserves 2.
December 28, 2021
Great prequel
Just enough story to make me want to see what happens when a new hades comes. 8 will need to read book 1.
Just enough story to make me want to see what happens when a new hades comes. 8 will need to read book 1.
added-it
December 30, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/30/2021)! 🎁
December 31, 2021
Good introduction to what promises to be a very interesting retelling of a classic Greek myth. The characters are well done and the story flows smoothly.
April 29, 2022
Interesting idea that the Gods of the Underworld retire after an amount of time. Penelope is to be the new Persephone and so has to learn the systems in the Underworld.
Enjoyed the book
Enjoyed the book
February 1, 2024
Really fun short story! I wish the sequel was on KU, it wasn't good enough to spend money on to be honest but I liked the read!
February 10, 2024
I wanted to know how Penelope was chosen as the new Persephone.
April 4, 2024
A clean short read, prequel to the main story showing how the new Persephone came to be. Interesting m, it whet my appetite for the main story
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews