Review: Good book, but a few things didn't sit well with me
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2012
I'm kind of bummed that I didn't quite enjoy Daughter of the Earth and Sky as much as Persephone . It was still a pretty good book, but I think I started nitpicking at a few things that bugged me, and then that was all I could think about.Persephone's attitude in the beginning of the book bugged me. Maybe that's what contributed to my iffy feelings about the book--I didn't start off on great terms with her. Sometimes Persephone was just a bit stupid and annoying. At the beginning, Persephone was complaining about the lack of intimacy between her and Hades, because Hades was still iffy of the age difference between them. But then, when he tried to strike up conversation, she got all private and evasive for no reason:"You used your mom's card, for a thing?" He fiddled with the vents, adjusting the air.I gave him an incredulous look. "Nosey much?""Considerate, actually. I could tell you wanted to talk about something else."That's a half-truth if I've ever heard one." I laughed. "You're curious. Maybe I used it for something personal.""Fine. Don't tell me." Hades turned to look out the window.I sighed. "It was an application for early enrollment at the University of Georgia.--Daughter of the Earth and Sky, Pages 21-22Why even bother giving him grief for asking? It wasn't exactly an invasive question. Then, they go to talk to Poseidon and Hades' only request was that she let him do the talking, and he gave a good reason for it. Then, Persephone marches in and does ALL the talking.I looked at Hades, and he looked back at me like 'oh you want help now? What part of let me do the talking was too complicated for you?'--Daughter of the Earth and Sky, Page 48I think my other frustration just came from a lack of understanding. Obviously we know that Persephone promised she wouldn't tell anyone about Thanatos, but I don't understand why she couldn't tell Hades other things. She promised she wouldn't tell anyone that she charmed Thanatos, and that Hades would get no help from her. So why couldn't she tell Hades that she didn't like the Reapers? Why couldn't she tell Hades that Thanatos hurt her? That's not necessarily related to her charming him. When the Muses go missing, Persephone entertains the idea of searching the Underworld for the Muses, but then she says to herself:"Even if I succeeded, it wasn't like I could tell Hades where they were."--Daughter of the Earth and Sky, Page 167Again, that's not telling Hades that she charmed Thanatos. So why couldn't she tell Hades where the Muses were if she found them? I mean, maybe there is a reason; maybe the promise ran deeper than just what she promised not to do, but I felt like I didn't understand the reasoning.Okay, let's talk about a good thing: Hades is HOT when he's mad and feeling vengeful. I never knew it could be so hot to watch someone's husband fight for his wife's honour.. or in this case, her safety."Did you touch my wife?" Hades' voice was low and dangerous."Yes, but--"Hades' fist slammed into the Reaper's face. "You seem like the type of guy that likes to experiment. You got real creative tearing my wife's soul to bits. Surely at some point you must have wondered what it felt like.""You don't understand. It wasn't just--I didn't--There's more--" His voice gave an anguished cry when Hades reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder."Please! Stop!" he screamed, writhing in agony."How many times did she say that?" Hades demanded. "How many times did you make her beg?" His hand turned white, and it plunged through the Reaper's neck."How long could a normal human soul survive this? Did you ever wonder that?" Hades shook the Reaper; he moved limply, like a rag doll. "Let's find out."--Daughter of the Earth and Sky, Pages 159-161To be honest, I was hoping to see a little more of Hades and Persephone's relationship in this book. The parts I did see, I loved! Like when Hades was kicking Reapers' asses, or when they were kissing and being intimate.. but I feel like they spent most of the book apart--on "a break" or something.In between Persephone fighting with her friends, her wobbly relationship with Hades, her fling with a human on the side, and her struggle to deal with the promise she made to Thanatos, I think I just got a little weary of all the negativity in the book. I wanted more moments of happiness, more sweet romance with Hades. I suppose the development was good and things did get better towards the end, but I wanted more highlights in the middle.Finally, I'm not sure I like where Daughter of the Earth and Sky ended. It just cut off in the middle of an intense, almost-battle scene. I thought the first book was perfect: things got wrapped up nicely, but Kaitlin Bevis still provided a good platform for book two, and gave us something to look forward to. But in Daughter of the Earth and Sky , the main conflict kind of got wrapped up around page 232 (~90%). After that, there was a bit of aftermath, and then the beginning of the conflict that will be in book three. But since we got so far into the beginning of the "book 3 parts", I felt like the book ended too abruptly. I think it should have ended a litte sooner and only given us a taste of what is to come, rather than a huge bite.I know there's a lot of criticism in this review, so don't get me wrong--it was still a good and enjoyable read. There were just a few things that really bugged me so I felt like I really wanted to address them, and then they kind of dominated my review. But despite those issues, I still enjoyed reading the book. I always looked forward to picking it back up again and I was curious as to how things would finally get resolved. I'll definitely be continuing the series and I look forward to seeing what happens next!