Neon Gods
Neon Gods by Kate Robert
Published in 2021
Main Couple: Hades and Persephone
The Story: After her mother arranges a surprise engagement to Zeus, Persephone escapes to across the river Styx to hide. Only to find the long thought dead Hades is alive, and her perfect escape from her upcoming marriage. Will Hades be the monster he was rumored to be or will he be the hero of her story?
The Sex: Okay, ya’ll……I wanted more kink. There! I said it! There’s a DUNGEON!!! That Hades is in charge of!!! It was totally underutilized. I get why, she’s new. He really strives to listen to her signals and does a great job observing when she’s pushing herself too far. Good job, Hades. But it meant that two out of three dungeon scenes….weren’t as spicy and kinky as I was expecting. That was a letdown. Beyond that, these two do an INCREDIBLE job with the consent. Hades checks in with her throughout the encounters. Not just once when they met, and then just assuming that everything was good. That being said, I think this is a wonderful intro to kink if you’ve never read books with kink before. The sex is hot, even if I wanted a little more. The negotiations that they go through in Chapter 6, are top notch once Hades get Persephone talking. Ya’ll, you might think “planning” sex is sexy, but listening to all the things your parter wants to do to you and telling them what you want…that’s hot.
Favorite Lines:
“Silly me for thinking that you’re among the percentage of the human population that doesn’t worship at the altar of the hymen.” Chapter 6 Not only is this a FABULOUS line, but it also speaks to the hypocrisy of purity culture.
“In that case, you need to pick a safe word.” Chapter 8 Good that they established a safe word. (Critical in kink, and severely lacking in most books) These negotiations should’ve happened way before they were standing outside the door of the dungeon. There’s so much more to talk about! BUT they do end up having the full conversation later. He just basically tricked her into thinking she was going to get fucked in front of a crowd, but didn’t.
“I want to misbehave.” Chapter 10 Confessing her desires! He created a safe environment for her. She was able to be honest about what she wanted to try and why.
“My desire to hear Hades’s dry, rasping laugh is becoming a series addition. It’s a thousand times better when he’s making the sound against my pussy.” Chapter 16 What an image!
“‘Stop being so freaking nice to me and tell me what you want.’
Shock has be answering honestly. ‘I want to fuck your mouth until you cry.’” Chapter 17 She lets him ask for what he wants.
“Talk to me, Hades. Tell me how good I feel. I love it when you pull sexy filth into my ears while you’re inside me.” Chapter 21 What beautiful growth from the first time he asks her about sex!
Clearly, I liked it when they talk about sex.
Least Favorite Lines:
“‘Mm-hmm.’ He finally, finally nuzzles the panties to the side and gives my pussy a slow, thorough kiss.” Chapter 20 This description felt so vague to me. What does thorough even mean???? Too vague!
Final Thoughts:
I love that everyone is queer in this book. Both Hades and Persephone have same sex exes. *Chef’s kiss* He totally lets her top from the bottom for a while. I find his inner monologue commentary on it funny. Beyond my desire for a little more kink, this book is great. It’s an engrossing world and new view of the greek myths. For readers who have a love of greek myths, there are tons of nuggets to giggle at. There are five books in this series (at the time I’m posting) and books 1-4 are books with great spice that I loved for the plot. Worth a reread!
Spice Level: 4/5
Kinks Explored: Exhibitionism, voyeurism, light bondage
Voices Heard: Hades and Persephone are both white, but so many other people are BIPOC. There’s a ton of queer characters . Spoiler, in later books we are even introduced to genderqueer people. Keep reading!
Did I like it? So much. This was my first Katee Robert book. I’ve devoured every one of her books (and novellas) that I’ve gotten my hands on.