This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record...

Since we’re rapidly approaching Autumn and then Winter, I thought it might be a good time to cover Hades and Persephone retellings. The ancient Greeks believed my two favorite seasons were caused by Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter, having to spend six months in the underworld with Hades, god of the underworld every year. Of course romance authors have seen the endless possibilities in the situation and I’m here to share a few of them.

A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone Saga Book 1) by Scarlett St. Clair brings the myth into the modern world. Hades runs a gambling empire and Persephone loses a bet to him. As a result she’s required to bring life to the underworld. Of course they fall in love as she struggles to fulfill the contract terms. This is book one of a seven book series where the author mixes humans, nymphs, orcs and gods and draws freely on the rich world of Greek mythology. Readers enjoyed the personal growth of the Female Main Character, as well as the ruthless nature of the god.     Amazon      AB

Abducted: A Hades and Persephone Romance by Bella Klaus features an FMC who goes to a masquerade ball and trusts the wrong man, ending up  being abducted to the underworld and forced to perform three impossible tasks to win her freedom. The character of Hades was first introduced in the author’s Blood Fire Saga but it’s not required to read that first. The world building involves a lot of magic and other gods from different pantheons as well. This is book one of three and ends on a cliffhanger.      AmazonKU      AB

I actually do have one book with the Hades/Persephone trope, which is Star Cruise Chef’s Kiss, a scifi romance novella. My FMC is an intergalactic five star chef who ends up getting abducted by an alien demon who rules over an alternate underworld. He demands she cook the meal of her life for his jaded palate and if she pleases him she’ll be free. But things are never quite that simple in these cases! And she only has one night to accomplish the feat.   Amazon

Dead of Spring: A Hades and Persephone Retelling by Colette Rhodes presents Hades as alone and misunderstood, which is catnip to the FMC even though she’s been taken to his underworld. As one reviewer said, “It stays true to source material while still giving the characters life, depth, and personality.”  The romance is a slow burn and there are steamy scenes along the way.to the happy ever after ending. The book is set in ancient times.     Amazon

The Atlantis Legacy scifi romance series by Lindsey Sparks and Lindsey Farley has been compared to “Lara Croft meets Star Gate”. Over the course of the six book series the FMC discovers she’s the “psychic reincarnation of the legendary Amazon Persephone”, with special gifts and the only person who can stop an invading alien race from destroying everything. The first book in the series Legacy of the Lost: A Sci-Fi Adventure with a Greek Mythology Twist (Atlantis Legacy Book 1) sets the world building in motion and is more of a treasure hunt.  In book two of the series “She must uncover the truth behind the myth of Hades, god of the underworld…before it destroys her,” as the book blurb states. By the time of the last volume “Cora and Hades must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for the freedom of their people.” Readers seemed satisfied for the most part with how the series ends and the problems are resolved.    Amazon       AB

Hades And Persephone: Curse Of The Golden Arrow by Heidi Hastings and Erica Hastings is book one of a duology. This illustrated edition is set in the classic times but provides a bit more backstory and depth for the characters. Hades was struck by a golden arrow and cursed by Aphrodite, goddess of love, to fall in love with Persephone and the story proceeds from there. The book ends on something of a cliffhanger but the story is resolved in book two. Most reviewers gave the book high praise.      Amazon

The Power of Hades: The Hades Trials (Dark Gods of Olympus Book 1) by Eliza Raine and Rose Wilson is a wild ride and the first book in the trilogy. Persephone did something awful and was therefore reborn as a human with no memory of her past. She’s a barista now. Zeus kidnaps her and takes her to the underworld to compete in a set of deadly trials to become Hades’s wife again. Here’s the FMC’s attitude at this point: “Who the hell wants a husband at all, let alone one made of smoke and riddled with death?”. The book ends in a cliffhanger. The series is slow burn, enemies to lovers, fated mates, mythology and a lot more before the HEA is accomplishd.      AmazonKU      AB

Hades: A Hades & Persephone Retelling (Standalone) (The IMMORTAL WARRIORS Book 5) by Rebecca F. Kenney takes a completely different approach and places the pair in her existing universe. The author states while this can be read as a standalone, “it will make more sense if you read “Wendy, Darling” and “Captain Pan” first.” Yes she’s brought in the concept of Neverland and as the blurb says, quoting Hades: “Let’s get one thing straight. I never wanted Persephone to live in the Underworld. But I owed Peter Pan a favor, and even I don’t want to screw over an influential Fae like him. So when he asked me to take Persephone to the Realm of the Dead with me, for her protection, I had to say yes. Persephone was in the Neverland realm for decades, living as a child among the Lost Kids, hiding from people who crave her abilities. Now she’s here in the Underworld, with a new adult body to match her true inner age…” And of course Hades is falling in love. Readers enjoyed the totally different take on the tropes of the myth and the nature of the Underworld itself came in for a lot of praise.     AmazonKU      AB

There are many more Hades and Persephone retellings out there to enjoy if you’re in the mood for a mythical retelling or two. Happy reading!

VS: And a few more I didn’t manage to get into my newspaper column!

KING OF IMMORTAL TITHE: THRILLING MM HADES AND PERSEPHONE RETELLING (DARKMOURN UNIVERSE BOOK TWO) by Ben Alderson

Human. Arlo Grey will do anything to fend off the sickness that longs to destroy him. To uphold the promise he made to his parents, ensuring the protection of his sister from the world and its dangers. Especially if the dangers come in the form of elves from a realm beyond that of the human world. Elf. Faenir Evelina is scorned for the murder of his family. Forced by the bitter Queen to partake in the Choosing, he discovers a single person who can resist the deadly grace of his touch. It has been many years since the vampiric disease spread wildly across Darkmourn, making humans a rarity. And protection from the undead comes at a cost, one that Arlo is forced to pay when he is stolen by the Prince of Death. Arlo finds himself tangled in a web of secrecy, family politics and unbridled magic when he comes face to face with the impending doom… his truth.     AmazonKU      AB

OF POWER ASND POMEGRANATES: A STEAMY HADES AND PERSEPHONE RETELLING (MYTHIC PASSIONS) by Cleo Calloway

Beneath the blossoms lies the shadow… and the man who would claim her. Persephone is the cherished daughter of the goddess Demeter, bringer of spring, adored and sheltered in equal measure. But beauty and bloom are not enough. She longs for more than the endless cycle of seed to flower. She longs to be desired. Hades, Lord of the Underworld, has watched her from afar, drawn to her light and maddened by his own restraint. When he hears her whisper her longing to the wind, he answers—pulling her into a world of silver-lit halls, pomegranate orchards, and a slow seduction that binds far more than her body. What begins as a dangerous game of power and temptation becomes a love that defies Olympus itself. But their passion comes with a price: six seeds and a war of wills.    AmazonKU

WILLOW AND GRAVE: A HADES AND PERSEPHONE ROMANCE  (IVY AND BONE BOOK FIVE) by R L Perez

At the mercy of the Titans, Prue and Mona must work together to escape. But when they realize they are trapped in a land without magic, they find themselves powerless against their captors. Cyrus and Evander are desperate to rescue them. But Cyrus grapples with his new weakness and fears becoming a king unworthy of his people’s loyalty. Evander, struggling with his own inner demons, makes a deadly and impulsive bargain with ancient spirits who want nothing more than to steal his immortal soul. Trapped within Pandora’s box, Trivia yearns to reunite with her sisters. In order to free herself, she must unlock her magic, accept her past mistakes, and embrace her powers. But the dark forces within the box will not let her escape without a fight…The only way to survive is for the gods and goddesses to unite. Can they gather enough forces to bring down the Titans, or will the realms be destroyed?      AmazonKU

AIDES THE UNSEEN: A HADES AND PERSEPHONE ROMANTASY by Heather Long

A love lost to time. A truth buried in myth. A goddess reborn. For centuries, the Lord of the Dead has searched for her—his queen, his soul’s twin, scattered across mortal lives and fading memories. She is Irina now, unaware of who she was, haunted by dreams that aren’t dreams, shadowed by gods who remember too much. But something is waking. Drawn together by fate, Irina and Graven—Aïdes, unseen ruler of the Underworld—find each other once more. But to reclaim her full self, Irina must walk through every life she’s lived, every truth she was denied, and confront the oldest lie of all: that she was ever a girl stolen. From the twisted corridors of memory to the roots of the olive tree where her name was buried, Irina will unearth the keys to her power, her past, and her future. But some gods will stop at nothing to keep her bound—and Aïdes will burn the world before letting her be taken again. This time, she chooses.     AmazonKU

WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMED (OF STARS AND SALT BOOK ONE) by K D Stark

War rages above. Death stirs below. And the Fates are far from silent. As the Trojan War shatters kingdoms, a goddess and a queen stand on the cusp of legend. Persephone, goddess of spring, was meant to remain untouched by shadow. Hidden by her mother in an attempt to outwit the Fates, she has been raised far from Olympus and the world of men. But when a chance encounter with Hades, the formidable ruler of the Underworld, binds their paths, she is thrust into a realm of power, peril, and desire. In his kingdom of shadowed beauty, she must decide if she is captive… or queen. Above, Helen of Troy faces her own reckoning, shackled to the besieged city of Troy. Stolen by Paris, she walks a dangerous line between survival and defiance. From within Troy’s bloodstained walls, she becomes ensnared in a treacherous dance with Achilles—the infamous warlord whose wrath threatens to destroy all. As the Underworld swells with the dead, Persephone and Helen must choose: to follow the threads spun for them by the Fates. Or else sever them, and weave something new. Two women. One war. And a destiny poised between ruin and rebirth.     AmazonKU