The Hades Trials

Oh.MY.gods….PUN Intended

I have been a big fan of Persephone & Hades for a while and saw this; I added it to my Amazon list for funzies. My wonderful MIL bought it for me for Christmas and it took me a hot minute to sit down and devour it. And I do mean DEVOUR…I read this in less than a week.

This is three books set into one gigantic book! Which, if I’m being honest, made reading it so much better. I didn’t have to read the first and then wait with baited breath for the second and third books to come out. If you are an avid reader like we are you can appreciate that in a book series. Super bonus spectacular brownie points for this book in that regard.

Yes, there is sex in this book… there are also hot gods & goddesses and a plethora of other wonderful mythical creatures that made me laugh…like the gnome with the very large knob. On the character development, I give it 5 stars.

If you are looking for a no-brainer fantasy fiction book with a lot of flair for the fabulous then THIS is your book. It’s written beautifully and I enjoyed it immensely. The characters are colorful, the sex (when it actually got down to it) was hot, and overall it was set in such a great world that I didn’t want to leave. Usually, it takes me a while to read fiction and even longer for fantasy fiction so that is telling you something.

My only qualm is that there are at least a dozen editing mistakes that if someone would have given a 1/2 a damn to actually read the book(s) they would have found all of them. I kept taking pictures of the horribly edited parts, texting them to Lauren with the disclaimer that I found yet another 1/2 damn! For me, that kind of needlessness kept stopping me in my tracks. I’m telling you right now that in a past life I was probably an editor of some sort because it’s the small things like that which drive me bonkers!

If you are looking for that great vacation book or some hot smut with a dash of panache then this is definitely your book; Greek gods & goddesses aside. She paints this world she created doing a phenomenal job along the way. I highly recommend it.

If you are a stickler when it comes to editing, and misspelled words take you over the edge, or the sprinkling of wrong tenses makes you looney then I’d pass on this until someone goes over it with a fine-tooth comb. Just a friendly observation.

All in all, I’d read it again. I’m also tempted to see if she has any more books written out there. Just because one series of books had an editor that could have done a better job, the world she paints is enough reason to have me reaching out for more. I’d give it 4 stars.

Book summary (per Goodreads):

I’ve been kidnapped by Zeus. Plucked from the streets of Manhattan and frightened half to death by a freaking Olympian god.
And now I’m trapped in the Underworld, being forced to compete in a series of deadly trials for the position of Queen of the Underworld. Which would mean marrying Hades, the utterly terrifying Lord of the Dead. Who the hell wants a husband at all, let alone one made of smoke and riddled with death?

I have to get back home, to New York and my brother. But I can’t leave without completing the trials and they’ve been designed for a godly Queen, not Persephone – barista and botanical garden enthusiast.
I’m surrounded by lethal, all-powerful maniacs. Sexy-as-hell maniacs, sure, but as dangerous as they come. And I’m going to have to prove to all of them that there’s a goddess of hell inside me. It’s the only way I’ll survive the Hades Trials. But then what? And why, why, why am I so desperate to see under Hades smoky exterior and find out what he’s hiding from me?

If I win the trials, I have to marry the devil himself. But losing might mean losing my life.


This is the complete Hades Trials, including The Power of Hades, the Passion of Hades and The Promise of Hades. It is intended for adults and is packed with magic, mythology and slow-burn soulmate romance! *Contains swearing and mature themes.*