[book-review] Scarlett St. Clair - A Touch Of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1)

Once more this book is one I purchased ages ago in Summer, I think, and I didn't come around to read it because I got distracted by some many other beautiful and amazing books.

I got physiotherapy regularly again and somehow picked this one up since I didn't want to continue 'Song of Achilles' because of the pain it inflicts right now. I started it and with going back to work after my holiday and being quite busy, I barely read it at first. But 'A Touch of Darkness' gripped me right from the first page! Then two days ago, I read until 2am and finished half the book in one sitting. I could barely put it down and go to sleep because it was so amazing, gripping and touching.

Last night I finished all of it and it left me emotional, raw, in love and crying. 

Here's the official synopsis to book one in a series I yet have to devour:

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. 
After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. 
After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. 
The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. 
As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—and it’s forbidden.

A retelling with Greek gods you might ask? Yes, yes it is, but it's so much more as well.
It's a story about finding love, power and growth. A story about the fact that there sometimes is more to someone than a bad reputation and rumours.

It starts with young Persephone - a godess without any power - who lives with mortals and studies journalism. She's got a good friend Lexa that has no idea about her true identity and our young godess is continuously in fear of being swept away and into her old prison - a greenhouse - by her mother Demeter. She starts an internship at New Athen News and is fascinated by the God of Death, Hades, her mother loathes. One night the two friends head out to Nevernight - his club and gambling den - to celebrate and she is fanscinated by a dark man who makes her shiver and feel things she never felt before. 
They also met some mortals, Sybil - an oracle - and Adonis - who works with her at New Athens News. A while later she finds herself - in search for her friend Lexa - in the gambling part of Hades' club and without thinking she sits at a table. That's when the mysterious man joins her. After a few games that involve questions from both sides, the man - who obviously turns out to be Hades himself - wins and panicked Persephone runs from Nevernight. 

When she sees his mark on her the next morning she returns to find out that he bargains with her. 
If she manages to create life in the Underworld, she's free. If she does not, she has to stay with him. 
After that she writes a nasty article about the God of the Death that turns into a sensation and makes her famous. Only to find out - the more she gets to know Hades - that she was completely wrong and had a lot of prejudices against him.

Meanwhile both are fascinated by each other and things get more intense and intimate. Persephone doesn't know what to do and is torn between the guilt for her feelings towards the Lord of the Underworld and between the affection he also feels for her. 

The book was quite fast and yet had a lot of amazing scenes and slow burn. It was sexy and yet you could really feel the affection both felt for each other. 
Also Persephone changing, finding the Darkness inside her, shaping and controlling it was a brilliant and also frightful journey. 
Hades being completely different than to what you might think also was a brilliant change to the story. And yes I did fell for him. Fell like Persephone did. Hard and fast. 

You can already see that I absolutely loved this book and obviously it got 5 stars from me. 
I can't wait for pay day (yes yes I'm broke again because of too many books) and get all the other books that are published already and devour them as fast as I can. 

Also with 'A Touch of Darkness' I finished this years Goodreads goal with reading 25/25 books and I'm very happy about it. 

So if you love a good retelling, a sexy and yet romantic story, strong protagonists who try to find themselves and their abilities, you might want to grab a copy of this book and read this wonderful series by Scarlett St. Clair. 

If you've already read it, feel free to pop by and let me know what you think either here or on my booktwt or bookstagram. :)