Review: Unhinged by Tempest C. Avery

Book: Unhinged, Tempest C. Avery

Series: Underworld #1

Publisher: Smashwords Edition

Release Date: April 6^th, 2013

Spencer Perry lost everything the day her boyfriend died. Even when he came back as a ghost, she was never able to return to her old self. Determined to find a way to bring both of them back--him from the dead and her from her depression--Spencer hops a ride with a Reaper across the river to the Underworld where she meets the god of the dead. Hadrian isn't what she expected Hades to be like, but when he agrees to a deal that can get her Micah back, she puts all caution aside and accepts. Too bad she didn't realize that she'd also just accepted a lot more than one gorgeous yet frustrating god. Bad things are happening all around her, and now she not only has to worry about keeping Micah's ghost status a secret from their friends, but also figure out who's behind all of the accidents. All signs point towards Hadrian, but something about that just doesn't feel right to her. Something that she hopes has nothing to do with her growing attraction towards him.

Rating: 4 stars

*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*

I love reading retellings of fairytales, or a much loved tale taken in a different direction. This also goes for Greek myths. I’ve already read a few different retellings involving the Greek gods (such as Jennifer L Armentrout’s Covenant series, or Meg Cabot’s Abandon trilogy), so I was excited to see how Avery would take the popular tale of Hades and Persephone and turn it into an original and interesting story. And I have to say, I loved the way she put her own spin on it! She gives the characters different names (such as Hades being called Hadrian) and gives the myth a unique twist.

Our heroine is Spencer. After losing her boyfriend and love of her life, Micah, in an accident a few months ago, Spencer struggles to find a reason to get up in the morning. It doesn’t help that she still sees Micah’s ghost in her room all the time, giving her even less reason to leave the safety of her cave. Then, after a class on the myth of Hades and Persephone and the Underworld in school, Spencer has the bright idea of travelling to the Underworld to ask Hades to bring Micah back to life. Simple, right? Of course not! After meeting Hades (who turns out to be called Hadrian), he offers her a deal. Stay with him for six months, and he’ll bring Micah back. But instead of staying six months in the Underworld, Spencer spends 12 hours a day for a year, every night. And Spencer, only thinking about getting Micah back, agrees to this without really thinking it through.

And so the rest of the story is about Spencer’s growing friendship with Hadrian, learning more about the world of the Gods and trying to get back into her life after Micah’s death.

To be quite honest, Spencer annoyed the crap out of me. She wanted to have everything and was willing to do whatever it took to get it, not caring who might get hurt in the process. Thankfully she does grow by the end and learns about the price of having everything, but it was quite painful there for a while. She kept trying to pick fights with Hadrian and continually assumed the worst of him, so half the time she was with him she picked a fight that made him send her away. And yet, some of their scenes together just made me melt.

Hadrian has spent centuries alone, learning not to care about lowly little mortals. Yet there was something about Spencer that allowed him to open up his heart to let her in. You can tell he was just lonely, all by himself in that giant castle. Then there’s Micah, Spencer’s first boyfriend. His love for Spencer allowed him to stay above ground, even though they can’t touch whenever they’re together. He’s the good guy in this love triangle, the one who gets Spencer completely and whom she knows better than herself. There was a development in the end of this book that will make the situation between the three of them quite interesting in the second book. Even though I hate love triangles, I am hoping to the bottom of my soul that this won’t make me bang my head against the wall. Some authors are able to get them right. Please let this one be right!

I would recommend this book to those who love retellings, and have a fascination with Greek myths. If you enjoyed JLA’s Covenant series you might get a kick out of this. It’s a great take, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!