A spunky florist and a cold-hearted Lord of the Dead? Its a match made in the underworld!Autumn Rankin is a florist first and foremost. Her speciality is in making a rose bear in under twenty minutes or pulling together a bouquet that says I’m sorry I screwed your best friend. But when she meets Hades at the funeral parlour, she discovers a hidden talent: convincing a dead soul it’s his time to … convincing a dead soul it’s his time to go to the afterlife. Apparently souls are wandering the Land of the Living, and Hades, stiff, cold and guarded as he is, needs her natural charm and charisma to corral them to the underworld. But the Lord of Dead is hiding something. Secrets. And she’s determined to find out what, even if it destroys her.
Hades, old Lord of the Underworld, is losing his touch. Stubborn souls no longer heed his call for their final resting place. When he meets Autumn, he detects a power he has not seen in hundreds of years. The touch of spring he needs to chase away the winter consuming his realm, and maybe even melt his frosty heart. And with the Goddess awakening in her, he’s not going to let her go this time.
Lady of the Underworld is Book 1 in the Operation Hades series, a steamy paranormal romance with a dark, brooding and sexy Greek god, godly avatars, and loads of flower puns.
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*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
What a fantastic start to a new series! We meet Autumn with her green hair and love for all plants. She is working at a flower shop doing the funeral delivery when she meets a hot guy that only she can see. As if that is not weird enough she sees a ghost as well with the guy claiming to be Hades. Needing her help he hires her and what follows was quite interesting as they chase down ghosts while getting attached to one another which leads to a cliff hanger ending that leaves you wanting more. Full of Gods, Demigods, Goddesses, magic, and more. Book two should be fantastic! I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
Lady of the Underworld is book one in Skylar Andra’s Operation Hades series. Lady of the Underworld is this author’s unique twist on the classic Hades/Persephone story. The author introduces readers to Hades and Autumn in this book. While we do meet another avatar, he is not really focused on in this book and is simply given a couple of fleeting scenes. If you are looking for a story that is full of drama and pushed forward by that then you may want to choose another book. This story is driven forward more so by the characters revealing their stories than anything else with some steamy scenes that make appearances later to spice things up. It’s a good book, but it’s not going to be for everyone.
Lady of the Underworld has good moments and it has okay moments. I can’t say that it technically has bad moments, because it really doesn’t, but it’s the pace of the overall story that detracts for me. The author introduces readers to Autumn. She has started to become the awakening avatar of Persephone. The author does a good job giving readers backstory where necessary and answering questions as they arise instead of making you turn page after page wondering…okay, what happened for this to be like it is. That is one aspect of the story that kept me engaged. The author says that this book is a slow-burn novel, but in my opinion…it’s really not. Now, do things happen quickly between these characters? Yes and no. They happen faster than a slow-burn, but they don’t immediately jump each other either.
For me, the pace of this story is the true “slow-burn.” The pace is slow. I started skimming in spots because I wanted the storyline to move along and speed up a bit. There is quite a bit of detail, but not enough true drama until you get closer to the end where things do begin to pick up the pace. In my opinion this book is not a slow-burn. When the author said this book is a “slow-burn” I was like okay, so nothing steamy is going to happen in this book. Romance building and tension developing between the two characters? Yes. Something more hot and steamy? I thought it would happen either near the end or wait until the next book. It gets a bit difficult to really keep up with how much time has passed with some scenes as well. With Hades always popping up when she’s driving it makes it hard to really know how much time has passed since he last left her.
I’m choosing to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. This book has some good elements, but I need more pace and more drama. The beginning and ending have the most interesting moments, but I needed more than just a few sprinkled throughout the rest of the story to drive it forward. While the author does a good job giving me backstory to answer questions that arise, I needed more of the here and now to fully engage me in this story. I’m hopeful that things get more interesting in book two. If the cover and description have piqued your interest concerning this book, feel free to at least read a few chapters to see where things go. Just rememeber, this story is less action/drama driven and is more driven forward by the characters a step at a time.
This is book 1 of the Operation Hades series. I really enjoyed this story. I thought the character work was good and the story well written. A book I would recommend.
If you’ve read any of my reviews that hit on books that go into Greek mythology, you know I love that subject. I tend to jump into any read that has a mythology twist so when this series crosses my path, I jumped in with both feet. I really enjoy most of this first book. The characters were fun, especially Autumn. The initial into of Hades was a little off-putting but I understand what the author was trying to do. There are a few places where I think the story would benefit from a good editing but overall it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. On to book two!
I simply cannot get enough of the story of Hades and Persephone. I love this take on their story, with the introduction of avatars and merged gods.
Autumn was just living her best life as a florist until her world changed in ways she never thought possible, when she meets a man at a funeral.
All is not as it should be in Hades’ world, and when he meets a green haired minx at a funeral, a series of events are set into motion neither of them saw coming.
Love love love this book!
Wow such a unique and fascinating twist on the gods. This is a fricken fantastic read . I couldn’t put it down. Cant wait to dive into book 2
Interesting take on Hades and his love, but I felt there was something more missing. Maybe it was because of the amount of lies and secrets, but I felt like there was a huge rift between the two that is not ready to be mended. I’m excited to see what the Gods stir up in book two.
So Autumn is a young woman Working in a florist for a old woman. She’s still mourning the death of her mother so like most of us she’s plodding along in life, just taking each day as it comes. She’s not seeking love or excitement she’s just about keeping her head above water and working to keep a roof over her head and food for her. So one day after being told something that will change the course of her life strange things happen and a tall dark very handsome guy doesn’t seem to understand why her.unless she’s someone long since gone and is she the reason that can stop hell freezing over ?
One of my favourite tropes is taking an old story – faerie tales, folk tales, gods and legends – and updating them with a modern twist. Of the Greek pantheon, one of the most popular romances is that of Hades and Persephone.
This is a novel twist on the story, with the gods inhabiting human avatars. Well, most of them! August is a wonderfully engaging heroine, and you can understand her confusion at the new world that awaits her. Hades is both commanding and vulnerable in the right ways as he tried to restore his kingdom and find the right way to introduce August to her future. As you might expect, things don’t quite go to plan, and we get a cliffhanger into the next book. Looking forward to reading the next stage in their story!
Enjoyable unique take on the Greek mythology. Very good world building with interesting characters. Plenty of action and drama. Nice bit of steam too. The use of avatars for the gods was unique and interesting. I look forward to seeing where this goes next. Recommended.
Full of wonders and betrayal
Autumn, a florists assistant, is setting up a funeral arrangement when she meets the avatar of Hades, Greek Lord of the Underworld, as he attempts to find out what is going wrong in his realm. As the story progresses hidden talents are uncovered, secrets are discovered, and the lies and deception are something that will not allow them to recover. Skylar Andra’s take on the tale Hades and Persephone is full of wonders and betrayal. I will have to check out her Operation Cupid series once I finish reading Lord of the Underworld.
This book was ok. It was funny, and had a few great moments. It was my first read from this author, and it won’t deter me from reading her other books.
I love this book! I know I say that a lot don’t I? I can’t help it, I tend to find books that just really speak to me and lets me go on a journey with the characters. This is so one of those books. Now, weirdly enough, I finished the story a day before I came down with a flu bug (I am still getting over it) and all I could think about was how I needed to read the next book in the series. Yes, this is a series, YAY! I can’t get enough of Hades, just love him. There is great character and world building in this story. It’s a slow build. What I mean is that the information given from the start has a significant purpose of being offered when it is offered to the reader. At the start it is about Autumn, then comes Hades, then come the dead souls and the Underworld itself. As you move along and get more involved and the story progresses it builds to what you might hope will be the climax of the ending. Surprise! This is a real series book not a stand alone, you will want to read the next one in the series to continue to move along that storyline.
The world that is being built within this story is fascinating to me. I am a “Paranormal Girl” for lack of a better description. I am also extremely interested in Greek Mythology and the Gods of Olympus including Hades, which may be why I gravitated to this book, that and it was a really well written book. Because the story was so good and well written it really was an easy read and a real page turner; mostly it makes you want to find out what happens next. The characters that are featured are Hades, Autumn, the dead souls that they are trying to retrieve to send to the Underworld and the Underworld. I have to say that the dead souls are quite a bit of fun. There is one in particular that made me giggle, let’s just say that I was hungry for some good old fashioned canned vegetables after reading that part. They are all well rounded, thought out characters (especially the dead souls) that make you want to take an interest in them. It just makes it a fun read. So now that I am invested in this series I am looking forward to reading all the other books that will follow it.
I could probably go on forever talking about how I liked this book but I would rather you find out for yourself.
Quirky florist Autumn (FMC) unexpectedly meets the Lord of the Dead Hades at a funeral (as you do lol) shes working at. That chance meeting leads to a job offer that she cant refuse. Autumn is so funny and had me laughing throughout. Some of the situations and the banter between Hades & Autumn was great to read. Its just brilliant and i cant wait for the next book
OMG I loved this! Drawn in from the very start I absolutely adore Autumn our kick ass heroine and Hades lord of the underworld! With an intriguing storyline that will hook you immediately I loved this take on the gods & mythology and got totally sucked into this incredible world built by the author! Hot and steamy in places, action, ghosts and yep I even shed a few tears, I’m going straight onto the next book!
At first I wasn’t sure what to think and couldn’t wrap my head around how the avatar idea would work. The author did a great job at pulling the reader through and explaining things, while not cluttering the story with unnecessary details. Loved the story! I can’t wait to read the next book!
Loved the book, it was interesting and enjoyable. If you like Greek mythology, you will enjoy this cute series on the avatars of Hades and Persephone.
This is set in the same world as Operation Cupid in which we get to know Hades better and also introduced to Autumn who is a florist first and foremost but we soon discover that she s so much more as her Avatar powers awaken.
Autumn has led a relatively sheltered life but awakens and grows into herself after meeting Hades.
There is love, laughter, loss and heartbreak in this book plus plenty of sex & sizzle – Some plot twists but not as many and kind of feels slower paced to the Operation Cupid books but don’t let that put you off as the storey feels deeper and is purely about Hades and Autumn and at this stage i don’t think it is likely to be a RH as there are no other indications of love interest and to be fair i am not sure it would work as Hades and Autumn seem to be age old soul mates.
Very well written captivating storey that draws you in and was enjoyable to read.