Review: The Iron Queen by Kaitlin Bevis

The Iron Queen
Daughters of Zeus #3

Author: Kaitlin Bevis

Publication Date: May 17, 2013

Publisher: Musa Publishing

Genre: Mythology

Thank You Kaitlin Bevis for the review copy!

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Synopsis:

Life is hell for Persephone. Zeus will stop at nothing to gain access to the living realm and the Underworld, and as the only living god with a right to both, Persephone’s in trouble. Captured and tortured beyond the limits of her resolve, Persephone must find the power to stand against Zeus. But will she be strong enough?

Meanwhile, Hades contemplates desperate measures to rescue his queen. Persephone never thought of herself as dangerous, but there’s a reason gods never marry for love. A being with the power to destroy all of creation shouldn’t place more value in one individual than the rest of the planet. But Hades...Hades would break the world for her.

To save the world and stop both Hades and Zeus, Persephone must make a difficult choice. One that may cost her everything.

My Thoughts:  This is one of my favourite book series.  Hades and Persephone have recently become one of my favourite mythological couples to read about and this series really hits it home.  The last novel (Daughter of Earth and Sky) left off on a MAJOR cliffhanger, so I was really anxious to get my hands on this one and as soon as I did, I didn't put it back down.

Persephone has been through a lot in the past couple of books, but this one definitely pushes her to limits that  she is not entirely sure that she can endure.  After being captured by Zeus, she is tortured endlessly as he tries to gain access to not only her mother's realm, but the Underworld as well.  Meanwhile, Hades is hell-bent (get it? pun intended) on rescuing his wife from Zeus' clutches and is willing to do whatever it takes.

I love Persephone.  In the first book (aptly entitled Persephone) she was brave, but really naive.  Not that her naivety was entirely her fault since she had been kept in the dark her whole life about her birthright and the fact that she was, in fact, a goddess.  Her naivety also got her into dangerous and harmful situations that has carried on up until The Iron Queen.  She is slowly learning from her mistakes and in this novel we certainly get a major look at how powerful a goddess Persephone will turn out to be when as she grows.  She is definitely a force to be reckoned with by the end of the novel and I was thoroughly impressed with her transformation (as is everyone else involved).

I wish I had seen more of Hades.  He was in the novel plenty, don't get me wrong, but I just love him so much I wanted more of him.  It actually makes me want to go back and reread the entire series just to get my Hades fix (in fact, I think I will do that).  He is just so... Hades.  He didn't hesitate to put everything on hold and do everything within his power to track down and save Persephone pretty much the moment she was taken.

I sorely missed the Underworld as Hades was, for the most part, on Earth for this novel.  I missed all of the Underworld characters that I loved (Cassandra in particular, although she did make an appearance) and the realm itself.

All in all, I read this novel pretty much in one sitting like the previous two.  I do not have enough praise for this series, it is fantabulous.  If you love mythology and you haven't yet picked this one up I suggest you do, you won't be disappointed.