Dear Hades is a fun romp. The revival of heroes and monsters from Greek myth is a really interesting mystery, and the not-so-subtle subterfuge of Ty and Medusa’s dates are fantastically zany (even if they stretch the credulity of the chat fiction format). But they aren’t. From the moment they make contact there’s a sense of relief for them. They’re well suited and that’s readily apparent. I really loved how sweet and hopeful they were. It provided a nice break between those zany shenanigans. 

I adored a certain two characters coming together too. They weren’t an obvious pair but despite being in the background they were almost as lovely to watch as Ty and Medusa. A surprising strength of the book is its quiet little character moments. I literally clutched at my chest when the shade showed up. It was beautiful. 

However characters who weren’t in the spotlight were often one note. And all through the book there was tension between its pop culture depictions of the characters and deep cut nerdiness about the mythology. However the end of the book took to dumping on them even as it paid lip service to differing interpretations. It soured my enjoyment. But it wasn’t the only element to do that. The last time we see Ty and Medusa is in direct contrast to how their relationship is last described. That wouldn’t be bad, per se. But it brings into stark relief how much of the development of their relationship takes place off-page. 

Thanks to iRead Book Tours, Alyssa Roat and Hope Bolinger. I leave this review voluntarily.