The Eternity Key
by Bree Despain
Series: Into the Dark #2
Published: April 28, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Retelling, Romance, Young Adult
Format: ARC (368 pages)
Source: For Review
Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.
Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.
Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.
Short and Sweet Version
Slow-burning romance. Fun, modern retelling of Greek myths. Epic, cliff-hanger ending. Twists. Famous rock star father sold your soul. All the things you need for the perfect novel to lose yourself in for a while.
Jessica Thinks Too Much Version
The parental dynamics in The Eternity Key are refreshing. There are no clueless, barely existent parents that act unrealistically. Oh no. The parents in this book CAUSE the problems by selling their children’s souls. That understandably gives Daphne, the main character, some trust issues. Daphne’s dad, Joe, made a deal with the devil and deeply regrets it. I liked Joe because he genuinely tries to become a better person. One of the most tender and emotional moments is when they finally mend their relationship.
I liked the pace of Daphne and Haden’s relationship. It was beautiful, deep, and slow-burning. Since they hadn’t just gotten together and made out really fast in the first book, their relationship still had somewhere to go in this book. I didn’t feel like their relationship was being artificially sabotaged for “reasons.” Daphne not admitting her love for Haden was heart-breaking but it I bought it. She says that it’s because the future is in uproar and I guess that’s true, but with her character I felt like it had more to do with her trust and abandonment issues from her dad. She has a plan for the future and a guy is not supposed to be in it because she wants to be independent. I was biting my nails because I could totally understand where she was coming from but I know she’s going to realize the error of her ways but will it be too late?!?!
My favorite twist at the end – and there were a lot of them so don’t worry I won’t tell them all – was finding out that her uncle is Cupid/Eros. I really didn’t see it coming, but then it made me smile when I thought about the fact that he loves Valentine’s Day and works at a flower shop. Maybe that’s a little obvious foreshadowing, but I was so focused on her mom being Demeter that I forgot to think about who her uncle would be. I also probably let it slide a little since I love Valentine’s Day and I’m in the minority like he was. Anyway. His arrows were awesome! Who knew Cupid could kick butt! He was like a guy Katniss with arrows of evil and love. Such an unexpectedly cool character.
The cliffhanger. All I have to say is that if book 3 wasn’t happening I would be extremely upset. Angry. That’s quite the mess they got into by the end. I loved how Daphne kind of mirrored Orpheus’s story but the genders were swapped. The Persephone myth was woven in as well with a little reference to Cupid and Psyche. So much awesome mythology to geek out over and I loved it!
Content Rating: Medium, for one kissing scene and some mild violence and some mild swearing. Pretty clean for a YA book.
This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links. I received this book for review in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own. I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review.
About Bree Despain
Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the upcoming Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
One of these days I’m going to read this series. I love mythology based books. Glad about the parents thing.
I’d be really angry too if book 3 weren’t happening. But, as it sits, I loved the ending. It’s so torturous! I definitely want more. ;)
You know, I haven’t read any of Despain’s work since her debut. I’ve got the sequel to it on my shelf, and I’ve been toying with the idea of bringing it out recently.
I like the idea of really present parents, even the horrid ones in this novel. Goodness knows my parents were probably the biggest force in my life during teenage years.