Title: A Touch of Darkness
Author: Scarlett St. Clair
Publisher: Bloom Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2021
ISBN: 9781728258454
Synopsis:
Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger. Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can’t resist.
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I think many readers will be lured in by the Hades and Persephone retelling that shapes this story, but for me, the tale fell flat. What I’m learning about myself is that I’m not one for retelling, or at least not obvious ones. My preference is for the book inspired by the original myth, but I find a straight out, unveiled retelling to be hokey and difficult to connect to. And yes, I say this as I’m working through a retelling of the King Midas myth, but I’m not sure if I’m enjoying that one either. Perhaps it’s time to consider stepping away from the retellings corner of the bookstore for a while…
In A Touch of Darkness, Persephone a goddess posing as a journalism student, is a vapid and intolerable. I struggled with every decision she makes because she doesn’t think anything through, nor does she have any autonomy throughout the story. She’s ruled by the decisions of others and even as she experiences a mild growth trajectory and begins to take control of her life, even that is driven by the actions of others, and not from her own innate sense of growth. She’s also quick to believe the words of others rather than trusting her own gut and making judgements for herself based on what she witnesses. It’s incredibly frustrating and while I could get on board if she went through a massive personality transformation, she never experiences a higher level of self-growth. This leaves the story falling flat.
There is an also a lot of “tell” not “show” going on. For instance, Persephone lists out a slew of powerful talents that Hades possesses, but we never really witness it in a tangible way. It’s hard to believe him (or any of the other gods/goddesses) as these mythical beings as they just don’t possess the power that one would expect. They should be brimming with immense and awe-inspiring strength, but what we see is on par with human capability with slightly-elevated abilities. Not really what you expect to see in the fantasy genre.
Overall, this first book in the series has been a let down. It’s well-rated on Goodreads, but IMO, it doesn’t live up to the hype. Hope you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 