Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

[description from amazon]

He smiles. "Hello."

It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.

I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.

Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.

In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is.

Review:

Despite the fact that I bombed most of my mythology pop quizzes at the beginning of the semester and reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology book almost made me fall asleep, I still really like mythology. I was excited to read this book for that reason, and for the reason that I've known the Persephone myth the longest. Since I've known this myth the longest, it was a little odd for me to look at it in a knew way, but I still liked the way it was reworked.

The book got off to a slow start, though I don't know whether it was just slow or that I already knew who the "mysterious" guy was. Persephone was still trying to figure out who he was for a while, so I basically just had to sit around and wait, which was a little boring. Once the slow beginning was over, however, I enjoyed the book more.

I liked the depth that this version of the story was given, as opposed to the traditional myth. The characters were described in length, and the plot had more time to develop. Persephone had an actual personality here and wasn't just a damsel in distress. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to defy her crazy mother. Persephone is an excellent narrator as well, as she describes her feelings in a way that makes her decisions seems more realistic.

My biggest complaint about this book, though, is that nothing really happens. I said earlier that the plot had more time to develop, but it was almost too much time. There was a lot of build up to the ending where Persephone had to go back, but it was JUST build-up. There was a lot of hanging aorund the underworld, planting flowers and stuff, but no real events until the end.

Radiant Darkness is a unique, refreshing retelling of the myth of Persephone, but I think I would have liked it more if I didn't already know the myth by heart. There would be more surprises if I didn't.

7/10