Queen of the Underworld by Felicity Heaton [Review]

Queen of the Underworld (Guardians of Hades #0.5) by Felicity Heaton
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 25, 2023

Guardians of Hades
0.5. Queen of the Underworld - Paperback | Kindle
1. Ares
2. Valen
3. Esher
4. Marek
5. Calistos
6. Daimon
7. Keras
8. Thanatos
9. Hades

Felicity Heaton
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Hades, the wickedly dark god-king of the Underworld, needs a queen.

And he’s chosen Persephone.

All Persephone has ever desired is control of her own life, and someone noticing her once in a while. Kept in her mother’s shadow, and overlooked by the entirety of Olympus, her dream seems impossible… and now she’s doomed to wed a dull god of her mother’s choosing…

Until she crosses paths with a handsome, dark warrior who rouses wildfire heat in her veins—a male whose immense power is unmistakable, and who matches the fearful tales whispered in Olympus—stories of a cruel, heartless king who rules his realm of death with an iron fist.

When Hades abducts her and imprisons her in the depths of the Underworld, a dormant part of her awakens. And as she slowly discovers the truth about him, Persephone isn’t sure whether the snarling, dark beast of a king is her doom… or her saviour… but she knows one thing…

She will embrace the fire he awakens in her with every heated glance, and every vicious growl.

And use it to tame him and forge her dreams into reality.

Because, Persephone, the quiet, gentle goddess of nature, desires a king.

And nothing will stop her from claiming his black heart.

Thoughts on Queen of the Underworld: After seeing Hades and Persephone's brood go toe-to-toe with, well, everything thrown at them (while finding their other halves!), we now get to see how things played out when the god-king and god-queen of the Underworld first met.

Hades wasn't in the best place when he first laid eyes on his queen. His darkness had its hooks in him deep and he was consumed by blood and chaos. I mean, the guy stole Persephone and spirited her away to a bespelled tower in the Underworld to convince her to be his queen. His darkness wanted to skip the convincing part, too. So, yeah. Hades wasn't in the best place when he first crossed paths with Persephone.

As for the soon-to-be-queen, she was...well, kind of forgotten and overlooked by most on Olympus. Her powers were considered nothing special and she was constantly overshadowed by her mother. Frankly, these things left on a mark on poor Persephone. She's hesitant and self-conscious and she absolutely can't fathom why someone as powerful as Hades would be interested in someone like her unless it was a joke. It takes time and a few heated encounters before she begins to see that he really does want her exactly as he says he does.

In other words, these two have to fight themselves as much as each other as they work toward a place where they could be in a relationship.

A tormented hero, a realm that responds to his moods, a heroine who has been taught over and over again that she's nothing, betrayal, complicated family bonds, and a couple who are oh so right for one another. *thumbs up*