Review of Melody Winter's 'Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1)'

Athena was born in the near future in a world that was once much like our own - that was until power creatures known as Demons arose from the depths of our world. From that day on, life changed forever and the light was taken from the sky and was replaced by cold darkness. Athena is told tales of electricity, metallic birds in the sky, but that was long ago - a faded childhood memory and a bedtime fairytale. Reading is forbidden and her people are reduced to their emotions fed to their Village Demonic Master. Paymon is the Village Master in question and Athena has caught the older Demon's eye and is selected to be his bride. We follow the story through Athena's eyes and witness the daily horror of lives being at the mercy at those that feed on them. No one is free and lives in daily fear at the whims of their Lord. But as time progresses, she learns that not everything is quite so black and white. Those people she once loved had betrayed her in the worst way possible, and that the man she considered the evilest was, in fact, hiding much kindness. Paymon and Athena form a friendship and just when her life starts to fill with hope, events change and the unthinkable happens and she is thrust into another marriage to a Demon. This time she is wed to Erebus and her feelings for him are far more complex than she had for the gentlemanly Paymon and are in fact mixed with loathing, fear, and desire. I myself grew to like Paymon a little and his dynamic with Athena. I liked that their relationship was platonic, that he seemed to genuinely care for Athena in a deeper profound way that was beyond physical infatuation. My feeling for Erebus is a bit different as their relationship still is not that of equals (at least not yet) due to her being his property and the events of their marriage night still unnerve me. That being said, he is a compelling character and in many ways, he is just making the best of the situation given to him and uses fear to not only feed but to set some order over the people in his domain. Mixed emotions are always going to be present when reading about Captor/Captive/Master/Slave romances, but this is a fantasy and stories like that are darkly fascinating. Erebus is the Byronic hero - intelligent, manipulative, self-serving, arrogant, emotionally tortured and deeply seductive. He is this story's Heathcliffe/John Thornton/Mr Rochester/Edmond Dantes/Jay Gatsby/Erik The Phantom of The Opera. We are drawn to twisted love stories and the more complicated side or romance, where we love who we hate and try to see the man behind the monster. This adds nuance to the tale and one of the many things that makes this book highly addictive and enjoyable. It is reminiscent of 'La Belle et la Bete' (Beauty and The Beast) fairytale in parts mixed with 'The Handmaid's Tale' I do hope to see Athena's own strength grow, as she is a woman with a kind heart who wants better for the world and will risk much to bring back light to a dark world. The story is futuristic horror, dark fantasy, dark love story and Dystopic nightmare. All these elements lead to a gripping and remarkable story. Highly recommended and I look forward to reading more of this compelling series.