Review for Persephone's Orchard by Molly Ringle

3.5 Stars. Fascinating and new twist on an old myth. I loved the concept of this book. It mixed ancient Greek mythology with reincarnation and looked at the Greek gods more as immortal people than actual gods. I also liked that it explained how they became viewed as ‘gods.’

There were moments where I feel like the dialogue could have used a little work, but it was otherwise well written. I liked the plot; it was very focused on Sophie and Aidan’s relationship. But, there was a subplot involving a secret society, Thanatos, that was opposed to immortals and sought to kill them. I liked that both Aidan and Sophie made some smart decisions to avoid them and eventually overcome them in the end.

I liked the flashbacks to past lives, especially getting to see Hades and Persephone, but I felt like they took away from Adrian and Sophie’s story some. Much of Sophie’s time is spent remembering flashbacks and I would have liked a little more adventure in the present between her and Adrian – not that there wasn’t any. The story just felt a little heavy on the Hades/Persephone memories. Adrian and Sophie do spend a lot of time getting to know one another, but I would have liked the focus to be on their present selves just a little more.

One thing I really enjoyed was reading Adrian’s POV in the beginning while he waited for Sophie to remember him. He has a mix of longing and giddiness surrounding his thoughts that I loved. The sexy scenes between Sophie and Aidan and their memories of Hades and Persephone were well written, but I wanted a little more of that “build-up” feeling. They were very fun and free moments, but I wanted a little more intensity.

I also liked Sophie much more than Persephone. I really connected with Sophie, but not so much with her previous incarnation. I’m not sure why exactly, but I wished I had liked Persephone more, especially as so much of the story is in flashbacks.

I did start the second book of this series, but it lost me after about ten chapters. The story started to focus more on the other characters and less on Sophie and Adrian.