Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury Review

Hello Readers,

Back in 2022 I share my favourite Hades and Persephone retellings and gave each book a reread, I have since reread some of the books that I included on that list I think they deserve a little more than a minute review.

As you can tell from the title, I am starting with Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury I think I appreciated this book so much more during this reread. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book when I read it back in 2022 in fact it was one of my top books of the year, I just loved it a lot more during this reread. I am just going to share my love for the cover as its one of my favourite covers on my bookcase and is one of the books on rotation to face out.
 
I never thought I could be friends with Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera but here we are. I am under no illusion that they are nice they are after all the goddesses of vengeance. Please don’t mistake me saying I would be their friend by thinking that Melinda has turned the furies into fluffy barn owls. Melinda has kept them terrifying, but somehow humanised them and it gives you false sense of security. I mean being a fury is a great career prospect for me like no more allergies minus the whole Goddesses of vengeance bit can I be like the fury that’s the Goddess of the RBF.
 
This book is full of emotions and heart, and it explores growth and betrayal, finding yourself, learning to love yourself, how hard it is finding your place in the world and the blurred lines of good and bad.  This is unlike most of the Hades and Persephone that I have read not only because it’s not smutty. The love story takes a back seat in this retelling this book is about Corey finding her power, Hades is a side character, and it was perfect for this retelling.
 
I’m going to try make this not overly complicated what me mess this up dear Reader. Corey is our protagonist; Ali is her boyfriend and Bree is her best friend in the entire world and they have been inseparable for years. You know it’s about to hit the fan from that besties build up well Bree and Ali become a thing and yes there is a little cross over between the besties dating the same guy. Before Corey has a chance to really process anything Bree dies…
 
Corey is complicated and I love how Melinda wrote Corey. Corey is rightfully angry at the beginning, and she lashes out. One thing that is horrible about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, it comes from those closest to you and for Corey it was through her chosen sister. Corey feels the furies judge to harshly but has no remorse for about the fury she feels towards Bree for her betrayal. I love that Melinda didn’t give Corey and Bree a happy ending not everything has to end with butterflies and rainbows and that type of ending would have ruined this book for me.  I loved seeing Corey come to terms with what happened and how she learns to accepts her fury as part of her but doesn’t let it consume her like a fury.
 
Hades is reserved in this retelling, and it was perfect in this story he was willing to do anything to get Corey to stay with him without forcing her hand. Super nerdy I know but I like the nod to the orginal myth when Hades mentions that there might be unknown rules about eating things that grow in the underworld. Hermes is just the best and I want him to be in my friendship circle.
 
The only fault I have is I want more please.

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