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A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
4.6
A Touch of Ruin: Hades & Persephone, Book 2
by Scarlett St. Clair
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About this book
Persephone’s life as a journalist and secret goddess is shattered when her relationship with Hades, the God of the Dead, is thrust into the public eye. As the media circus intensifies, the scrutiny threatens to expose her divine identity and destabilize the fragile balance she has built in New Athens. While Hades faces relentless pressure from those eager to weaponize his dark past against their union, the couple’s bond is pushed to its breaking point by a sudden, devastating tragedy.
When Hades refuses to intervene in the wake of this loss, Persephone is forced to confront the chilling reality of his rigid moral code. Desperate and grieving, she makes a series of reckless bargains with dangerous entities, setting off a chain of events that could cost her everything. As she navigates the treacherous politics of the underworld and the cold, unfamiliar depths of Hades’ resolve, Persephone must decide if she is truly prepared to embrace her role as Queen of the Underworld.
Caught between her desire for autonomy and the intoxicating pull of the God of the Dead, she struggles to determine if their love is a sanctuary or a slow-burning ruin.
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What readers are saying
WineauxClock LadyEnthralled, Enticed,and Thoroughly Committed... Spoilers
"I've dreamed of writing like this for over 30 years, with sexual tension dissolving into unbridled passion. Telling the same story from multiple points of view. Masterful storytelling making the reader hate the hero and love the villain, then change their minds again and again. Bring complex characters to relatable life... I absolutely love this series! bringing mythology to modern life the way she's does is truly fantastic I spent time thinking, "if forced to make a criticism, what would it be...?" My initial thought was that I'd improve the communication between Hades and Persephone. Not to makes the friction to away-that would ruin EVERYTHING! But i found myself muttering the better, stronger responses i would have said. but then it hit me- I'm thinking like the happy 30 year veteran of marriage that i am, not the first relationship 20 something who literally worships her boyfriend! i remember being THAT tongue tied, impulsive, insecure, and soooo jealous with mere mortals!! when i started reading as my younger self, if felt so uncomfortably familiar! So THAT criticism fell apart. Then i thought, gods! Why doesn't she use better problem solving?!? like when she's restrained, why not grow thorns to rip through restraints? Why try to hide what you're doing and where from Hades when you KNOW he'll find out, and why act like you know MORE than an ancient GOD and refuse to trust his warnings? That was the MOM version of my thoughts, then I transported to being her age, and damn if i wasn't just as bad at forgetting "my power" and oooooh, knew.it.ALL. I swear, Scarlett must be just under 30 years old, old enough for perspective but young enough to "get it!" Can't wait to see if I'm right when I go to her bio! I look forward to each page turn and can see, smell and sometimes intensely feel each word- the pictures paint themselves, ok it's me like a movie, xrated starring me and Jason Momoa! Ru Paul is Hermes and Sophia Vergara is Hecate.... I've got it all worked out. Thank you Scarlett St. Clair for such a pleasurable and binge worthy series, i love going to hell and back! Ps, team underworld! ["
November 7, 2022 Verified Purchase
elsbooknookReally good read!
"This book gave me all the feels and I really do mean all the feels. It was emotional in so many authentic ways and I just have to praise Scarlett St. Clair for the incredible way she wrote this story. I could not have asked for it to be better. It tackled so many important aspects of relationships and what it means to be an individual in a relationship whether that be a friendship or romantic relationship. I never really know what to expect from the next book after reading the first where the couple is together by the end. What exactly will the plot be in the next book and A Touch of Ruin did not disappoint. Things are again centered around Persephone and her position as a journalist, but things are different since her relationship with Hades. There is more of a spotlight on her and added pressure that results in feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. One of the really beautiful things about this book is the way that it portrays relationships. Hades and Persephone might be together, but they have far from the perfect relationship. They are both learning what it means to be in a relationship and the ways that it is different from being on your own. Communication is key and this is shown throughout the book at various times. There were a few times that I became annoyed with Persephone, but I think this is due to the fact that she is still figuring out what it means to be in a relationship with someone who has been around since the very beginning. How she interacts with Hades and the way that she is not fully understanding of what it means for Hades to be the God of the Dead. I think this shows her naivety when it comes to relationships, but it also shows that she has room to grow and can become a better individual. While she navigates this, she is challenged in her friendships as well. She grows closer to Hecate, which I loved seeing and she builds a stronger relationship with Hermes. These two characters have a strong bond with Persephone and they seem to offer her really good advice that not only puts herself at the center and encourages her to grow, but also looks out for her best interests. Those are true friendships. Speaking of Hades, this man had so many great lines that I just can’t get over. It is clear that he loves Persephone deeply, but is also slightly unsure of how to interact in his relationship. The growth of these two is wonderful and it highlights how important it is to communicate with one another. To share even the smallest things because they can mean the most. I absolutely adore Hades and while he did some frustrating things, he too has room to grow and showed that he is willing to do so. I love the way this book portrayed an honest and authentic relationship and did not sugar coat it The only thig that would make my reading better, is having A Game of Retribution in my hands so I can read about these events from Hades perspective. A Touch of Ruin was, in my possibly unpopular opinion, a wonderful second instalment in this series. I look forward to reading A Touch of Malice. ["
November 28, 2021 Verified Purchase
Kate-L-BRedemption comes at a price
"A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair takes place a few months after A Touch of Darkness. Persephone and Hades are officially public, though all still think Persephone is a mortal. Except for her best friend, Lexa who knows the truth ( who gets a whole story within this book as well). Persephone is still dealing with the pressure of her mother's displeasure of being with Hades, her boss is requiring an exclusive story on her and Hades relationship, and now she just found out, her friend Sybil, an oracle of Apollo's, has lost all her power since she won't sleep with Apollo. Justice warrior Persephone to the rescue! Everything is going wrong. Hades past is catching up to him, and Persephone is still dealing with her feelings on trust and love. Her powers are manifesting in ways she can't control, and all the general stress of life and being in the public has gotten to Persephone in ways that are not helping matters. Basically, everything is going wrong. By the way, this is classic sequel territory. You have the set up in the first book, the fall down in the second, and redemption comes in the third book. You start to see some redemption by the last quarter of A Touch of Ruin. But this is long after you've wanted to shake the dickens out of Persephone. How could she be so stupid? Answer? Because we all do stupid things when we are insecure, unsure, and afraid. (Perse, I've been there). But redemption is sweet. While Hades isn't the best communicator of all times, : insert dark and brooding types never are : he desperately loves Persephone and he really is trying. There are even current social issues of death. This book tends to focus a lot on sex, and as a good sex scenes type book, this hits the nail. We've all read our erotic fiction, this one is pretty darn good for that. I love how we get tastes of other gods in this one. Apollo (I actually love his character), Hermes, Hecate, Aphrodite, and even Helen of Troy are brought in. Hermes and Hecate are truly great supporting characters. Well written and fun and full of depth, they are just the perfect ensemble cast for Persephone. This book, while not the level of flair as A Touch of Darkness, is still really enjoyable and makes me anxious for book number three. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, but then, most sequels hit this way. I can't wait for number three! I'm kind of hoping Ms. St. Clair tackles other myths over time. I can see her going to town on so many. ["
April 28, 2020 Verified Purchase
Amazon CustomerCharacters
"I generally enjoy Myth stories reimagined. I didn’t hate this book I enjoyed bits about it and overall enjoy most of the characters. In my opinion the most redeeming quality about Perse is that Hades loves her. It’s not that she makes mistakes that frustrates me but the lack of growth and acknowledgment that she’s highly prejudiced and biased. She says so herself that she doesn’t understand a bunch and then won’t actually try to understand. When she has opportunity to gain insight she just keeps shoving aside information, making assumptions and judgments and refuses to think things through. There are multiple ways to get the results she wants but is blindly holding to her old way and despite grasping that she had been wrong about Hades she can’t accept that she might not know everything about others she doesn’t know. It isn’t that I think there should be consequences for bad behavior I just find that maybe since she doesn’t always understand things that she should abstain until she does. She makes some points about secrecy etc though I feel like half of the time she’s demanding answers that are the wrong questions, doesn’t give anyone time to expand, and won’t actually listen. It comes off to me that in some ways she seems to thrive on being somewhat of a martyr. Her juvenile behavior and judgments frustrate me. Hopefully she will stop looking through the eyes of a child and realize things are not always black and white. I hope for that growth in book 3. I find myself also frustrated by Perse taking advantage of Hades and his feelings. One of the things that I love about this storyline is that you CAN see that Hades is misunderstood and why. You get glimpses of how lonely his life has been and his longing for love and acceptance and possibly to be seen by someone important to him. Falling fast and hard and so deeply for Perse makes sense to me since he took a chance, is somewhat reassured by the threads of fate he can see, and deeply wants a relationship he can trust. I think in many ways that’s what a lot of people are looking for. I read this book hoping for some things, like growth or understanding from the MC, and found myself a bit disappointed. Petulant rebel with out a cause behavior doesn’t feel that way to me. Since FMC insists on always feeling trapped when she DOES have options I want to bang my head on a wall. I am definitely going to read book 3 hoping for growth and acceptance of Perse by Perce. I also enjoyed A Game of Fate to get Hades perspective of the last book and will ready Hades 2nd book following this and see how that enhances my opinions. TLDR; Worth reading, steamy scenes, frustration over character immaturity, will read book 3 ["
August 7, 2022 Verified Purchase
