A pretty standard hades and Persephone book. The real saving grace for me was the ending. It was very very good and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

T.C. Kraven’s <i>Of Prophecies & Pomegranates</i> completely blew me away.

This was my first T.C. Kraven book and definitely not my last.

While there are plenty of Hades and Persephone retellings out there, this one stood out to me. While it honors the classic myth, it doesn't feel like a copy/paste of the tale. <i>Of Prophecies & Pomegranates</i> was well paced and kept my interest to the end.

And the end. Oh. My. God. 😱 I'm still thinking about it. I finished the book and sat there for at least a full minute trying to process it. Like, what? I'm desperate to see what happens next. As our queen Britney Spears says "gimme gimme more".

So, if you love mythological retellings with heart, depth, and dark romance, <i>Of Prophecies & Pomegranates</i> is a must-read. 🖤

You'll want to pick up this book if you like:
- Hades x Persephone retellings
- Spice! 🔥
- “Good Girl” 🌶️
- Touch her and die 🗡️
- Insta-love (but he falls first and hard)
- Multi-POV storytelling
- LGBTQ+ friendly representation

5/5 ⭐️

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Diversion Books for providing the eARC to review!</i>

Very fun, spicy Hades and Persephone retelling. I enjoyed their relationship and I liked that it built up with conversation first. Would recommend for fans of Katee Robert.

I'll buy and read anything this author writes. I love T.C kraven books so much when I heard a new edition was coming I couldn't believe it. She added more chapters and they are so well written I loved this books better than the first time around.. I got to see a bit more on Helios and Narcissus, I just love those two.. hoping I'll get part two soon...the end ending is heartbreaking and I was in tears.. Love Persephone and Hades!!! This book is perfection!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ x 20

I’m a huge fan of retellings, and this series has completely blown me away. It easily sits alongside Contemporary Mythos and Dark Olympus in my favorites. The characters are so well-developed, and the plot pulls you in from the very first page. I literally couldn’t put it down once I started.

This book reminded me of Edward and Bella because of how quickly the relationship happened. It was very fast! The book was also very fast paced and I felt it could’ve been slowed down a bit. I didn’t really form a relationship with the characters due to their lack of depth and thus, do not feel the need to read the second book even though this one was ended with a cliffhanger. Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who loves Greek mythology retellings, I was immediately drawn to this book’s lush, emotional take on the Hades and Persephone myth. What I didn’t expect—but appreciated—was how well it blended intense devotion, sensuality, and personal conflict.

This story is full of tension—between mother and daughter, truth and prophecy, love and control. The heroine seeks her mother’s approval, only to find herself being used as a pawn. The love interest is powerful, reverent, and emotionally intense. While there’s a notable focus on sensuality, the emotional and mythological weight of the plot holds strong throughout.

“I am damned, my flower. You are a divine, pure thing.”

Readers should know: the story includes themes of purity and worship. It ends on a soft, somber cliffhanger that left me wanting the sequel immediately—but without feeling cheated. A great choice for readers who enjoy high-stakes fantasy romance with a darker emotional edge.

Tropes: forbidden love, instalove, myth retelling, soft cliffhanger
Recommended for: fans of A Touch of Darkness, Neon Gods, and dark divine romance with emotional complexity.

Based on Greek mythology, the familiar setting and cast of characters allows you to quickly come up to speed on their general stories and backgrounds. But this book left me with very mixed feelings as the first hundred pages are some of the best I’ve read in the romance category.

I’ll begin by discussing my pros. First and foremost the setup is brilliant. A sweet, young spring goddess meets a brooding and ancient death God. One of the elements that I especially loved about this book was the quiet and intimate nature of the first few meetings between Hades and Persephone. It's incredibly sweet and the yearning and pining is honestly to die for. The care and attention Hades shows Persephone is felt throughout the entire book and feels very genuine. It's common to have male characters in romance books with little depth and shallow motivations, but Hades is a very believable character and I love the attention to detail given to his feelings and motivations which are captured in the few chapters that are from his POV.

However, as their relationship matures and the rating of the story lands strongly into the 19+ category I will say I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of smut. I personally feel like it detracts from the overall story as the focus becomes one purely on the couple's carnal attraction to one another. That being said, I’m sure there are many out there who will love this aspect of the story as it's very very descriptive and aligns with the characters’ natures and even showcases some of their insecurities.

For me the story is largely saved from being simple erotica when political intrigue allows the side characters’ stories to shine through and brings a whole new depth and tragic air to the story. The cliffhanger definitely leaves you wanting more and the few pages we get to see of the next book do this even more so.

If I were to give genuine advice to the author, I personally would love to see more of the characters interacting and doing things out in the world. A lot of the story feels very self contained with a lot of the same characters interacting with one another mainly through dialogue. (view spoiler) and I would have loved to see that play out on the page rather than it just being described in a few paragraphs from such a distant view.

Otherwise this book was very good and the first 100 pages were some of the best I’ve read in a long long while. I definitely could see this being a hit when it comes out as it has a lot of potential.

-Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

“I will always find you.” And now I need to find the second book.
“Am I yours? And are you mine?”
Lots of spice, lots of drama.
What was this ending?!? Story was good. The action doesn’t really kick in until the last like 10-15% of the book and then ends on a cliffhanger. Worth the read but I hate I don’t have the rest of the story to finish up.



Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow. Just… wow. This book wrecked me 🥀
A stunning retelling of Hades and Persephone that was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. The romance? Chef’s kiss. The tension? Unreal.
But that ending? It shattered me 💔
I was not prepared. I need the next book ASAP because I am emotionally UNWELL and desperately need closure 😭🖤
If you love myth retellings, soul-deep love stories, and tragic twists… read this now.

ARC REVIEW
Oh my gods?? I was as obsessed with this book as Persephone was with Hades from the start. He’s actually so sweet I could die.
Definitely a 5 out of 5
THE SPICE had me DEAD. How are they so sweet and so spicy at the same time
Seeing Persephone stand up for her own to Demeter was everything. I ate this book up so damn fast.

100% obsessed.
10000% devastated.

Finishing this only to find the rest of the series isn't available until rerelease may be the death of me.

The writing style in this is incredible, the characters and connection captivating. Kraven's created such a cool world, and I love that she incorporated so much actual lore. I'm a Greek mythology girlie through and through, and I recognized so many Easter eggs that lead back to lore and original myths but have been transformed to fit her narrative.

The relationship with Demeter is one I'm definitely able to understand (thanks mom), so watching Persephone come into her own felt empowering in a really visceral way.

And it's hot. Did I mention it's hot? 🔥🔥🔥 This was delicious and smutty and absolutely heartbreaking. The scene with Helios at the end had me SOBBING into my desk.

Anyway, I need the next books like right now. T.C. please never stop writing, I need to know what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the pub for letting me into this early release all opinions are genuine and my own.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚Rating*ੈ✩‧₊˚
1/5 Stars

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗Tropes˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
🖤Insta Lust
💍Story Retelling
🖤 Found Family
💍Fated Mates
🖤Forbidden Love
💍Shadow Daddy

𓂃🖊Notes and Highlights-
ˋ°•*⁀➷“You are darkness and adventure, and I want all of you. I don’t care if we devour each other; it’s our choice”
ˋ°•*⁀➷ “For the first time in my existence, I knew I would never againbe alone. ”
💭 Thoughts-

★ I went in so ready to love this book. A dark, romantic Hades and Persephone retelling? Forbidden love? But this one just…wasn’t it at all.
★ While the vibes were promising with the whole moody romance, shadows, and star-crossed lovers, in the end the execution just felt rushed and shallow. The characters lacked development, the plot went by so, so fast like seriously getting married after two weeks?? What is that?!?
★ Honestly, it turned into a hate-read. I kept hoping it would turn around, but instead, it never did and just got worse and worse and worse…
★ It could have been lush and mythic and full of tension. Instead, it felt like fast-forwarding through a story that never stopped to breathe.
★ All in all, I kind of hated it and definitely would not recommend it to anyone.
Now Playing:

⊹ ࣪ ˖Let The World Burn By Chris Grey˖࣪ ⊹
0:01 ❍─────── 4:28
↻ ⊲ Ⅱ ⊳ ↺
Volume: ▁▂10%

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

5/5⭐️ 3.5/5🌶️
"𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎, 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛. 𝙳𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜"

When I tell you guys that this book was so damn good. It was sweet, spicy, tragic. I go into everything blind, so all I knew was that it was a Hades and Persephone retelling. It blew my mind. It was so beautifully written, and their love story captured my heart. Hades was literally the morally gray book husband standard. I was swooning so hard for him. Did I mention he’s a Shadow Daddy that can split his tongue at will? 👀
And the way Persephone came into herself and embraced her growing powers of the Underworld 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 Their love was epic.
The ending freaking killed me. It left me yearning. I need more and I need it now!

"𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎."

And so many beautiful quotes!!

"𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙰𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕, 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚎?"

Hades + Persephone

-greek mythology retelling
-insta-love
-fated mates
-forbidden love
-found family
-shadow dadddyyy

you guys!! this was everything!! the drama! ahhh the drama & plot tc has created between all the gods/goddesses here was so unique & creative & i've always thought hades & seph have been overdone BUT THISSS ONEEE?? so good!! & the found family aspect & snippets of side characters we get has me INVESTED!!!

I absolutely LOVED this.

Such a unique twist on the myth, with her outrunning a betrothal. The relationship was heavily rooted in consent, and that was something that felt important to the ethos and origins of the myth.

I loved a possessive Persephone too, with Minthe!

I also Adored the relationship with Helios and Narcissus, I think it shows the brutality of denying the love inside of you and I am PRAYING we get a second chance somehow redemption in book 2 which I need immediately.

Over all so many stars. And the spice was SPICE okay?!

4.5 stars. I love a Hades and Persephone retelling. Hades is always down bad, Persephone is always peak feminine rage, and this book was no different.There wasn't really anything new or revolutionary about this story, but TC Kraven has such a descriptive writing style. I knew what was going to happen in this book and I didn't care because the author created such engaging characters. I felt like the plot stalled out for a few chapters towards the end, but was an otherwise enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diversion Books for the free eARC.

I love love Hades/Persephone retellings and this one was good but not amazing. The Helios and Narcissus POV really only acted as exposition dumps and were mostly boring unfortunately. I’m likely not going to continue the series but it was a fine read.

I am a sucker for a Hades and Persephone retelling, but this one kind of fell short for me.

There were definitely things I enjoyed about this book, like the chemistry between the characters and the friendships but other than that I wasn't hooked.

"Of Prophecies & Pomegranates" by T.C. Kraven is a captivating fantasy novel that blends rich mythology with compelling characters. Kraven's intricate world-building and engaging plot create an immersive reading experience, perfect for fans of epic fantasy. I greatly enjoyed this read!!!