Lore Olympus: Volume Three

Lore Olympus #3

by Rachel Smythe

Witness what the gods do after dark in the third volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe.

"It is natural for a King to be curious about his future Queen. . . ."

All of Olympus—and the Underworld—are talking about the God of the Dead and the sprightly daughter of Demeter. But despite the rumors of their romance, Hades and Persephone have plenty to navigate on their own.

Since coming to Olympus, Persephone has struggled to be the perfect maiden goddess. Her attraction to Hades has only complicated the intense burden of the gods' expectations. And after Apollo's assault, Persephone fears she can no longer bury the intense feelings of hurt and love that she's worked so hard to hide.

As Persephone contemplates her future, Hades struggles with his past, falling back into toxic habits in Minthe's easy embrace. With all the mounting pressure and expectations—of their family, friends, and enemies—both Hades and Persephone tell themselves to deny their deepest desires, but the pull between them is too tempting, too magnetic. It's fate.

This full-color edition of Rachel Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story, and brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 50–75 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Comics, Fiction, Retellings

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2022

About the author

Rachel Smythe | #1 New York Times Bestselling Author


Rachel Smythe is the creator of the Webtoon phenomenon Lore Olympus. Debuting on Webtoon Originals in 2018, Lore Olympus captured hearts and minds with its glamorous setting, razor-sharp comedic timing, complex characters in messy relationships, and above all else, its breathtakingly beautiful visuals. Rachel’s craftsmanship and storytelling have seen the series rise to greater and greater success, winning many industry awards, including an Eisner in 2022 & 2023 and an animation adaptation with Jim Henson Studios currently in development.

"IF EYES COULD EAT, LORE OLYMPUS WOULD BE A FEAST." —NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came out WAY sooner than I expected and I am so thrilled because it continues to absolutely slap.

Artemis has no chill. I love it.

So volume three keeps on keeping on and there is DRAMA. Of course there is, it’s the Greek gods and everyone is either fucking each other or fucking someone over. Or both! The Eros and Psyche plotline has me really hooked, Minth continues to be toxic, Artemis is a riot, Hermes is cool, Eros is my boyfriend, crushes and relationships are exposed, and I really got a lot of laughs out of the technique that seemed to be used a lot in this volume of showing an event from how someone else imagines it (never flatteringly):


So yea, if you haven’t checked this series out yet I would highly recommend doing so. You can read it entirely on Webtoons, but I am enjoying collecting these volumes because the art is great and I can pass them to friends. Looking forward to Volume 4!

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

➽ Volume One ★★
➽ Volume Two ★★★

“You made a forest in a place where NOTHING is meant to live.”

This graphic novel series is just getting better and better for me! I really loved this installment in particular, and I fell in love with Eros. Sometimes, you really just need someone to tell you it will be okay, but what happened to you was not okay.

As always, the art is beautiful and page styling choices are magnificent. I also found the banter in this one to be even better, and I found myself giggling at times even! I am truly so excited to read the next bind up upon release and I am finding a lot of joy physically reading these ones!

cws from the author at the start of this book: physical + mental abuse, sexual trauma, + toxic relationships

other tw/cw i wrote down: paparazzi, trauma depiction, death, implied cheating, talk of rape, drinking in excess

✰ read for free on webtoon

♡ buddy read with Penny

Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Blog | Spotify | Twitch

[Warda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, okay, okay. I get it. I get the popularity of this series now.

I’m obsessed and falling so hard for these two. I might have already.

The characters, the way the story is being told and explored, the imagery, the gorgeously slow romance.

Yeah, I’m in love. 🥹

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE HAVE A COVER, I REPEAT, WE HAVE A COVER

[Rachel L · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

Such a cute and beautiful series! I don't want to give much away, but book three is Hades and Persephone navigating their budding friendship, as well as their relationships with other people. I love the art in these graphic novels, it is so fantastically done. I also want to give the author bonus point for having the characters advocate for therapy and self care.

[Jenny Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walked into Nowhere Bookshop to by volume 2 of Lore Olympus and screamed "VOLUME THREE IS OUT TOO?" and everyone in the store was like, "YES! ISN'T IT ADDICTIVE?"

Yes, it is. Also, where's volume four?

[Karla Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

pueden darse un beso por la chucha?
gracias.
me encanta la delicadeza con la que la autora trama ciertos temas 🫶🏼

[Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

|| 3.0 stars ||

I love Hecate, Hera, Artemis and Eros so much! They’re the kind of support squad everyone deserves.
Opposingly, I literally want to kill Zeus and Apollo. They are the worst pieces of garbage.

Anyway, I feel like the romance is starting to lack a little bit and it needs to pick up the pacing. We hardly got any interactions between Hades and Persephone, which is kind of disappointing, since that’s the most interesting part of this whole series.

And what’s up with the fact that Hades just continues to be in a relationship with Minthe, and that he’s actually trying to make it work??
It’s really annoying, and kind of makes me lose respect for the guy. Like, dude, you either love Persephone or you don’t; you can’t have it both ways. Urgh.


'Lore Olympus' series:
Volume One - 3.0 stars
Volume Two - 4.0 stars
Volume Three - 3.0 stars
Volume Four - 2.0 stars
Volume Five - 1.5 stars

[Poppyflowerjj · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/ 5⭐
0/5 🌶️

Still OBSESSED.

I love the god of the underworld.

The artwork is beautiful. It's just perfect. perfect. perfect.

Second. I hope Minthe chokes on her own spit and can rot in the darkest part of Tartarus.

Third. Eros is my new favorite.

[*｡:ﾟଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋAnna Jed━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Showstopping. Amazing. Never been done before. Spit on it. Eat it. Chew on it. Regurgitate it. Eat it again. Stamp on it. AND LET IT STEP ON YOUUUUU ITS TOOO GOOOOODDD

[Aria Carstairs (Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ObSsEsSeD.... This volume is simply a Masterpiece 🙌

[The Belladonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hey! Where are you off to!?"

"I'm gonna key their cars."

I. Love. This. Adorable. Series. 🥰 Worth reading on Webtoon just to read the top comments posted after every episode.

Vol. 3 episodes 50-75

[Christy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous as always! Persephone and Hades’ story continues in volume 3. Persephone is finding the aspects of Olympus that interest her. She’s been so sheltered for way too long. As she explores her new world and the Underworld, Persephone finds new friends and makes some enemies along the way. She is learning to deal with her trauma at the hands of Apollo, which is confusing and isolating for her. Her friendships are deepening with Artemis, Hecate, and Eros. Her connection with Hades is also growing. They are so lovely together. While the relationship is still in the early stages, I can see the slow build and the adorable moments that will become cornerstones of their relationship. The artistry is beautiful and I love the details she puts into her drawing, background, storytelling, and character arcs. Smythe’s work is a favorite!

[dee. · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars ☆

Rachel Smythe! What did you put in this?! The 'Lore Olympus' feast keeps getting better and better. I'm stuck knee-deep in its magic. I'm not talking about the ending at all, they are not even together and oh boy! I want them together so bad, I'm already counting pages till we get our queen Persephone to pick up her crown, dust it off and put it on. No cause seriously, I'm hearing the wedding bells from miles away, but the wedding when?! Even Hecate approves, and we know it's a done deal when she approves.

• The underworld politics are top tier at best, so are its workers. Guess it's a given when the king himself is that gorgeous. The underworld is an aesthetic, modern, blue-ish mess where one particular pink lady likes to stomp around, leaving a flowery trail behind. The vast timeline difference between Olympus and mortal relam is another thing, Olympus is basically relishing in its technological era. They have this polished up version of good old google which goes by 'oracle' and the popular divine gossip site 'fatesbook'.

• Does Hades even need any explanation? I don't see how he can get any more perfect. One second he's all shy and weak on the knees for Persephone, and the next second he's a damn smooth flirt. He's charming, compassionate and the ultimate immortal simp, come change my mind. He swears that he'd stay away, yet one look at the girl brings his principles crumbling down. He literally said, 'I'm sorry for walking too fast'; he's so cute for what? Minthe is such an idiot for playing around with his precious feelings.

• Persephone is a huge ball of sunshine, even when everything around her is falling apart, she manages to get through the day with a smile on her face. That brings us to the Apollo issue at hand, he's 24/7 on jerk duty for real! Persephone darling, we love you but you can't just let random men walk all over you and take advantage of your kind heart. It was sad to see her struggling to deal with the whole situation and feeling like she couldn't confide in anyone. Where is protective Demeter when we need her?! Her daughter is having a hard time fitting in Olympus all alone and she is doing what?

• Eros stole the whole show this time, he's actually pretty great when he's not blindly following his mother's orders. Having trouble in paradise with your partner and need some bad advice? He's always on the service, only if he could just suck it up and use it in his own love life. I love him so much for being there for Persephone like a true friend, if he hadn't paid closer attention, she might have tucked her worries close to her heart and let them eat away at her. Even Aphrodite switched off her stupid jealousy; she was like, 'Don't tell anyone I was being nice to you'. We get you Aphrodite, Persephone just has the effect on everyone.

• I loved the friendship between Artemis and Persephone. Them getting in a fight and Artemis baking her a 'I'm sorry' cake afterwards is everything, she always has her back, just like Hera who worries her head off for her precious friend's daughter.

[Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lore Olympus: Volume One ★★★ 1/2
Lore Olympus: Volume Two ★★★★
Lore Olympus: Volume Three ★★★★ 1/4

At first, I did not get the hype and I am so addicted right now to this series as it keeps getting better and more complex with each volume.

Also, the drawing style is great as it changes depending on the vibes. Here is an example of a page that was just cute as hell!

[Valentina Ghetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lore Olympus rappresenta sempre un "porto sicuro" per me, una cura per le giornate no, quando serve un po' di conforto. Non posso addentrarmi molto perché rischio di farvi spoiler ma sappiate che tutto ciò che succede in questo volume (uno degli snodi fondamentali della vicenda, a parer mio), ma i rapporti che si creano tra alcuni personaggi sono meravigliosi.
Hera mio mood forever and ever.

[Yeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol.3-> chapter 50-75

So In episode 66 when Persephone talk with Eros about her trauma, she says she is frustrated with herself for being mad Apollo left immediately after the rape, and Eros tells her that it's ok to have complicated feelings about it. When I first read that chapter I thought it was a good portrayal of a SA victim, to show them confused about their own feelings, making them more real and complex.

However, As second time reading this Got me thinking, I’m going to be honest, this is my opinion and I mean no hate. But I couldn’t understand why this “rape” even happened. It’s not written well at all, there’s little to no building for it as to why, if I remember correctly Apollo decided to sleep with her the same day that he met her and the way he’s written it’s so bad it doesn’t even make sense to me.

Now I don't Know exactly how Aging works in GM and specifically in this Story, but I can't ignore that Persephone is sometimes written like a damn child. Really naive and gulible, and it’s so very weird. yes she was sheltered and kept in the dark for so long and her whole company were her mother who does nothing except treat her like a child and some random nymphs(plus that one time she went on killing mood) but that doesn't change the fact.

To me, all of this reads as if Persephone was taken advantage of, as if she were a child in this situation, and regrets the decision that she made here. This is obviously the case, but it just weirds me out. Even though she is 19 and is considered an adult, and issues like rape and manipulation were major topics in real Greek mythology, this situation still comes across as somehow not handled very well.

So Eros tells Persephone "girl, this is R A P E" Persephone starts to feel like shit, like she's been taken advantage of, which is valid and obvious. Then nothing happens. Eros made promise to never tell but gave her the advice to go to therapy... I can understand this. but my issue is that after this It's almost like it's forgotten about in the story until it's like, "Oh, this happened to Persephone, gotta write something about it". For the first few chapters following the SA, I personally believe it wasn't handled that bad. But after she and Hades kiss, it's put on the back burner.

all of my point being that as I am reading this the second time and knowing the major plotpoints of the story and the ending, I just can't ignore that the main event if the story is just not written well. this being a "Modern Retelling" of some greek mythology, Should have been more Modern on stuff like "Rape, manipulation, relationship etc" more. this however doesn't affect my rating and enjoyment that much. just a very big point to made.

thinking it now and the way it is handled, the whole SA thing in my opinion is just for plot’s sake too, to make Hades the knight in shining armor, and to make Persephone struggle with something (even tho her trauma is easily forgotten really quick) it’s not written well at all. I like the illustrations of it, it was really delicate, but I find it rather distasteful. It was really unnecessary.

[elea ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel like i just read a piece of art - so so good

[ʚ Aileen ɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minthe can go and rot in the darkest part of Tartarus for what she did ☺️ RTC

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. This volume collects episodes 50–75 of the Webtoon Comic.Lore Olympus is a modern day retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone.


This series has finally arrived for me! I read and enjoyed the first two volumes, but still wasn't all that emotionally invested in the story. There was so much character growth in this volume! Nearly every character is becoming more complex in their motivations and desires. While Hades is deciding he wants to be a better man there are glimpses into who he's been which is most clearly illustrated in how he deals with the tabloid paparazzo and his indifference towards the shades in the afterlife.


Three volumes in and Hades and Persephone are still in the will-they-won't-they stage. Some people will not like the slow pacing of their romance. However, I'm hoping that Persephone will ideally not be a teenager anymore when these two get the Happily Ever After this series is definitely working towards.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

We get a little lost in the weeds as the creator just has the characters talk and talk -- in an engaging way, mind you -- with many digressions and only a smidge of forward progress.

It's hard to remember all the characters without a cast list or convenient, frequent mention of their names, so I feel I'm losing some subtleties in the short appearances and many developments amongst the vast and sometimes too-similar-looking ensemble.

Still a fun soap opera though . . . even when it gets heavy.

[Ashley]

GAH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL COVER! DYYYYYING! My eyes are just absolutely taken aback (though I expect the beauty atp, so not so sure why it’s taken my breath away!), & I am utterly enchanteddddd🥹! ofc after reading vol. 1, I CLEARLY binged the F*CK out of the webtoon in ONE day lmao & keep up with it religiously…

…but ofc I am going to buy the B&N special edition, just as I’ve preordered vol. 2, to support the author, & ngl, I absolutely N E E D it for my library/ book collection bc the physical copy is just absolutely beyond stunning & the type of thing you read & re-read & re-read & re-read… on & on forever, Amen ! Haha.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Lore Olympus is like drinking your favorite drink. It’s pure dopamine because it’s funny and romantic. It’s easy to consume because it’s a graphic novel. And it’s not just any drink, it’s FANCY because it’s a beautiful ombré of blue, purple, and pink. Plus, it gives you a little boost to get you through your day, better than caffeine.

[marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda more interested in the Eros and Psyche situation right now…🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱/5 worms.

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the continuation of the romance story between Hades & Persephone. Like the first 2 volumes, this manga style novel is a pretty entertaining read. This third entry further illustrates the complicated relationships between Persephone & her friends/lovers & how these relationships are affecting Hades. The illustrations in the novel frequently exaggerates the emotions & actions of the characters. However, I think that’s one of the reason the novels in this series are so fun to read… Looking forward to reading volume 4.

[Ярослава]

Жила-була і переклала! (Дві слові про перший том тут, про другий - тут.)

Загалом, світ продовжує розширюватися, персонажі - розвиватися. Улюблені штуки в цьому томі:

1) Ми бачимо економічний бік функціонування Підземного царства! І дізнаємося, що, якщо ти цар мертвих, то завести безстрашну армію зомбаків - це, звісно, дуже фенсі опція, але ви задумувалися про те, які фінансові переваги дає доступ до безкоштовної робочої сили, яку ще й годувати не треба? Тож нащо та армія зомбаків, краще відправити їх на завод. Машини, знаєте-но, самі себе не куплять! (А якщо в когось немає обола, щоб заплатити Харону, то сидітиме такий клієнт сто років на березі - не для того Гадес сколотив статки, щоб катати всіх човником безкоштовно.)

2) Мені страшенно подобається педагогічна функція сучасного феміністичного маскульту. Якщо ви жінка, то майже напевно хоч раз у житті або подруга вам розкаже про вчинене над нею сексуальне насильство, або ви розказуватимете це сама (якщо ви виграли у долі особливо погане бінго, то і те, і те). Коли мені розказували таке, я не знала, що сказати, думаю, говорила щось дурне. А тут прямо моделюють репліки - умовно, "Дякую за довіру, дякую, що розповіла, будь до себе ласкавою, складні емоції - це нормально" і таке інше. Звичайно, хот��лося б жити у світі, де нікому це не знадобиться, але добре, якщо комусь стануть у пригоді ці кліше, які бодай не зашкодять, доки голова згенерує конкретніші варіанти.
Знов-таки, мені подобаються всі змішані емоції Персефони і те, що її цей досвід не визначає, це в принципі історія не про подолання травми, в сенсі, травма не стає опорною конструкцією сюжету.

А з мінусів тому можна згадати те, що хтось із асистенток-художниць малює максимально всрато, наприклад, так:

[Sophie Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd Read (15th October 2022)
Ahhh I love it so much 😭😍 and the physical copy is even more beautiful than the webtoon omg.

1st Read (7th Jan 2022)
Read on WEBTOON, but I’ll be re-reading as soon as the physical book comes out. Absolutely love this series!

[TrippyBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story gets better as it goes . Chapter 66 😭

[Avani ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favourite

[morgan madden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am the only one who finds the infantilization of Persephone really, really gross? Everyone treats her like a child, including Hades, yet we’re supposed to find it sexy? I think not.

Also, in real Greek mythology, Apollo never raped Persephone. I understand this is meant to be a modern retelling and there’s a lot of things that don’t follow the real Greek myths but this one is the most disturbing. Sexual assault shouldn’t be used as a plot device. If the author had decided to use it as a social commentary aspect, that would be one thing but it was simply thrown in to move the plot along. Horrible!