Kate’s Review: “Lore Olympus: Volume Four”

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Book: “Lore Olympus: Volume Four” by Rachel Smyth

Publishing Info: Random House Worlds, June 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: The rumor mill of Olympus is constantly churning, but Persephone and Hades are all anyone can talk about. With the constant gossip creating intense pressure on the pair, they decide to slow down their budding romance and focus on sorting out their own issues first. But that’s easier said than done.

Hades struggles to find support in his personal life, with Zeus trivializing his feelings and Minthe resorting to abusive patterns in their relationship. And while Hades tries to create healthier boundaries where he can–like finally putting a stop to his sporadic, revenge-fueled hookups with Hera–he still feels lonely and adrift.

Persephone feels equally ostracized as her classmates shun her for her connection to Hades, and she can find no refuge at home, with Apollo constantly dropping by unannounced and pushing his unwelcome advances. And on top of it all, the wrathful god of war, Ares, has returned to Olympus to dredge up his sordid history with the goddess of spring, threatening to surface Persephone’s dark and mysterious past and ruin her tenuous position in the land of the gods.

Despite agreeing to take it slow, Persephone and Hades find themselves inextricably drawn toward each other once more amid the chaos. The pull of fate cannot be denied.

This edition of Rachel Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features exclusive behind-the-scenes content and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

Review: The problem when I binge read an ongoing series is that once I have consumed everything there is to consume, I then have to wait for the next batch of new content to drop. And I am not good at waiting. But eventually the wait ends, and in this case we now have “Lore Olympus: Volume 4”! This series is so wonderful and amazing and I am so glad that we are going forward in the series, because it’s still juicy, it’s still sexy, it’s still heartfelt, and it’s still hilarious. Rachel Smythe has a lot of characters and storylines to juggle and it feels like she just keeps adding more, but she is still absolutely killing it. KILLING IT I SAY!

We’ll start with Hades, as when we left him his heart had been once again stomped on by his on again, off again girlfriend Minthe, who had been manipulated by her frenemy Thetis to stand him up on a date that she had coordinated. So when we see Hades again, he is trying to understand what Minthe’s deal was, and we get to see the VERY toxic aspects of their relationship as the fallout comes down all around the both of them. Minthe is a very interesting character to me, as while she is just AWFUL to Hades in this moment, I really like that Smythe, once again, decides to explore how nuanced she is, while also calling her out on how wrong she is in this moment. Minthe is one of those characters who could easily just be a two dimensional bitch, but instead we get to see how much she struggles with herself and how much she regrets that way she behaves, and can’t seem to control her reactions and volatile nature. And it was the perfect way to segue into Hades own trauma and how that has plagued him for so long, and how it has shaped how he reacts to romantic relationships. Or really any relationships. It gives insight into both characters, and I loved that.

And Persephone is just having a horrible time of it right now too. She is still dealing with the fallout from when Apollo raped her, and now to make matters worse the classmates are no longer trusting her because of her close relationship with Hades (as Hades, being Hades, sought out revenge on the tabloid reporter who published the picture of the two of them that made Persephone’s life very difficult, who was friends with one of her peers). She’s ostracized at school, is still trying to stay out of a murky relationship with Hades, and Apollo just keeps. Dropping. By. But this is what makes Persephone’s story finally turn from the initial naïve young goddess who is sweet and demure. Because now Persephone is angry. VERY angry. And we are getting more and more hints as to what an angry Persephone may mean, with her fury at Apollo overflowing and hinting at previous rage.

And that brings tidings of great joy, because due to her abject rage being so visceral, Ares is here after taking notice. Which is so funny to me because I NEVER cared for Ares back in the day when I was obsessing over Greek Mythology, but in this he is HILARIOUS and such a dick but did I mention HILARIOUS? Smythe’s skills are so on point because she really does take all of these Greek Gods and Goddesses and keeps them true to their natures while also making all of them very entertaining and funny with very relatable moments. I hate Zeus for how he treats Hera and Hades, but I also LOVE it when he drops by Hades house insisting on brunch. Ares is a macho dunce who is aggressive to the extreme, but he also makes me laugh and he is a great ally to his mother Hera. In fact, the only character that is just plain despicable is Apollo, but given that that itself is a bit of a subversion from his original mythological profile, it’s great.

Okay I also really, really need to gush and talk about the Hades/Hera relationship in this Volume. It had been very much implied that there is SOMETHING going on between these two, and this one finally reveals that they, occasionally, hook up when they are feeling glum or unappreciated. I mean, that on it’s own is super hot in my book, as I love both Hades and Hera in this and there is absolutely potential there. But Smythe, being the very cruel sadist that she is, decides to take it one step further, and starts to create a backstory between the two of them that makes their sometimes romantic relationship all the more bittersweet. I won’t go into details because you just gotta see it start to unfold, but god DAMMIT do I think it’s going to be rough as we learn more. I love how Smythe adds so many complexities to these relationships and how she makes at least some of them, like Hades and Hera, feel somewhat healthy in the midst of so many unhealthy ones (see above. ARG, Minthe, you’re killing me girlfriend!).

I love this series so much. I know that the webtoon is long long long, which only means that we are going to have SO many volumes to consume, and I, for one, am THRILLED with how it is progressing. Next one is out in October! Be still my impatient heart.

Rating 9: This series continues to shine brightly and to make me laugh on one page while tearing my heart out on another.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Lore Olympus: Volume 4” is included on the Goodreads lists “2023 Greek Mythology Retelling Books”, and “The Ultimate Hades and Persephone Directory”.