Summary: Dead Beautiful is a contemporary retelling of the classic Greek myth of Persephone. This was the myth the Greeks used to explain how we came to have the change of seasons. In the traditional version of the myth, Persephone – the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of agriculture and fertility, and Zeus, the top god on Olympus – is abducted one day by Hades, God of the Underworld (which is also called Hades).

Demeter refuses to do her job until her daughter is returned to her, and the earth is plunged into the first winter: no crops grow, cold settles on the earth. It turns out that while in Hades, Persephone has eaten six pomegranate seeds. As a result, for six months of the year, she must live with Hades; this is when it is fall and winter on earth. For six months she lives with her mother – then we have spring and summer.

Dead Beautiful asks, what if Persephone, like many adolescent girls, didn’t tell her mother the whole truth? What if Hades didn’t abduct her? What if she made the decision to go with him? (She is, after all, 18 millennia old.)

My Thoughts: This is a creative and unique perspective on the Greek myth surrounding Persephone and Hades. I love the thought that maybe Persephone wasn’t abducted, but rather simply didn’t tell her mom what’s going on because she knew her mom would never approve. Hades is not made out to be an evil villain, but rather a misunderstood God. He has a heart. I like that.

The story is told in what I would describe as a round-robin series of interviews. Key players – Persephone and Hades, of course, but also Zeus, Demeter, and a few others – chime in with their takes on the events surrounding Persephone’s disappearance, the revelation of her whereabouts, and the subsequent agreement about where she gets to be. I enjoyed the different personas. Their voices are entertaining, likable, and fun.

If you’re a fan of Greek mythology, this might be something you’d enjoy. I say might simply because purists might not like it. It’s a modern take on a classic myth. Purists often don’t appreciate such reworkings of their favorites. So long as you have an open mind, I think this’ll be something you’ll enjoy.

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE.

About the Author: Melanie Dugan was born in San Francisco, California and now lives with her family in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She is the author of two previous novels, Sometime Daughter (“a stunning debut,” Kingston Whig-Standard) and Revising Romance (“heartwarming, amusing and … downright sexy,” Midwest Book Review). She is all books, all the time: She has worked in several library systems and currently works in her hometown library, she has worked at a bookstore, and was Associate Publisher at Quarry Press, a small press in Kingston. She has also worked as a journalist and in that capacity has written many book reviews. Her short stories have been shortlisted for several awards.

Visit Melanie at her website.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including more reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.

Challenges: Counts for Free Reads 2012.

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*****GIVEAWAY*****

I am able to offer 1 lucky reader a copy of Dead Beautiful! I do not require anything in order for you to enter. Simply leave a comment to on this post. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Saturday, June 16, 2012. The winner will be chosen randomly with the help of the WordPress plugin And the Winner Is… I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from proudbooknerd(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn’t get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S. 
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