I like mythological stories. I like lesfic stories. And I like stories that aren’t too sweet. Captive in the Underworld ticks all these boxes 😊. Awesome! How wonderful to find so much variety in books and stories these days. Fantasy is truly endless.

Captive in the Underworld by Lianyu Tan tells the mythological story of Hades and Persephone. In a lesbian way of course 😏. Hades, the god of the underworld and the realm of the dead, is a woman in this story. And a brute, because after all she is a god and nothing or no one can or should resist her. She has her eye on the beautiful Persephone, daughter of Demeter goddess of agriculture and grain. Persephone is the goddess of spring and can no longer be the antitype of Hades.

Hades wants Persephone as a wife. The supreme god Zeus gives permission for Hades to marry his daughter. This against the will of Demeter who is absolutely against a marriage between her daughter and the god of the dead. Persephone feels anxious with her mother trying to control everything in her life. After an argument, Persephone runs away, and after falling into a chasm, Hades comes to meet her and takes her against her will to her realm deep beneath the earth.

Persephone is deeply unhappy in the dark underworld. Hades doesn’t seem to care and marries her anyway. Persephone is still a virgin and sex is foreign to her. That won’t last long with Hades as her wife, whether she likes it or not. One thing keeps Persephone going, a chance to escape. But Hades will never let her go. She will have to stay in the underworld forever. Or not?

The cover of Captive in the Underworld states that it is a dark lesbian novel. The author wants to indicate that it is a dark story in which, for example, scenes with dubious permission occur. Yep, that happens here and there. But I certainly didn’t find it shocking. I found it all quite exciting and romantic 🔥❤️. Well, that might say something about me 😏.