Olympus has been restored, and demons ravage the world once more.
Aphrodite, ally to the demons for so long, has eaten of the sacred tree, her full powers restored; Hannah Noakes, daughter of Hera, claimed her birthright with a bloody murder that may be the loss of her soul. And Unity Vaughan has risen from the dead with the power to defeat a goddess.
To a dead god-king, they are all part of a bigger plan, a plan that is older than the city, older even than the gods.
Deep beneath Olympus, bound by the crystal roots of an impossible tree, the Father of Demons stirs.
My Review:
Whatever you thought you knew about Aphrodite's wicked plans in Godhead, prepare yourself for a big surprise as you jump into The Hades Contract! There are twists and surprises in store as you go through the book and you just aren't sure what is coming next.
Aphrodite becomes aware of the evil Typhon, buried under Olympus and sending his corruption up into the Tree and the Gods themselves. The only way to purge this evil is to destroy those who have been corrupted. With nobody listening to or helping her her, she decides she must ally with Kaos and destroy it from within. This was a very surprising development! I already had some sympathy for Aphrodite losing her husband in such a manner, understanding her need for revenge, but her true motives were much less selfish, if a little misguided. I liked the fact that she did evil things for the greater good and lost a bit of herself along the way, proving that even a Goddess can make mistakes.
The flashbacks piece together Aphrodite's journey as she tries to deceive Kaos and defeat her enemies within the Gods, namely Hera, Zeus and Hades. We also see how Kaos was able to manipulate her and the others to do its bidding. There is lots of interesting mythology here as we meet The Fates and The Furies, and it is blended perfectly into the story, past and present.
The good guys from Godhead are going through their own changes in this book. Hannah is coming to terms with her choices and keeping her deeds and God status from her friends, working to her own agenda. At the start of the book, she is displaying aspects of her mother's personality which led me to wonder how much of Hera's arrogance and coldness is within her. Unity seems to be in denial over what her new abilities are but her determination to destroy Aphrodite causes her to push away the people she cares about. Megan is finding confidence in her abilities and is a bit mellower in this book, while Karl is having a crisis of confidence in his abilities and his shaky relationship with Adam. I liked seeing more of Sandra in this book as she struggles to be part of a world she doesn't understand. Nick is about to discover his own bloodline-this was one thing I did guess, based on his abilities in Godhead.
Karl is having a hard time. He feels useless and scared, resenting that he the one who needs saving each time. I felt sorry for him! I also liked the way his relationship with Adam stutters along with awkward dates, keeping secrets and feeling guilt about moving on with his life. It felt real and believable because dating isn't always easy! No instaluv and easy HEA here! Adam's frustration and hurt at the way things are going are so understandable. You were left hoping that they could work things out in some way. There is still emotion in this book as each character faces their own challenges and it was nice to see them develop in different ways. We also have a great action scene at the Greek fundraiser where Hell literally breaks loose!
There is a lot to like in this book-action, awkward romance, twists, betrayals, death and disaster, demons, mythology, secrets...there are no complaints from me about the plot or characters, and I'm so looking forward to more after the way this book finished...Argghh!
PS Don't you just love the cover for this book?!!!
