Thursday, March 8, 2012

Review #159: Asphodel by Lauren Hammond

Asphodel is the first in the Underworld Trilogy by Lauren Hammond. Goodreads says:

Persephone has been running for her entire life. Running from the humans to keep her immortality a secret. And running from a man who haunts her dreams. Not a man but a god, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And what he wants most, is her.

Trapped in the realm of the dead, Persephone plans to return to the land of the living. The underworld is a terrifying place where ghosts roam freely, three headed dogs patrol the gates, and it’s a living grave where the rules of earth and the warmth of the sun no longer apply. But then, something unexpected happens. Persephone finds herself falling for the god who abducted her, the god who has chased her for five thousand years, a god who is none other than death himself, Hades.

Ripped out of the underworld by Zeus, Persephone must find a pomegranate to return to the realm of the dead and to her beloved. Consuming only a seed of the fruit of the dead would bind Persephone to spend her life beneath the earth’s core with Hades. But Zeus has reduced every pomegranate tree in the world to ash. Except one. Persephone must locate that one remaining pomegranate tree, a quest that could ignite a war between the two mightiest of the god’s. A war that could cause Persephone to lose the only family she’s ever known or give up a love that comes only once every five thousand years.


Once again, this novel was not very good. I thought the premise was interesting, but that's about it. I wasn't really interested in anything, apart from some parts during Persephone's time in the Underworld, and the ending, the very ending. Apart from that, this novel had nothing that drew me in. I just kept turning the page (electronically), waiting for SOMETHING to happen. Sadly, that was not the case.

I thought Persephone was a whiny git. I mean come on, she's supposed to be over 5,000 years old! She just felt like a whiny teenager, and had almost nothing that indicated her age. I know that's not necessarily a bad thing, but honestly, you would never know how old she truly was if she didn't mention it, which it was mentioned constantly. Also her love with Hades felt a bit insta-loveish. Hades had no personality or substance. Come to think of it, none of the characters had substance. I wasn't connected to anyone at all.

The writing was pretty craptacular. It did nothing to draw me in, and the world wasn't fully developed. 

I'll next be reviewing Pantheons by E.J. Dabel.

Until next time, viva la literature!

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