The Iron Queen

Author: Kaitlin Bevis
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Released: May 16, 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Series: Daughters of Zeus #3
Source: ebook for review

Life is hell for Persephone. Zeus will stop at nothing to gain access to the living realm and the Underworld, and as the only living god with a right to both, Persephone’s in trouble. Captured and tortured beyond the limits of her resolve, Persephone must find the power to stand against Zeus. But will she be strong enough? Meanwhile, Hades contemplates desperate measures to rescue his queen. Persephone never thought of herself as dangerous, but there’s a reason gods never marry for love. A being with the power to destroy all of creation shouldn’t place more value in one individual than the rest of the planet. But Hades...Hades would break the world for her. To save the world and stop both Hades and Zeus, Persephone must make a difficult choice. One that may cost her everything.

 What a powerful whirlwind end to this section of the series! There's such a sense of movement throughout the whole book, as the gods speed around the worlds, both in reality and in dreams.

The heightened danger and urgency is helped along by the varying points of view in each chapter. At first, I was thrown off by the changing perspectives, but once I got into the rhythm, it made the pace lightning fast while still showing each event really clearly. That's part of what adds to the sense of movement also, as each character is in a different place for each event.

Persephone's torture is horrific to hear about, but thankfully we actually see it only the first time and only hear about it after that. Any questions about Persephone's strength and right to Hades' admiration are laid to rest by the way Persephone stands strong, and then again by the way she reacts to Aphrodite's offer to help get her out of the torture.

Hades' love is such a powerful force, and I was glad that we got to see inside his mind this book. I love how all the gods are so clinical in their quest to stop Zeus while Hades is full of emotion and recklessness - much the way Persephone behaved in the previous books!

There's so much heartbreak in this book. So much emotion. A great book!