Neon Gods: Smut Central

Modern Retelling? Not Really

I’m a huge sucker for retellings. Whether it’s Greek or Fairytale, it’s probably on my TBR list. Persephone x Hades, that’s my bread and butter! Modern? Hell yeah. I was so beyond excited to read this, even with the slightly negative reviews I’d seen so far. Unfortunately, it really didn’t wow me either.

While this is framed as a “retelling”, it really isn’t. The only thing that’s the same are the names. Persephone is eager to live with Hades, and the two form a bond very quickly. It was missing the much needed angst, and for that reason, I never felt really interested or submerged in this ship. Which, I guess you aren’t supposed to submerge ships. So, I didn’t feel… aboard?

Neon Gods is a modern retelling of Persephone x Hades written by Katee Robert. And while I did absolutely devour this book in one sitting, I really didn’t like it that much. Let’s dig into this review and learn more about why this book left a weird, dissatisfying after taste (without any spoilers, of course).

Lazy World Building

I really wanted to be excited for this world, but we didn’t get much information on it. All we know is that within Olympus there’s an upper and lower city. The Thirteen inherit or are voted in positions of power with titles that match the Greek gods and goddesses, such as Zeus, Demeter, Hades, and so on. However, no one has magical powers or any control over anything otherworldly. Demeter, for example, is in charge of food supplies, trading, and more.

We also never really find out more about the world that they live in. There are references to places like New York and California, so we have to assume that Olympus is located within the continental US.

One Dimensional Characters and Boring, Pining Romance

Roberts also doesn’t disclose much about the characters or their back stories. We never learn much about Zeus, making him feel like an anti-climatic villain, and Persephone doesn’t get much of a back story either, aside from wanting to wander and feel “free”. Her personality seems to flip completely when she gets to the Lower city, and there isn’t much expiation as to why, other than the lazy “I’m finally getting to explore what I want.”

While their love is hot and steamy, there’s absolutely no build up. They immediately fall in love (seriously, this isn’t a spoiler, it happens SO fast), and spend most of the book pining over each other and trying to learn how to talk about their feelings. I adore Persephone x Hades, but this gave me no grumpy meets sunshine vibes, and none of the angst I was looking for.

Megan, Did You Like Anything About this Book?

After I finished it yesterday, I probably could have come up with a few things that I liked. It was good enough to get me to finish it, and that was probably because of all the fluff tucked in between the various sex scenes. The sweet moments that Persephone and Hades share together save this book from a sad, one star review. However, it’s really close to edging over to 1.5 the more I distance myself from it.

So, should you read this book? If you’re looking for something quick, smutty, with almost no plot or dimensional characters, I would say give it a go. It’s a super quick read, so it won’t waste too much of your time, and there might be some parts that you enjoy! Overall, it was a far-cry from a retelling and there wasn’t enough conflict, but I found myself eager to keep reading, if only just to get it over with so I could start something else.

Neon Gods by Katee Robert: 2/5 Stars