Girl, Goddess, Queen by. Bea Fitzgerald | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Girl, Goddess, Queen

Author: Bea Fitzgerald

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 496

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Greek Mythology Retelling, Young Adult, Romantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

To hell with love, this goddess has other plans…

Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.

The real story is much more interesting.

Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.

Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.

But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell . . .

Content Warning: parental neglect

I thought this was an interesting way to retell the Hades/Persephone mythology because it fells modern and Kore/Persephone seems to be calling the shots, or eventually does by the end. Hades just kind of lets it happen and that’s not how I usually see Hades. So in that aspect, I thought this was a fresh retelling that will appeal to a teen audience, especially since the speech is modern. I also enjoyed some side characters like Styx.

Kore doesn’t want to marry and to avoid that she goes to the Underworld and hides there with a reluctant Hades. Hades doesn’t know what to do with Kore, she’s headstrong, stubborn and is basically a brat and she got on my nerves. She didn’t want to marry a man, so she runs away but basically places herself in Hades’ world (a man), and takes over his territory? There is something about Greek mythology retellings that I have to be in the mood for, to enjoy. I don’t think I was in the right mood for this one.

I found myself skimming this one from the middle of the story to the end because it wasn’t holding my attention. Plus I think this one was a little too long.

Final Thoughts:

This one wasn’t for me – maybe because I wasn’t in the mood or maybe because I see Hades in a certain way and was waiting for those characteristics. I did find his softer side more fun though! As for Kore/Persephone, it’s great that she was trying to get power but her bratty personality turned me off. I do think Greek mythology lovers will enjoy this one and it’s a refreshing take on the mythology that will appeal to teen readers.

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Her Dark Wings by. Melinda Salisbury | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Her Dark Wings

Author: Melinda Salisbury

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 12/11/23 (first published 7/6/22)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Greek Mythology, Retelling, Friendship, Contemporary Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this powerful, passionate reimagining of the Persephone myth for fans of Lore Olympus and Melissa Albert, two former best friends–split apart by betrayal–find themselves reunited in the Underworld. But will either one make it out, or will the darkness that’s growing in each of them consume them whole?

For all of Corey’s life, it’s been Bree and Corey, Corey and Bree. Best friends, the girls are inseparable—until a devastating betrayal leaves Corey shattered and alone. Corey is sure nothing could hurt more, until Bree suddenly dies. Now Corey is heartbroken and furious. How can she mourn her one-time friend when she is still so angry at her?

Yet Corey and Bree’s tale is far from finished. When Corey accidentally catches a glimpse of Bree’s spirit passing into the afterlife, she finds herself face to face with a god pulled from the darkest myths of her Hades, lord of the dead.

Turns out, the legends are real. But Hades is different from what Corey imagined—and so are the Furies, terrifying and beautiful creatures who encourage Corey to embrace her rage. The more Corey discovers about the Underworld, the more her own power stirs. But can she resist the lure of the darkness within?

Content Warning: death

+ I wanted to read this book because of the Hades and Persephone retelling. I think it did a fairly good job at keeping this story a modern retelling of the mythology but I do wish there was more romance between Corey and Hades since that’s what I like about the myth. I did like the trip to the Underworld and Furies in the story though – they added a little bit of danger to the story. I also like Hermes!

+ The young adult aspect of the story centered around Corey’s drama with her best friend Bree who basically stole Corey’s boyfriend and when Bree dies – Corey has no closure about their friendship and the betrayal. It is something she works through the story.

~ It’s a really quick read, which is great but I just wanted more, especially between Hades and Corey. They were barely together in the book I feel since Corey was stuck with the Furies.

My Thoughts:

I like that it was a quick read and it was a modern retelling about Hades and Persephone but I just wish there was more world-building and more chemistry and time between Hades and Corey. This was just an okay read for me.