Book Reviewed: Blinding Night
Author: Chantal Gadoury
Book Setting: 2018, Athens, Greece
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Reviewer: Javelyn Bond
Other books by Chantal Gadoury: Allerleirauh, The Songs in our Hearts, Between the Sea and Stars, Seven Seeds of Summer
PS: This was an ARC copy given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary (Official): “Despite being an art history student, Summer isn’t thrilled to be stuck with her archeologist family all summer in Greece. While the rest of her college friends are posting a million selfies by the pool together, Summer is stuck alone, trying to entertain herself alone in a place where she doesn’t even speak the language.
Upon her arrival to Greece, strange dreams and even stranger shadows seem to haunt Summer, leaving her to ponder the meaning of pomegranate seeds and twisted, darkened faces.
Suddenly, her stay abroad leads to tragic twists, leaving Summer in the arms of a dark stranger, who claims to be the god, Hades, whom she feels like she knows from another life. In a whirlwind through the busy streets of Athens, Summer is seduced to the lowest point of Greece where Hades’ lair awaits…the Underworld. Determined to find out who she is and where she belongs in an age-old myth, Summer joins Hades to discover that the secrets about her past life are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.”
Characters (A Simple Outline):
The Mavros Family:
Summer: Only daughter of Mr and Mrs Mavros. The extrovert, the bold, and curious girl, is the main protagonist in our story. She is forced to a trip which at first is only archaeology but leads to several other wonders, wonders which are not of the normal.
Mr Mavros: Husband to Mrs Mavros and father to Summer Mavros. She is more close to him than her mother and regrets his unfortunate fate the most.
Mrs Mavros: Wife to Mr Mavros and mother to Summer Mavros. She is more controlling and strict as compared to her father and even assumed to be someone else in a Greek myth as told by Hades.
The Underworld:
Hades: God of death and goes by many names in the human world. He goes after Summer after a famous Greek myth.
PS: I seriously cannot remember the rest of the characters, sad fact, I know. Anyway let’s continue.
My Opinion:
What I Liked: I liked that there was greek mythology and a unique start with the story. Like I am an ancient history student, so I really enjoyed studying one of ancient mythology aspects being greek. And it was wonderful at first with the unique start, the fact that you get to see through Summer’s perspective as an adult what life really can be all about during vacation obviously. So really I got her point. And Hades entering, it was a sight. I mean he was a surprise and I really love surprises. He was a unique character expressed at his almost finest moments. And their chemistry was sizzling even for a few moments, but there was something there, I could definitely see.
Things I did not like: Now believe me, I really wanted to like this book, I really did. But there were some aspects which just drove me crazy. For example, I felt Summer’s emotions at some points in the book were really hard to understand, like they were all over the place. Then another thing was Hades and his friends. Most of the time I liked how they spent time together but sometimes I felt it was a bit too much. Like his friends were constantly in a place where Hades and Summer would be which was let’s just say, a bit irritating. Like, let the protagonists have some time to themselves! Ugh. Anyway, the flashbacks were also driving me a bit cuckoo as they were all over the place, which is kind of sad honestly.
Things I would like to see: Maybe keeping summer’s emotions a bit steady, the reason to get why hades is just so determined to get summer to be with him, apart from the said myth. And hades’s friends to maybe take a break in the corner, instead of crowding around Hades and Summer. And finally, to get a handle on those flashbacks or maybe a bit more insight perhaps into those flashbacks, like how hades would find all those girls. Just a few suggestions.
Rating: 3/5
Recommendation: Not wholeheartedly, but to those who can enjoy greek mythology or fantasy romances.
Thank you all for reading.
-J.B
Author: Chantal Gadoury
Book Setting: 2018, Athens, Greece
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Reviewer: Javelyn Bond
Other books by Chantal Gadoury: Allerleirauh, The Songs in our Hearts, Between the Sea and Stars, Seven Seeds of Summer
PS: This was an ARC copy given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary (Official): “Despite being an art history student, Summer isn’t thrilled to be stuck with her archeologist family all summer in Greece. While the rest of her college friends are posting a million selfies by the pool together, Summer is stuck alone, trying to entertain herself alone in a place where she doesn’t even speak the language.
Upon her arrival to Greece, strange dreams and even stranger shadows seem to haunt Summer, leaving her to ponder the meaning of pomegranate seeds and twisted, darkened faces.
Suddenly, her stay abroad leads to tragic twists, leaving Summer in the arms of a dark stranger, who claims to be the god, Hades, whom she feels like she knows from another life. In a whirlwind through the busy streets of Athens, Summer is seduced to the lowest point of Greece where Hades’ lair awaits…the Underworld. Determined to find out who she is and where she belongs in an age-old myth, Summer joins Hades to discover that the secrets about her past life are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.”
Characters (A Simple Outline):
The Mavros Family:
Summer: Only daughter of Mr and Mrs Mavros. The extrovert, the bold, and curious girl, is the main protagonist in our story. She is forced to a trip which at first is only archaeology but leads to several other wonders, wonders which are not of the normal.
Mr Mavros: Husband to Mrs Mavros and father to Summer Mavros. She is more close to him than her mother and regrets his unfortunate fate the most.
Mrs Mavros: Wife to Mr Mavros and mother to Summer Mavros. She is more controlling and strict as compared to her father and even assumed to be someone else in a Greek myth as told by Hades.
The Underworld:
Hades: God of death and goes by many names in the human world. He goes after Summer after a famous Greek myth.
PS: I seriously cannot remember the rest of the characters, sad fact, I know. Anyway let’s continue.
My Opinion:
What I Liked: I liked that there was greek mythology and a unique start with the story. Like I am an ancient history student, so I really enjoyed studying one of ancient mythology aspects being greek. And it was wonderful at first with the unique start, the fact that you get to see through Summer’s perspective as an adult what life really can be all about during vacation obviously. So really I got her point. And Hades entering, it was a sight. I mean he was a surprise and I really love surprises. He was a unique character expressed at his almost finest moments. And their chemistry was sizzling even for a few moments, but there was something there, I could definitely see.
Things I did not like: Now believe me, I really wanted to like this book, I really did. But there were some aspects which just drove me crazy. For example, I felt Summer’s emotions at some points in the book were really hard to understand, like they were all over the place. Then another thing was Hades and his friends. Most of the time I liked how they spent time together but sometimes I felt it was a bit too much. Like his friends were constantly in a place where Hades and Summer would be which was let’s just say, a bit irritating. Like, let the protagonists have some time to themselves! Ugh. Anyway, the flashbacks were also driving me a bit cuckoo as they were all over the place, which is kind of sad honestly.
Things I would like to see: Maybe keeping summer’s emotions a bit steady, the reason to get why hades is just so determined to get summer to be with him, apart from the said myth. And hades’s friends to maybe take a break in the corner, instead of crowding around Hades and Summer. And finally, to get a handle on those flashbacks or maybe a bit more insight perhaps into those flashbacks, like how hades would find all those girls. Just a few suggestions.
Rating: 3/5
Recommendation: Not wholeheartedly, but to those who can enjoy greek mythology or fantasy romances.
Thank you all for reading.
-J.B
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