by Tellulah Darling
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Te Da Media
Publication date: April 1st 2013
Pages: 272 (paperback)
Source: E-galley
Author's website | GoodReads
Prior to the Halloween dance, Sophie figures her worst problems involve adolescent theatrics, bitchy yoga girls, and being on probation at her boarding school for mouthy behaviour. Then she meets bad boy Kai and gets the kiss that rocks her world.
Literally.
This breath stealing lip lock reawakens Sophie’s true identity: Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She’s key to saving humanity in the war between the Underworld and Olympus, target numero uno of Hades and Zeus, and totally screwed.
Plus there’s also the little issue that Sophie’s last memory as Persephone was just before someone tried to murder her.
Big picture: master her powers, get her memories back, defeat Persephone’s would be assassin, and save the world. Also, sneak into the Underworld to retrieve stolen property, battle the minions of Hades and Zeus, outwit psycho nymphs, slay a dragon, rescue a classmate, keep from getting her butt expelled from the one place designed to keep her safe …
… and stop kissing Kai, Prince of the Underworld.
I highly enjoy most of the young adult books that are based on Greek mythology, and My Ex From Hell was one that kept me on my toes. Tellulah writes in an easy and fluid way so the reading experience I had was like reading Sophie Bloom's diary. My Ex From Hell is a nice light read and it is a welcome break from all the heavy and emotionally loaded books in the YA market today.
Sophie Bloom is one sassy sister. She's just like any sixteen year-old girl; she goes to boarding school, has her fair share of family problems, belongs in a tight group of friends, and has a knack for getting into trouble. The thing that I liked the most about Sophie was her voice- she was snarky, sarcastic, and sometimes overly dramatic. This girl is opinionated and she's not afraid to speak her mind. I also enjoyed the sense of humor portrayed in the book because it was natural and wasn't too forced- it all came natural to Sophie and her friends without missing a beat.
I really got a kick out of the world Tellulah created for My Ex From Hell, both the Greek mythology and boarding school aspects of it. Sophie's boarding school life and her relationship with her friends seemed so natural and I enjoyed Tellulah's depictions of various characters and places based on the Greek myths. One thing that set My Ex From Hell apart from other Persephone books that I have heard of is that Tellulah doesn't pair off Persephone/Sophie with Hades but with Hades' son Kai. Tellulah did a really good job of bringing this story to the modern world for younger generations to enjoy.
My Ex From Hell sucked me in during the first few chapters, but i'm sad to say that it lost me somewhere along the middle. Some things felt a bit too forced and rushed, and it just wasn't that much of a believable story anymore. If the characters weren't sixteen, the book felt very much like a middle grade novel. However, the very lovable Sophie Bloom and her unabashedly honest mouth was a redeeming factor for me, and the unexpected ending made me eager to read the next books in the series.
THE NUB AND GIST: 3 STARS
Get a copy from: The Book Depository UK | Amazon USA
