Title: Heir to the Underworld
Series: New God of Olympus (book one)
Author: JB Dennis
Publisher: Kristi King-Morgan
Published: January 2020
Goodreads Blurb: Fourteen young mortals find themselves the unexpected heirs to the powers of the ancient Greek gods. Benjamin Darke, the new god of the dead, soon discovers that being a god isn’t as easy as one might expect.
My Thoughts: First off I would like to congratulate Dennis on their excellent portrayal of the major Greek gods and goddesses, minor Greek gods and goddesses, complete underworld, and basically everything else pertaining to Greek mythology. I can only imagine the plethora of hours of research that went into that.
While it may seem like Greek myths have been redone hundreds of time, and that there are many "Percy Jackson" spin-offs, this is not one of them. Somehow Dennis took the myths and characters of legend and created something new. The story is exciting and engaging.
Fourteen+ main characters is a lot to keep track of, and there were a few times I got lost. Thankfully the new gods have many of the same personality traits as their mentors, so after a few sentences you can usually figure out who's talking. So I'm gonna list those new gods and what I thought of each one. Starting with the new king of the gods, Andrew.
Andrew St. Cloud is taking over for Zeus. He's a leader, jock, and generally good guy, which is why it's a bit strange that he's replacing Zeus. Or maybe it's not. Zeus often overlooks his bad qualities, maybe when you take them away you get Andrew. We didn't get to see much of Andrew because he was very busy with sports.
Ashley Queen is Hera's replacement and a total snob. Also stuck up. Also apparently super powerful and secretive. She's seems like a good Queen.
Samuel Poole is Poseidon's heir and super awesome. He's by far one the the friendliest and kindest of the group.
Benjamin Darke is heir to Hades and the Underworld. He's quiet, but courageous and saves everyone's butts multiple times. Ben was, of course, my favorite character, this book is mostly about him, so that makes sense. I loved how well he jived with Hades and Persephone.
Sara Gardener is taking over for Demeter. I honestly got Sophia and Sara mixed up a lot. I did think the scene with Sara's father was very touching.
Ana Maria Sabio is Athena's replacement and she's ready for it. Inquisitive to a fault, Ana Maria is not someone to be taken lightly.
John Strong is Ares' heir and he sucks. He's mean, rude, homophobic, and a jerk. Which, also sums up Ares. (maybe minus the homophobia)
Sophia Hunt is replacing Artemis, she's boss, loud, and not afraid to speak her mind.
Mathew Golden is taking Apollo's place, and no title could fit him better. He's fabulous, kind, dazzling, and gay. I mean, that's Apollo, right?
Renée Hart is almost as lovely as her mentor Aphrodite. Renée is of course beautiful, and charming, but also generous.
Lance Smith is heir to Hephaestus. He shoots fire from his hands a few times, otherwise I kind of lost him in the crowd.
Gavin Swift is replacing Hermes, but where the god is mischievous, confident and cunning, Gavin is more quiet, shy, and unsure of himself. He also demonstrates selflessness and care.
Vincent Hops, heir to Dionysus seems to live only on alcohol. Seriously, how does this boy not have liver damage? He's also generous, almost to a point of carelessness.
And, last but not least - Irene Adler, replacement for Hestia. Irene was by far the most mysterious. She disappears at odd hours and then lies about where she's been. I assume we'll learn more about her in another book.
SO, there you have it, the New Gods of Olympus. How they all managed to share a house and not blow everything up is a mystery to me.
My last few thoughts I wanted to dedicate to Hades and Persephone. I LOVED their fight scenes in the Underworld. I loved how their magic complemented each other and gave them strength. I also really loved Hades true form. Basically I just loved the entire jail break and throw-down with Medea. It was riveting.
This was a solid first book in seems to be a promising series. I look forward the the further exploits of the new gods of Olympus.
Rating: 3/5 trees
While it may seem like Greek myths have been redone hundreds of time, and that there are many "Percy Jackson" spin-offs, this is not one of them. Somehow Dennis took the myths and characters of legend and created something new. The story is exciting and engaging.
Fourteen+ main characters is a lot to keep track of, and there were a few times I got lost. Thankfully the new gods have many of the same personality traits as their mentors, so after a few sentences you can usually figure out who's talking. So I'm gonna list those new gods and what I thought of each one. Starting with the new king of the gods, Andrew.
Andrew St. Cloud is taking over for Zeus. He's a leader, jock, and generally good guy, which is why it's a bit strange that he's replacing Zeus. Or maybe it's not. Zeus often overlooks his bad qualities, maybe when you take them away you get Andrew. We didn't get to see much of Andrew because he was very busy with sports.
Ashley Queen is Hera's replacement and a total snob. Also stuck up. Also apparently super powerful and secretive. She's seems like a good Queen.
Samuel Poole is Poseidon's heir and super awesome. He's by far one the the friendliest and kindest of the group.
Benjamin Darke is heir to Hades and the Underworld. He's quiet, but courageous and saves everyone's butts multiple times. Ben was, of course, my favorite character, this book is mostly about him, so that makes sense. I loved how well he jived with Hades and Persephone.
Sara Gardener is taking over for Demeter. I honestly got Sophia and Sara mixed up a lot. I did think the scene with Sara's father was very touching.
Ana Maria Sabio is Athena's replacement and she's ready for it. Inquisitive to a fault, Ana Maria is not someone to be taken lightly.
John Strong is Ares' heir and he sucks. He's mean, rude, homophobic, and a jerk. Which, also sums up Ares. (maybe minus the homophobia)
Sophia Hunt is replacing Artemis, she's boss, loud, and not afraid to speak her mind.
Mathew Golden is taking Apollo's place, and no title could fit him better. He's fabulous, kind, dazzling, and gay. I mean, that's Apollo, right?
Renée Hart is almost as lovely as her mentor Aphrodite. Renée is of course beautiful, and charming, but also generous.
Lance Smith is heir to Hephaestus. He shoots fire from his hands a few times, otherwise I kind of lost him in the crowd.
Gavin Swift is replacing Hermes, but where the god is mischievous, confident and cunning, Gavin is more quiet, shy, and unsure of himself. He also demonstrates selflessness and care.
Vincent Hops, heir to Dionysus seems to live only on alcohol. Seriously, how does this boy not have liver damage? He's also generous, almost to a point of carelessness.
And, last but not least - Irene Adler, replacement for Hestia. Irene was by far the most mysterious. She disappears at odd hours and then lies about where she's been. I assume we'll learn more about her in another book.
SO, there you have it, the New Gods of Olympus. How they all managed to share a house and not blow everything up is a mystery to me.
My last few thoughts I wanted to dedicate to Hades and Persephone. I LOVED their fight scenes in the Underworld. I loved how their magic complemented each other and gave them strength. I also really loved Hades true form. Basically I just loved the entire jail break and throw-down with Medea. It was riveting.
This was a solid first book in seems to be a promising series. I look forward the the further exploits of the new gods of Olympus.
Rating: 3/5 trees
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