A Touch of Malice (Hades Persephone, #3) by Scarlett St. Clair

A Touch of Malice (Hades Persephone, #3) Reviews

• 
  human

  (1.5/5)
  
  Sometimes, books are terrible. Just plain bad, and completely irredeemable.
  
  Other times, books are terrible, but when you read them, you get the feeling that it actually could have been much better, and that there was potential in the plot and characters that ultimately went to waste.
  
  A Touch of Malice is exactly that kind of book.
  
  I also happen to loathe those kinds of books.
  
  
  
  For starters, there's Hades himself. In
  the first book, he was a dark and morally ambiguous character, with an obvious soft spot for Persephone, but was a pretty intgeral part of the plot. Meanwhile, in
  the second book, he started to withdraw a bit from the plot as more emphasis was placed on Persephone's growth (but also because the two were constantly at odds with each other).
  
  This book, on the other hand? I'm pretty sure Hades undergoes character regression, rather than character growth/development. It was infuriating to read this book knowing how much he could have added to the plot as well as Persephone's growth in her powers as a goddess.
  
  What did we get instead?? Hades LITERALLY only shows up when there's a smut scene, excluding that one weird-ass "training" scene, which felt more like a fever dream than anything else.
  
  
  
  SPEAKING OF WHICH. I'm not sure about you, but I don't really mind smut scenes in books. Yeah, sure, they pop up from time to time in adult books, but as long as they don't interfere with the FORKING PLOT, I'm good.
  
  To be honest, I think part of this is my own fault here. I started this series knowing that it was going to be pretty trashy, but at least in the beginning, it was enjoyable trash. The first book, in particular, wasn't very plot-based, and instead placed some emphasis on Persephone and Hades' relationship. The second book similarly so.
  
  But that doesn't change the fact that at least THINGS HAPPENED in both of those books, even if the two were horny basically 24/7. This book and a little something I appreciate called "plot" don't mix whatsoever.
  
  
  
  I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say that this book had smut scenes every two to three pages for the first 88%. 88%. Let me tell you what that means: this book was basically a sex montage for nearly 90% of the book.
  
  And, dear god, THE SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT. This book, in no way, shape or form, lacks secondhand embarrassment. Hermes walks on in on them going at it multiple times throughout the book. If that isn't enough, they almost had sex in a friend's bathroom during a housewarming party but were interrupted. They also had sex in Demeter's temple (but that was more of a middle-finger to Persephone's mother, which I'll allow). Or, that time tHEY WERE ON MOUNT OLYMPUS FOR THEIR ENGAGEMENT PARTY AND WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GIVEN ZEUS' BLESSING TO MARRY. AND STARTED GOING AT IT. ON THE FUCKING DANCEFLOOR.
  
  It's probably best for your own sanity that you don't click that spoiler tag. There were just so many moments randomly thrown in throughout the book that felt beyond mortifying to me because of the characters' actions. Honestly speaking, if I mysteriously disappear soon after posting this review, it's probably because the vicarious humiliation finally got to me.
  
  
  
  As you might already know, A Touch of Ruin, the second book in this series, ended on a serious cliffhanger: just as Hades proposes marriage to Persephone, Demeter screws with the weather, making it start to snow, bringing about the promise of war.
  
  I was expecting that this book would at least answer some of the questions that ending brought about, and maybe even bring the plot forward some, properly introducing us to some of the other Greek gods and goddesses, paving the way for a proper conflict.
  
  It didn't really matter to me if the conflict was even resolved in this book, just as long as we got some answers.
  
  
  
  Instead, all of the plot was squashed into the last 10-12% of the book, which made things beyond confusing. The threat of war between the gods had been repeated so many times that I was beginning to wonder if it would ever actually occur. It did, just not in the way I expected it to.
  
  See, right after Zeus gives Hades and Persephone permission to marry, they do. There was a prophecy that their union would produce a god stronger than Zeus. All of the characters immediately thought that this entailed Persephone and Hades having a child, even though it was stated earlier that he had bargained the ability to have children away with the Fates. All of the characters also conveniently forgot something else that was stated earlier: that a marriage between gods entailed that some of their power would be shared with the other.
  
  So, naturally, Persephone, with the power of Hades running through her, tries to solve some of the problems that her mother's rampage has caused after hearing about an avalanche that killed many people. Just as she does that, however, all of the Olympians show up, ready for war. I believe Hestia and Athena decide not to fight altogether, while Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and, naturally, Hades, take Persephone's side. Demeter is not present.
  
  
  
  Now, with that set-up, and keeping in mind that this is the last 10% of the book, you would expect a battle worthy of all the build-up of the series, something with action, high-stakes, and maybe a few untimely demises here and there to keep things spicy, correct?
  
  W R O N G.
  
  The gods fight, but it's absolutely incoherent. I can't even describe what happened because it was pure chaos. Someone's throwing swords at someone else, Persephone is growing vines over people, buildings are being destroyed, and the writing isn't exactly detailed.
  
  The battle draws to a close 3, maybe 4% later when Ares throws a spear (or maybe a sword???) at Persephone, which is intercepted by Aphrodite. Everyone stops fighting like they're six years old and playing red light-green light, while Hades and Persephone teleport away.
  
  
  
  AND THAT'S IT. That's how this hUuUuGe war, which has literally been mentioned EVERY TEN PAGES is resolved. Where is my drama? Where are my heroics?? WHERE DID THE HUGE ASS BATTLE THAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD """cOuLd DeStRoY tHe WoRlD""" GO???
  
  I HAD SO MANY HOPES FOR THIS BOOK, AND THEY'VE ALL BEEN DASHED. I MEAN, YEAH, IT'S ONE THING FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK TO JUST IGNORE THE PLOT AND PROBLEM THAT WERE SET UP FOR IT BY THE END OF THE PREVIOUS ONE. WE WERE TOLD THAT DEMETER'S ACTIONS COULD CREATE WAR, YES? AND WE WERE ALSO TOLD THAT PERSEPHONE AND HADES' MARRIAGE COULD CAUSE WAR, YES?? SO WHERE EXACTLY DID THAT BATTLE SCENE GO???
  
  EVEN IF ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, AND I MEAN LITERALLY NOTHING, HAPPENED DURING THE FIRST 90% OF THIS BOOK, BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE ANYTHING DID, AT THE VERY LEAST, SHOULDN'T THE BATTLE OF THE GODS THAT TAKES PLACE DURING THE LAST 10% OF THE BOOK BE WORTH ALL OF THE SENSATIONALIZATION OF THE PREVIOUS BOOKS AS WELL AS THE DIALOGUES OF CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK? SHOULDN'T THE PLOT HOLD AT LEAST SOME VALUE???
  
  BUT NOOOO. IT DOESN'T. OF COURSE NOT.
  
  
  
  Persephone and Hades, after teleporting away from the battle, decide to track down a friend of Persephone's who had gone missing, a finger of hers' left on Persephone's desk. When they teleport there, they find the leader of the revolutionary group actively trying to take down the Olympians (who had also succeeded in killing some minor gods/goddesses??).
  
  Apparently, Hades had made some deal with this shady mofo, in return for a favor. Still not entirely sure what the deal was, exactly, but Theseus, the guy, decides that he's going to take Persephone as his 'favor'. Hades has no choice but to let go, and she makes sure he can't come after her.
  
  This is where things get pretty rushed, if you ask me.
  
  Turns out that Theseus is trying to overturn the old gods and somehow harness their power to become/create new gods?? And he needs the gods' divine weapons to that - Hera and Demeter are already on his side, along with his father, Poseidon. He now needs Persephone's help to get Hades' weapon - the Helm of Darkness.
  
  To ensure her help, he's kidnapped her friend and her girlfriend, and is basically torturing them to keep them in line. At one point, Zolfie, Persephone's Amazonian bodyguard appointed by Hades, tries to rescue them, but is taken down in a matter of seconds.
  
  And?? I mean???
  
  
  
  It was probably the fastest, most unemotional, and pointless death scene I've ever had the misfortune to read. She literally - I kid you not - drops dead because someone throws some daggers at her.
  
  I just-
  
  Hello???
  
  She was a wARRIOR IN CHARGE OF PROTECTING PERSEPHONE??? SHE'S LITERALLY HANDLED WORSE BEFORE??? IN WHAT UNIVERSE COULD SHE JUST DROP DEAD??? NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT SHE'S A PRETTY IMPORTANT CHARACTER AND PROBABLY DESERVED BETTER???
  
  *ahem*
  
  Things really only get more disappointing from there on out.
  
  
  
  Demeter shows up and all of them (ie, Theseus, Persephone, her friend Sybil, her girlfriend Harmonia, and Demeter) go to the entrance to the Underworld that leads straight to the vault where Hades' weapons (the Helm of Darkness amongst other things) are kept.
  
  To get there, they travel across Lake Lerna, where they encounter Ceto, who is engaged by Demeter. The two fight for a while before Persephone gets everyone to calm down and let them onto the shore so that they can enter the Underworld/vault.
  
  Now, the whole time, while I was reading this, I was wondering, so they're in a hostage situation, right?? so why doesn't Persephone use her ~nature powers~ and grow some sort of cage/protective shield around the hostages and get rid of the bad guy and her mom??? I mean, she had done it once before, so I don't see why she couldn't have done it again.
  
  
  
  Instead of answering some clearly unanswerable questions, we're given Hades' perspective. Persephone had used her powers to make sure that Hades wouldn't be able to follow her and break the bargain. As it turns out, he can't track her through her powers, and instead, tracks her through her ring (which Theseus had already taken off).
  
  This leads him to Daedalus' labyrinth of all places, where he fights with the minotaur (just what we needed! /s), and literally walks into a trap made of a material used to bind gods. Hades' perspective ends with the minotaur dead and Hades himself passing out.
  
  Now, do I appreciate the semblance of spice this chapter brought to one of the blandest books I've ever read? Absolutely. Do I think that it was completely necessary, however? Absolutely not, and the only reason I say that is because there's a side-series that goes with these books, and is basically just the whole story being told over again from Hades' perspective.
  
  So while I certainly appreciated this, I didn't think it was all that needed.
  
  
  
  Meanwhile, Persephone somehow convinces Theseus to let her enter the Underworld alone. At the entrance, she just so happens to find Hecate, and barely manages to speak with her before everyone comes bursting in. Lucky for her, though, Hecate can read minds.
  
  Persephone and Hecate then work together to save Sybil and Harmonia, and Persephone begins to fight with her mother, who she ends up killing.
  
  Somehow, during all of the chaos, Theseus manages to escape, (which i still don't completely understand, considering that there were at least two people watching him??? not to mention the fact that this sentence, "Persephone’s magic erupted, thorns rose from gashes in the marble, sealing exits." makes it impossible??? anywho, i try not to think about it much because it's quite headache-inducing), and unleashes the Titans.
  
  
  
  That's literally how the book ended. The most illegal of all cliffhangers. The biggest sign that I will be reading the next book. I'm not going to say anything about the plot, because if I do say any more, we'll only realize just how similar the plot is turning out to be compared to that of the first Percy Jackson series.
  
  If you decided not to read all of that, you're not missing out on much. Basically, the plot of this book is about as rushed as you can expect knowing that a book's worth of it has been crammed into the last 12%, but also has more (plot) holes than Swiss cheese. Is anyone here surprised? I certainly hope not.
  
  Now, while I did mention Hades earlier, one of the biggest reasons that I'm so incredibly disappointed with this book is how it simply doesn't let its characters live up to their potential, or even develop all that much - in particular, I'm talking about how this book portrays trauma.
  
  At the end of the second book, Persephone is sexually assaulted by a character named Pirithous, and is almost raped, before Hades shows up to rescue her. During this book, it's frequently said that she has nightmares of her traumatic experience.
  
  Hades decides to bring in Hypnos, the god of sleep, to see if he can create a draught that can help Persephone sleep. After speaking with her, however, Hypnos only comes to the conclusion that Persephone needs to confront her experience if she wishes for the nightmares to go away.
  
  Sometime later, in the story, Persephone experiences a PTSD trigger during a specific scene in the book. However, as the story progresses, Persephone loses all symptoms of PTSD and her trauma simply starts to "wear off", without any changes being made.
  
  I just found it incredibly infuriating to see how Persephone's trauma had been so casually mishandled. Without growing as a character, coming to some revelation about herself, or even at the very least, getting some therapy, Persephone's trauma was just sort of brushed aside and not really spoken about afterward.
  
  It was disappointing to see how a character trait that could have potentially resulted in a meaningful and eye-opening conversation between characters was just snipped halfway through the story and tossed aside.
  
  Which, of course, brings us to Hades and Persephone's relationship.
  
  
  
  It's actually quite sad to see how Hades and Persephone have """grown""" over the course of the last three books, resulting in a relationship that doesn't quite work. I mean, far be it from me to think that a never-ending cycle of fucking like rabbits, misunderstanding something the other says, then ignoring each other isn't exactly indicative of a loving and emotionally connected relationship.
  
  In the first book, these two had such great chemistry that I really just can't find anywhere in this book. If I'm being honest, their relationship feels quite stale and repetitive, which really just isn't a good mix with bland characters.
  
  To be honest, I don't ship these two or enjoy their romance as much as I used to. Sure, I don't want them to break up either, especially considering that a rogue love triangle will probably spring out of hell, the likes of which I don't have the braincells to deal with they're married and whatnot now, but I'm not as invested or even interested as I used to be.
  
  
  
  Unfortunately for us, character development takes even less precedence in this book than the plot does, which is well and truly saying something. While I used to find Persephone whiney and downright exasperating, I'm glad to say that I no longer hold those types of feelings for her.
  
  Although, that being said, I no longer hold any sort of feelings for her as a character at all, which is actually quite worse. This book and its characters are becoming increasingly comparable to a pot of vegetable broth that you accidentally poured too much water into.
  
  There's nothing that truly distinguishes the characters apart from each other, and at this point, I'm beyond mad. Nothing makes any of the characters unique from one another, and they've lost many of the character traits that were being developed in them since the first book.
  
  
  
  The writing quality of this book is... questionable, at best. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, which makes for an overall dull and monotonous reading experience. There's a fair amount of detail, but not too much.
  
  My biggest problem with the writing seems to be how certain parts read like they were never edited??? I'm not going to include any direct quotes to spare all of you, but I genuinely think that some passages sorely needed to be proofread.
  
  That being said, there were some silver linings:

  ✧ Hecate: She's honestly my favorite character, even if she was sidelined during the book.
  ✧ Hermes: He's the comic relief, what more could you want?
  ✧ Apollo: While I would have appreciated more character development for him, I've learned to appreciate what I get.

  
  Overall, I think that this book had the potential to be so much better. While it's clear that the author has put in a lot of time and research into crafting the story they want to tell, I think that this series has lost a lot of what it originally held, despite having much potential, and isn't as good as it used to be.
• 
  jessica

  this installment is just as entertaining and steamy as the previous books, but man. i hate how hades’ character is being portrayed.
  
  i do want to say that i think persephone is more tolerable in this book. shes still a pretty big whiny cry baby, but i appreciate the effort she has put in to strengthening her magic and herself. i think it works well with how the plot is playing out.
  
  however, i personally find hades to be a much more compelling and complex character and he started off as such an integral part of the series. but now… hes just there for sex. thats it. he does nothing else in this. how could such a strong, furious god be reduced to only giving persephone pleasure?? its seriously so disappointing that SSC has done this to his character.
  
  i do know that he has his own spin-off series, which i really enjoyed the first book, so maybe i will need to just switch over to only reading those from now on. at least there he will get the page time he deserves.
  
  ↠ 3 stars
• 
  Alyssa ☽

  I’m writing this with a heavy heart because I actually love the first two books. But this one... man.
  First off, I overlooked the grammar and spelling mistakes in this. I understand editing errors and life happens..
  
  With that aside, 75% of this book was nothing of importance. Don’t get me wrong, I love my smut spicy love scenes, but I’m telling you when it’s literally every other page...... you become numb to it. I found myself literally skimming through the smut scenes because it got to the point where they weren’t even enjoyable to read anymore. I had such high hopes for this book, but not a single thing happened at all till the last 20 pages. Just to leave a ridiculous cliff hanger to keep us hanging on till the next one.
  
  2 stars & I’m sad.
• 
  Ali Goodwin

  lovingggg this series so much
• 
  • Lindsey Dahling •

  If anyone needs me, I’ll be vacantly staring out a window, waiting for the fourth book’s release date.
• 
  aly ☆彡 (slowly catching up)

  I tried but DNF this @ 50%
  
  I am almost happy because Persephone has grown so much since the last two books (in which she was very very annoying) so yes to:
  
  ☑ Persephone’s character development
  
  ☑ Apollo & Hermes since they are the only enjoyable addition to the book
  
  But other than that, there’s nothing good about this and it’s progressing nowhere.
  
  ☒ It’s plotless and soo boring
  
  ☒ They can’t get one thing done without having sex
  
  ☒ It's getting too long with mostly filler scene
  
  ☒ The third book and is still filled with typos and grammar errors (I’m not a grammar nazi but this comes from an established author yet they couldn’t bother checking it thoroughly?)
  
  I’m giving the series one last chance through this book although it already went down the hill after the first one and it’s just not working out anymore. Reading this is a pain in the ass neck. Get a sneak peek of the last chapter and that's all. I'm not continuing the series.
• 
  brie

  THESE BOOKS HAVE PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE JESUS CHRIST
  
  -hades: secretive little cunt
  - persephone: weak little bitch
  - hecate + apollo + hermes (<333333333)
  - this book is just badly represented ptsd, a shit ton of miscommunication and a whole lot of sex.
• 
  Mero

  I read the first book solely on the fact that it had a pretty cover on amazon and that it was a hades persephone retelling
  I have traumatized myself in the process but mama didnt raise a pussy so Im gonna finish it even if it kills me 😔✊
• 
  Madita

  3.5 stars:
  
  I cannot even describe the amount of anger and hatred I feel towards soooo many of these gods in this book and I know they were supposed to be hated and are in the original tales horrible too but wow.
  Okay so:
  I loved the side characters like always and thought they were really interesting in here but characters like Lexa, In my opinion started to become more one dimensional again which made me a bit sad since I expected her to be very important by the ending of the second book.
  
  The main plot however was interesting but I wish there was a bit more idk building of relationship between Persephone and the other "good" gods than sooooooo much smut.
  Hecate could have been here a bit more just as Hermes and Apollo just because I felt like they weren't there as often as I expected it to be.
  
  However I loved the relationship between Hades and Persephone. The insecurities, the love, the secrets were are really realistic and I loved it.
  
  
  
• 
  Yeganeh

  ~2.5 stars~
  
  ISTG this series getting worst worst. Honestly I really don't get what this book is about. The whole plot was all Persephone and Hades's smut and MISCOMMUNICATION (again) and then the last 40 pages was ridiculously bizzare. this book is just badly represented ptsd, a shit ton of miscommunication and a whole lot of sex.
  
  it took me a forever to read this book and I was bored. this is a case where it actually could have been much better, and that there was potential in the plot and characters that ultimately went to waste.
  
  The only reason I'm reading this is because of Hades but i might admit they were not my favorite here also, I don't know why i don't just go and read his book instead of reading from Persephone's pov 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
• 
  Marti

  I hate Persephone so much and sadly by now I’m just no longer invested in this story.
• 
  Gabbey F-A

  Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room:
  
  The two star rating has nothing to do with the numerous spelling/grammatical mistakes on the Kindle version that I read.
  
  [The fact I even have to write that to fend off criticism highlights everything that is wrong with the bookish community at the moment]
  
  
  
  I loved the first two books and recommended them to anyone who would listen, but felt this book was lacking in plot and purpose.
  
  In A Touch of Darkness, we are introduced to Persephone, who is trying to find herself. There is forbidden love. In A Touch of Ruin, Persephone does find herself. The relationship is accepted. In A Touch of Malice, she is once again trying to find herself, despite having already done so in the previous book, and the romance is - once again - 'forbidden,' despite their being engaged.
  
  Hades & Persephone's relationship is extremely problematic, which also effected my rating of this book. I understand that Hades was supposed to be the macho, 'I'd burn down the world to look after you' kind-of-guy, but he was controlling. They lived together, worked in the same building and were together 24/7. Hades tracked her via her engagement ring for godsake! Disturbing.
  
  
  
  Now, it's common knowledge among those who read my reviews that I love a bit of steam as much as the next person - If not more. I adore a smutty book, but even I thought this had too many sex scenes in. Every time they saw each other, they had sex.
  
  I was so disappointed that I stopped reading at 51%.
• 
  ❁ lilyreadsromance (and other stuffs too) ❁

  First of all, my condolences for the author's loss. No words honey.
  
  Anyhow maybe because I went into this with the lowest of expectations, I ended up enjoying it more than I expected.
  
  The main issue I have in the previous book was Persephone and her stupid after stupid decisions. In this book however, I think we finally got to the fallout of those decisions and the impact on her mental being. As in, she was more contemplative and traumatised in this one.
  
  And grief. She was so much subdued than I remembered and maybe that's why I cut her out some slack.
  
  As far for the plot, that's where I deduct the rating. First of all, I like the Triad plot. I don't care about the thing with Zeus and Demeter much, that could come later. But I wish it would focused more on this, rather than whipping it out in the end for the sake of the huuuuggee cliffhanger.
  
  All in all, yeah, this book did me in again. I will be continuing on the series. I need to see these people get their HEA now.
• 
  Sara Bow

  Wird von Band zu Band nerviger und schlechter - dachte ich hab es jetzt geschafft aber es kommt ja noch ein Band 🥲 werde die Reihe abbrechen
• 
  Hilke

  Could the cliffhanger *be* any bigger?!
• 
  Abigail

  Edit: spelling/grammatical errors fixed!
  
  *****SPOILERS BELOW*****
  
  I really loved the first two books in these series. The world building and mixing of old with new is an intriguing concept. However I had a few beefs with this book surrounding plot:
  
  -why spend so much time building up Persephone’s career, if she does nothing with it throughout the whole book? We see her having meetings, getting her new office, reviewing Helen’s article in the first part of the book. But she doesn’t write any articles for her business, in fact, no one else writes any articles for her business either? Furthermore, she leaves her office just about every time she goes to work. I thought “well, maybe she is going to have an internal conflict about this later in the book, realizing that she cannot be a goddess/queen while also having a full time career”, but NOPE. I started rolling my eyes every time she got dressed for “work” because I knew she was not actually going to do anything. In fact, she was more invested in other news articles written by Helen than her own. Just filler plot. I want to see her be a boss queen!
  
  -What happened to Helen? There was a lot of foreshadowing about her and her involvement with Triad. And then nothing? Who did she meet at the sex club? Where did she go? What was the point of her involvement with Triad? How did her involvement add anything to the plot? Someone tell me about Helen!
  
  -The lack of climax for the wedding (and I don’t mean sexually). We have been waiting 3 books for this d@mn marriage, only for it to last 2 chapters and be all about sex. I guess I was just expecting a little bit more substance for all the buildup it endured.
  
  -sex, sex, and too much sex. I can’t believe I am complaining about this, but it seems there are limits to how much is too much. This book could have cut the sexy scenes down by half and it would have added way more meaning to the other half of the sexy scenes. We get it. They’re trash for each other.
  
  *Sigh* It became increasingly obvious that this book desperately needed an editor. There was real potential for the plot and character building that could have been better executed for the first 80% of the book. That being said, this book’s saving grace was the ending, which was fast paced and grabbed my attention and of course left me wanting more. For that I give 3 stars. Will I read again? Probably not. Will I read the next book? Probably- but only for Hermes.
• 
  emmy

  It took me 3 books but I finally remembered that Hades is Persephone’s uncle and I haven’t been able to think about anything else
  
  I feel proud of myself for finishing this serie it’s been a wild ride
  
  I’m still going to admit it, the smut was quite good but I just wasn’t a fan of the rest of the book
• 
  Caitlin

  Was this bad? No, but it definitely was not my favourite of the series.
• 
  Kelly

  11/19/2020
  
  I just finished all the other books and I’m wow I’m excited for this book!! The premise sounds so interesting and it sounds like there will be a ton of interaction with all the Gods, which is my favorite! I can’t wait for Persephone to finally embrace her Divinity and her magic in front of everyone. But I swear to god Scarlett, if you touch a hair on Hecate’s or Hermes’ heads, I will send you to Tartarus. I WILL NOT HAVE ANOTHER LEXA.
• 
  ✨Kayla of The Court Of Dreams✨

  Wow
  
  So good, the ending had me on the edge of my seat 😭😭I need the next one now, seriously though go read this book!!
• 
  Jaye Rockett

  Good god what happened to this book?
  
  Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that the previous books in this series were works of art - they weren’t. But they were fun and immersive and just smutty enough to make me blush. But Christ this one was awful.
  
  Starting with the fact that this book is RIDDLED with errors. If you told me this book was a first draft that had never once seen an editor, I wouldn’t be surprised. Not just spelling and grammar, but we’ve got sentences with mixed tenses, we’ve got plot holes, we’ve got sections that straight up don’t make sense? Some examples:
  
  “It says here there are eight heroes competing,” said Leuce, looking at her phone. The glow made her eyes spark. “Three women and four men.”
  BASIC MATHS WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THIS.
  
  “Apology accepted,” she said, and Thanatos offered a sad smile. “It does not appear my apology has made you feel better,” Persephone said as they danced.
  BECAUSE YOU DIDNT APOLOGISE PERSEPHONE, THANATOS DID.
  
  
  They sank deep into the goddess’s flesh and she scream, wrenching away, her sword went flying.
  SHE SCREAM. SHE SCREAM.
  
  And let’s not even mentioned the fact that one minute Ajax’s bleeding body is convulsing under a screaming Apollo, and then a few chapters later he’s fine and good no mention of the multiple gunshot wounds?
  
  Sigh.
  
  Beyond all these issues, the first 85% is pointless nonsense and cringe worthy sex scenes. I’m not sure what happened between the last book and this one but the sex scenes were just straight up grim in this, and CONSTANT. I cannot stress enough, there is NO PLOT ADVANCEMENT IN THIS BOOK UNTIL THE LAST 15%. And there was not enough character development to support the plot advancement. Oh so Persephone can now take down Zeus after approximately three magic fighting lessons?
  
  I don’t know why so much Time is spent talking about Persephones work when every time she gets to her office she leaves immediately, and there was no point to it? Why spend so much time talking about her work when there was no development there. No scene where Persephone has to pick between work and love, no scenes where Persephone ACTUALLY works, it all felt like filler plot.
  
  Demeter’s winter storm rage seemed to also be pointless filler plot, just Persephone griping about the weather and the occasional tragedy thrown in. If we’d seen more of Persephone’s struggle with her mother it might have been more interesting, but nope.
  
  We forgot all about Helen? All this build up of what is Helen doing and what is going on, who is she meeting at the sex club? No follow up on that at all.
  
  There’s 0 character work in this book so nothing Persephone does makes sense, Hades has been reduced to a walking erection and even Hermes who was the lighthearted antidote to the others had only one remotely funny line in the whole book. Hades and Persephones relationship at this point is sex, no communication and toxic sulking. The amount of red flags in this relationship are alarming.
  
  This book is literally just sex. Sex with cringey writing and no plot or character.
  
  Basically, this book was an absolute car crash and not enjoyable at all.
• 
  sierra ✿

  yikes yikes yikes
  this was so bad. it felt so juvenile :/
  i really liked the first book of the series, but then it went down hill from there
• 
  Kandice Collins

  I just finished A Touch of Malice and my overall sentiment after completing it is disappointment. It truly read like poorly edited FanFiction (the Never Have I Ever scene with Persephone’s friends was cringe worthy). The plot was all over the place in this one and most of the conflicts seemed forced. I had to expend a lot of mental energy on figuring out what was going on because of how certain situations were written. Then the ending was terrible. Persephone is just becoming a powerful character and then using none of these skills with her Mother and Theseus until the last possible moment. But she can take on Zeus and other Olympians.
  I finish every series I start so I will read but I won’t be anticipating the next addition to this Hades x Persephone retelling.
• 
  hails book hangout

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
  
  A Touch of Malice is the third book in the Hades x Persephone series.
  
  THIS. BOOK.
  
  YOU GUYS.. The cliffhanger this book ended with hurt my soul!! I got so invested in the characters over the last three books and now everything is in limbo 🤯
  
  This book has so many elements!!
  ✨ Romance & Spicy Scenes
  ✨ D R A M A
  ✨Olympic gods
  ✨ Moral battles
  ✨ Plot twists
  
  I can’t wait for book number four in the Persephone x Hades series: A Touch of Chaos 💛
• 
  Leah City of Words and Pages

  Jedes Buch dieser Reihe ist anders, aber trotzdem ist jeder Band phänomenal!!!! 😍
  Mal wieder war für mich dieser Teil wie ein Rausch, der nie enden sollte.
  Spannend, herzzerreißend, romantisch, echt und düster. All das und noch so viel mehr bietet die Reihe mit Hades und Persephone. Ich liebe die beiden zusammen, aber selbst die Nebencharaktere sind mir so sehr ans Herz gewachsen. 🥹
  
  Der Schluss war ein riesengroßer Showdown und endete mit einem Knall … 😳
  So viele Fragen, so wenig Antworten. Wann kommt der vierte Band auf deutsch raus? 😭😖🤯
• 
  Priskah

  3,5 ✨✨✨
• 
  Ashlee » libraryinthecountry

  My feelings on this series have been pretty mixed. I really loved the first book, highly disliked the second book, and I put off reading this one because of it.
  
  My feelings are mixed on this book, as well, and my rating is definitely sitting at about 3.5 immediately after reading it. This might change.
  
  First, one of the things that has bothered me throughout this story is Persephone’s jealousy. I feel like, by book three, this is something the relationship should have moved beyond. Persephone reads as immature and unprepared to handle a serious relationship whenever it comes up. That said, I was pleased to see Persephone wasn’t running headlong into danger without communication, like the second book. This was a vast improvement, in my opinion!
  
  I did find Hades to be sidelined quite a bit throughout this—and the romance between the two has been pretty stagnant since the end of the first book. The sex scenes between them aren’t any different than what we see in the previous two books, and now read as repetitive and bland. Scarlett does try to spice it up a bit here and there, but I didn’t sense any thrill in the characters or the writing during these moments, which left them reading as dull.
  
  However, I do appreciate that Hades’ sidelining in this gave more space for the side characters we haven’t learned much of to exist in this story. I loved Apollo and of course, Hermes. I might be more invested in Aphrodite and Hephaestus at this point, than I am Hades and Persephone.
  
  Up through the first two thirds of this book I would have given this four stars. But then I started to question where the plot was going and what the plot even was. There’s definitely a storyline of public distrust and political upheaval in the story, but much of the early parts of the book read as though the only plot was for Hades and Persephone to have their union approved by Zeus. But at the same time, the story still seemed lost in the weeds and unsure of its direction.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, this was entertaining, as both of the previous books have been. But this was also a lot of filler. There’s a lot of pages here for a book that doesn’t make many drastic changes from beginning to end. I won’t spoil the events of the book, but by the final pages, the characters are in very similar positions compared to the end of the previous/beginning of this one.
  
  I’ve heard the Hades POV series is where this story really shines after A Touch of Darkness, so that’s what I am going to jump into next!
• 
  Ms reads a lot

  My favourite of the series so far! I loved the storyline and although Persephone still annoyed me, she was much better in this book than books 1 and 2, where she was quite frankly intolerable.
• 
  Megan

  There was way too much smut, way too little plot, and a lot of bad writing, including the attempts at PTSD. Practically nothing of true importance happened until the last 5% or so, and even that wasn't as exciting as it could have been. In short, whilst this was certainly better than the previous two novels in this universe I was still straight up not having a good time and though objectively it's not the worst thing I've ever read, I couldn't rate it any higher given how done I was reading this. I do have to admit that I skimmed the majority of it, especially with all the sex scenes, but even given that I don't think I missed anything of importance.