Goddess of Spring

This book wasn't perfect, but it was a decent story. For those of you expecting the classic Hades and Persephone, you will be disappointed. But if you set aside this expectation and settle yourself for a rather different take of the H and P story, then you should enjoy this. Ms. Cast has improved her writing since Goddess of the Sea, so this story is more fluid. This story was good for a nice afternoon read with a cup of tea, and many parts of the story were quite humorous and enjoyable. Again, don't expect classic H and p. This is very different, but I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this book far more than I ever expected to. I place full blame on the character of Lina who is wonderfully fleshed-out, incredibly relate-able, and totally charming. I also enjoyed end-of-the-book Persephone and her sass. I loved that this book was full of interesting, strong female characters. Of the three men in the store one was an unfortunate gay stereotype (worth the loss of a star on the rating alone), one was super annoying, and one was basically there for the plot. I didn't find any of them particularly interesting. That being said, Hades didn't HAVE to be interesting, because as much as this a romance story, it is clear that Hades isn't the only reason that Lina belongs in the Underworld. She creates friendship and show more community and those things are just as important to her as her relationship.

I haven't read a lot of romance novels in my life, but this is a great example of doing it right. show less

I'm always on the look out for romance novels based on the Persephone myth. Thus far, this is the best one I've come across. It has an interesting twist that refreshes the myth without straying too far from tradition. The portrayal of Hades is, for me, spot on -- and that's really what I most care about. In addition, there's plenty of romance and magic going on, adding up to a very satisfying read. I'm not a huge fan of P.C. Cast, but this particular book is definitely one of my favorites.

I felt like this one started slower than the first one but I knew it would get better because it's by PC Cast and, hello, I love her! Once it picked up, it tore my heart out and I was once again just in love and crying for the heartache ... Love!

Adrianne

y'know what? I see you, PC Cast. I see you. 3.5 stars.

This was better than I expected but it seems like the golden rule of romance in Trade Paperback format being just...better...holds true so far!

The Greek myth stuff really drew me in when it was recommended to me (predictable, I know), and I was really pleased that there were tons of it in here. Not just a twist on the original tale, but some remixes & commentaries of other small stories, as well as some nice commentary on the gods as a whole. Some things threw me off (why was Artemis 'Diana' when everyone else was using Greek names...?) but overall I really loved rediscovering it with a more modern tone. we know this is all i live for.

And...the romance itself? I dunno. It kind of show more gained most of its points for me in avoiding typical romance pitfalls (other than describing so many things as 'erotic'???? oh no please), which isn't the best way to review books, I know. Didn't care about the romance, started skimming the drama. What I liked most was Lina's exploration of the Underworld, Eurydice, and how it took on something very different: a middle-aged woman coming in to accepting herself and all she's (still!) worth. Hades was...NOT a total shithead, so there's that. I appreciated the angle that he was chill and aloof not because he was such a Romantically-Challenged Sex Machine with a Dark Past, but because all the other gods did that job for him and he'd seen and longed for a soulmate connection instead. (also neat because it woulda been incredibly easy to make him think romance is worth Jack Shit because of how people are torn apart at the end.) man why are men so boring when you're supposed to be falling for them tho

This is a bad review. But hey I enjoyed it. I grabbed another one from her series at the same time, and I'll be heading into that soon, and I'm pretty excited about it, so - job well done! show less

Aside from having some of my favorite covers in romance, P.C. Cast's stories are becoming my must-buys. Goddess of Spring, so far, is by far my favorite.

How do you convince your readers to fall in love with Hades? Yeah, Hades. He's the hero. When I read the back blurb, I was really curious. This isn't the usual hero fodder. But, as I said, I love P.C. and I knew if anyone could pull it off, it was her.

Goddess of Spring is about an Italian bakery owner -Carolina (Lina) - who, by mystical circumstances, trades places with the Goddess Persephone, who is being sent into the Underworld to "vacation" with the God Hades. Oh, what a hero! I sing for thee Hades. The colorful Underwold was beautifully done. It's impossible not to fall in love show more with this story. show less

With a B.A. in Latin, I more or less have to read anything that's a reworking of a Graeco-Roman myth. I found this to be a fun read, which raised only one objection: Demeter's insistance that she would never allow her daughter to be raped, even by a god. The problem is that in myth, Persephone was carried off by Hades with the full permission of Zeus, her father. In ancient Greece, that might as well be a wedding: the father had given his permission, the mother and daughter's interests were irrelevant, and the only weird bit was that he snatched her out of a field without warning. In praising how P.C. Cast salvages "misogynist" myths, too many people lose track of the fact that this story wasn't misogynist, it was a mythic look at the show more grief and powerlessness of mothers and daughters torn away from each other. show less