This week we are discussing Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues, Ch. 23-End.
Content Warning!!! This book contains situations and subjects related to: sex, harassment, and gun violence.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post is full of spoilers for Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues.
Discussion:
Jacilyn: Hello friends and welcome to our final discussion on Drag Me Up by RM Virtues. Michaela finished this section before I did, and she messaged me to say she was stressed while finishing it; holy buckets, I get what she meant. Honestly, the bombing of Asphodel had me on edge, and that never really faded entirely. I appreciated the joy and relaxation that Hades’ birthday party added (despite Zeus crashing the party and being his bigoted self), but I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I figured Zeus was the one behind the bombing, so I wasn’t surprised when Midas admitted that…. But the other shoe definitely dropped when Dionysus was shot. Dio is one of my favorite characters, he’s so full of life and happiness in spite of all he’s been through and he’s really the heart of that family. I actually thought that Zeus was trying to take Dio out on purpose - he never cared for Dio, and taking him away from everyone else in the family was the kind of revenge I could see him seeking. But, Hades is right, in taking out Persephone, Zeus thought he could get revenge on her for snubbing him and get his brother back to cover up for him all in one go. Of course that would be Zeus’ motivation.
Michaela: I was so stressed! Like heart stopped and anxiety spiked all the way up. Thank the gods Dio ended up okay. I was not okay but he was. Zeus was behind the bombing and the shooting, and my heart just broke for Hades over and over again in this book. He deserved so much better, I know he was keeping a promise to his mother but if I’m being honest I think making a child promise to take care of a younger sibling is unfair. Promising to care for each other and love each other is completely different than Hades promising to take care of Zeus. It’s damaging to their roles as siblings and clearly damaging to both of their mental health. Hades felt extreme guilt when rescuing Zeus from his bad decisions because he felt he was allowing the bad decision to happen. But he also felt extreme guilt when he wanted to stop rescuing Zeus because he felt he was breaking the promise to his mother. Then with that Zeus lost touch with what morally good and bad decisions were. He knew that his brother would always be there to clean up after him because of that promise.
The sentiment behind the promise was clearly love but it was unfair to ask that of Hades and it became even more unfair and unhealthy as time went on. Zeus literally did the ‘if I can’t have her then she can die and no one can have her’. He wanted Midas to bomb the theater right before a show. Not only would that destroy the theater and kill Persephone but it would have killed and injured so many other performers, stage workers, and audience members. He was so unhinged that he thought that would bring Hades back to his side. He drunkenly crashed the birthday party.
That surprise party was the most adorable shit I’ve read in a long time. Hades' obsession with the chocolates and the cake and his whole giddy demeanor literally made me tear up. Hardly anyone had ever seen him like that before, and it just gets to me! I think Zeus crashing the birthday party was probably the best thing that could have happened because it was that final straw for Hades and it all just clicked for him. “He wants to scream and shout and plead with Zeus to love him as much as he has loved Zeus. However, at long last. That is not possible. Zeus is not capable.” (pg 212-213). Reaching a point when you finally see that the person you love is not capable of returning that love is heartbreaking. It breaks your heart in the present, but it also breaks all your memories of the past and all your hopes for the future. Your love can not be returned to you the way you always thought had been nor how it might’ve been. That is one of the worst, if not the worst, kind of heartbreak I’ve personally experienced in my own life. It’s one of the hardest things to see and even harder to accept. I was so proud of Hades in that moment when he finally saw that he deserved better than what Zeus could give him.
Jacilyn: It was good to see Hades finally stand up to Zeus and refuse to enable him anymore. He had the power all along, but he didn’t believe in himself the way everyone else did. It was also good to see Seph stand up to Demeter and demand her respect, but I really wish she would have called Demeter out on being a bad mother the way Hades did to Zeus for being a bad brother. In fact, Seph told Demeter that she was a *good* mother! I think she was just as manipulative as Zeus, and really the only thing that differentiates the two in that regard is that it doesn’t seem like Demeter is willing to play with people’s lives the same way Zeus is.
I also really appreciate that Persephone and Hades refuse to enable each other. They stand behind each other, but they both recognize their own power and know they can exist without the other. We’ve talked about it before, but I just have to reiterate my appreciation for proper, healthy communication and honesty that Virtues portrays in his romances. It’s important for people to read romances like this, that can be just as powerful and passionate without ownership or dependence.
Hades is a truly gifted leader and communicator. The way he strategized and managed to gain alliances all over Khaos Falls was clever, and I almost wish we would have gotten a bit more detail about those interactions and his thought process. I’d have loved a “war room” scene with the entire close circle strategizing, giving input with their own unique talents and perspectives, a real demonstration of the kind of well-oiled machine of a team they’re described to be. Now, Persephone is a skilled leader in her own right, too. She has this charm and grace and quiet power when she believes in herself, and she handles her mother expertly, anticipating Demeter’s arguments and refusing to let her mother see her and Hades as anything other than a strong and unified front. I hope that in the rest of the series (which I absolutely intend to read) gives us some glimpses of the two of them leading Khaos Falls.
Michaela: I loved seeing Persephone just shut down any attempt at insulting, insinuating, disrespect, manipulation, abuse, etc. that her mother tried to throw at her. It really felt like Demeter was just trying to grab at anything she could to get under Persephone’s skin like she always had done before to manipulate her. Demeter and Zeus are definitely in the same field of master manipulators, they just do it in different ways and with different results, but the mentality is pretty much the same. Narcissism, honestly.
My appreciation for the love in this book is beyond measurement. It really felt like such a different kind of romance to me. The characters had so much respect for each other, they could set healthy boundaries when they needed to, they were understanding, they were open, they were supportive, and they were independent. And they were all so powerful in their own right. It was truly a beautiful read because of that alone and everything else was an amazing bonus. I want more romance books like this one, where the focus is about the love and the characters lives rather than the misunderstandings and other tropes of many other romance novels. Also the representation of the fluidity of relationships and sexuality was so refreshing and comforting. I just adored this book all around.
That being said, I also would have liked to have had more to this book. I loved everything we got but I just wish there had been more of it. More insight into the “war room” stuff like Jacilyn said and even just more character moments and interactions throughout the story as well. I wouldn’t say the book is missing anything in particular but I will say that I wanted more of everything. We kind of jumped from one important moment to the next and didn’t get those in between moments of character building.
We both loved this book so, so much and we are very excited to see where this series goes! Until next time friends.
Comments