Where to even start? I feel like my feelings about this book can be summed up in bullet points so let's give it a try:
- 30% tension, 60% smut, 10% some form of plot.
- the tension is better than the smut.
- Mellie is the best character and the happiness I feel about her being in this story is infinite.
- I may hate this version of Hermes.
-The inclusion of Hades and Persephone's inner monologue/ thoughts has to be the best thing ever in a book. It fills in gaps, adds clarification, and really puts everything on page so you know what all is going on without having to guess.
- HADES HAS HORNS AND WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Persephone also has horns and wings but I'm not as excited about those.
All that said it's rather repetitive and ends on a cliff hanger that doesn't leave me wanting more. There was no real plot for me to cling to so I don't wanna hang around.
I'll likely still read book two, if there is gonna be a book two but I'm not shivering with antici...pation.

“Before Hades, my power felt like a kernel. Small and insignificant and yet a comforting presence within me. Since I met him, my power seems... deeper, more entwined with me, and much bigger. The closer I get to Hades, the more my power grows, like he's unlocking a part of me that has been imprisoned for years.”

💕 Tropes: greek myth retelling, fated mates, forced proximity, workplace romance

📚 Synopsis: The gods of Olympus are bored, and have started to come down from the mountain to live among the mortals. Among them, Hades, head of Plutus Industries and in charge of the mortal money that is deposited in the gods' accounts each month, and Persephone, a social media manager with newfound freedom after her mother kept her hidden for centuries. When Hades notices that a god is hiding from him, he makes it his mission to find out who it is: and find her he does.

✏️ Review: This book had me in a chokehold from the very beginning. I'm not usually one for fated mates tropes, but with Hades and Persephone, they felt so perfect for each other it was insane! The spice in this book was next level, and I love how Hades brought out Persephone's power--the power she was always meant to have. I cannot WAIT to read the next book in the series, because that CLIFFHANGER had me on the edge of my seat!

⚠️ CWs: emotionally abusive parent

🌈 Representation: N/A

Final Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I expected so much more from this book. It’s a Persephone and Hades retelling, of course you’d expect a lot of spice. Almost every chapter is filled with it, and it’s written well. But, there is something that annoys me a lot. All the problems in this book revolve around miscommunication. And, honestly that’s a huge let down. Maybe the next book will be better. I would certainly hope for Gods and Goddesses who are centuries old to act better than a couple of horny young adults. I wouldn’t be complaining if their age wasn’t mentioned, but it was.

This is a reimagining of the Hades and Persephone story, set in modern day. Hades works in the mortal realm, and no god can enter the mortal world without banking with Hades, so he’s like a gatekeeper in the human realm. When Persephone’s balance zeroes out, she goes to work for Hades so that she can make some money and not get sent back to her mother on Olympus. Persephone promises her mother that she would be able to take care of herself and that she wouldn’t date any other gods. So Persephone here really tries to stay away from Hades, and Hades really tries to stay away from Persephone too because he doesn’t want to give in to his fate.

This fizzled a little for me about halfway through, and I was a lot more interested in some of the side characters. Hades is a dark god, but he’s swooning over her for Persephone, who really dragged her feet about Jackson.

📚 Book Review 📚
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The Maiden and the Unseen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to NetGalley, Rose and Star Publishing, Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune for providing me with a digital copy of this book. This is my honest review.
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Will I ever get tired of Hades and Persephone retellings? Never! 🗣️ No matter the situation, their love and desperation for each other gets me every time. The Maiden and the Unseen was no exception!
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I really enjoyed the modern setting. I think it played really well into this reiteration of Hades and Persephone and who they are as people. Or should I say deities? 👀 Hades as the mysterious CEO with a secret heart of gold will always be a hard YES. And I loved how mischievous and cheeky Persephone was! I feel like a lot of retellings lean really hard into her identity as the Goddess of Spring without taking into account who she is as the Goddess of Death. The inevitability and the tension between them is palpable the entire way through. The chemistry is off the charts. And the spice? 👀 The shadows?! 👀👀 THE UNGLAMORING?!?! 👀👀👀 I’m so here for it.
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While there’s plot here, this book mainly focuses on Hades and Persephone as a couple. I did wish there was a bit more Olympian plot to go with the relationship shenanigans, but I can appreciate the foundation built here and how things are being set in motion. There’s a really good lead in to book 2 and a cliffhanger that left me scrambling. I need to know what happens next! 🫠
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If you’re looking for a spicy Hades and Persephone retelling to add to your collection, give the Maiden and the Unseen a shot! It’s book one in the Love and Fate series and is available for purchase in ebook, paperback, and hardcover format.

Hades and Persephone, my favorite trope. Their story always lure me, so this book. First im in love with the book cover, when read description im in love again.

The story between them always same, there are strong magnet between them, attract to each other, cant resist the pull. The tension tho.. wow.. Flirt with vines and shadows was new!

They have doubt for each other, similiar thinks like 'Why would someone like him ever be interested in someone like me?', 'i am not enough', 'she not into me' 'she really doesn’t want anything to do with me.' 'she doesn’t even seem to like me.' 'How could one as powerful as him love me?'

They relationship not easy, a little miscomunication, little fight, not understand each other, Hades who never in relationship dont know how to do with his feeling, fear she leave him, running when he think persephone reject him.

I wondering why Persephone not breaking up with Jackson? Because she dosnt want to obey Hades order? But she keep tempt and torture Hades, they back and forth dance was exhausted.

"Hades belongs to you. You belong to Hades. Don’t fight it."

There are many mystery unreveal, about Presephone mother, aboit hermes, about the fate, about Hades secret, the end tho.. man... not a fan of cliffhanger. I hope there is book about Hellious and Mellie!!

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TheMaidenTheUnseen #JeanetteRose #AlexisRune #RoseStarPublishing #NetGalley #ARC

I tried to like this book but it just wasn’t doing it for me. This modern day Hades/Persephone retelling has a lot of potential but it didn’t live up to it at all. The writing style is a bit sloppy imo, and it just felt messy when I was reading it.

Another thing I disliked was Hades, he’s constantly complaining and whining about anything and everything. Which is immediately a big no for me.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with this arc!

The Maiden & The Unseen is a Greek mythology retelling of Hades and Persephone wherein Hades is fated to be with Persephone as his Queen.
But Hades fights himself over being bound to her through what he calls a curse.
You can definitely feel the attraction between the two characters and there is plenty of spice between the two!
I enjoyed the main characters but really did enjoy the side characters throughout the story too.
The miscommunication trope did feel a little drawn out in the book which I don’t usually mind but I didn’t feel like this helped the plot. I felt that the plot was a side plot to the spice in this book unfortunately.
I did enjoy the dual Pov from both characters as I feel this gives us the reader a better understanding of characters.
The book finishes on a cliffhanger and I’d definitely give the next book in the series a read when it releases.

Thank you to Netgalley, the authors and publishers for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good Hades and Persephone retelling and this book definitely puts it's own spin on it. I like that it took place in the mortal world and it was nice seeing how gods and goddesses would act. The only thing I didn’t like was the whole miscommunication trope but if that’s your thing then this is right up your alley. The spice was plentiful and the plot was interesting. Overall a pretty good book, can’t wait for the next one.

"The Maiden & the Unseen" is the a modernized version of the Hades & Persephone myth, wrapped in the tropes of modern romance novels.

What's good: I'm here for the world of myths. The humor was fun (particularly the ongoing spats between Hades & his brothers). I appreciated the main characters.

What's iffier: The book feels like it is only 45% of what it should be. We barely get into the major conflict before the book ends (and not in a particularly satisfactory way). The book spends too much time establishing the connection between the leads (we get it) and not enough time on bulking up the plot.

Overall, the book is promising but for me would be stronger packaged with its second part (assuming there is such a one) and more editing to bring out the plot.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

1.5 stars//

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not like this book at all. Greek mythology retellings are often hits or misses. This one was definitely a miss for me. The characters had no complexity whatsoever. Both acted like teenagers and the plot was basically porn. There is no real development in their relationship; they both just decided they were in love because of their gut feelings.

I can actually count on my fingers the number of serious conversations these two had and I can guarantee you they wouldn't add up to 5. For 70% percent of this book, it was pure smut. The only crumbs about where the plot is going are given in the last 5%. The writing is mediocre and the smut is even less than average in my opinion.

If you are looking for a smutty read with little to no plot or character complexity, give this one a try. If you hope for a greek mythology plot, I'd say this one's worth skipping.

This was an ok read. I don't like first person narratives in present tense, so that took some getting used to. Especially since there were some grammatical errors, where action taking place in the past was written in present tense, creating very confusing sentences.

I had some trouble believing that a woman brought up in a complete seclusion would be so comfortable with her sexuality that she would engage in seduction games with her boss--or that she would understand human interactions well enough to run social media accounts professionally--even more so since she was a bit clueless in other aspects of life on earth. And I didn't like how she kept her boyfriend in a string for so long. Hades came across as a bit of a jerk and he didn't improve much.

There wasn't all that much plot and it mostly relied on miscommunication, which I dislike. But what it lacked in a story it made up in spice, so if you like your romances high on naughty bits, this is for you.

Hades spends half of his time in the underworld, managing souls and half of his time on Earth, running a successful company. He is one of the rare gods who actually have jobs. When other Gods want to visit Earth, they have to go through him. He provides the money, and they have to follow the rules.

Persephone lived a very sheltered life, hidden from other Gods. It took her years to convince her mother, to let her go to Earth. She still has to live by rules, no mingling with gods and no dating. She manages to break all of them. :)

When they finally meet, the sparks fly.

The Maiden & The Unseen retells Hades's and Persephone's love story. It follows the known story, but with a modern twist. They have godly powers and personality traits, but at the same time are very contemporary. Even though it's a retelling, the story reads as a contemporary romance. It's a strange mix, but it somehow works. :)


It's a very, very steamy story. :) It's also very addicting to read. I couldn't look away from the story. :)

got it on Netgalley, all opinions are my own

🪷Mini Book Review🪷

The Maiden & the Unseen
By: Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
Published by: Rose & Star Publishing
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice: 3/5 🌶️

I really enjoyed this Hades and Persephone retelling. It was a nice escape from my busy holiday planning routine. I read this in two sittings in between shopping trips.

The characters are likable and I found the banter between Hades and P funny and sexy at times. The pining was also pretty satirical and I just couldn’t stop reading.

I also appreciated that the authors looped in several mythological characters and modernized their roles.

I also love the cover and chapter headers. Dual POV is one of my favorite tropes and I really liked reading both sides of that coin.

I’d recommend this to those who enjoyed Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1) by Katee Robert and mythology retellings in general!

Thank you #NetGalley and Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune for providing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheMaidenTheUnseen
#NetGalley

3.5/5 stars. Another wonderful Hades and Persephone retelling. I really enjoyed getting to know them through this lens. I'm a fan of a good miscommunication trope if done properly. I will say the miscommunication trope in this story was rather drawn out, but I'm hopeful that sequels will handle this better. I did love what a simp Hades was for his queen Persephone. Excited to see what comes next.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Hades and Persephone are fated: she is to be his Queen, he is to be her King. Together they are going to rule the Underworld. But Hades can't bring himself to bound her to him and Persephone can't understand what is going on in her lover's head.
So basically this modern retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone is mostly erotica. The storyline is pretty basic and in some places it is even difficult to believe. Some of the characters appear and disappear without explanation. Their feelings are quite clear but sometimes the spicy devours everything else. Truth be told, the spice is very well written and the overall writing style is enjoyable! It is a funny and quick reading, it surely is entertaining but I don't think I'll read the next book.

Kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I highly recommend this to fans of A Touch of Darkness. This is a very spicy contemporary Hades x Persephone retelling. It has a office setting, which creates sooo much tension. At first I thought it might be to similar for me as I don't read a lot of contemporaty romances but this stands on its own and will be so popular. Disclaimer this will be a series and I will be picking up book two. I cannot wait to see more of the side characters. They are so interesting. I think the weakest character is Persephone... She is actually a very strong willed FMC but I didn't believe her misunderstanding of money and I didn't like her occassional pouting.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for honest review

I always love a Hades and Persephone retelling and try to read them all. I really had high hopes for this one and felt it started out strong. There was definite tension between the two but I wouldn't call it a slow burn. There are spicy scenes early on and they continue throughout the book sometimes at the expense of the plot. I'm all for a good spicy/smut book but not if it takes away from the story I would say almost half the book are explicit scenes which is fine if that's the type of book your looking for. I did like the underlying story and am intrigued where it will go next after ending on a bit of a cliffhanger. I want to thank NetGalley and Rose & Star Publishing for the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The maiden and the unseen by Jeanette rose and alexis rune

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, Rose & star publishing and Jeanette Rose and alexis rune for the opportunity to read this book

I'm giving this one a 2.5 rounded to a 3 purely because I'm looking at it from 2 different perspectives which I'll explain.

Hades and persephone star in smutty romance set in the human world, I'm not sure I'd call it a retelling but she certainly does get that forbidden fruit. The title is an interesting choice given how the story goes but the cover is pretty.

The first is the smut / spice side and if you're looking for that this book really ...ahem, goes to town if you will. There's a lot of scenes in here, in fact I'd say 70% of the book is scenes or thoughts of doing scenes. There are some slightly cringe lines like "liquid thunder of your thighs" which is not a phrase I ever want to read again. And a very odd (to me) scene with a cardigan.

The second perspective is unfortunately the side I fall into. I don't mind smut/spice but I read for plot and character development and this book is missing both. There is a little plot and it definitely comes more into play in the last 5 chapters so maybe the sequel (if there is one) might be better but this book was such a quick read because you can skim bits and miss nothing.
Even the romance side of hades and persephone is lacking slightly because it is so smut filled. I did however love the relationships both main characters have with mellie, and just mellie as a whole really. I'd read a book about her and a certain god any day.
Also shout out to hades for refusing to do the full deed until it wouldn't count as cheating. Good for you sweetie.

Side note the authors do have a playlist for this on Spotify and it is very good, really fits the book well.

I was interested in reading this book because it is a modern retelling of a Greek myth. Hades and Persephone stories seem to be very trendy right now, and this one was set in New York City. What I didn’t realize is that this book is more erotica than romance novel. I felt the love scenes overwhelmed the plot and character development. Also their relationship was constantly up and down. I think if you are interested in reading monster type erotica with workplace romance and some dominant/submissive vibes this could be the book for you. However, it wasn’t the book for me.