While the Thirteen and other members of their inner circle know of his existence, it’s not until Persephone crosses the river and stumbles straight into his arms that she herself realizes Hades is more than a myth.

While in the Upper City, Hades is rumored to be dead, in truth he quietly rules the Lower City, waiting for the right moment to take revenge on Zeus – who killed his parents when Hades was a child. No one familiar with the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone will be surprised by the next turn of the story. When she steps outside for air minutes after the engagement is announced at a party, panic takes hold and Persephone runs away, ultimately finding herself crossing into the Lower City and a world she never imagined. More than that, Persephone is already uncomfortable with the lecherous looks Zeus sends her way, and has no interest in sticking around for more of them. While Persephone is fairly certain her mother has some scheme in place to keep her from being married to a monster, she isn’t sure how long it will take to play out. In possession of a heritage title and the de-facto leader of the Thirteen, Zeus is about sixty and rumored to have murdered his past few wives. Persephone has no interest in the politics and mind games of the Thirteen, but is abruptly dragged into them by her mother when Demeter announces Persephone’s surprise engagement to Zeus.

Persephone is one of the daughters of the current Demeter, and she longs for the day that she will come into her inheritance and be able to leave Olympus for the wider world. Demeter, for example, is an elected title whose role involves overseeing the agricultural resources of the city. The Thirteen are titles representing major Greek gods and goddesses (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc.) and can be either inherited or elected titles. In the modern city of Olympus, the Upper City and Lower City are separated by the river Styx, and ruled by the Thirteen. While it took me a little while to orient myself in the author’s world, overall this book proved to be a promising start to this new series by Katee Robert. I’ve always been a fan of fantasy romances, and so Neon Gods easily caught my eye as a mix of fantasy, Greek mythology, and erotica.

Neon gods book 1