ARC Review: A Persephone Retelling

Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury

Publication Date: December 12, 2023

Summary from NetGalley:

For all of Corey’s life, it’s been Bree and Corey, Corey and Bree. Best friends, the girls are inseparable—until a devastating betrayal leaves Corey shattered and alone. Corey is sure nothing could hurt more, until Bree suddenly dies. Now Corey is heartbroken and furious. How can she mourn her one-time friend when she is still so angry at her?

Yet Corey and Bree’s tale is far from finished. When Corey accidentally catches a glimpse of Bree’s spirit passing into the afterlife, she finds herself face to face with a god pulled from the darkest myths of her girlhood: Hades, lord of the dead.

Turns out, the legends are real. But Hades is different from what Corey imagined—and so are the Furies, terrifying and beautiful creatures who encourage Corey to embrace her rage. The more Corey discovers about the Underworld, the more her own power stirs. But can she resist the lure of the darkness within?

ARC provided by Random House via Netgalley for an honest review.

Confession:

At its heart this is a retelling of the Persephone myth, but this story is so much better. I loved how the author took that basic story and turned it into a story of grief, anger, self discovery, empowerment and finally forgiveness. It was beautiful and certainly blurred the lines between reality and myth.

Corey was an interesting character. I didn’t really like her at the start of the story. I thought she was being very self centered, stubborn and very whiny. She was unable to move on from Bree’s betrayal. But as the story progresses she does show tremendous growth and depth. I really enjoyed watching her change into a strong young lady with tremendous power.

The Furies were my favorite characters. They were scary and powerful, and yet at times they were incredibly kind towards Corey. As the story unfolds, though, we discover just how manipulative they have been and we really begin to see their true nature which was horrifying. I did feel sorry for them at times, they have been given a terrible role in the Underworld, but they fill it well.

The original myth has Hades kidnapping Persephone and then manipulating her into staying in the Underworld. This story changes this part of the myth quite a bit. In fact, we barely see Hades in the whole story. But, it totally works for this tale. I liked this particular Hades. He actually cares for Corey and wants to do right by her. He is totally drawn to her because of her power, but I truly believed that he comes to respect her for who she is towards the end.

The writing was beautiful and very atmospheric. The Underworld felt truly haunting and not a place I would ever want to visit. The pacing was good, but did drag just a tiny bit in the middle. The juxtaposition of the Underworld with Corey’s life on the island was well done. The connection between Hades and Corey was also nicely done and believable. The ending was perfect.

This is the first Persephone retelling I’ve read. I understand that there are a lot of them out there that more closely follow the myth. If that is what you want, then choose one of them to read. If you want a different retelling that focuses on the grief and self awareness of a remarkable young lady, then this is the story you want to pick up.