OOF! This had so much potential to be a FANTASTIC story, but unfortunately it fell way short for me.

At-a-Glance Summary:
Hades is on the mortal realm for 6 months focusing on building his financial empire and babysitting other gods and goddesses that have decided to make Earth home. He never thought he would cross paths with his fated mate Persephone-- who is now working for him. But as fated mates go, their attraction is magnetic and unavoidable. Here is the catch: Persephone has no idea that they are fated and the consequences that will follow should they solidify their union. Hades, being the most caring and thoughtful god that her is, doesn't want to imprison Persephone to a life in the Underworld. a TON of spicy times follow and then we are left with a cliffhanger...

My jumbled thoughts:
Honestly, I am all for a ton of spicy scenes-- you kind of expect it in an erotic-- however, this felt like rinse and repeat. Basically, there is sexual tension, the give in to the sexual tension, and then there are warning signs that gets them to build up their walls again. Now go through that cycle 10 more time and that's the book. The story felt stagnant and there was SO MUCH THERE to build out this world the authors created. Lets say they run the 'tension-sex-wall' cycle 5 times, they could've probably not needed a cliffhanger.

HOWEVER, I probably will read the second one out of curiosity.

Thank you #NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 40% .

I loved the beginning, loved the premise and the characters.

Hade is essentially the banker of the Gods, helping them live in the mortal world. He owns a wall street bank.

Persephone has convinced her mother to live with mortals, has a job and a boyfriend and one day her bank account is emptied and so she goes to Hades to get it back and he makes her work for him instead as a social media manager.

This book had so much potential! The humour, the romance, the amazing side characters of Helios and Mellie!

I really enjoyed it but Persephone’s character became quite unlikeable when she refused to break up with her human bf and strung him along even though she’s having smutty time with Hades.

The miscommunication trope was fine once but then the back and forth bogged down the story and I lost interest. Things didn’t move quickly enough for me unfortunately.

I’m a sucker for a hades and Persephone retelling.
I read about 80% of this in one sitting.
Just couldn’t put it down. The spice is top tier and it just read super easy.
I’ll anxiously await the sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
5/5 stars for me.

((★★★.5/5 stars & 🌶🌶🌶/5 spice )) A Hades & Persephone retelling with lotttssss of smut and a medium amount of plot. Overall, I found the Maiden & The Unseen to be a slightly satirical, lighthearted read. Hades is definitely the bad-a## we want in our strong MMCs, and Persephone embodies everything we know about Persephone. She's controlled by her mother, Demeter and comes into her confidence throughout the story.

As a whole, I don't want to give away the plot - but's its definitely not a twist I had heard before regarding their relationship and the challenges!

Some things I really liked:
- Zeus is in charge as a whole, but Hades is the true mastermind behind most of the Olympian's careers, lives etc.
- FINALLY Persephone is portrayed as a BRUNETTE! For the love of all that is holy, I was about not to read another Greek mythological retelling if the character was a *blonde bombshell*. Persephone is still a bombshell -- just not blonde lol
- The description of the other monsters? You'll love the other characters that Persephone befriends.

Some things I didn't like:
- A bit cringe-y with all of the texting communication.. although also in real life, that is how most people foreplay in their busy adult lives lol
- Overall, I wish the backstory had been explained a little more

Quick Notes:
- Spicy Romantasy
- Hades & Persephone Retelling
- Alternating POV's
- Greek Gods in a contemporary setting
- Humorous/ Satirical
- *Touch her and you die* vibes
- Smut: praise
- Massive Cliffhanger

If you loved Neon Gods by Katee Roberts or A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St.Clair, you'll love the Maiden & The Unseen!

**I received this book as an advanced reader copy, but all reviews are my own. - SLR

If you’re craving for a passion filled, very very very spice filled romance with a touch of darkness and pining and the longing and all emotions of sensuality churned into a yummy slush, this take on Persephone and Hades’ story is perfect for you. It delivered exactly what I was hoping to get while reading this: smut that blew off my head, two character interactions i’ve been binging on recently, gods interfering always, and powerful gorgeous Persephone <3
Like gosh finally a persephone who equals to hades in terms of power and balances and strengthens him and their bond. The writing was beautiful as I have come to expect of Jeanette. It was just amazing. AAAAAAA I NEED THE SEQUEL.

"What do you want?" / "Your heart." / "It's yours."

This was a different take on Hades and Persephone retelling. If you love Katie Robert's Neon Gods, I think you will like this book as well. TMaTU breathed the same modern world style of greek retelling, and I enjoyed the world building and how their relationship developed in this book. Too many steamy scenes for me, but it might be my personal taste. Overall it was a fun read! Looking forward the next book :)

I was quite excited to recieve the arc of this book since it‘s a retelling of hades and persephone. The book isn‘t bad but somehow I feel like it needed more actual plot. This one reads more like a porn and don‘t get me wrong it‘s good smut BUT it feels like the book is almost only that. I expected more actual plot but it seems like there might be a sequel coming and maybe that will be more plot driven.

It took me a while to get into the book because I didn’t like the writing. There were a lot of redundant sentences, much too close together in the text. I didn’t like how when one chapter ended and the other began, the same information was repeated. That is not how you connect a chapter to another from different POVs. I could have done without the Jackson of it all. Demeter NEVER made an appearance. It would have been better to have her as an actually looming presence over Hades and Persephone instead of having Jackson being a point of contention between them. Also, I didn’t enjoy the building of their relationship. It felt way too rushed. If you want me to believe love, have them spend time together and care for each other without sex. The smut was good enough. I liked the tail and the horns and the wings and all the aspects they had in their godly forms. I didn’t like that Millie and Helios disappeared altogether, and my guess is that Minthe is to blame for something, but her disappearance was also disappointing. I would have liked to see more of Hekate too. As always, i disliked Zeus and Poseidon, but that is just a greek mythology thing.
I actually might read the continuation, but i think the writing needs a lot of work.

Edit: after a lot of days and reading better things, i can finally say what this reads like: some acotar fanfic (azriel * elaine). Honestly, i’m lowering the rating from 2 stars to 1 because this really was just bad. A creative writing class might do wonders for the next book, but i won’t be reading it because i highly doubt it’ll be anything more than a waste of my time.

3.5 stars, not quite a 4. I am not a huge fan of Hades and Persephone retellings because all the ones I’ve read have been the same, with nothing new really thrown in. It just feels boring to me.

This was an interesting take on HxP and the storyline was interesting when it wasn’t being abandoned for excessive smut. Now don’t get me wrong, I read a lot of romance and love smut. But this was just So. Much. Smut. To the point it got tiresome and cringy. The plot said goodbye for a hot minute in this book. Granted, the smut did have to do with the plot, it was just chapter after chapter after chapter.

I am intrigued to see where the story goes after the cliffhanger ending, and would probably pick up the next book just to see what happens.

A very hot contemporary retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth.There are quite a few of these out there these days, this is one of my favorites - I recommend picking it up! Especially if you are a fan of both fantasy and office romances - this is a steamy combo of both.

In this retelling, Hades is a finance mogul and Persephone is a social media manager living in the human world to escape her mother’s overbearing rule of her life. As soon as Hades meets Persephone he forces her to start working for his firm, Plutus. Steamy office encounters ensue.

Overall, this is a fun read that I recommend. There is a great cast of characters, like Persephone’s BFF Helios and new Olympians and Underworlders she meets at Plutus. We all know the plot (it is a retelling after all), but this retelling makes it feel new and fresh.

Thank you to Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune, Rose and Star publishing and NetGalley for blessing me with this Ebook. I was given this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published my review on Goodreads, StoryGraph and BookBub.

I love retellings! Especially a Hades and Persephone retelling!

• Enemies to lovers
• Fated Mates
• Spicy

This has a nice amount of spice, if spice isn't for you then probably not the best story for you. Really enjoyed this story, the plot could have done with a bit more detail but still I did enjoy it. Probably not the book to read in public. A home read indeed. I read it all in a few hours. When I've read Hades snd Persephone retellings in the past Persephone has always irritated me but I loved her in this version. When I first started reading this I wad thinking "Where is the spice?!" Then suddenly it appeared, back to back scenes.

A good smut book but lacks plot which was frustrating as I felt this could have been so so good and a 4/5 star! Saying that I read it in one sitting as I wanted to know what came next but I think I’m going to have to wait for book two now…I will continue the series as I enjoyed the characters and feel the plot will develop.
The book is well written and I really enjoyed it, I liked the portrayal of the different Gods and how they interacted, good use of humour and again good smut!
Thank you for this ARC.

Posted to Goodreads.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love myself a Persephone and Hades retelling, and this was no different! Give it a try.

The opening of this story sucked me right in with its wry humor and strong voice. Hades and Persephone clash from their first meeting in classic Beatrice and Benedict style. Great pacing, snappy dialogue, sizzling tension. One of the most entertaining Hades and Persephone variations I've read. I received an arc and this is my unbiased opinion.

This was a fun light, spicy Hades and Persephone retelling that was hard to put down! While the build up was slow, the tensions were high between Hades and Persephone and when they finally got together it was off the charts scorching. I'm anticipating a sequel with the way the book ended and need to know how certain characters feel about their decisions and their current positions in the end.

The Maiden & The Unseen
by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
——————
‘God of the Underworld looking to make you feel out of this world?’
‘God of the Dead looking to feel alive. Maybe I should go without a bio.’
———
This was so close to a 4⭐️ for me, and the only reason it dropped .5 was because there is a topic that’s being dragged out for just that little too long…
.
The rest of this book was really great!
.
The Maiden & The Unseen is basically what happens when Hades and Persephone live in the modern, human world and partake in a VERY steamy, workplace romance. 😏🔥😂
.
They’re still the God of the Underworld and the Goddess of Spring/New Life, but they’re living and working out in a modern city!
.
And folks, it is SPICY. It’s full of tension, and the fated mates trope.
.
I LOVED how easy to read the book was. It’s fantasy, but modern rom-com… but also almost cover to cover SMUT, and I’m HERE FOR IT.
———
.
We have the following:
.
•Fated Mates
•Gods Re-Telling
•Enemies to Lovers
•Workplace Romance
•SO MUCH SPICE 🔥🌶🌶🌶🌶
.
———
I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for an easy, steamy read! And it’s left on a pretty big cliffhanger too!
——————

Ohh my!! What did i get myself into?? Hades & Persephone are just...made for each other in this book. It was fast paced, short chapters, dual POV, steamy and spicy, could be read in one sitting. I've read many Hades and Persephone books but this one is best and well written. I haven't read any books written by these authors before but after reading this one, I'm definitely looking forward to the next installments!!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an opportunity to read and review this book. I loved it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me!

I'm a sucker for anything Hades and Persephone and the cover snagged my attention immediately! This is a modernized retelling where Hades and Persephone are fated lovers, meant to find each other. I enjoyed that the story had short, easy-to-read chapters however, I had a hard time staying engaged and actually connecting to the characters because a lot of it was so repetitive. It would've benefitted from some of it being cut.

Overall, this was a sweet and very spicy read. If you enjoyed Neon Gods, you'd also enjoy this one!

🌶️: 5/5

Warning do not read this book in public! If I would’ve known just how spicy this book was, I would’ve dedicated the whole day to staying at home to read it. I swear I had to put this book down so many times just because I was needing to take a break because of how hot and steamy this the story was ! Don’t even get me started on Hades, my goodness that man was H-O-T. I absolutely loved. How as the reader you were able to see his point of view while at the same time I also love the fact that he wasn’t super overbearing or controlling over Persephone. The authors did an excellent job, providing both of their point of views seamlessly without taking away from the story.
Personally, I haven’t read from either of these authors before, so this was definitely a great introduction to them both. I have read many retellings of Hades and Persephone’s love story and I definitely have to say that this by far is one of the best ones that I’ve read.I really can’t wait for the second installment of the series and if you’re looking for a book, that’s erotic and involves Greek mythology. This is definitely up your alley!

Note: I did receive this novel for free in exchange for a honest review via NetGalley . However, all of the opinions given in my reviews are my own and are completely honest.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

Holy friggin frig! Hades and Persephone so...duh! Leaving out the fact that this needs one more edit I absolutely loved it!

Shadows and vines. 🥵🥵🥵 I've never been so disappointed to be a human as I am after realizing I need vines and a man with shadows. The chemistry between Hades and Persephone is off the charts and the spice was perfect!

The story...there was one time-line mismatch but I was able to move on from it. I wish I could have read more about Helios and Mellie because they were amazing. I have hope for the sequel or maybe even their own book(s).I'm going to be on the edge of my seat until I get more!