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#TBRTrending: Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues

By Rebecca Mills

Hello Again Books, and other Cocoa Village merchants, participating in celebrating LGBTQ pride.Be The Rainbow Pet Pride Parade
Hello Again Books, and other Cocoa Village merchants, participating in celebrating LGBTQ pride.Be The Rainbow Pet Pride Parade /
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Summer keeps slipping away but thankfully, we have books to make things feel a little bit less terrifying. That’s why Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues was an easy pick for this installment of #TBRTrending.

For those who haven’t seen the first installment of “#TBRTrending,” this is an entirely new series in which your TBR grows larger each week and essentially “trending” upward rather than decreasing. While growing your TBR isn’t always ideal, sometimes it’s worth adding something new.

Additionally, this is also a great way to maybe discover some new authors or find a book that’s not being talked about as much as it should be. The general rule of thumb is that all of the books featured in “#TBRTrending” have less than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads. While it’s not a huge threshold, it’s definitely not an easy milestone.

Drag Me Up shockingly doesn’t even have 500 ratings on Goodreads which is a crime and is why it deserves to be discussed all the more.

Drag Me Up is the Hades and Persphone retelling you didn’t know you needed.

It feels like, in recent years, there have been tons of Hades x Persephone retellings, and rightfully so as there are a lot of different ways to interpret it. You could go for steam as in Katee Robert’s Neon Gods or a graphic version with Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe. Either way, there is no shortage of retellings to go around.

However, Drag Me Up reworks the myth, and it’s such a refreshing take. R.M. Virtues gave us a Black love story along with some queer elements, too. In this version, Persphone is a trans heroine while Hades is demisexual. Additionally in this world, Hades owns a casino/club where Persephone performs as a dancer.

After Hades sees Persephone dance and is entranced, he decides that he has to make Persephone his and the story unfolds from there. Of course, you can expect some drama and shenanigans from Zeus. Regardless, R.M. Virutes weaves such a compelling narrative along with the romance and even some, BDSM elements.

Considering that this is R.M. Virtues’ debut, you really can’t ask for more. Plus this book doesn’t even have 400 ratings on Goodreads which is a crime. If you haven’t added this one to your TBR yet, you need to because it’s everything you’ll want and more.

Do you enjoy Hades x Persephone retellings? Be sure to share your favorites below. 

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