By Molly Tullis
Summary
Nyx, the primordial Goddess of night, was once admired for her creations and her work blanketing the mortal world in night at the end of each day. Overtime, her image has shifted, and her power and influence have been called into question. The pantheon of Olympic Gods has declared war on the great Titan, Kronos. Erebus, God of Darkness and consort to Nyx since the beginning of time, decides to take a side in the war. Being on different sides of the struggle, their relationship is tested, and now Nyx must look inside herself, find strength and prove her power is still unquestionable.
“Let there be night”
Molly is an immediate buy for me, and I nabbed this one the second it was released. I am also very much a mythology nerd and retellings are my love language. So, this series that she is writing feels like it is written just for me. This book tore my heart to pieces, lovingly stitched it back together and made me laugh a bit too. It was quite a journey.
“In the beginning, there was darkness.
It was not the absence of light, but its own living, breathing thing.”
The main character, Nyx is primordial. Which means that she was a goddess before it was trendy…like the beginning of time. Her soul has been intertwined with Erebus, God of night since then as well. They are a powerhouse, and they don’t put up with anyone’s bullshit.
This book was very different from other romance novels where guy meets girl, and they fall in love. In this story, their love is well established and timeless. If you have been in any kind of long-term relationship and you have ever felt like you and your partner are just not seeing eye to eye. Maybe you can’t agree on something, or the communication just seems a bit tense or even broken. That is what Nyx is feeling through this book. It is a deep ache of love with the sting of betrayal and some self-doubt. The spicy scenes are a bit different too in that they are rife with emotions that can only exist in a long-term relationship.
“It’s the way of strong women to be prepared for the
day that a man can’t accept their strength.”
I rate books based on a few things. One of them is how much I NEED to know what happens next and another is how much I think about the book EVERY time I put it down. This one was odd because I thought about it more than most other books just because the emotions were so raw and real. But because of the depth of emotion and how it took up a large portion of the story, it took me a little longer to get through this one than I expected. In the thick of it, felt a bit like a miscommunication trope and the chasm that was between Nyx and Erebus took a bit too long to resolve itself. But, looking back, it made the resolution that much more satisfying.
The best part of this book was how it gave you a little taste of all the big players. We not only get to meet the great Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft, but we also get to tango with the likes of Hades, Poseidon, and Hermes. The set up for the world that she is building is elegant and I am here to live in it for the remainder of the series. I cannot express enough how incredible Molly is at writing a mythology retelling. As someone who is pretty well versed in Greek myth, I can tell you that she knows her shit and she is fabulous at weaving her fiction seamlessly into the existing mythos. I could literally talk about this book forever. If you like powerful female characters, mythology, and romance with spicy scenes, then you should give this book a read. Consort of Darkness is book 1 in the Asphodel Series and I am dying to get my hands on the rest!
“That was always the reason she had never been without Erebus,
not because of what he did for her but how he magnified her.”
Pros: Stellar mythology retelling, powerful female main character, spicy.
Cons: A bit of a slower read with deep emotions that felt a bit like a miscommunication trope after a while.
Overall, I give Consort of Darkness 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
-Jacqui
Spice Level 3/5
Romance 5/5
Characters 5/5
Plot & Themes 4/5
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Romance
Tropes: Rekindling Passion, myth retelling, underworld gods
Trigger Warnings: Sex scenes, violence
Age Recommendation: 18+
Length/Page Count: 334 pages
Format & Source: Kindle, eBook
Publishing Info: March 21st 2022
Books and Magick 