HOUGHTS

Well, this was a book, I guess. If you're wanting a dark Hades and Persephone romance, this isn't it. If you're wanting much of anything, this isn't it. There have been few reads so bland for me in this, the year 2023. But bland is about the best I can offer here.


PROS
Plant Magic: Who doesn't love a bit of plant magic? In an underworld as dreary, monotonous, and gray as the one Melinda Salisbury builds, having a touch of plant magic to liven it up is nice. And though Corey discovers her plant magic in this setting, there are hints at it all along. She's an avid gardener, after all, with a flourishing garden in the mortal world even as the winter is descending. And her mother was renowned for her ability to grow any- and everything--so this magic is hereditary. It's got a history.

Not-So-Furious Furies: The furies get a bad rap. It's not really their fault that they've got a job to do, right? And while Salisbury doesn't paint these monstrous mythological beings in an altogether rosy light, there is definitely the benefit of the doubt thrown their way. They're humanized (as ironic as that might be for monsters who aren't human), and I appreciated that twist on the mythos.

Vibrancy: The underworld setting is particularly drab (as I will go into more below), but Corey and her plant magic really do liven it up, as I've said. Not only is the plant magic a touch of brightness in this dreary setting, but it is absolutely magical, too. The setting feels so drab that it is easy to forget what a truly otherworldly place Corey has landed herself in... until she's summoning dripping, golden pomegranates from the black soil itself. Her garden is glittering and golden, flashy and exhilarating.


CONS
Persephone: This girl comes from an island that wholeheartedly believes in mythology. They don't just know it. They live and breathe it. They are quite devout. But for a girl who grew up on the mythos... why doesn't she have questions about Persephone? I have questions about Persephone, a lot of them. Hades and Persephone is, after all, one of the best known of the Greek myths. But Persephone just doesn't exist in this world? I get the fact that the mythology and the reality might not necessarily match up, but I would expect the question to come up, anyway. But this girl, raised to be devout when it comes to the old gods, doesn't seem to know anything about Persephone. And that just doesn't make sense to me.

Wavery Setting: I've called it "dreary" and "gray" above, and that description holds true. That's about the only description that holds true. Because if you're looking for a sense of the underworld itself, you're not getting it here. There's a cave where Corey and the furies spend most of their time, and that's about it. There's no real sense of what anything looks like, how anything is laid out. Even the cave itself doesn't quite feel real. It's like living in a Plato-style allegory--you've got the shadows of a setting but not an actual setting. It's hard to get invested in invigorating a landscape when you didn't even get the sense of a landscape in the first place. It's all so wavery and unreal. It's hard to care.

Nonsensical Worldbuilding: This world doesn't make sense. As I've pointed out above, the actual underworld descriptions are both nondescript and nonexistent. And the mortal world doesn't make a lot of sense, either. Even if we put aside Corey's glaring gap in knowledge, why does this island actually believe in this stuff? Where is this island actually located? It felt kind of British in general, but why are the gods situated here instead of, I don't know, the Aegean Sea? It just makes no sense to me. There were choices made for no obvious reason, and no unconventional reason was given in the book, either. We were just expected to buy it, and I really didn't.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/10
Fans of the splashy contemporary update to Greek mythology that Rick Riordan provides in The Lightning Thief will like this modern take on underworld living. Fans of Melissa Landers's Lumara will like the delicate magical balance to this island living.

loved this romance and how the journey stated and ended. loved the friends and all of the trials that they went through on the journey. loved the cast and i can't wait t read more.

Her Dark Wings is a modern day retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth. The story does take some liberties and changes a bit of the story here and there, but overall, the elements are there.

Corey has been betrayed by her best friend, Bree, and her boyfriend. There group of three splits when Corey is dumped by her boyfriend for her best friend. Corey is infuriated by the betrayal. Reader's first introduction to the main character is filled with anger, and some celebration over the recent loss of Bree. This celebration is tainted with a degree of guilt as well. This leads to a journey of self discovery and trip into Hades' underworld. Salisbury blends this modern day tale with mythology in a really unique and interesting way. Woven in the story are strong themes of betrayal, friendship, self actualization and forgiveness.

Overall, it's a solid young adult fantasy read. Those with a working knowledge of mythology would be of some benefit to some degree. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more world building. The setting can be a bit vague at time as well as some of the more intricate parts of the modern day world that Salisbury creates. Of course this is a personal preference. Despite that, for me it was a fast read, fully entertaining, and one I think our young adult readers will enjoy.

Really imaginative and beautifully written. A feast for the senses!

Engaging retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth, placing the Olympian world in the modern. I was wrapped up in the haunting imagery, the inner monologue of our main character. I’m dying to know more of her backstory and all about the rest of the world in which the story takes place.

Thank you to NetGalley, TBR & Beyond Tours, and the publisher. These opinions are my own.

A modern day, contemporary retelling of Hades and Persephone, HER DARK WINGS is a story of friendship and love, betrayal and loss. Corey and Bree were once inseparable…until they weren’t. Now Bree is dead, and Corey is left grappling with the friendship that once was, but will never be again. ⁣
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This book was like a story in 2 parts — the first part was dark and delicious and filled with seething anger and visceral hatred. Corey’s rage and need for vengeance was palpable and I wanted revenge just as much as she did. The second half takes Corey (and readers) to the Underworld, where Corey goes on a personal journey of sorts and comes to quite a few realizations, and eventually really grows into the person she’s meant to be. While each part is interesting on its own, I liked the full, cohesive picture they make together and how Corey grows and changes through the course of it all. ⁣
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All told, an interesting and compelling entry into the world of Hades and Persephone retellings, and certainly one that provides a unique and fresh take on the familiar tale. 4 stars.

Another Hades & Persephone retelling. But wait this one idk why but it felt different. I wanted to see everyone succeed and I love a good Greek mythology story. Most of the the hades books I’ve read have been pretty smutty and dark and yes this had spice but it wasn’t as dark and I loved that

A unique yet compelling retelling of Persephone and Hades. A duo everyone loves to read and it never disappoints. Keeping in mind that this book is entirely YA and does not venture at any point from that, I thought it was interesting! But don’t let that fool you because the first half of the book is most definitely the dark-esq romance you require. I think the authors writing is so smoothly done and had me rooting for our girl Corey the entire time. I wanted to see her succeed. Also I feel it has a surprising way of helping the reader come to the same mindset as the MC as well. Definitely try this one out!!

I'll be honest, the cover for this book is what drew me in! Melinda did not disappoint at all with this book. Once I started reading, I could not put this down. It felt so different from everything else I've been reading lately, and I was hooked. I appreciated how dark this ended up being and filled with lots of emotions. I also rather enjoyed it not being overly romantic, but I won't say that I didn't want a bit more of it! It's a strange predicament. I think, what I really wanted more of was Hades. His character was exactly what I'd imagine. A definite good read for the Hades, Persephone myth. I loved the unique take on it. I'll be rereading this one again!

I really enjoyed reading this!! This was an entirely new take on the story of Persephone and Hades. I have a soft spot for them so I was instantly interested when I saw this book. In all the other stories you have Persephone already aware of her powers and lineage for the most part. In this retelling Persephone is just Corey. A teenager whose life has been completely shattered by her supposed best friend and boyfriend. She’s just a normal teen girl who likes to garden and is just trying to survive through the drama of high school life when her ex best friend who betrayed her, winds up dead. As she’s trying to cope with the past hurt caused by her friend Bree and now the death of her as well, she’s spontaneously thrown head first into the world of those she thought were myths. I won’t say too much as to not spoil your fun but this story is so incredibly captivating and heart wrenching. I felt so much anger, frustration and sadness on Corey’s behalf. It’s a short read and I couldn’t recommend it enough. If you love hades and Persephone then you will love this original take on their story.

Where do I begin? If you like greek mythology and the love story of Hades and Persephone then I highly suggest this book. When I first started it, I wasn't sure about it but the more I read the more I was unable to put it down. The story of a girl who is betrayed by her to closest people speaks volumes. I loved following Corey along in her journey to find love and happniess. This is a book I will end up rereading time and time again.

I can never pass up a Persephone myth retelling when it comes to books and this was definitely a hit. I love the contemporary feel that was given to these characters, both gods and mortals. The characters were both relatable and mystical which creates a unique experience for the reader. It does a beautiful job of showing that many times people or acts are not just black and white, but a large spectrum of gray. We can have bad thoughts and good thoughts, but we sometimes have to take in intention/situation when looking at the choices we make. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to Random House / Delacorte Press and NetGalley for sending an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Her Dark Wings tackles darker themes of rage and violence, while also exploring what makes a person who they are. It’s a different take on the myth of Persephone and Hades. Or more accurately, Kore. As soon as I was introduced to Greek mythology, the story of these Persephone and Hades has always captured my fascination. I enjoy the retellings about them (some more than others). But often times, the alter-ego of Persephone is left out of retellings. I’m glad to see this is not the case in this novel, and in fact we see more of this vengeful/destructive side than the sweet goddess of spring.

The cover is stunning, I immediately wanted to read this book. The synopsis drew me in as well.

That being said, this was a lukewarm read for me. The FMC, Corey, was bland for the most part, and she didn’t seem very interesting to me until near the end of the book. Corey starts off as a young woman in pain and feeling betrayed by not only her boyfriend, but also her best friend. It's an awful end to a relationship, especially your first. When she sees them together, she immediately wishes that her best friend dies. And then that's exactly what happens. The rest of the book follows Corey into the Underworld where she tackles her feelings of guilt, rage, and vindication.
Hades shows up every now and again and he seems very hands-off in regard to well, everything. Ruling his domain, dealing with his subjects, actually interacting with Corey. Everything Is just ... meh.
If it weren’t for the side characters, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed this novel very much. All I will say is that Hermes needs his own book!

I really enjoyed the small pieces of the Underworld tremendously, and wish that we had seen more of it. The majority of the time in the novel is spent with the Furies, the mythical creatures who judge and met out punishments for the sins of mortals. This was a completely different way to imagine Peresphone / Kore spending her time, and I enjoyed seeing the dynamic of these monstrous sisters.

I think the biggest issue of this novel is the lack of answers as well as a lack of development for some characters. As an older reader, I feel like they stuck out a lot, but a younger reader would probably not notice. I really wanted to see a deeper issue come out of Corey’s feelings and her subsequent actions after seeing her best friend die. All of it felt surface level grief and pain. A lot of “problems” within the novel are lightly touched on or wholly ignored. I think this is a good book for a young teen who's starting to find that inner rage, but not for someone with a little more life experience.

The book ends open-ended enough to continue this into a series, but I probably won't be picking up the next book.

Well, not quite what I expected but it did pull me in. I'm not too fond of Corey but at the same time I like how she made friends with others like the one Fury, and Hermes. It was a quick read once I relaxed and just allowed myself to skim.

I loved the mystic of Her Dark Wings. I’ve always been intrigued by Greek mythology but can honestly say I don’t know a whole lot about it. That said, I went into this blind.

The world building left me with a lot of questions. I felt this could have been expanded on more. Dealing with the three fates, with focus on discovering where they belong in this mythological world.
Marked as YA, this truly is targeted for the younger reader. With just slight affection and attraction noted with no spice.
Beautiful cover, and this book had so much potential, but just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children‘s for this advanced reader copy in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 12 Dec 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 4.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Her Dark Wings is a story set place on an Island, where Corey lives. Her best friend betrayed her and heartbroken and furious, she wished Bree death. When Bree drowns, Corey and Bree reunite in the Underworld.

“ All growth begins in the dark. From the smallest daisy to the mightiest oak. It all begins in darkness”

I fell in love with the beautiful cover this book has and the synopsis definitely caught my attention! I love mythology, as I have often said, and I was curious to see how the Greek Mythology would be woven into this story and I also was intrigued how Hades played the big role and not another God.

The story starts off very interesting! I love how it immediately catches my attention and how believable this was. It made me wonder if that would be how we would live if we would still worship the Greek Gods in our modern world. I did have to pay attention at the start, since some terms were unknown to me and they weren’t always explained.

The writing style and description of this book were spot on! I wanted to go and visit all the places mentioned. I didn’t think a book could make me want to visit the Underworld, which has no (sun)light, live or anything.

The plot was very good, but I did sometimes struggle a bit to understand why certain events happened. I feel like some things are still unknown to me. Some questions did get answered, but very late in the book, which left me guessing for a long while.

Corey is such an interesting character and I love the growth she went through in this book. She is very angry at the beginning, lashes out and I love seeing her come to terms with what happened and how she accepts her fury as part of her but doesn’t let it consume her.

The feelings were beautifully shown throughout the events that happened and the raw emotions, I really felt those.

Overall, I enjoyed Corey taking me on her journey in Her Dark Wings and love the character arc and growth woven into a story full of heartbreak.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing the ARC.

I have a thing for Persephone and Hades retellings and I will devour any and a versions of the story. So when I saw that this book was a retelling with a twist, I was intrigued.

First off, it's a retelling in name only. While I can certainly pick up on different aspects of the original myth in this book, I don't believe it's a true retelling. Additionally, I don't like how young our main character is. It only serves to create a power imbalace.

Not a bad book by any means. Just not one book that I would with read.

When I first read that this was a reimagining of Hades and Persephone, I was intrigued. I don't know much about Zeus and all those gods except for the stories I read in school, but Persephone's story had always interested me. I will say that when they called it a reimagining, they meant it. The only thing that makes Corey like Persephone is the power she has to grow anything in nature.

The island Corey lives on feels timeless, far from modern society and still practicing old traditions. The people on the island all know each other, and gossip/rumors spread like wildfire. Corey's life feels like it's over when her ex boyfriend and her best friend get together, and both abandon her. As a 17-year-old, it might as well be. She was betrayed by the one person she never expected it from, the person she saw as a sister.

Her anger from their betrayal only grows stronger when Bree dies. To me it felt like Corey found it easier to hate Bree instead of mourning the best friend she once had, especially now that she would never be able to speak with Bree or get any kind of closure.

The Furies were one of my favorite things in this book. All three are unique in their looks and personalities, yet they all took care of each other (as sisters usually do).

Hades and Corey are so awkward together it's hilarious.

This book leaves some unanswered questions, which didn't take much from the story, but it would have been nice to get it all wrapped up in the end.

It left me wanting more from Hades and Corey. Honestly, the story would have been interesting enough without the romance. The friendship and betrayal between Corey and Bree and the Furies were all much more interesting than the romance. I still enjoyed reading this book though!

I like that Corey changes and learns to appreciate her worth and the things she can do.

If you like reading about reimagined Greek stories set in the modern world, friendships and betrayal, with just a hint of romance, then I would reccomend this book to you.

I really tried to like this book but something just didn't click for me. I think if the main character was older, it would have worked. But the high school drama fit the age. I don't know, it just wasn't for me. However the mythology aspects were good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Her Dark Wings is a retelling of the Persephone myth which follows teen Corey whose life is turned on its head when she wishes her best friend dead and her wish comes true.

I don't think there was anything objectively wrong with this book. It had interesting settings, compelling and morally gray characters (the best kind), and beautifully descriptive writing that drew you in without being overbearing. My biggest qualm is that, to me, this kind of felt like half a book and not a whole one. For as much time as Corey spends in the Underworld, her emotional journey when she returns back to the island and realizes she doesn't belong felt remarkably short. Beyond that, the scenes with her and Hades were so few and far between, I felt like I was missing out on that aspect of the retelling. I did enjoy the way things resolved with Bree, though I wish I'd felt more connected to who Bree and Corey were before their falling out over Ali so I could be more emotionally invested in their resolution.

Ultimately I think this book was decent, even if it did leave something to be desired for me. I know that there's plenty to enjoy here in the reinvention of this myth and of the gods and goddesses and their realms, and I'm certain I will be thinking about this book and the world it created for ages.

ARC Reader for NetGalley

A compelling dark YA take on the myth of Persephone. Corey & Bree, Bree & Corey, best friends forever… until they weren’t. Betrayal and death have torn them apart. After seeing Bree’s shade, Hades & the entrance to the underworld Corey is thrown in to a journey that will shape her into who she will become.