Persephone Plus

Persephone Plus
By  Stevie Rae Causey

ISBN: 9798742133803
67 Pages
Available in Paperback, on Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

After a year of banishment in the modern world Persephone must convince Olympus that love comes in many forms.

Persephone and Aphrodite must settle an old rivalry regarding their shared lover, or forfeit them to the mortal realm forever in this LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy short story. As their time runs out and the Goddess of Love shows no sign of wavering, it is up to Persephone to find a way to save the mortal she loves, without hurting the immortal she married.

If you like old myths with modern twists and complicated romance, you'll love Persephone Plus.

My Thoughts:

Persephone Plus is a short story adaptation of the tale of the relationship dispute between Persephone, Adonis, and Aphrodite that is told in a modern high school setting. I listened to the audiobook version, which was just under 37 minutes long. It's definitely a quickie read, but I think it could have benefitted with a little more time to flesh out the story more.

The story is full of imagery and emotion, but lacking in exposition in some key areas. For starters, it felt like you jumped in mid-narrative. The way the characters are talking, you feel like you should know what is going on, but you don't. There is backstory about the characters being banished from Olympus that is never properly covered or elaborated on. As you listen, you start to figure out some of the intricacies of the existing relationships, but other parts remain unclear if you do not know the mythological history behind the characters.

Persephone Plus is marketed as a LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy, but I find that label to be slightly misleading. The main theme of the story is that of polyamorous relationships, which typically do not by default fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. The only LGBTQ+ aspect occurs in the form where, for whatever reason, the writer chose to have Adonis identify as they/them. Historically, there is no case for this. In fact, Adonis was very much male - so much that "adonis" has long been used as a term for extremely handsome men. It feels more like an attempt to emphasize the "wokeness" of the writer and shoehorn the book into a LGBTQ+ classification. If it was an original story with original characters, it would be less questionable, but to take well established characters and change something so drastic just makes little sense. 

If you are a mythology lover like me and are familiar with the lore behind the Adonis & Persephone story and maybe I am more critical because of this, then you will notice several other changes. Persephone Plus is clearly written to make Persephone out to be the champion, solver of problems, and a caring person, while painting Aphrodite as your typical vapid "mean girl". Whereas, in the mythos, Persephone was the one who stole Adonis. Aligning with this noticeable change in narrative is the fact that when the contract is settled Adonis chooses to split his year equally between Persephone and Aphrodite, whereas in the original story he chose Aphrodite and spent his remaining 4 months that were previously unallocated with her. 

It also seems like the story is written to lift up the concept of polyamorous relationships, when in truth it is a really bad example of polyamorous relationships because Persephone's decision is forced on Hades rather than being made with his consent. It also appears that Adonis has been trapped into making a decision and Aphrodite is being coerced to agree to something they clearly do not want. The reality is that Persephone Plus is trying to romanticize a toxic situation, but is not really succeeding. Overall, the substance is lacking, but the storytelling is creative. It makes for a okay short read if you want a fluff tale to waste some time. 

In regards to the narration: The audiobook is narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazlo. The narrator has a nice clear voice and she was capable at distinguishing between the characters and portraying believable emotion in the characters. The reading pace was decent and the storytelling was engaging enough to keep you interested in listening.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Persephone Plus from StoryOrigin in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon.

Parent's Guide:

Persephone Plus is a tame tale and set in a relatable high school setting. There isn't a lot of exposition, so if the reader isn't familiar with Greek mythology they may get confused, but overall there isn't anything that is really inappropriate for pre-teen or teen readers. If your child likes mythology, they will probably enjoy this fresh and relatable perspective on an old tale.