Well, not quite what I expected but it did pull me in. I'm not too fond of Corey but at the same time I like how she made friends with others like the one Fury, and Hermes. It was a quick read once I relaxed and just allowed myself to skim.

I loved the mystic of Her Dark Wings. I’ve always been intrigued by Greek mythology but can honestly say I don’t know a whole lot about it. That said, I went into this blind.

The world building left me with a lot of questions. I felt this could have been expanded on more. Dealing with the three fates, with focus on discovering where they belong in this mythological world.
Marked as YA, this truly is targeted for the younger reader. With just slight affection and attraction noted with no spice.
Beautiful cover, and this book had so much potential, but just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children‘s for this advanced reader copy in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 12 Dec 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 4.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Her Dark Wings is a story set place on an Island, where Corey lives. Her best friend betrayed her and heartbroken and furious, she wished Bree death. When Bree drowns, Corey and Bree reunite in the Underworld.

“ All growth begins in the dark. From the smallest daisy to the mightiest oak. It all begins in darkness”

I fell in love with the beautiful cover this book has and the synopsis definitely caught my attention! I love mythology, as I have often said, and I was curious to see how the Greek Mythology would be woven into this story and I also was intrigued how Hades played the big role and not another God.

The story starts off very interesting! I love how it immediately catches my attention and how believable this was. It made me wonder if that would be how we would live if we would still worship the Greek Gods in our modern world. I did have to pay attention at the start, since some terms were unknown to me and they weren’t always explained.

The writing style and description of this book were spot on! I wanted to go and visit all the places mentioned. I didn’t think a book could make me want to visit the Underworld, which has no (sun)light, live or anything.

The plot was very good, but I did sometimes struggle a bit to understand why certain events happened. I feel like some things are still unknown to me. Some questions did get answered, but very late in the book, which left me guessing for a long while.

Corey is such an interesting character and I love the growth she went through in this book. She is very angry at the beginning, lashes out and I love seeing her come to terms with what happened and how she accepts her fury as part of her but doesn’t let it consume her.

The feelings were beautifully shown throughout the events that happened and the raw emotions, I really felt those.

Overall, I enjoyed Corey taking me on her journey in Her Dark Wings and love the character arc and growth woven into a story full of heartbreak.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing the ARC.

I have a thing for Persephone and Hades retellings and I will devour any and a versions of the story. So when I saw that this book was a retelling with a twist, I was intrigued.

First off, it's a retelling in name only. While I can certainly pick up on different aspects of the original myth in this book, I don't believe it's a true retelling. Additionally, I don't like how young our main character is. It only serves to create a power imbalace.

Not a bad book by any means. Just not one book that I would with read.

When I first read that this was a reimagining of Hades and Persephone, I was intrigued. I don't know much about Zeus and all those gods except for the stories I read in school, but Persephone's story had always interested me. I will say that when they called it a reimagining, they meant it. The only thing that makes Corey like Persephone is the power she has to grow anything in nature.

The island Corey lives on feels timeless, far from modern society and still practicing old traditions. The people on the island all know each other, and gossip/rumors spread like wildfire. Corey's life feels like it's over when her ex boyfriend and her best friend get together, and both abandon her. As a 17-year-old, it might as well be. She was betrayed by the one person she never expected it from, the person she saw as a sister.

Her anger from their betrayal only grows stronger when Bree dies. To me it felt like Corey found it easier to hate Bree instead of mourning the best friend she once had, especially now that she would never be able to speak with Bree or get any kind of closure.

The Furies were one of my favorite things in this book. All three are unique in their looks and personalities, yet they all took care of each other (as sisters usually do).

Hades and Corey are so awkward together it's hilarious.

This book leaves some unanswered questions, which didn't take much from the story, but it would have been nice to get it all wrapped up in the end.

It left me wanting more from Hades and Corey. Honestly, the story would have been interesting enough without the romance. The friendship and betrayal between Corey and Bree and the Furies were all much more interesting than the romance. I still enjoyed reading this book though!

I like that Corey changes and learns to appreciate her worth and the things she can do.

If you like reading about reimagined Greek stories set in the modern world, friendships and betrayal, with just a hint of romance, then I would reccomend this book to you.

This was a really good young adult fantasy that immediately pulled me in by its stunning cover. This book was very well written and made for an atmospheric read. The author did a great job with the world building in this book and overall this was an enjoyable read. . Greek mythology mixed with the modern world, I absolutely loved it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for the arc!

I really tried to like this book but something just didn't click for me. I think if the main character was older, it would have worked. But the high school drama fit the age. I don't know, it just wasn't for me. However the mythology aspects were good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Her Dark Wings is a retelling of the Persephone myth which follows teen Corey whose life is turned on its head when she wishes her best friend dead and her wish comes true.

I don't think there was anything objectively wrong with this book. It had interesting settings, compelling and morally gray characters (the best kind), and beautifully descriptive writing that drew you in without being overbearing. My biggest qualm is that, to me, this kind of felt like half a book and not a whole one. For as much time as Corey spends in the Underworld, her emotional journey when she returns back to the island and realizes she doesn't belong felt remarkably short. Beyond that, the scenes with her and Hades were so few and far between, I felt like I was missing out on that aspect of the retelling. I did enjoy the way things resolved with Bree, though I wish I'd felt more connected to who Bree and Corey were before their falling out over Ali so I could be more emotionally invested in their resolution.

Ultimately I think this book was decent, even if it did leave something to be desired for me. I know that there's plenty to enjoy here in the reinvention of this myth and of the gods and goddesses and their realms, and I'm certain I will be thinking about this book and the world it created for ages.

ARC Reader for NetGalley

A compelling dark YA take on the myth of Persephone. Corey & Bree, Bree & Corey, best friends forever… until they weren’t. Betrayal and death have torn them apart. After seeing Bree’s shade, Hades & the entrance to the underworld Corey is thrown in to a journey that will shape her into who she will become.

Her Dark Wings was a very interesting take Persophone/Hades story. This story was really a story about healing more than anything else.
The set up of the world was a little confusing and it took me quite a few chapters to understand what was going on. Corey was an intriguing character and I could totally understand where all her anger was coming from. I really hated Bree and didn't like that when we get to know more about her and her motives it seems like we're supposed to feel sympathy for her. She was a truly horrible friend.
The main reason I was interested in reading this book was because of the romance and to be honest, there was very little in this book. I would have prefered a much bigger focus on Corey and Hades.

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

it’s a hades and persephone retelling, but it’s unique in that regard in that it is far less centered on the romance and more so on corey (the main character) herself and her own journey dealing with friendship and betrayal and belonging and home. it was refreshing in that regard - there are a million hades and persephone retellings out there but somehow this one managed to feel new. it’s also got a modern-and-yet-not setting in the form of an island that’s somewhat separate from the rest of the modern world, and there’s a lot of exploration of light and dark and where we fall in the middle of that. there were a few threads left unfollowed that i would’ve loved to see more of (specifically about corey’s mother), but this was still an enjoyable one for me.

1⭐️

if you had a gun to my head and told me to name one really good scene in this book, i’d be dead 😐

nothing about <i>her dark wings</i> stood out to me and it felt really bland in all aspects. i was excited because it’s a hades x persephone retelling but the characters had the personality of stale bread.

i didn’t dnf this book so that’s a plus i guess ?

thank you so much to netgalley and random house children's for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After wishing her former best friend dead, Corey accidentally witnesses her soul crossing over into the Underworld. And the lord of the Underworld himself sees her do it. He tries to warn her off, but Corey is drawn to the realm beyond and soon finds herself in it—the only living mortal in history who has ever gone to the Underworld willingly.

And her arrival brings out the curiosity of The Furies, the protection of one god and the wrath of another. And the longer Corey spends in the Underworld, the more it begins to change her—and change with her.
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This was such a beautiful, captivating retelling of the Greek myth of Persephone & Hades. I really enjoyed the modern twist as well as bringing The Furies into the mix. Corey was such a great MC that I really felt for and was totally enraptured by her experience in the Underworld. Salisbury did such a wonderful job in creating this world and bringing it to life with such a rich cast of characters. I really hope there’s a sequel to this because I need more of Corey and her garden!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

This is a retelling of the Persephone and Hades story in modern times. It was an interesting spin, and I enjoyed it, but I didn't like Corey, the main character, or her motivations for being the way she was.

Corey is still feeling the betrayal of losing both her best friend and boyfriend when the two of them hook up behind her back. Before she can reconcile her feelings about their betrayal, her best friend dies...the same night Corey kisses a mysterious stranger. Most of the plot revolves around Corey's anger. At times it's nearly unbearable because you want to shake the girl and tell her that everything will work out.

I wished the book delved more into her mother's disappearance and who she was. I kept hoping she'd appear in the book. It felt like a loose end that wasn't explored more. i wanted to know if there was a reason that Corey was the way she was. Overall, this was a 3.5 for me.

I enjoyed this book but wouldn't ever pick this back up or recommend it. It had potential but I feel as though we lacked in basic world building to continue to flesh out the broken friendship of our FMC.

So let's start first with saying this is a loose Persephone retelling. The relationship between Corey, our Persephone, and Hades is pretty minimal which I was disappointed in.
I loved the Furies, while they weren't overly complex characters I still appreciated the darker side they brought to the book.
I loved Hermes, I low-key loved that Hades wasn't this gorgeous all consuming deity. The chemistry between Corey and Hades wasn't there for me, idk if it was because I didn't really love Corey. I found her to be bland.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I loved this retelling! I read a few reviews that didn’t see the correlations between the Hades and Persephone myths and Her Dark Wings. I am not an expert on the subject, but I was instantly able to see parallels between the myth and the book and with a small amount of googling I found even more. My favorite was using the name Corey for FMC. It’s was a not so sublet sublet nod and I loved it.

I loved this book. I thought it discussed the topics of loss, sorrow, growth, and closure in a very creative way. While the world building was needed, it wasn’t dry and it matched the pace of the second half of the book. I was captivated from beginning to end. Most of all I loved that this retelling gave the Persephone character more agency than in the myth. And updated story for modern times.

Her Dark Wings is a retelling of Persephone, but it's also a story about friendship and what happens when we hurt those we love.

This book had so much potential. Not only because it is a retelling of the very interesting story of Hades and Perspehone, but also because I really enjoyed the author's Sineater series. But the story was nothing like I had hoped for, and I just ended up feeling disappointed.

Let’s start with the setting, what was that? It’s a modern Scottish island, which for some reason is devoted to Greek mythology and has ceremonies connected to it. How or why this is the case is never explained in the story. Which left it feeling weird and out of place.

Then the characters weren't much better. I really wanted to like Corey, but it was very hard at times to root for her. Or even care for her. She was the chosen one, in the most boring way. Everything just works out for her in the end, without anything ever feeling like it ever was at stake. Even the feuds are solved with a simple “I’m sorry” and then that’s that. I wish the story had focused more on exploring her anger and aggression. How the Furies teach her to let out her female rage. Because the Furies were easily the best part of this book, and I’m a bit sad how they just got swept to the side for an insta-love with Hades about half-way through. Even Hermes had so much potential, that just ended up not being much of anything.

There were things I loved. The Furies, the setting of the underworld, Hermes.. But when the backbone of the story left me wanting more, it wasn’t enough to carry the story.

When I sit back and think about it, there’s so really cool stuff going on here. This group of 1200 people live on an island relatively removed from the mainland. They practice Ancient Greek rituals and pray to the Gods. There’s a rumor that if one looks over their shoulder while standing on a certain hill, they will catch a glimpse of the Underworld.

The reader gets more than just a glimpse. We travel along the River Styx, hang out with the Furies in Erebus and meet Hades at his place.

I wouldn’t consider Her Dark Wings to be a “Hades and Persephone retelling” but it absolutely pulls from Greek mythology. The story is about a young girl, Corey, who loses her best friend and travels to the Underworld against her will. She discovers that she’s very different from the rest of the people on her island — the Furies can sense that she has powers and they want Corey to become one of them. Overall, there actually isn’t a whole lot of Hades in this story.

Honestly, one of my favorite things about this story is the focus on friendship-love. The romance took a backseat and I appreciated that. Even the relationship between Hades and Corey was a bit understated.

This was a really good young adult fantasy that immediately pulled me in by its stunning cover. This book was very well written and made for an atmospheric read. The author did a great job with the world building in this book and overall this was an enjoyable read.

Read this if you like:

✨ Greek Mythology
✨ Strong Main Characters
✨ Hades & Persephone Retellings
✨ YA Fantasy Romance