Title: A Game of Fate
Author: Scarlett St. Claire
Pages: 397
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Retelling
Is this part of a series? Yes, this is book one of the Hades Saga, and I still feel like it’s a sister-series to St. Clair’s Hades X Persephone series.
Published: September 18th, 2020
Summary courtesy of Goodreads:
Hades, God of the Underworld, is known for his inflexible rule, luxurious night clubs, and impossible bargains. Use to control, he is not prepared to discover the Fates have chosen his future wife and Queen—Persephone, Goddess of Spring.
Despite her attraction to the god, Persephone, an ambitious journalism student, is determined to expose Hades for his cruel and ruthless ways.
Hades finds himself faced with the impossible—proving his future bride wrong. Despite his efforts, there are forces who wish to keep the two apart and Hades comes to realize he will do anything for his forbidden love, even defy Fate.
I first picked up this book because I was reading A Touch of Darkness and saw that this was by the same author- on the same timeline- but told through Hades’ narrative. How could I not pick it up (especially since it was a free read for Amazon Prime members)? I am actually really glad I did. A Game of Fate begins right before Hades meets Persephone. He’s tracking a Mortal who’s doing some pretty terrible things- and goes to put the fear of The Gods in him. Fire, brimstone, threats… and a way for Sisyphus to begin to make amends before it all goes wrong.
Then he finds Aphrodite waiting for him wanting to make a bargain, which is kinda his thing. He has six months to make someone fall in love with him… failing that, he has to release the soul of one of her lovers/heroes from the Underworld. I know this is necessary to the story but I have a huge issue here. It sets him up as this guy who thinks love is a game, who plays with people’s emotions. This isn’t Hades at all- and as you know what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling you are well aware of this. They make the deal anyway because… Gods. That night he sees Persephone and wants her. Maybe this deal isn’t so bad… except it is. He finds out that Persephone is his fated wife- literally. Except the fates are angry because of something Sisyphus did and threated to tear his future with Persephone apart unless the mortal is dealt with. I know, it seems like I am just giving a recap here…. but a lot of crap happened people- and it’s all important. It was interesting watching Hades with the fates- knowing that even with all his power he knows he has to keep balance with them and tries to keep a hold of a very volatile work relationship.
We got to see his relationship with Hermes and Hecate, which I am here for. I love those guys! Seeing them through Hades eyes gave the characters I met with Persephone another dimension. Along with this we met Helios, Poseidon, Zeus, The Fates, and several others. We learned about the war brewing between a group that are against the Gods and, well, the Gods. Seeing Hades “at work” was interesting. Then there’s the interaction with Persephone- his care and desire. His terror at the thought of losing her. The pride and crazy jealousy…. seeing everything the two went through in his perspective was amazing, it gave me a clear picture of what each of them was going through (having read both books). I actually feel like the sexual content in this one was hotter, which is weird because it’s basically the same thing.
Now, the big question: Do you have to read both series’? No. I could have read either one as a stand alone series and been content. They are great books in their own rite. Together… is a bonus. It fleshes out the world and timeline. All those times I wanted to smack Hades in ATOD are explained here. All the times I was angry at Persephone in AGOF, are explained in the other book. Let’s face it, communication is kind of shit with this couple. The misunderstanding trope is still terribly overused and if I didn’t already know the other side, I might be angrier about that. So, for me, reading both series’ is a gift- a bonus to the reader. I am excited to see what the next books give me… because I will definitely be continuing with both. My bank account is going to cry!
Back to A Game of Fate. This was a fun, fast read. The story had a good flow, and I did see some real character growth here from Hades. As a reader, I crave character growth. I want to see them evolve.. so that made me happy. There was good world building, exciting action, fun interactions… and I got to see a God being way too soft with his love interest and animals. (In a non-bestiality way, that came out wrong lol. He plays with Ceberus and talks to his horses. The way he cares for them are too sweet.) There’s still the issues people complained about in the other book- tropes were a bit overused and some of the dialogue is trite at best…. but that didn’t stop me from loving it. For me, this is a four star book.
As far as adult content goes, there’s violence, substance abuse/ talk of the drug trade (not a lot), language and sexual content. I actually feel like these were sexier and a bit more explicit than in the sister-series. If that was a level three spicy, I would say this was a level five. I still agree that this is New Adult range (17+). Those that want more content than sex scenes will still be pleased, but the ratio between sexual frustration/sexual content and actual story line is getting slightly out of balance. Don’t get me wrong, I am still here for it. Just, not for kiddies.
The book is out! If you have Amazon Prime, this is a free read. If not, you can get the eBook for under six bucks- it is a steal. Go! Go! Go!
Garabrandtreviews 