FicWishes: Clarity - An ARC Review of MY DATE FROM HELL by Tellulah Darling

(Goodreads Blurb)

Sophie Bloom’s junior year has been a bit of a train wreck. After the world’s greatest kiss re-awakened Sophie’s true identity as Persephone (Goddess of Spring and Savior of Humanity), she fought her dragon-lady guidance counselor to the death, navigated mean girl Bethany’s bitchy troublemaking, and dealt with the betrayal of her backstabbing ex, Kai (sexy Prince of Darkness). You’d think a girl could catch a break.

Yeah, right.

With Zeus stepping things up, it’s vital that Sophie retrieve Persephone’s memories and discover the location of the ritual to stop Zeus and Hades. So when Aphrodite strikes a deal that can unlock Sophie’s pre-mortal past, what choice does the teen goddess have but to accept?

The mission: stop media mogul Hermes from turning Bethany into a global mega-celebrity. The catch? Aphrodite partners Sophie and Kai to work together … and treat this suicide mission as a date. Which could work out for Sophie’s plan to force Kai to admit his feelings for her–if she doesn’t kill him first.

Add to that the fact that BFF Theo’s love life and other BFF Hannah’s actual life are in Sophie’s hands, and suddenly being a teenager—even a godlike one—seems a bit like … well, hell. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie?

The YA romantic comedy/Greek mythology fireworks continue to fly inMy Date From Hell. Love meets comedy with a whole lot of sass in book two of this teen fantasy romance series. Breaking up is easy; dating is deadly.

Gigantic thanks to the author who provided an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. She also offered one amazing blog tournament that I enjoyed immensely.

Background...

After sharing an amazing kiss, Sophie discovers that she is actually the goddess Persephone and the boy who kissed her is Kai, or Kyrillos, son of Hades.

With Sophie's awakening comes new powers and new enemies. Where once her only enemy was the gigantic ego of Bethany, the yogi-wannabe who spreads her crazy philosophies like they are gospel. Now, Sophie is being pursued by both Zeus and Hades for her and Kai's previous attempt to overthrow their rule.

Kai struggles with accepting that Persephone lives in Sophie. Sophie knows that while Kai loved Persephone, he doesn't quite know what to do with the Sophie part of her, the part she so desperately wants him to accept.

The Story...

After Kai's bitter betrayal at the end of book one, Sophie hopes to never see him again. Unfortunately her father, Zeus, has locked her up in energy drawing manacles in the same room with Kai. Using her brain to outsmart the manacles and the other wards placed on their prison, Sophie helps Kai escape from their maniacal fathers. Kai sends Sohpie back to school with a promised to join her shortly. Upon returning to school, Sophie discovers that Bethany has taken over. Everyone has fallen under her spell and her popularity has even spread to a television reality show.

I looked up from the shirt back to Bethany. "Wow. That's really impressive the way you combine self-empowerment and porn moves. Who are your gurus? The Kardashians?"

I liked book two better than book one (and I did like book one). We meet more gods and get a lot more history. It's obvious that Kai cares about Sophie, but he still has trouble separating her from Persephone. Sophie spends a lot of this book feeling like someone who has an older sister that she just never can measure up to. She also has an encounter with her mother, Demeter, that has her wondering if she will every be able to inspire the kind of love from people that Persephone always did.

Kai asks Sophie out on a date and it ends up being an elaborate life-threatening, mind-melting, soul-searching game set up by Hermes. Kai and Sophie face battles together and grow much closer. After finally admitting that he sees her, the Sophie side of her, Kai finds out that everything he thought he had with Persephone was a lie. He cannot separate his feelings for Sophie from his feelings for Persephone and he runs, leaving Sophie vulnerable to an unexpected attack.

What Worked...

Meeting more gods was great. I absolutely enjoyed getting to know Festos (Hephaestus). His and Theo's past makes for an interesting reunion. Also, the depiction of Aphrodite is one of the best I've ever seen. It was absolutely perfect.

Kai feelings for Sophie grow and become a lot more evident in this story.

"Goddess are easy. Sure, they're temperamental but I know how to handle them. But you. You were this prickly, mouthy, human girl. And I couldn't figure you out and I couldn't get you to fall in line and you just kept getting under my skin."

What Didn't...

There were some scenes in the story that seemed to come out of nowhere. Like the fact that Sophie had to dance with dolphins and get the routine exactly right. My favorite Backyardigans episode had this same premise.

That being said, the story is very entertaining and the tension between Kai and Sophie pulls you in and carries you through to the end.

This series is full of fun and is a great way to experience Greek Mythology.

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