Another modernised mythology retelling. Spice was great, the romance entertaining, sweet and passionate.

Dnf at 30% in as all I've read so far is how much they want to do each other and not alot else. I'm all for a bit of smut but I like a story with it too. Not the book for me

The Maiden & The Unseen is a modern retelling of the meeting of Hades and Persephone. Set in modern day New York, Hades is one of the few gods who never isolated himself from mortals. Instead, for six months of each year he lives among them and has become a powerful businessman. The other six months, per legend, he spends in the Underworld. Recently the gods have needed a break from their isolation upon Mount Olympus and have begun trickling into the mortal world. Hades is the gatekeeper for these excursions, financing their vacations and mentoring them on how to blend in. One day, Hades realizes a god has bypassed this system and entered the mortal world directly. He tracks the rogue down only to meet the innocent Persephone, who's spent the majority of her life kept sequestered by her mother. Sometimes, love at first sight is fated.

Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune do an excellent job at world-building, quickly establishing an easy to understand baseline from which the plot can get a running start. Their style is smooth and compelling, making this an enjoyable read that keeps the pages turning. The one thing you will find only in small doses is plot, and the character development is completely missing. Once the plot framework is established in the first few pages, the narrative basically becomes [insert hot, smokey sex here]. Rinse and repeat. Or sometimes skip the rinse. The characters have no depth whatsoever, and are very annoying in their insecurities. This is one of those novels where 99% of it could have been avoided if the characters used their words and communicated their concerns. As long as you're not looking for any depth, this novel is great.

It took me so long to finally finish and review this book.
I loved thew writing style, the retelling aspect and the spice, oh muy gosh THE SPICE, all I can say is that there's a little plot around this spice.
I only thing that kept putting me off, like so much, was the miscommunication! TALK PEOPLE TALK!
I can't wait for the sequel!

I enjoy retellings quite a bit but this one, well, wasn't terrible but it had quite a few of my romance trope icks in it that it kinda ruined most of the enjoyment for me. One being insta-love, which I know a lot of people enjoy so I'm not going to knock it for that, but definitely the strange love hinge/triangle thing going on. I don't know, that's just not my thing at all.

This was also an oversight of mine when I read the book's blurb, but a lot of it felt like it took a bit too much inspiration from the webcomic (and now print comic) Lore Olympus, which I guess feels inescapable at this point in any modern-day Hades & Persephone retelling.

This book hit just what I needed at the time, so my rating might be inflated due to bias.
The Maiden and the Unseen is a Hades/Persephone romance set in a timeline where the Olympians have slowly begun choosing to mingle with the mortals. They are lazy and indolent for the most part, and this irks Hades, who is tasked with making sure they have the copious funds to do so. He'd rather them work, but Gods, above, perish the thought.

Persephone lives on the mortal plane because she's sick of her mother holding her prisoner. She has a job, a nice high rise apartment, she's even got friends outside of her mother's rules for living amongst people. That all goes sideways when she's forced to seek out Hades.

The attraction is instant, and Hades is sure that they are fated to be King and Queen of the Underworld. He worries about the consequences. The more he learns about the Goddess of Spring, the more Hades fears that he's simply imposing a new prison on Persephone because she would be bound to the underworld for half the year like he is.

This book is spicy, but there's no gritty trauma, no deals with mob bosses, no running from a violently abusive past that a lot of spicy novels seem to currently thrive on as their plot devices. There's no hero or heroine using sex as a tool to avoid a big bad past. Yes, there's the BIG MISCOMMUNICATION, but it doesn't keep them apart apart and it doesn't keep them from trying. There's angst and pretty decent stakes, but because of the way the world is built, it's not terrifying. And they are horny for each other all. the. time. Creatively, enthusiastically, lovingly.

-1 star for not enough Mellie, cramming too much into the final few chapters, and the execution of the cliffhanger.

Honest review I DNFed and not because there was anything wrong but unfortunately this wasn’t my cup of tea.

This is a story about Hades and Persephone. If you like sexy books this is for you. Not for anyone under18. Hades loves Persephone but can he win her away from her currant boyfriend?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

It’s no surprise that I’d jump at the opportunity to read The Maiden & The Unseen given my love for retellings and smut. The character dynamics and personalities in Hades and Persephone were charming, witty, and gloriously stubborn. While this is spicy to the max, I didn’t feel it took away from the plot or become overbearing. Filled with tension and heat, this is a retelling you don’t want to miss and will leave you anxiously waiting for more.

I'm not really sure where to start with this review. Did I like this book? Yes. Would I recommend this to others? To a very select few.

This is not a book you go into for plot or character development. You go into this for the explicit romance scenes. I am completely fine with that. That aspect of the book was solid, it was good. If you're looking for the former, this is not for you, otherwise enjoy, I sure did.

There are a lot of annoying tropes, in particular the whole miscommunication thing.. it's so tired, but again this book is clearly for lovers of eroticism as it says so in the genres listed.

I just cannot say no to anything Hades and Persephone. I love that particular retelling so much, and this did not disappoint! The work related romance twist between these two fated mates had me FERAL. Demeter was... well... Demeter. Per usual, I hated her and her treatment of Persephone! The spice was top tier, the pacing was fantastic but I didn't love the miscommunication trope. Of course, that's just personal preference though. The ending left me spiraling and I CANNOT wait for the next book!

OMG!!! I adored this book!! The fire the steam, the tension, the banter!! These characters I couldn’t not love them!! If you’re looking for an amazing Hades and Persephone love story than this is the story for you!!!

Yet another Hades and Persephone retelling that does what it does pretty well, but doesn’t bother to engage deeply with the origins of the myth pre-modern understanding of Homer, Hesiode etc versions of stories that were ancient (and really re-worked for a male audience and patriarchal society) when they first heard them. Could we please one day have one of these retellings where Persephone is the ‘dread bringer of death’ as she was always meant to be? Anyway, this was ok and you can probably tell I was not entirely in the target audience.

I want to preface this by saying that I did not realize this was the first book in a series. I wrongly believed it was a standalone, so I was very upset with the cliffhanger ending. This is completely my fault, not doing my research before requesting the book, but just a heads up to anyone else like me that sees Hades/Persephone retelling and jumps, there is a cliffhanger!!

Now, on to the actual book. I struggled with this one. It’s instalove and smut which I usually am down for, but something just didn’t work here. Maybe because Persephone was involved with another man? I do not like love triangles or OM/OW drama in my romances. There’s also some miscommunication which I’m not a fan of unless it’s done really well and adds to character development, and I don’t really feel like it did here.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. If you want instalove/lust, spice, and don’t mind OM/OW drama and a cliffhanger, I’d say check this out. If you aren’t a fan of these things, maybe steer clear or try out the first few chapters and see if it’s something you can still enjoy.

Such a spicy Perspehone & Hades retelling! I loved it but felt that there was sometimes too much spice vs plot. The cover is stunning and definitely made me want to pick up this book.

I want to thank NetGalley, Jeanette Rose, and Alexis Rune for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

I don’t know what to think of this book, my opinion is very mixed.
I am always present for a good story about Hades and Persephone. But this one unfortunately did not convince me.
I loved some of the scenes in the book, but other scenes do not pass for me. The constant and unfounded problems of communication between the two people upset me. I found it too easy as story, was not developed enough and the romance was too easy, and bland at times.

I do love a good Hades and Persephone retelling and this was certainly one of them! Lots of spice, but the plot line was also good! I wasn’t keen on the ending as it left it so abruptly but they may have been my fault for not realising this want a stand alone!

This is a creative retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone. The modern take is very interesting and it's enjoyable to read how they would be texting each other in the modern age. Helios and Mellie are also fun supporting characters and we even get to hear a bit about Zeus and Poseidon. The spice was perfect but I was not expecting that cliffhanger ending. I can't wait to read the next book.

Once again, #Bookstagram has failed me. I saw that this was a Hades and Persephone retelling, and I got very excited just to become as quickly disappointed.

Pros: The smut was really nice especially after things escalated. I also enjoyed the addition of glamour and true forms. I also LOVED Helios and Melli, and I once thought part two would be their story.

Cons: Quite literally everything else and in no particular order. The pacing of this story is way too slow. I’m in full belief that this was forced into a series. There’s a lot of tension that’s broken up by dumb decisions, mutual play, and insecurities which became very annoying over time.

The writing also felt very choppy. I could truly tell when the differences in the voices and direction between the contributors. It almost felt like a debut because it read very infant in development. There’s also a lot of inconsistencies in how the italicized words were used.

The Characters: I HATED them. Hades is the definition of a cinnamon roll. Hard on the outside as one of the Big 3 and because of his role in the Underworld, but he has a soft side that only Persephone can see and draw out. In this story, Hades is more insecure than a teenage boy going through puberty. Every single thing makes him question himself which is very disappointing.

Persephone was set up as a brat which made perfect sense, but that’s not completely what we received. I kept waiting to see her in own power, but it never came.

Together, they made no sense. We never saw their connection. All we know is that they’re “fated” and have a lot of sexual chemistry. I wanted more of their dialogue to be shared. We received as an audience, but they never shared it with one another. Essentially, how did they get to being “in love?”

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Y'all this was my bad. I am not really a fan of greek mythology, or greek mythology retellings, so I am sad to admit that I had to DNF this book around 37%.

I think that this was a good book, I just really couldn't get into it due to my lack of interest. I did rate it 3 stars, because for the little bit of it that I did read I did enjoy.

I did spread the word and share this book with some of my friends who do INFACT love greek mythology, and all of the retellings.

Thank you for this arc!