In the Shadow of Demeter Paperback – August 17, 2021

I will forever be a sucker for retellings of both Hades and Persephone & Cupid and Psyche. I got a bit of both in this book, and would 100% purchase a sequel that builds where we left off with Psyche. While perhaps not an exact retelling of the original version (or perhaps just unlike the more widely known version, since there are so many variants to Persephone’s story) I found the plot to be very enjoyable. Might not be for any absolute sticklers for greek mythology, but if you don’t mind an author taking a concept and subverting the story a bit I would say go for it.

Kore is a young Theoi (term for a Greek god/goddess) and the daughter of Zeus and Demeter—the goddess of harvest and agriculture—who is struggling to find her purpose, so much so that she has been largely forgotten by the other Theoi and tossed aside as insignificant. Only when she befriends the god of the Underworld and through him eventually finds her gift does she truly find herself and her own path, in the retelling of one of Greek mythologies most intriguing forbidden—or at the very least heavily frowned upon—love stories.“In the Shadow of Demeter” is broadly a captivating addition to the world of Greek mythology fiction, but at its core (no pun intended) is a story about never fitting in and the desire of wanting to belong and finding your place. Although I’m not incredibly familiar with a lot of Greek mythology beyond the most well known, Vic Malachi did a great job of telling the story in a way that everyone could follow, and included such a rich history to go with it that I was able to be fully immersed in the world. I particularly liked how the beginning of each chapter provided a little bit of backstory to the Greek Theoi mythos. The character development of the protagonist, Kore, throughout the main narrative was well plotted out and enjoyable to read.

I really enjoyed this book because it combined the feel of Greek myths with an understanding of political intrigue and character emotions. And, unlike most retellings, this one was deep and emotional without being steamy.However, I could not give it 4 or 5 stars: in many places, the passage of time was confusing and seemed to speed up or slow down without clear transitions, so much so that the reader had to spend minutes figuring out whether a flashback was happening or whether the story continued. The execution on the use of flashbacks, stories, and the creation myth felt rather arbitrary and often added little to no depth to the story. In addition, the plot was unclear — I could accept some haziness as a matter of style, particularly because of Greek myths, but the ambiguity was to the degree that, toward the end, I was just waiting for the book to end.So, in summary, I really liked this book, but it could have been much better executed. 3 stars for those reasons.

The book works really well on two levels. The main story focused on Persephone is beautifully written and would be a good read by itself. Interweaved with the main story is a broader story on the major characters of the classic Greek myths. Before starting the book my knowledge of Greek myths was minimal. While you may enjoy the book even more if you are well informed on the Greek myths, it's a wonderful story even if you begin knowing nothing about Greek myths!

Story was hard to follow—jumps of time happening mid paragraph, grammar was off in places.H&P’s relationship seemed very juvenile. I didn’t get “passion”, I got “besties” who occasionally kiss.Just not for me.

Great story! Loved the spin on the original story. This one truly hit home with the idea of finally finding a place to belong. Hoping there will be a second story possibly. I want more of the worldOf Hades!

The author has breathed spectacular life into all of the familiar characters in the Persephone myth. Persephone is the true heroine in this story. Had a lot of difficulty putting this down.

I had enjoyed the book until the ending it just stopped. I feel like I spent a lot of time getting into the book to just be dropped. It was ok to then but it feels unfinished. I share an account with my husband so this was from a female pov.

I had a great time reading this book. I loved every second of it, actually. It is a good retelling of Hades and Persephone and it is really sweet. Not steamy though. I think I would have liked some steamy scenes.

Me encantó este recuento del mito del rapto de kore, definitivamente deberian traducirlo al español, lo lei con un poco de dificultad por que el inglés no es mi lengua materna, pero esta bien escrito.