Do you have arachnophobia? Probably don’t read this book. Maybe don’t even read this review.

If the thought of a sapphic romance with a giant spider woman - in a creepy gothic mansion filled with tarantulas no less - doesn’t make you want to burn down said mansion and move to another country, then sit down on a tuffet, and let me tell you more about this novella by Argentine-Brazilian writer and translator Hache Pueyo.

It tells the story of Dália who is one of the servants looking after Miss Anatema, the mistress of The Capricious House. She is not exactly what you would call a great boss, given that Dália gets promoted at the start of the book because Anatema eats her predecessor. Dália is given the job of solving a mysterious theft, and there’s a high chance of getting eaten herself if she fails to do so, or is too bold with her employer.

Anatema is only vaguely anthropomorphic in that her human face is surface level camouflage over so many teeth, and she generally has a greater number of limbs than is strictly necessary. Still, Dália is not as traumatised by all this as many would be, and what starts off as more of a predator and prey situation turns into something more caring.

Things move very quickly in the relatively small number of pages of the book, and I would have preferred more length to really sell Dália falling for Anatema. There’s a distinct power imbalance as well which is not remarked upon either. Regardless, I enjoyed the characters and setting a lot, and the writing is delightful even when people are munching away on fried spider legs, or corralling rogue tarantulas like escaped kittens.

Eight legs out of ten! Thanks to Tor for the early review copy.

Do you prefer your monster romances on the literary side of things? Are you a fan of Kelly Link and Carmen Maria Machado? Of T. Kingfisher's Sworn Soldier novellas? This was dark and lovely, a sugared confection dipped in a porcelain ramekin of blood. It avoids romance tropes to the degree that I'm skeptical about this being a monster romance in anything but the most literal sense by a marketer, it definitely appeals to those who want their stories dark, spooky, and weird.

If you love spiders, you'll adore this book. If you hate spiders, you'll love how much it creeps you out! Either way, its a win!
I’m not sure I buy the romantic component, but this is a horror book. Six pages in I was sold on the atmosphere. Overall, I think it put the focus in the right places for the genre and is a super fun way to spend a fall evening.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 5
Character Development - 3
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 4

(CW: spiders)

A murder and a theft kick off this horror novella, and Dália as the newly anointed Keeper of the Keys of Capricious House has to appease the Lady of the House Madam Anatema by solving the crimes. See, the item stolen was a doll of Anatema's last bride (who lasted three weeks, longer than most), and her dolls hold her precious memories. The Brides don't last long, because the lady of the house eats them when they look at her. The lady isn't human.

I love a good body horror monster bit of speculative fiction, and this novella hits the spot at 112 pages. A little mystery drives the plot, but even in a short span, Pueyo brings us an intricate world filled with rich foods, riches beyond imagination (especially for the small village), and lots of spiders. It's both fascinating and enjoyable, but also thought provoking in an eerie way that I intellectually appreciate but am also terrified of. But three cheers to monstrous women, and the men and women who fall in love with them.

This book was oddly satisfying and was jam packed with weird aesthetics, & AMAZING visuals.
I am 100% afraid of spiders in real life and this book only intensified it and I LOVED IT. The way this was written I could devour at least 30 more books written in the same world!
Humanoid spiders AND a mystery?! You’re kidding me. Easily devoured this book and now I want more!
Thank you netgalley and Tor for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review!

This gothic short book was intense and creepy. I learned a bunch of new foods and several other words were new to me. The premise is dark, compelling, and interesting. The ending was surprisingly sweet and satisfying.

I don’t typically like scary stories but this one was good.

I would recommend this to fans of Sarah Gailey and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

This story had potential but I feel like the novella structure just didn’t do it any justice. I liked the atmosphere and the characters but the setting was confusing needed more time to be explained. I had a hard time understanding the world and also just Anatema in general.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this novella early! I enjoyed the idea of the premise of the book, unfortunately the dialogue and story fell a bit flat for me. The dialogue jumps around a lot and it was tough to get into the book and follow the story throughout. However, I would like to read more from Hache Peuyo and see how other works compare to this one.

Wow what an interesting story! Queer romance but also horror but not? I really liked the progression of the story with being a novella length. The whole magic concept was crafted thoughtfully and the ending was beautiful. I would love to read more by this author!

"But Not Too Bold" is the perfect novella: intriguing, but not truncated. Charming, but with a nice little plot going. It's a murder mystery plot - of sorts - because while it is clear who got killed, the question remains: did they deserve it? Dahlia has been groomed to watch over the mistress of a wealthy home since birth, but her mistress is like none other: she is an Archaic One, a spider woman monster who looms in corners and eats those who displease her. She did just that at the start of the novel - ate someone - due to suspecting them to be a thief. But were they? Dahlia must solve the mystery for herself, lest she be consumed as well.

I very much enjoyed this strange little jewel of a story. While I did guess the "solution" to the mystery, the characters were interesting and I was very excited to see how they ended up. Recommended for fans of eerie, sumptuous, intricate stories.

Honestly, this is a fun play on Bluebeard, if Bluebeard was a giant spider lady who lived in the top level of a manse. We get a character who's been raised in the house and promoted to a new role interacting directly with the lady of the house, and a mystery from one of the brides who ended up disappearing. Love that we're starting to get more mainstream monster lovers in fiction, and this was a great read over the last few days. Definitely worth your time.

This has everything I.could ever want! A gothic setting, monsters, ancient magic, a Sapphic relationship, and a mystery to solve.

I truly loved this Novella. Dalia is the new keeper of the keys for the Archaic One, Anatema. Together, they must solve who has stolen from Anatema. But Dalia must not be too bold, lest she end up like Anatemas brides.

This was beautifully written and had such a well developed plot and characters for how short it was, which is not easy to do in my opinion. I thought the love story was heartfelt and I adored both Dalia and Anatema. Highly reccomend! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

"There is no reason for me to go downstairs," said Anatema, her fangs sprouting from the fold of her mouth as she spoke. "What for? To collect even more disgusted, horrified sounds at the sight of my appearance? What a waste of time. I have no interest in any other little person . . ."

O N L Y M I S S D Á L I A
T H E O N L Y O N E T O E V E R S E E M E
W I T H O U T F L E E I N G L I K E A C O W E R I N G C A T"

Wow. What an absolutely stunning novella.

But Not Too Bold thrusts the reader into the eclectic world of Miss Anatema, an anthropomorphic female spider, and her right-hand woman, Dália. Anatema is an ancient creature that lives in a large art-deco, hotel-esque building, staffed by chefs, cleaners, and most importantly, the keeper of the keys. In this novella, Dália finally assumes the role - which she's been training for her entire life - after the tragic death of her predecessor, Matilde. How did this fate befall Matilde, you ask?

Well, it's simple! ... Anatema ate her.

Anatema, as ancient, powerful, and peculiar as she is, only wants one thing - a bride. Unfortunately, all the previous brides either end up betraying Anatema or becoming too afraid of her, and thus, she has no choice but to eat them, find a new one, and repeat the cycle, over and over. In the process of assuming and learning her new role, Anatema finds that Dália is not only a wonderful caretaker, but is far from afraid of her. The two become closer as the book goes on, and... I'll leave the rest for you to find out on your own.

As someone who loves fantasy but hasn't dabbled in a lot of horror-leaning literature, this novella was an intimidating one that sat on my TBR for a while. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge, as this quickly became one of my favorite reads of the year. Anatema's world is so thoroughly well-thought-out, from the lore of Anatema's species and the quirky personalities of the supporting characters, all the way to the bizarre food choices, colorful decor, and everything in between. The story was perfectly paced and didn't feel rushed in any way, despite its short length.

Overall, if you're into fantasy and are looking to dip your toes into horror, this whimsical-yet-dark novella is a perfect choice. Be bold... But not too bold.

Dalia has lived most of her life in the sumptuous Capricious House, training to be the Keeper of the Keys. When she is finally promoted into the role, she comes face-to-face with the house’s mistress Anatema, an ancient creature who resembles a giant spider. Dalia finds herself more intrigued than scared by her monstrous boss, who has eaten many of her servants and all of her past brides. Anatema immediately enlists Dalia to help solve a mystery, but as the two spend more time together, Dalia finds herself fascinated by more than just the case.

I love weird fiction, so I decided to give monster romance a try! And honestly, this book is so fun. The lush setting and food descriptions are on point, and I was deeply invested in the mystery. I feel like the actual romance is a bit underdeveloped; I didn’t quite buy that Dalia had strong feelings for Anatema. Still, this was a fun read, and with a sub-100 page count, I’d definitely recommend it to anyone trying to meet their reading goal.

I don’t even know how I could possibly rate this coherently. This is everything I’ve ever wanted in a novel(la). I was giggling and kicking my feet as if this were an old school romance novel and not a gothic horror with ancient, spidery monsters. Hache Pueyo you have made a fan out of me today. READ THIS.

This book I really enjoyed. The aesthetic of this book is done very well, and it was a quick but interesting story.

If any giant spider god woman wants to take me for her wife I AM AVAILABLE.

But seriously, I wish this was longer. Such a fun read!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was exactly what I needed when I said "Give me more spooky sappphoic reads!!!!
And cherries on top! Make it gothic--with a black widow spider theme. IM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK!
SO well written and smary with excellent cultural commntary. It really says a lot in so few pages.
The best and most perfect read for where I'm at right now.

By this point, I think it’s pretty obvious that I will always be down for a weird little horror novella, and this was definitely that! I’ll admit, I somehow didn’t remember the monster romance aspect of it when I started, but honestly that’s not such a big part of the overall novella that it completely changed my experience. This is a quick bite of a book, situated in the world of an old house with an even older and stranger owner who requires a new keeper of keys after she’s eaten the previous holder of the role. There enters our new main character, trying to survive long enough to figure out the mystery of her predecessor’s death and why the lady of the house keeps eating her brides.

Even though the specifics were outside of what I normally read, I definitely found it interesting to read and engaging enough that I was able to breeze through it pretty quickly! Altogether, I would say it’s a mild amount of scary, with a dash of mystery, and a large dollop of sapphic monster romance to finish it all off.

This was a beautifully done novel and had that monster romance element that I was looking for and enjoyed about the genre. I was invested in the romance going on and thought the overall story was a great concept. I thought the characters were realistically done for a monster romance and enjoyed watching this romance grow. Hache Pueyo has a strong writing style and was glad I read this.