Title: Asphodel
Author: Lauren Hammond
Genre: Young Adult/Greek Mythology
Series:The Underwold Trilogy #1
Publisher: S.B. Addison Books
Number of Pages: 161
Source: Sent by author
Persephone has been running for her entire life. Running from the humans to keep her immortality a secret. And running from a man who haunts her dreams. Not a man but a god, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And what he wants most, is her. Trapped in the realm of the dead, Persephone plans to return to the land of the living. The underworld is a terrifying place where ghosts roam freely, three headed dogs patrol the gates, and it’s a living grave where the rules of earth and the warmth of the sun no longer apply. But then, something unexpected happens. Persephone finds herself falling for the god who abducted her, the god who has chased her for five thousand years, a god who is none other than death himself, Hades.Ripped out of the underworld by Zeus, Persephone must find a pomegranate to return to the realm of the dead and to her beloved. Consuming only a seed of the fruit of the dead would bind Persephone to spend her life beneath the earth’s core with Hades. But Zeus has reduced every pomegranate tree in the world to ash. Except one. Persephone must locate that one remaining pomegranate tree, a quest that could ignite a war between the two mightiest of the god’s. A war that could cause Persephone to lose the only family she’s ever known or give up a love that comes only once every five thousand years. (goodreads)
Out of all the books I've read by Lauren Hammond this one is by far my favorite. Even though Persephone is a little bit naive for being around a really long time, I liked her. She was a fun heroine, and I loved the back and forth between her and Hades. I thought this was a unique tale on the myth of Persephone and Hades. I liked how even though there was a bit of insta-love, it took awhile to build and that Persephone's parents even though they were Gods didn't just disappear once the action between Persephone and Hades started.
Ashpodel is told from three different viewpoints: Persephone's, Hades, and Persephone's mom, Demeter. I thought that the viewpoints changed nicely, and didn't interrupt the flow of the story. I felt as if the viewpoints complimented each other and made me understand there actions much better then I would have if it was told only from Persephone's viewpoint. I did find myself getting into Persephone and Hades stories more, and was always surprised when the story would switch back to Demeter.
Persephone for all her years, is still just a teenager and while I thought maybe she should've rebelled a little sooner, loved it when she finally started figuring everything out on her own and decided to take action inspite of everyone telling her not to. While she does have a crush on another boy, Adonis, I wouldn't consider this a love triangle and I have to say I didn't expect his role in this story to be what it was, though as always I should have. I just really liked that this wasn't another YA love triangle, and not as cliche as some of the YA books I've been reading lately. This was a nice change of pace and I can't see what happens next to Persephone and Hades.
