Blinding Night

By: Chantal Gadoury

Narrated by: Dollcie Webb

Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

What if you were the missing piece in one of the world’s most epic legends? 

Despite being an art history student, Summer isn’t thrilled to be stuck with her archaeologist family all summer in Greece. While the rest of her college friends are posting a million selfies by the pool together, Summer is stuck alone, trying to entertain herself alone in a place where she doesn’t even speak the language. 

Upon her arrival to Greece, strange dreams and even stranger shadows seem to haunt Summer, leaving her to ponder the meaning of pomegranate seeds and twisted, darkened faces. 

Suddenly, her stay abroad leads to tragic twists, leaving Summer in the arms of a dark stranger, who claims to be the god, Hades, whom she feels like she knows from another life. In a whirlwind through the busy streets of Athens, Summer is seduced to the lowest point of Greece where Hades’ lair awaits…the Underworld. Determined to find out who she is and where she belongs in an age-old myth, Summer joins Hades to discover that the secrets about her past life are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

©2018 Chantal Gadoury (P)2019 Shayne Leighton

A beautifully woven retelling. ALL THE STARS

Blinding Night is a beautifully woven fantasy retelling of Hades and Persephone. (My favorite) As a big fan of both retellings and Greek mythology... I can easily say Chantal Gadoury has captured my heart and is now in my auto-buy author list. (Seriously Chantal write all the retellings!!)

I adored Summer, she is a little spitfire that had me laughing and smirking because she is definitely my type of main character: relatable, funny, and well developed.
I can't wait to read (or listen to) more of Chantal's version of the Underworld, her swoon worthy Hades, and the breathtaking imagery that was created in this book.

Highly Recommend to those searching for a good modern day retelling or for those who want a good fantasy romance.

I have the Audiobook and ebook and desperately need the physical copy in my life.
(I loved the narration and performance but of course esp loved it when I sped it up to 1.25x)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fallen into Blinding Night

4.5/5 - This is probably a whole lot of gibberish but here you go

Summer (20) is going to Athens, Greece with her parent for the Summer holidays, everything seems normal until it wasn’t.

Blinging Night is a retelling of Hades and Persephone, So far I hadn’t read a Greek Mythology YA novel and after listening to this book I’ve been missing out. I enjoyed listening to Dollcie Webb narrate this book its the perfect choice in my opinion. The underworld sounds like such a beautiful place if only it was a place we could visit. The date scene 😍😍😍😍😍😍 I would die for a date like that haha and maybe a guy like Darce 😅

Summer seems like someone you could be friends with and Darce is the perfect love interest (Cup of caring, dash of bad boy, 2 cups of good looking, sprinkle of frustration and Mix you have Darce).

This is definitely a reread book for me I can’t wait for the next book

Side note - I love that Chantel through in a reference to Disney’s Hercules (such an underrated movie) and Harry Potter 100 points to (which ever Hogwarts house Chantel is in haha)

Book similarities – Fallen

Wonderful story

No lie, I’m just now finishing the audiobook because, I wanted all the information retained in my head as I was writing this review. First and fore most, thank you to Chantal Gadoury and Parliament Press House for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Blinding Night. I’ve never read a retelling of Hades and Persephone. I was thoroughly impressed with this one. The way Chantal writes is so smooth and grabs you by the heartstrings. She really knows how to make you fall in love with characters. Personally, I have a VERY strong love for Jude and Cardan from Holly Black’s Folk in the Air trilogy, all my friends know this and find it hilarious. I can tell you right now that Summer, and Darce/Hades is creeping really close to them in my heart. The way that Darce is portrayed is very soft but, he is trying so hard to not fall for Summer. This was a romance story like none other that I have read before. I think I could read this over and over again. It’s sad to see the small budding love that Morpheus has for Summer get pushed to the side but, I’m also a huge fan of love trianges though. I’m really curious as to where the story is going to go now!

Enjoyed it even more the second time around

Blinding Night, a Hades and Persephone retelling by Chantal Gadoury, is published through Parliament House Press. I was contacted by the author to see about being a part of an audiobook tour, seeing as I was part of her last one, and I'm so glad I agreed to do it again.

I read this story a few months ago as a review book for Parliament House Press, and I'm happy to say that this audiobook was just about perfectly. Dollcie Webb did an amazing job with this audiobook, and I can confidently say that she is now one of my favorite narrators. I listen to my audiobooks at very fast speeds (sometimes over 2x) and was nervous that the increased speed would cause the narration to cut out or do something weird, and that has not happened with either of the audiobooks that I've listened to where Webb was the narrator.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this audiobook. The narration was done extremely well and it was very engaging. I would also recommend anything by this author because her stories are easy to read and get into, and you end up reading them so much quicker than you anticipated. If you like Greek mythology retellings and you like romance, you would definitely like this one.

Entertaining Audio Retelling

My experience with the audiobook of Blinding Night was of enthrall and intrigue. I loved the author’s descriptive writing as envisioned the scenes play out like a film. I loved the characters though I struggled to related with our main character; Summer. I appreciated the skills of the narrator, she really set the tone for the world and character presentation. Though not a perfect read I great appreciated it for what it is an entertaining read, or listen. Definitely would recommend for Hades and Persephone retelling fans!

Blinding Night

Greek Mythology seems to have grown in popularity over the past several years, not only the tales of Zeus and Hera or even the trials of Hercules, but now others have been widely trendy. Gadoury has a riveting story about the retelling of Hades and Persephone and the lengths that two souls with travel to find their way back to each other. This is a mesmerizing tale that will engulf readers in a journey from the human world into the Underworld and beyond.

Darce is code name for Hades…in this world. He has resurfaced from the Underworld to search for his long lost love, Persephone. The Goddess slips through his fingers every time he finds her…in every life that she has come back to the world in. In this new life, Persephone’s soul travels with a young woman named Summer, which is quite fitting to the Goddess. After a fatal car crash and the immediate loss of her parents, Summer is forced to walk the world alone. Darce must make a choice to leave her be in this world, to leave her to her pain and suffering, or coax her into following him to the Underworld where he can then attempt to regain the love that he once lost and restore the memories of their past together.

Gadoury has a superb first installment, filled with adventure, romance, longing, deceit, and secrets. Readers are drawn to this characters from Greek Mythology with this new spin on Hades and Persephone’s tale. Since this is complimenting the audiobook, Webb makes this story really shine. Her voice relay with this installment is absolutely stunning. She adds so much to the already enticing story. Readers may find themselves impressed with how attentive Webb is to the characters personalities and emotions. If you are a reader of young adult fantasy and mythology, this may be perfect for you. Since this is the first installment, readers are able to dive right in.

An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by The Parliament House and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating to Blinding Night by Chantal Gadoury.

Very enjoyable read

Going into this read I wasn’t sure what to expect. But as soon as I started to listen.. I knew I was going to like it.

The story of Persephone plays a part in this first novel, but it has a little twist. I really enjoyed the characters that came into play. I felt this book had mostly world and acharacter building, which usually to me is drawn out and overdone, but not with this book! It was enough to keep me satisfied but not hurt the story. Each character had their own personality and I really can’t wait to see them more in book 2.

Dollcie Webb, the narrator, did an amazing job! Each character, imo, had their own distinct tone to their voice and it was easy to know who was speaking when. The speed of it was just right and she did really great with the characters different emotions.

Overall I really enjoyed this read. The ending ended perfectly to set you up for the next book. Very excited to see what happens next!

-side note- I was supposed to receive a copy of this audio from Parliment publishing for an honest review and to participate in a book tour. Somewhere along the line communications got mixed up and I wanted to review so I purchased the book. I do not regret this decision at all! Again I really enjoyed this book! If you like books with the Gods and goddesses, definitely give this a try 😀

Original and Entertaining

This was my first audiobook experience, and I must say I was not disappointed! I thought the story was intriguing as were the character's in Gadoury's novel. I loved Summer. She keeps it real, and you can definitely tell what her personality is meant to be portrayed as through Webb's vocals.

There were times when I felt the narration was a bit monotone, lacking emotion, but for the most part Dolcie Webb did a wonderful job telling the story of Gadoury's version of Hades and Persephone.

I'm excited to see what becomes of Summer and Darce in the coming book(s).

A big thank you to The Parliament House for gifting me this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

great story, just lacking

My rating: ☆☆☆.5

Review: 
I received the audiobook version of Blinding Night to read and review for my honest opinion.

I was very excited to read this as it was retelling of my favorite Greek God and Goddess. I did enjoy it, but there were things that I was kind of so/so on. We’ll get to that in a bit though.

Blinding Night follows Summer as she heads to Greece with her family for an expedition over summer vacation. Summer is not at all too happy about spending the entire summer months in a different country with her family while her friends were out having fun. But when Summer arrives in Greece, things take a twist of a turn.

She begins having visions and dreams of a shadowed figure and pomegranate seeds. Then the unthinkable happens, a tragic car accident. This is about the time when Summer meets Darce, a disguise of Hades. Darce then seduces Summer down into the Underworld because he believes she is the reincarnation of his long lost love Persephone. But they can’t say anything because than Demeter who has been disguising herself as Summer’s mother, will try to take her back. Which is not what we need, because that could lead to some very bad endings.

Characters:
Summer – the main character, a reincarnation of Persephone. Whines and complains a ton.
Darce – a disguise that Hades uses for when he’s in the Human world. Supposed to be very dominant, brooding, and in charge, yet is not. Don’t get me wrong, he was witty and seductive – which is honestly something I rather enjoy in the main man. 
Morpheus – a very laid back character that I at first thought was more of a side character but he plays a very important role throughout the story.
Arae – sassy, snarky, the exact replica of a mean girl. Her snarky comments to the other gods had my cracking up!

Reasons why I rated it 3.5 stars:
1. The plot:
There were a lot of plot holes, at least that’s what it felt like. Summer would do things that didn’t make any sense and it just left me really confused over the entirety of the story. Some parts were rushed, while others were slow. It wasn’t balanced as well as I’d hoped it was. When I imagined a modern retelling of Hades and Persephone, I figured it would have a bit of the dramatic, dark, and Gothic aura around the Underworld and Hades himself as is found in other retellings. Instead, I was left with sunshine and buttercups and just a small disappointed flare that raced through my body. Also, the part I enjoyed the most was the ending. That’s when things actually started to get interesting. Chantal does not disappoint on cliffhangers, cause that was a surprise of a cliffhanger.

2. My enjoyment:
I really enjoyed the story as a whole and would reread again at a later date, but I just wish it was more fleshed out.

3. Character and story development:
There was hardly any character development and that made the story a bit dry. There was some story development but not as much that was needed. I found some parts to be rather boring because it lacked the spark of background that could have made this story so much better.

4. Grammar and spelling:
Since I listened to the audio book version of the story, I can’t say much for the grammar and spelling. I’m going to assume it’s good and the way Chantal writes had me enthralled with the story.

5. The overall story:
The story wasn’t at all what I imagined how the story was going to go. It was a good and very light story, but it lacked the intensity that comes when you read retellings of Greek gods and goddess’.

“Stories tend to get messed up all the time. It’s like a classic game of telephone. Somewhere along the way, the truth is lost and the story becomes something entirely different.”

Wonderful story

No lie, I’m just now finishing the audiobook because, I wanted all the information retained in my head as I was writing this review. First and fore most, thank you to Chantal Gadoury and Parliament Press House for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of Blinding Night. I’ve never read a retelling of Hades and Persephone. I was thoroughly impressed with this one. The way Chantal writes is so smooth and grabs you by the heartstrings. She really knows how to make you fall in love with characters. Personally, I have a VERY strong love for Jude and Cardan from Holly Black’s Folk in the Air trilogy, all my friends know this and find it hilarious. I can tell you right now that Summer, and Darce/Hades is creeping really close to them in my heart. The way that Darce is portrayed is very soft but, he is trying so hard to not fall for Summer. This was a romance story like none other that I have read before. I think I could read this over and over again. It’s sad to see the small budding love that Morpheus has for Summer get pushed to the side but, I’m also a huge fan of love trianges though. I’m really curious as to where the story is going to go now!

Easy read with good pace

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author. This is the first audiobook tour I have been on and I was quite excited about that. I have read two of Chantal's previous books and I loved them both. Sadly I didn't love this one as much.

Straight from the bat, I found Summer really irritating. She was spoilt, she was selfish and she was ungrateful. She spent the first few chapters complaining because she had to spend the summer in Greece. How terrible! She also had real issues with food. Like she only ate burgers and fries pretty much. Like come on there is so much more to eat than burgers and fries!

There was one more thing that really niggled me. When Summer was in the underworld she checks her phone and gets an email. Now it's pretty difficult to get a signal on the underground but Summer could get a signal in the underworld no problem?? I know it's a little thing but it really bugged me.

Aside from those things it was actually a really good book. I loved Darce. I fell in love with him quickly. I also loved all the other characters in the underworld. His house?? (is that what you would call it?) seemed very lavish and not at all what you would expect for the Lord of the Underworld.

My Greek mythology is pretty vague but it wasn't necessary to know as Chantal explains everything. I loved the different reincarnations of Persephone. It was very interesting to see how the different women had different personalities but were still attracted to Darce.

Chantal has an easy writing style and you are quickly addicted to the story despite the issues mentioned above I did devour the book. I really enjoyed the pace and didn't feel rushed at all.

I know there is a second book in this series and I am intrigued to see where Chantal goes with this story.