2.5 rounded down to 2

After book one was set in the modern world and book two was set in the underworld with no mention of technology, book three was an awkward blend of the two: a modern Olympus. In the lead up to the final showdown, readers were treated two a toned-down Hades and a powered-up Persephonie to the point that they felt out of character.

I don’t know if I even have the words to describe how much I enjoyed reading this book!!! I would recommend it to everyone!

A truly beautiful, powerful and AMAZING conclusion to a trilogy which took me on a complete emotional journey!!

I loved the whole lost memories plotline and watching Persephone and Hades falling in love again. Hades previously wrestled with Persephone being what made him lose control and it was interesting to see him having to rein that back in and revert back to the planner he was before. This was definitely my favourite part as although I enjoyed the introduction of the other gods, the relationship between Persephone and Hades is what kept me coming back to the series.

There were a few things I found a little vague such as Demeter's relationship with Kronos but I quite liked her as the villain overall. The whole Void part lost me a little too as did the treaty element with Nyx and Erebus; I struggled to visualise what was happening in amongst the big battle. I also felt like I was missing some previous exposition but it has been a long time since I read book one so its possibly mentioned there. Kronos was fine but felt a little underused which was a shame as I loved his jealousy towards Persephone taking Hades attention; I didn't understand adding Adonis as a character when Kronos was right there though. I was underwhelmed with his ending too however the choice to have none of his children witness it was not one I was expecting.
The Titan plotline didn't engage me as much as the rest however had this happened further down the line after meeting more of the characters I would have gotten more from it.

Overall, the series kept me engaged and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes in the follow up.

My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read

Good end to a great series. This one was a little slower paced for me for some reason. I did find myself struggling to finish it at some points, but it picked up at the end.

The best of Hade’s and Persephone’s story- loved the battle scene, the new power but wish we knew a little more about it and the tandem read with The Nightmare and the Daydream was fun!

Having just finished "The Queen & The King," I can confidently say it delivers a satisfying conclusion to the Hades and Persephone saga. The narrative picks up seamlessly from the previous book's cliffhanger, plunging the reader back into the passionate and tumultuous world of these iconic figures. Persephone's transformation is particularly striking. Gone is the damsel in distress; this Persephone embraces her power as Queen of the Underworld. Witnessing her growth throughout the series is truly inspiring. Hades, too, undergoes a significant shift. The stoic god of the underworld finally sheds his emotional armor, revealing a vulnerability that adds depth to his character. The dynamic between these two deities is captivating, and their development as a couple is a highlight of the novel. The plot itself is a masterfully woven tapestry of action, romance, and mythological intrigue. From thrilling battles to heart-wrenching moments, the story keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end.

However, it's important to note that "The Queen & The King" is best enjoyed after reading the first two books in the series. The narrative assumes familiarity with the characters and their established conflicts. Additionally, the story explores themes of loss and trauma, so readers seeking a purely lighthearted experience may want to consider this.

Overall, "The Queen & The King" is a must-read for fans of the Hades and Persephone mythos. It offers a compelling conclusion with unforgettable characters and a story that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Thank you to Rose and Star Publishing LCC and Netgalley for this digital copy!

Let's just start by saying what a great ending to Hades and Persephone's story (note: not the end of the series because I can't wait to continue with a new couple once the next book is out). I'm going to give this one 4.5 stars. The only thing I found there could be a bit more of was the action. I wish the fights with the Titans were a bit more elaborated on. I did like reading about Hades and Persephone (well mainly Persephone) falling for each other again and seeing more of how Demeter and Persephone's relationship was. I would like to know more about the servant's motives for helping Persephone. I'm hoping that even though Hades and Persephone will not be our main characters going forward that they make some cameos or at least Barry make some cameos because I want my own 3 headed dog.

I think this one was my favorite volume and I really want to read the one about Mellie and Helios.

Persephone made a pact with her mother and now Demeter wiped her memories about Earth and Hades. She's back in Olympus and back to being the perfect little daughter that knows nothing. But things are about to take a darker turn when the Goddess of Harvest announces that her daughter wants to be married and tries to push Adonis, letting him taste her before the marriage.

However, the way Hades made her fall in love again was really sweet and I actually kinda prefer this story compared to the one presented in the first volume. The scenes that included Berry were especially heart-breaking and I'm glade they added them.

Fear not, the titans were not forgotten and dealing with them is a roller coaster and again, just like the 2nd volume, the fight was quite chaotic in my opinion, and a bit rushed.

All in all, the trilogy was quite satisfying, but I really had to push my way through the first volume. I love Hades and Persephone, so I'm happy I got past the first one and enjoyed the rest of the books.

This volume concludes Hades and Persephone's story, but the collection has at least another book.

First let me say a huge thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book, really this whole series!

I must say this was an amazing way to wrap this series up! I absolutely adored the romance between Hades and Persephone, and the drama, the angst, just every rollercoaster of emotion this book provides was everything I could’ve asked for and more! I don’t want to give spoilers so I will just say that if you’re looking for a unique take on the myth of Hades & Persephone that will fill your heart with love but also have just enough heat to keep you checking your kindle for smoke than this series is definitely one to grab!

I was delighted to find that The Queen & The King seamlessly continues the narrative from where The Mistress & The Renowned left off, ensuring a smooth transition for readers without any lingering cliffhangers.

In this final installment, Hades grapples with the formidable task of winning back Persephone's heart amidst the challenges posed by Demeter, the Titans, and his own father. Meanwhile, Persephone undergoes a significant transformation, the repercussions of which extend beyond her own self and deeply affect their world.

Their journey towards reconciliation is fraught with obstacles and tests, yet ultimately proves to be immensely fulfilling. Observing the growth of their love and the development of their characters was a truly rewarding experience. By the time they are reunited, it's evident that their shared experiences have left them profoundly changed, but also stronger and more resilient than ever before.

After the last books cliffhanger I desperately needed book 3 and boy was it worth the wait! As always the lost memory trope is a serve.

Thank you to Netgalley the Publisher, of Rose and Star Publishing, LLC, and the authors Alexis Rune, and Jeanette Rose for providing and allowing me to review this book. Which, I'm giving my honest and sincere review.


In "The Queen & The King," the third book in Colleen Delaney's "Love and Fate" series, the plot revolves around the intertwined destinies of the enigmatic Queen and the valiant King in a richly imagined fantasy world.
As the story unfolds, readers are drawn into a realm where magic and fate hold sway. The Queen, shrouded in mystery and possessing formidable powers, finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue and danger. Meanwhile, the King, driven by a sense of duty and honor, embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind the kingdom's secrets.
As their paths converge, secrets are revealed, alliances are tested, and love blossoms amidst the turmoil. Together, the Queen and the King must navigate treacherous waters, facing adversaries and challenges that threaten to tear them apart.
Against the backdrop of a kingdom on the brink of upheaval, Delaney expertly weaves a tale of romance, betrayal, and redemption. With its twists and turns, the plot keeps readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the next revelation.

Ultimately, "The Queen & The King" is a captivating story of love and destiny, where courage and sacrifice pave the way for a brighter future. Delaney's masterful storytelling and richly drawn characters make this book a must-read for fans of fantasy and romance alike.

Ok so I made it through the first two, barely. but the struggle bus made it and I am kinda glad I did. While not fabulous this was the best of the three books. In the second book Hades is taken now in this one Persephone is taken by Demeter and her memories blocked. This took way to much time for her to break through and I was finding myself skimming most of the first half of the book. It finally got better and Persephone became the badass she was meant to be but it might have been a little to late for me to give it a higher rating. Still love Hades though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For me personally, this was the more difficult of the three to get in to. Maybe it was just me? I am glad that I stuck around to finish it because it was lovely! The characters in this book leave you feeling as though you know them in real life..the collaboration between Jeanette and Alexis was dynamic and interesting once I was able to get over the slump. I was excited to read this one and I so appreciate the permission granted!!! I will be recommending this to the public libraries in my region. Thanks, ladies!

What a way to wrap up Hades and Persephone's story! So much angst and love. Her mom is officially The Worst. I enjoyed getting more insight into the other gods and the powers they wield. I also now want a huge dog who I can name Berry. I read this in tandem with Mellie and Helios' novella and liked getting their POVs, those stabby psychos (said with love). I'm interested in seeing where things head in this world in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an egalley of this book for an honest review.

The Queen & the King by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune is a thrilling and captivating read that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. The authors have beautifully crafted a story that is both imaginative and evocative. The book follows the story of the God of the Dead and the Queen of Spring, as they navigate their way through the challenges of their tumultuous relationship.

The characters are well-defined and relatable, making it easy for readers to connect with them. The plot is fast-paced, and the tension builds up to an explosive climax that will leave readers breathless. The authors have done an excellent job of creating a vivid and richly detailed world that feels both familiar and otherworldly.

The Queen & the King is a must-read for fans of fantasy and mythology. It's a gripping tale of destiny, fate, and the power of love. The book is a perfect blend of action, romance, and suspense, making it an enjoyable and satisfying read. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for permitting this book to be a Read Now to help members develop their Feedback Ratio in exchange for an honest review.

Review Summary:
The final installment in the Persphone and Hades saga following straight on from the cliffhanger at the end of book two. The story is informally divided into two distinct 'parts', the first focusing on Hades, Persephone and her mother and the second on Kronos and the Titans. Throughout the book we see Hades and Persephone try to restore order to the pantheon and as a result, the Underworld and their tie to each other and their realm. There is a heavy focus on Hades and Persephone facing and trying to process the trauma caused by their respective parents.
Positives are that there is a genuinely interesting story forming the backbone of this installment The first half contained some romance elements that were missing from the first two books so this felt like a huge improvement. Because there was more focus on the story some of the more irritating aspects of prose were toned down which made it feel more readable.
The negatives are that the story still felt underdeveloped. The second half - the aspect that wasn't focusing on their relationship - was still very rushed in comparison to part one. Action scenes were underwritten and seemed to be resolved too quickly meaning the lack of convincing peril has persisted from the last book. There are still very repetitive scenes and elements of prose that detract from the storyline.

2.5 stars for being the strongest installment of Hades and Persephone's saga but still being let down by an inappropriate YA writing style. It is very much a missed opportunity for richer world-building with a more mature and complex plot, which definitely could have been done with the foundations provided in their trilogy. The series is apparently continuing, with a background plot being threaded through them but the main characters changing. I'm not sure how I feel about that plan as it means each God/pairing will not feel like true stand-alones. If the trend of my ratings are anything to go by we could have a 5 star by book 8!

FULL REVIEW BELOW. AVAILABLE WITH THE ADDITION OF HIDDEN SPOILERS ON GOODREADS.

World-building:
In this book we see a little more of Olympus, the realm Persephone grew up in. However it is still very limited, which contradicted the fact that Persephone was supposed to have been 'introduced into society' at this point. It could have been a chance to see what day-to-day life in Olympus was like, such as the more bustling city-like areas that we envision in Ancient Greece and mythology. We did however get a sense of Demeter's reputation and influence in Olympus following events in book one. Generally we were kept to the rural areas where Persephone and her mother tended their gardens. Other deities with relevance in this book were the usual suspects - Mellie, Morpheus, Zeus and Poseidon but we are also introduced to Nyx and Erebus. The primordials had an indirect but important influence in this book too. The powers and political standing of Nyx, Erebus and the primordials felt a bit muddled and confused in this story and lacking explanation. In fact some of their powers seemed to contradict some of the lore that had been introduced earlier in the series, sometimes with 'consequences' that seemed to conveniently not come to fruition. This is going to be developed further throughout the books in this series according to the author, even though it is moving on to other Gods and pairings, but it made it more difficult to understand some of the law and order in the pantheon and affected being able to read these first three books as a stand-alone trilogy due to the loose ends. There was also a vague introduction of other pantheons from different mythologies such as Norse or Mesopotamian and their inferred parallel existence. Again this was frustratingly unexplained.

Characterisation:
This may be terrible to say but Persephone is a much nicer character when she is under Demeter's influence and is the 'old' Persephone. Yes she is under a tyrannical rule by her mother, is regularly physically and emotionally abused and is taught to repress her true self. Seeing their dynamic in the first part of this book does in many ways provide context to how the 'new' Persephone navigates the world and carries herself. But in many way she is sweeter and kinder. She has a more whymsical sense of naivety which made the first part of this book quite enjoyable to read because ironically she seemed more mature, down-to-earth and less child-like. As a result the first part of the book and the dynamic she had with Hades was a really nice read. It felt more organic and romantic and evoked a real sense of longing. 'New' Persephone does feel a little less unbearable as a result but I still find her inherantly unlikeable. Demeter still feels like a poor attempt at a villain to me, being too 'on-the-nose' with her controlling nature and in many ways just being straight-up awful to Persephone for no real reason. Her passive aggression, emotional manipulation and sense of authority does often have context behind it under the guise of trying to 'protect' Persephone and control her and I find her more intimidating during these moments. But other times she is just straight-up evil, unabashedly abusive, for the sake of being evil. Mellie is still the token Gen Z character and her relationship with Helios is supposed to provide comic relief, but I mostly just find them both incredibly annoying and cringe. Hades has been a shell of himself since the end of book one, when he became a clingy wet blanket of a character. This doesn't change much unfortunately. The only time he shows any of his more masculine and hard-edged attitude from book one, which made him more endearing, is when he interacts with his brothers. These brothers also appear very little in this installment even though Zeus in particular is a pretty essential influence on events in the second part of the book. There is a scene which aims to develop Poseidon as a character and his relationship with Hades, but it feels very random and unneccessary and is never mentioned again making it feel misplaced and pretty pointless. Kronos is again a character that feels evil just for the sake of being evil. I never find myself feeling particularly afraid of him.

Story:
As mentioned I actually really enjoyed the story in part one of the book. Certain aspects of it didn't make an awful lot of sense, such as Hades' ability to dreamjump and enter Olympus when it's made pretty clear he's not supposed to be able to do that. But generally I did feel a sense of desperation of treating 'old' Persephone with patience despite an overwhelming sense of longing and sadness and the panic of the Titans persisting in the background. Demeter and Kronos' scheming, and the consequences of their actions, was also an interesting element of the story. Persephone being entrusted by Gaia to solve the issue caused by Demeter's ambition was when everything started to feel rushed. This issue seemed to solve itself in minutes, with no real effort. Then when we get to the main story in part two versus Kronos and the Titans, we get a glimpse of some promising action scenes but again they feel rushed. A particular scene which sees Hades get out of trouble is also really poorly explained, with a solution that shouldn't have been able to happen and a 'consequence' of this solution never coming to fruition despite warnings. It just felt like lazy storytelling.

Prose:
The smut is yet again largely identical to the scenes in book one. I could create a bingo of words and phrases that have been present throughout all three books repeatedly, and could probably guess every smut scene sentence by sentence before even reading it. One scene later on in the throne room could have been great and super erotic, but it was just the exact same events in a different setting. It just adds to the YA feel and makes the writing feel very repetitive in parts. I am sick of the words 'growl', 'roar', 'tunnelled' and I have a visceral reaction every time Helios calls Mellie 'hellcat' or Mellie calls Hades 'demon daddy'.

I'm happy I stuck through this series now that I've finished the last book! I struggled with the first two and felt they were a little drawn out. I wasn't loving it but was interested enough to keep going and I would say it was worth it.

This last book wraps up the trilogy nicely. There was a good amount of drama, action and I enjoyed the memory loss and separation aspect more than I thought I would. I tend to look for some sort of reasonable struggle that an established couple has to go through and it was handled very well in this case. Hades was so sweet during that whole time and so patient all things considered. I loved seeing his growth in this book and how much better he was with understanding her emotions even if Persephone wasn't quite herself.

I also really liked Helios and Mellie's constant bickering and his obsession with her. The secondary characters really bring a lightness to the story and it made the more stressful parts of the book easier to get through. Overall i had a good time reading this and I'm glad I didn't give up despite my apprehension with the earlier books.

I love this series so much.
From the first book to this one they are all so good.
The take the authors give on Hades and Persephone is one of my absolute favorites.
Now I adoreeee Greek and Roman god retellings, so I read them a lot, and this is by far my favorite retelling of any of them.
Persephone is a baddie. Not some timid thing that so many books make her out to be.
And hades is irrevocably obsessed with her.
Their love is amazing and the world building in every one of these books is perfection.
I can’t wait to read the next one!