Review: Hades

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Pages: 424

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Library

Synopsis: Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.

The story that Alexandra Adornetto built in her New York Times - bestselling debut, Halo, comes alive in action-packed and unexpected ways, as angels battle demons, and the power of love is put to the test.

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The Halo series by Alexandra Adornetto seems to be a hit or miss among reviewers. Either you'll love it or you'll hate it. That's why I was really nervous to read Hades. I thought Halo was okay but I was getting scared by the reviews of Hades. I finally told myself that as a reviewer I'd have to face my fear and if I wanted to read the book, I should. With such a beautiful cover, and me being as vain as I am, I couldn't ignore this title.

I didn't hate it. After reading Hades all I feel is a bit of disappointment due primarily to how the story ended. I'll start with the good though.

It's hard to stop reading once you've started. I wouldn't say it's an addiction but Hades just draws you in so well and you're always going to question what will happen next. The premise is fantastic and though there are a few clichés, they're easy enough to overlook if you like the story.

If you don't like the story you may have some issues. My first issue was with the characters. I remember loving Bethany and Xander in Halo and hating Jake. I completely switched sides. Bethany and Xander as a couple are codependent. I love that even Bethany's girlfriends, some characters barely seen except to prove that Bethany does have friends, even say so. You might say it's true love and then I'd be stumped because I haven't encountered that yet. Except that this not being able to live without each other kind of love never rang true. Instead of being empathetic and rooting for the happy couple I was thinking how I'd react if I met a Bethany and Xander in real life. Bethany and Xander don't do much without each other. I would have rather Bethany had a personality and individual interests outside of him but she doesn't. I can't really admire that as being individual is really important to me.

I didn't really like any of the characters either. Ivy and Gabriel fell flat again and I saw them as robotic. They were in a way. They're angels and not really human. Mollie was one of the most frustrating characters I've read. I liked that she had a clear personality but that personality bothered me to no extent. The only character I really wanted more of was Jake. He made awful, awful choices and then good ones. In the end I was so fascinated with him that I had to continue reading. The only thing I couldn't understand was why Jake had a thing for Beth. I thought that was a cliché and it really wasn't explained so I was disappointed in that regard.

In Hades we're in a brand new setting: Hell. Even though there were numerous descriptions, Hell never really came alive for me. I liked the concept but we were more focused on Bethany who cared more about Xander. There were some things well done though- "Big Daddy" made me giggle for instance. I would rather have seen more.

What Hades had a ton of were moments where I really wondered how real it could be. Some of the actions by the demons had me wondering how demonic they were and some of heaven's choices made me not root for the other team either. There were too many beautiful people between the angels and demons and at one point I was wishing for someone normal to appear. Thankfully, they did. I was really pleased with one of the very minor character's story for one. (Sorry for being vague but vague is much better than spoiling.)

Plot wise, I also wasn't impressed. I really wish I was but I feel like not much happened. There were 400 pages in this book- above average. That made for a long read as not much stuff happened. There was potential- Bethany was in hell. Hell is a setting where so much is possible but I didn't feel anything. And the conclusion didn't overjoy me either.

All in all, though I did ramble on about what I didn't like there is a reason I keep reading this series. It reminds me of Lauren Kate's Fallen series- you know it's not the best book out there but something about it has you hooked. If you want to read Hades, I won't discourage you. Every book deserves a chance. 2.5 stars.

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