Flower of the Underworld: Review and Excerpt

Click to check out Hazel's Character Purgatory!

Welcome to day three of the blog tour for "The Flower of the Underworld"! Today, I'm showcasing a review and an excerpt. But first, an announcement for other events going on today/tonight:

Hazel will be hosting a live Q&A on her Instagram account on Thursday night (April 25th) from 8-9PM EST so get your questions ready for her! She will also be taking questions from Twitter for those who don’t have an Instagram account during the same time. Feel free to ask questions about Flower of the Underworld, or just writing and books in general, Hazel isn’t afraid to go off topic. If you’ll be asking questions on Twitter please make sure to @artfulscribbler with the hashtag #FlowerQ&A.

Click to get the Kindle version!

Now, onto the book itself:

Title: Flower of the Underworld

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology Retelling

Synopsis: What happens when the Lord of the Dead accidently falls in love with the Goddess of Spring? 

Well, when there are brothers with crazy political agendas and overprotective mothers involved, a simple romance may not be as simple as it looks. Hades wants nothing more than to woo Persephone, but his fellow Olympians have other ideas. Zeus and Poseidon seem set on starting World War Three, Persephone’s mother wants her daughter to marry Ares, the insufferable God of War to make sure the earth doesn’t get destroyed in the process, and Hades is being pressured by his brothers to join in a fight he never wanted a part of. He’s definitely going to need some help with this one. Calling on his friends Hermes, Artemis, and Apollo, they do the only thing they can: kidnap Persephone themselves and team up to try and stop Zeus before his plans succeed. 

This modern retelling of Hades and Persephone is part romance, part political intrigue and guaranteed to be a version you’ve never heard before.

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EXCERPT

“Hello, brother,” I said.

He actually started, whipping around. The look on his face darkened and his upper lip lifted in a sneer. “Hades.”

“So,” I said, striding forward until it was only the desk that separated us. “You lied to me.”

“Can you blame me?” Zeus scoffed. “You with your righteous attitude, your pity toward the pitiful human maggots. Not that you agreed to help anyway.”

“So you were going to recruit my subjects and, what? Just assume that they would follow you and do your bidding?”

Zeus narrowed his eyes at me. “I have ways of making people cooperate. You know that.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I know how you work, Zeus. And I can’t say any of this is surprising to me. But I still stand where I did before. I’m not going to help you kill humans, but I can promise you that I will do everything I can to stop you.”

Zeus moved around the desk and chuckled. “Oh, little brother. How naïve you really are. You have spent so long locked away in the dark reaches of the Underworld, you just don’t know what it’s like up here anymore.”

“I know enough,” I said. “I know enough not to lump all the humans with the bad apples. I am the one who separates them after they die, after all. Those who deserve punishment get it, and those who lived good lives are given rest. Perhaps you need a little faith—and a little patience.” I saw his anger as I quoted his words to Ares earlier.

“I would be cautious, Hades, before I decide you are too much trouble,” Zeus said in a cold voice, his eyes steely grey. “There is room yet with the Titans in the deepest reaches of the Underworld and I doubt they would be happy with the god who has been their jailor, keeping them locked away for so long.”

I smiled, anything but intimidated. “Get rid of me if you dare. But what do you think will happen if I’m no longer in charge down there? If you want to deal with the dead walking the earth, then be my guest, but I’m thinking that might put a damper on your plans.”

Zeus’s fist clenched in pent up anger, and his jaw ticked.

“And remember,” I added. “Every soul that dies comes to me. Whatever you do, I’ll know about it. You can’t hide it from me.” I turned toward the door. “And I would be careful with your ‘alternate methods’ if I were you. You don’t want this to turn into another Typhus incident. I don’t think you want that many monsters, do you?”

Zeus’ face twitched and I knew I had struck a nerve.

I slipped out of the room just as I heard something crash against the door behind me, accompanied by Zeus’s cry of rage. Never was one to keep his cool for long, my brother.

REVIEW

Oh my word, what a wonderful blend of familial relations (both the good and the bad), epic mythos, and sass.

The thing I loved most about this was the characters. All of them have their quirks, and everyone has a modern twist. For example: Artemis is a Dungeon Master! I don't know why I find this so funny/interesting, but I do and I love her. Also, Hades' workload is more like that of a desk job than anything (papers to sign, people to shuffle around, etc.).

There were lots of funny moments, with wry/sarcastic characters (mostly Hades, but Apollo can contest in the sarcasm/bluff department), lovable characters (Persephone is so darn sweet, and Hermes is a wonderful--if sometimes overbearing--best friend) and straight up embarrassing situations (non spoilery example: bumping into two womanizing friends while out on a sort-of-kind-of-date. And them trying to be "helpful").

For those wondering how the world compares to the Percy Jackson series: aside from the presence of the Greek gods, it really doesn't. The world setup is different, with the existence of gods/goddesses being out in the open, for one. Also, Hades isn't as sarcastic a narrator as Percy. Hades is more wry than anything, able to notice the juxtaposition of foibles and strengths of character and situation.

Magic (if you want to call it that?) seems to be innate to the gods, and each has abilities according to whatever their job is. Hermes can travel super fast, Persephone nurtures plants, Hades can shadow travel, etc.
In accordance with the modern setting of the story, they're presented more like super-powers than anything.

I'd love to get into all the little things and favorite scenes that made this book work so well, but there'd be too many spoilers!

Suffice it to say, if you like old legends with a modern twist, you'll enjoy this story.

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Author links:

Website: http://hazelwest.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/artfulscribbler

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5289626.Hazel_B_West

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modern_bard67/

About the Author: Hazel B. West is the author of several novels including historical titles like On a Foreign Field, By Blood or By Bond; Wolfsblood, a book about werewolves in Roman Britain and the Modern Tales of Na Fianna series, which feature modern Irish warriors with swords and fast sports cars and lots of faeries.

As to what she prefers to consume (aside from bacon and coffee) she can often be found with her nose in dusty tomes about mythology and folklore, serial killers, and other dark and gruesome things. She has an almost unhealthy penchant for stories about siblings, particularly brothers, and you can probably win her over by alerting her to any books or shows that feature this. She is a true book dragon and has a lovely hoard of books (and Pop Figures). When she's not writing, she's probably still being antisocial, reading books, drawing, or binge-watching the same shows over and over because there's nothing else quite like Supernatural and Merlin. She also likes to listen to music because, who doesn't? Hazel's particularly fond of modern folk and classic rock, which is usually what makes up the majority of her book playlists.