Daughter of the Earth and Sky picks up where Persephone left off.
There wasn’t that much of a cliffhanger between the first two of books, but there was still some suspense that got unraveled in the course of the second book, flowing right into a MAJOR cliffhanger to the third installment, The Iron Queen – which sounds to me more Celtic, fairy inspired than Greek.

I don’t know if I liked this second installment of Daughters of Zeus more than, as much as, or less than Persephone.
Don’t get me wrong: I liked it, I just don’t know how to quantify it.

There’s so much tension between Hades and Persephone, you could walk on the string of it like those bears on one-wheelers in circus shows.
To be honest, sometimes it’s a bit annoying, although I get the necessity of it for plot’s sake.
The happy ending has to be conquered.
It’s all right.
I get it. Also, I’d like to murder Persephone so I can get my way with her husband. Never thought I’d say that.

What I didn’t get, though – I actually resented it – was the continuous, “and all went black”-stuff.
Persephone sure faints, is knocked out, or just drops on the spot a lot, like, every second chapter.
Again, this might be inherent to the plot but at some point I almost thought the book was written in Eurydice’s PoV and she’s in a coma instead of Persephone’s, there was just so much fade to black!

Also, Melissa is being awfully irrational… and irritating.
I get it that she feels inferior to Persephone but Persephone doesn’t do anything to justify her feeling that way.
She’s actually a pretty amazing friend.
Most people would go megalomaniac because of the whole “I am a goddess”-thing (I know I would), but she just wants everybody to be happy. Which, if you think about it, is also kinda megalomaniac, sooooo.
She would gladly pass the staff to Melissa if she could.
Melissa pushes her away and then complains that Persephone let herself be pushed away.
Aaaah!
Humans
So mooooody.
I don’t like them.

In my opinion, 80% of the whole mess is Melissa’s fault.
Just saying.

Nevertheless, the story was wicked good.
Again twists and turns you wouldn’t expect.
You could try to keep up with the “mystery” but I doubt even Sherlock Holmes would have caught on who the bad guy really is.
Very deceiving.
My thumbs may be pointed at the sky but Zeus’ name is written on both my middle fingers.
Such a disgusting creep!

Let yourself be carried away.
Pretend to be Persephone.
She doesn’t get it completely either.

Be aware of one thing, though – the bad guy always gets what he deserves: a righteous ass kicking, followed by painful death if you pissed of Hades.

That’s a cautionary piece of advice I have for you.
Be good.
And read the book.

Daughter of Earth and Sky Synopsis:

The Daughters of Zeus, Book 2

Some vows can never be broken, especially with you’ve recently found out you’re a goddess.

In the flick of a eyelash Persephone has gone from being a high school junior in Athens, Georgia to the wife of Hades, god of the Underworld. Under his platonic protection, she’s waiting for springtime, when Boreas, the sinister god of winter, will stop stalking her.

But even Hades can’t keep Boreas and his minions from threatening her. Finally she escaped back to the world of the living. Maybe she can just go back to normal—and forget that she’s fallen in love with Hades.

She’s wrong.

Thanatos—a friend from the Underworld, has betrayed her. Persephone can’t tell anyone about Thanatos’ betrayal, and it drives a wedge between her and Hades.

And then there’s Aphrodite, the gorgeous goddess who was born among the ocean waves with more charm than she can control. Persephone’s dearest ally, Melissa, is furious and jealous when Aphrodite starts winning Persephone’s friendship. Persephone turns to a human boy for friendship. But will their relationship put him in danger?

Persephone must choose between her human life and her responsibilities as a goddess. If she doesn’t, she could lose that life and Hades, too.

But either way, she may not survive her father’s schemes. After all, she’s Zeus’s daughter. (less)

Purchase Daughter of Earth and Sky:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Audible

The Daughters of Zeus Books:

         

Standalone:

Daughter of Earth and Sky Excerpt:

I skipped breakfast and headed to school. I arrived early, but enough students were milling around to prevent another attack from the Reapers. They might not be able to see the Reapers, but even humans would notice if I hit the ground screaming in pain. There was no fighting back. Anytime I touched them, it hurt me ten times more than I could possibly hurt them. And they weren’t corporeal to anything but deities and the dead, so I couldn’t throw things at them or charm them. I was helpless, and that was really starting to piss me off.

I had small victories. I’d told Moirae I needed to take more of an interest in the day-to-day running of the Underworld. Every night she gave me a schedule of the next day’s events. I made it a point to be in the palace anytime Thanatos was supposed to be there. He dodged me easily, always managing to be somewhere else. Hades was getting really annoyed at Thanatos’ “new work ethic.” All my time in the Underworld was cutting into my schedule quite a bit, but all I needed was a second’s worth of eye contact with Thanatos to end this. If I could charm him, I could kill him.

The thought made me feel sick but it was my only option. I’d promised not to help Hades find out about Thanatos, so it wasn’t like I could charm Thanatos into turning himself in. I’d never promised not to hurt Thanatos. ‘Course I’d never be able to explain to Hades why I killed his best friend, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

“There you guys are. What took so long?” I asked the moment Melissa and Aphrodite stepped out of Melissa’s gold Civic.
Aphrodite yawned and pointed to Melissa. “She spent forever in front of the mirror getting ready.”

I glanced at Melissa, surprised to see she was wearing a brown satin skirt with a maroon blouse. “You look nice. What’s the occasion?”

“Picture day,” she reminded me. She walked toward the white school buildings, heels clicking on the sidewalk.

“It’s picture day?” I followed Melissa.

“What is picture day?” Aphrodite asked.

“You forgot?” Melissa shook her head. “You’re wearing yourself too thin, Persephone.”

“I forgot because we took senior pictures over the summer. I thought we were done.”

“They’re still going to do the club pictures.”

I groaned and plucked at my necklace. “I look terrible. Ugh, I can’t believe I forgot!”

“So they’re going to take our picture . . . why?” Aphrodite asked while we walked to the classroom.

“To put in the yearbook,” Melissa explained.

“Which is what, exactly?”

I searched my mind for a way to explain that wouldn’t lead to more questions while I opened the classroom door. A high-pitched squeal caught me off guard, and suddenly I was bombarded by the girls in my class.

“Oh my god! Aphrodite! Kora! You look amazing!” Ashley exclaimed.

We stepped into the classroom. “Thank you,” Aphrodite said graciously.

“Your hair looks so nice and this dress!” Jessica touched the floral material of a dress I’d worn a thousand times without inspiring comments and turned to her twin sister. “Hey Ashley, do you remember that dress we saw in Macy’s the other day? The white one with the flowers. It’s about this cut. We should run by the mall after school and get it, Kora. It’s so you.”

“Uh—” I began.

“It’s so daring!” Ashley exclaimed over Aphrodite’s blue ensemble. Aphrodite had slid right into the social circle in school effortlessly filling the void Rachel had left. The twins followed her around campus like lost puppies. It annoyed Melissa to no end, but I’d made sure they weren’t under charm. What else was I supposed to do?

Melissa made an offended noise behind me, and I turned to see her rushing out the door. “Melissa, wait!” I cried, following after her. My sandals slapped at the concrete sidewalk. I caught up to her on the bamboo “Causes Bridge” the art teacher had created. Signs dangled from the arches of the bridge, different problems written on each. I slowed as the weight of the problems settled on my shoulders. As a goddess, shouldn’t I be doing something about issues like world hunger? Instead I was stuck dealing with Zeus, Thanatos, and the Reapers.

Melissa leaned over the bamboo rail, staring down at the canopy of greenery between the beams for overpopulation and war.

“Melissa, I’m sorry no one said anything. You look amazing—”

“It’s not enough.” She swiped angrily at her eyes. “I’m just the mere mortal.”

“Don’t let her get to you. Aphrodite was created to cause a stir, it’s—”

“The fact that she was intended to be perfect doesn’t make standing next to her any easier. Look, I’m not proud to admit that she gets to me, okay? Yes, I’m being shallow and overdramatic, but I’m telling you, my self-esteem can’t take this anymore.”

“Melissa . . . ”

“It’s not just her, it’s you, too. You’re both so freaking perfect.” She made a gesture of frustration with her hands. “No one notices me if you guys are in the room. How could they?”

I blinked, surprised by her anger. “This isn’t just about what happened back there, is it? You’ve never cared what those girls think.”

Melissa sighed and sat on the bridge, feet dangling through the rails. “It’s everything. It just builds.” She was quiet for a moment before adding, “I had a fight with my mom.”

“What about?” I sat next to her. The wood caught on my cotton dress. I could only imagine what it was doing to Melissa’s skirt. She must be really upset not to notice.

“I got accepted at Iowa State.”

My heart froze in my chest, but I shoved my selfishness aside. “That’s great!”

“Mom said I couldn’t go.”

“So we’ll work it out. I’ll tell her I said it was okay—”

“I shouldn’t need your permission Persephone!” Her eyes glittered with rage. “I died last year, and you know my first thought when you brought me back?”

I shook my head, but she was already continuing.

“That could have been it. My entire life, and I’d never done a single thing for myself. Every decision I’ve ever made had to be weighed against what you wanted. You think you have mom issues, Persephone? Mine wouldn’t have even had me if she hadn’t been ordered to. You’re the entire reason I exist and, sorry, but that’s pretty screwed up.”

Meet Kaitlin Bevis:

Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn’t agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she’s always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA and Masters in English, Kaitlin went on to write The Daughters of Zeus series.

Kaitlin Bevis’ Web Tracks:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn |  Google+ | tumblr | Goodreads | Smashwords | Amazon Author Page | Authorgraph