Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Anyone is welcome to join us 😊

Just started reading only on chapter two but so far I like the heroine especially because she's a glasses-wearing nerd like me lol!

Possible Spoiler!
So I know the book is called Hades and in the first chapter there's that little tidbit about pomegranates in Stephanie's fridge and how much she likes them, so my first thought was
Hades+Pomagranates=Persephone, this is just a guess but I'm betting that Stephanie is a reincarnated Persephone, I could be totally wrong though. I'm looking forward to finding out :)

I have just finished chapter 2 and am loving it so far, i really enjoy the 80s music references. Steph feels relatable so far. Enjoy the friendship between her and Sara!

I feel like she is more likely a descendant of persephone though, based on what learn in 2nd chapter from Hades and he is already stunning.
Love him!

She must be related to gods/goddesses in someway i feel, based upon her ability to see auras/colours around people which i find interesting.

The writing great so far, very great at describing and making able to visualise in best way. Going to read till end chapter 5 today.

21 chapters overall, so try 5 a day. Do 6 friday to finish 😊

Finished Ch 5!

This book is pretty addictive, I am loving Steph and Hades interactions - the pull between them is lovely.

Also enjoying the holiday vibes with Sara, the little games makes me miss traveling so much! The pool, bar, sunbathing, trivia and volleyball. Just prober summer feels 💕

Oh and going to be a masquarade! I love those, so am exited to read more, excited to see what you think 😊

It is fun I read ahead and I am enjoying it a lot. I love the 80's and greek mythology. What's up with Jesus or Zeus I feel like he knows who Stephanie or what Stephanie really is and it seems odd Hades is so quick to date after a thousand-year-old marriage ends I would definitely feel self-conscious dating someone coming out of a marriage like that! But I'm enjoying the story so far It's fun watching Hades slowly come out of his shell of doom and gloom.

oh, I've read up to chapter 12 so I'm going to read something else for now so I don't get ahead of you let me know when you get to chapter ten then we can read to chapter 15 the day after, no rush! Take your time I just don't want to forget things I want to talk about because I get too far ahead of you. I read constantly because I'm stuck in bed a lot. But for now, I'm going to pick back up Roxy's Warriors because I never finished reading that book. Let me know how you like the next ten chapters I don't want to talk about them yet in case I give anything away :)

Awesome! Me too, i love mythology and the 80s is a lot of fun.

(view spoiler)[
Hmm i feel like Hades does too from the start, as his control of like the black stuff whatever that Steph see. Also how he says she is too vibrant for him, seems hint towards what she is.

The marriage/divorce doesn't bother me as i presume its from persephone? Theres is always a mixed/split thing like the seasons and seems like they have twisted the tale, as appears Zeus may have been the cause of the stuff that happened between Hades and Persephone here. Instead of the usual with the pomegranates that Hades causes. (hide spoiler)]

Oh and i don't feel his really going after her, as much as Steph is chasing him which i kind of love so far.

Its been a while since ive looked at hades/persephones tale though so i may be wrong.

Thanks! Feel free to discuss if like though, i know i tend to write a lot so am always happy to hear how its going and favourite parts. You can always use spoiler tag thing if feel better that way and i will do same from now on, if anything major xx

I haven't read any hades based stories in awhile but a lot of other greek mythology stuff and I was working my way through the Dark-Hunter series not too long ago but I stopped at Bad Moon Rising I've been meaning to start back up but they always mix in a lot of greek mythology and I love that. The Lords of the Underworld series is what got me to really start reading again and they mix in a good amount of greek mythology also, I personally find greek mythology interesting but not interesting enough to read scholarly books on it so when they mix it in with my favorite Romance novels I feel like I get to learn a little about it while enjoying the myth. For instance, they mention Theseus and I had to google him to know who he was so I learned a little while enjoying a good fantasy :) Oh and feel free to talk as much as you want, I tend to write a lot myself but be warned I have a bad habit of veering off-topic and going on a tangent about things like greek mythology sometimes lol

Spoiler
Their vacation is fun but it seems like they're on a cruise ship with all the hotel activities. I mean why travel all the way to Greece and spend all your time at the resort, I know Hades took her to that island with the old temple but I hope they travel around Greece more! The Masquerade ball is fun and I love the dress she describes wearing but Jesus/Zeus makes some strange comments that makes me wonder what he's up to? And Hades was giving of such strange vibes beforehand like he wasn't interested in her so I was surprised he not only showed up but went and gave Keith food poisoning so he wouldn't have any competition, but it's hilarious the lord of the underworld could be so self-conscious about himself that he gets jealous because of a mere mortal such as Keith lol and the possessive way he starts putting his arm around Steph in the pool the next day when Keith is feeling better It's just funny to imagine the freakin Lord of the Underworld threatened by a simple human male lol

Finished ch 10!

Lol i think depends on person and holidays you like, i much prefer sightseeing like you say. But many will pay for one like resort where they can relax and do lots within one place, low effort. I worked on a hotel resort and the days were busy full of activities. So i kind of enjoy seeing them just messing about at hotel, good memories 😂

(view spoiler)[
Greece is beautiful though, so i loved they went to the canal with Sara and also out on a date. Walking on the beach late, barefooted is the best feeling! Quiet and beautiful.

Lol i agree on the food poisioning thats hilarious, i expect Hades to be rather possessive/protective though so didn't surprise me. Many the gods & goddesses despite living for thousands of years, proven to be childish and repeat mistakes. Zeus is the worst for it, so doesn't surprise me Hades feels threatened by human 😂

Im expecting zeus/jesus to be a dick as usual, try to mess things up based on what he was doing earlier and his current work. Hades i think was interested, but uncertain like he says she doesn't react to him the way most mortals do. Same with Sara. (hide spoiler)]

Loving the slow burn feels so far though 💕

I shall catch up to you now xx

Oh and they joined the dirtydancing! I am so excited to see that dance

Im going to catch up to you now!

I kept reading so Spoiler
Is it just me or does Hades seem a little too well mannered? I mean he lives in hell and there both like blushing teenagers getting couples massages together and practicing dirty dancing I expected Hades to be much more forward with what he wants and to take not ask you know the whole Alpha bit. Not that I'm not enjoying the slow burn it's just unexpected. And I'm really curious how Stephanie's case plays into all this, the wife of the dead guy in the beginning of the book did say that her husband visited her from the underworld and told her there was some kind of evidence left behind and then Stephanie happens to have that flyer blow onto her desk and finds out that she's going to the exact same resort the next day and then meets the one and only Hades there must be bigger things at play I'm curious as to what. So I'm going to keep reading

Hmm i see what you mean, but i kind of prefer his not been typical alpha thats something i loved so far that Steph kind of took the lead in their start and went after him. Since too often its the other way, i still enjoy alphas but its nice to have a change though like you say its unexpected.

Although tbh Hades even in mythology is not the alpha sort compared to the other gods, as proven in his adoration for persephone and the balance they have. Even with the awful way it started. As he mentioned earlier his brothers have queens but neither are equals in power. Hades always shared with Persephone, like the split seasons and she had her own part like the elysian fields.

(view spoiler)[I had forgot that mention though from the woman! I am intrigued to how the case connects to everything now, thanks for the reminder.

Im finishing Ch 14 at the moment! I loved the spa trip and the dirty dancing scene was beautiful, i enjoyed it so much. (hide spoiler)]

Curious to how things going to work out, so going to finish ch 15 for tonight xx

Im not sure where half my mythology knowledge comes from i just have always been fascinated by ancient rome and greece, so guess i did research i as a kid. Along with my love of the percy jackson series, but i am similar i had to look up theseus as i'd forgotton his story 😂

I really liked the goddess summoning series too, which starts with Goddess of the Sea

Spoiler I'm on chapter 18 now and I'm kinda getting a little disappointed, I'm pretty sure there are only 20 chapters I could be wrong but I feel like nothing has really progressed.

Hades and Stephanie have only shared a few kisses here and there and Stephanie is chasing after Hades again going down the river Styx which is great except as much as she chases him she claims it's only to say goodbye!? Why can't she even consider possibly being with Hades for real at this point?

There's also the fact of all those unanswered questions I hope they're covered in the next 2 chapters, like all the strangeness with Steph's abilities and what forces drew the two of them together in the first place, and was Zeus pulling strings in the background because it sure seemed like something magical put those two together in Greece.

Then there's the whole showdown with Thanatos he gives no reason why he suddenly felt the nerve to try and quite being Death Incarnate what are his real motives besides simply not wanting to do it anymore?

More importantly what's the deal with Persephone?! There hasn't been any mention of her or why she left or where she is or what she's doing now, you would think she would have a bigger role in all this, and I thought it was said that Thanatos helped her escape Hades even though it's not mentioned how he managed this but they made it seem as if Thanatos and Persephone have a love interest together and that was Thanatos's motivation but when he faces off against Hades there's no mention of Persephone or bad blood between Hades and Thanatos over Persephone.

I'm confused I hope the rest of the book answers these questions I plan to finish it in the morning.

Aww sorry its not been good for you! Yeah theres only 21 Chapters. I can understand that too in terms of Steph still no idea what her abilities such is from.

(view spoiler)[I agree completely on Zeus being somehow involved, because of like the magic and how both ended up there. Like the wind at start showing that leaflet and little moments throughout.

Oh and i think young got confused, Thanatos is not the one thats her love interest or helped her it was the hero Theseus that sent with Persephone. Honestly im not too bothered that haven't seen her, as heard enough from Hades earlier about what happened.

Thanatos i feel like Zeus might have something to do with again, but also feel may help out in terms of plot and their goals in general. I enjoyed getting to see Hades true form and look forward to seeing the underworld. (hide spoiler)]

I will admit the mystery aspect is rather disappointing, without many answers considering almost to the end. But tbh im not a huge mystery fan anyway so just been ignoring it and enjoying the rest 😂

I shall finish when home from work tonight x

I am enjoying the book so don't take all my complaints to heart I think there's a strong heroine that I love and reading a completely different version of Hades is fun I'm glad he doesn't live up to the norm because then he would be all scary killy, plotting and kidnapping Stephanie and we would have a very different type of book. I enjoy a book that's not so gut-wrenching sad and dramatic that it makes it hard to read at times and because it makes my heart hurt, this is light and fun with all the hotel activity's I'm enjoying it.

Your right about Theseus being the one to save Persephone I completely forgot lol, I even googled him at the beginning of the book lol I got the names mixed up somewhere along the way but it should have been obvious because Thanatos is Death and Theseus was the unifying king killing Ogers Minotaurs and what not. Duh Rachel lol
This is why it's good to have a book buddy to clear up my stupidity ;)

Okay I'm going to finish the book now I'll write again in a few

Alls well that ends well! I finished the book it was a cute fun story I enjoyed it but because it's a short book a lot of things went underexplained like the workings of the underworld how extensive their powers are how Stephanie adjusts to living in the underworld and being in control of the Elysian Fields.

When Stephanie visited her mom they eluded to the idea that the Elysian Fields are a weigh station until you go to the next place and her mom vanished into gold dust making you think she moved on, I'm curious as to where she went like does she go to heaven and does that mean the Greek gods exists among angels and a Catholicism based God?

I do feel like the whole Stephanie seeing auroras thing was underwhelming and the story could have left that part out.

Basically, I still feel like I was left with questions. But it was a short book and I think the author explained as much as she probably could and I enjoyed the sweet slow-burn romance

The question now is do we read Apollo's book?

Oh of course not. I love having a book buddy to talk with, as interesting to see how view different things and what each other picks up on. Like i totally forgot the mystery from the start so im glad reminded me that! Im the same too with not being big fan of sad, dramatic so much prefer light and fun 😊

Lol we remind each other, so thanks xx

Yay! Im glad enjoyed it in the end, yeah i agree thats short so many areas didn't get the chance to be explored. I would have loved to have seen them develop in the underworld, but the epilogue was really sweet 💕

I think usually when leave the elysian fields, its presumed you ascend so heaven or like reincarnation usually but been a while since i've explored that part of mythology. I think the idea of like god is not so much there, but underworld is ike aspect of hell... Then olympus is like heaven? The angels and demons could fall into that as well, but yeah i have no idea 😂

I enjoyed that Steph could see auras as feel thats what pulled her to Hades to start and how she can recognise like feelings/emotions from it, like with Rupert and others. But i don't think it really had a purpose other then that, there wasnt much reason for it other then to make her seem special.

Personally i kind of loved this book and im probably go 5 stars, because it just made me smile and feel good. I loved the romance, slow burn, all of the holiday vibes and the friendship of the girls. Its definitely not perfect and could do with extra added, but it was perfect for me at this moment in time 😊

I don't think i have time to read apollo now, i have another buddy read starting saturday. Then a couple arcs to get through. But for february my plan is to read pure fantasy type books, so may jump for then?

I understand if prefer read now, im sure we shall find other books to buddy read later on in month 💕

You can join us for My Prince saturday if like xx

I would love to read another book with you but I haven't really gotten into mm romance, while I don't mind reading about it for instance I love reverse harems and I enjoy the male on male love but I need a female at the center of it otherwise I can't bring myself to imagine that I'm the main character and that takes all the fun out of it for me. So I will probably not enjoy My Prince. But if you do any other buddy reads let me know!

I really enjoyed getting to read this book with you! It's so fun having someone to talk about my favorite hobby (reading romance novels) I don't have any friends who enjoy reading what I do except for a few people I recently met through Goodreads like you :)

I will hold off on reading Apollo, but if you want to read that or any other book together just let me know what you're in the mood to read!

Oh of course, no problem i thought might be the case so all good 😊

Me too! Agreed, im the same so have loved goodreads getting the chance to talk to other book lovers and read some amazing books together.

Sweet, i shall let know depending on how fast get through my next few reads. Could be later thing month, but if not say 1st of Feb 💕

Feel free to message, let me know if any books you would like to read together too.