The Maiden and the Unseen by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune is a contemporary Hades and Persephone retelling. I absolutely adore Hades and Persephone retellings and this one is one of my favorites. I loved the relationship between Hades and Persephone and how they both have internal insecurities though I wish they were more open and honest with each other about them. I loved the side characters in the beginning of the book but towards the end they just kind of disappeared from the story. Though the ending on Hades’ end was a little confusing, I really enjoyed the cliff hanger of an ending. I will definitely be continuing this series.

3.5 I love books about Greet mythology, but for me it was a little too much smut. Yes I know I know some people love there smut and don’t think there can be too much but for me if I’m reading a book I don’t want to have to feel like I can’t read it in public but that’s just me! If you don’t mind that this is a 5 star book for you!

The Maiden and The Unseen is an erotic/modern Hades and Persephone retelling.

I loved the plot and story that Jeannette Rose and Alexis Rose explored in this book. They wrote and made me fall in love with both Hades and Persephone. The ending was just cruel and unusual punishment!!

I received this book for free in return for an honesty review

To be completely honest, the only reason I persevered with this book is because I was given it as an ARC. Thank you for that.

Where to begin.... This is one very very long continuous smut scene essentially. I wanted to love the characters and they had such potential. However, there was so much miscommunication between the two main characters with no dialogue flow that I ended up with whiplash trying to keep up. There were several occasions where I needed to read back to make sure I hadn't missed something which would explain why the character had suddenly decided to get angry.

Story wise, again it had such potential. Having Hades as a business man made sense and an office romance should have worked, but in this case it just didn't. In terms of spice it went from 0-100 ridiculously fast with no build up.The rest of the book then just consisted of a different sex scene each page.

To conclude, as I said I really really wanted to like it. Toning down the spice, adding some tension and really fleshing out the story and characters would help immensely.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This is a joint authored modern take on the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades, as a contemporary romance/erotica.

I have always enjoyed mythology and this was one of my favourites. I was actually going into this story with a lot of scepticism, but was pleasantly surprised. This was dark and angsty, but a very compelling story, drawing on some of the myth of Olympus, the Underworld, gods/mythic creatures and a modern day New York.

Hades is still the god of the Underworld, and still tied to reign there 6 months out of the year, and allowed to come up to the mortal realm the other 6 months. In his contemporary incarnation he is the CEO of Plutus industries, a money making mogul. In this world, the other gods and creatures of Olympus are allowed to petition to leave the mountain and engage in the mortal realm under strict rules by Zeus, and they are given accounts by Hades. Hades notes that someone appears to have entered the realm without following the proper protocol, and freezes everyone's accounts to flush out the rogue diety.

Persephone has been suppressed and hidden by her mother, Demeter, for centuries, and was finally given some freedom and allowed to leave Olympus, so long as she follows Demeter's rules. She found a job that she enjoys as a social media coordinator, and things have been going well. She's even in a non-committed relationship for the the past several months with a pretty nice guy. Suddenly things go to hell in a handbasket when she finds out her accounts are frozen and she has no money. She seeks help with her friend, Helios, who connects her with Plutus industries, who manages her banks.

Hades and Persephone have a contentious relationship from the moment they meet. Hades recognizes that she is his fated mate, the fated Queen of the Underworld, and is conflicted as he finds her incredibly attractive, but fights against the declared fate. She ends up working for Plutus industries, and because of her mother's overprotectiveness, is unaware of her and his intertwined fates. This becomes a contemporary boss vs. employee interoffice attraction as well, with a paranormal twist, and a lot of heated interactions between Hades and Persephone. Add to the situation that Persephone is in a bit of a love triangle with the previous boyfriend also, which adds to the sparks and conflict between her and Hades. Finally, she is aware that Hades is hiding something from her, as they both end up succumbing to their attraction and have a relationship, but Hades does what he can to prevent Persephone from becoming tied to the Underworld, which in the original story involves her eating pomegranate seeds. Because this is erotica, the seeds are of a different nature... though surprisingly, not necessarily eaten.

This was better than I expected, as it is a classic myth I loved and there is such a strong contemporary twist to it (there is a lot of texting, which I do not find sexy, but it does fit the story). It was a fun, compelling, and quick read, with some interesting takes on some of the other characters of myth. FYI, there is a lot of graphic sex, and sex play, mild BDSM, masturbation. My biggest quibble is that this is not a finished, stand alone story, but ends on a cliff hanger note, and I am left a bit frustrated by that. So I hope that there will be a conclusion in the future.

3.75 stars out of 5

I’ve read my fair share of Persephone and Hades retellings. Where this modern retelling differs is Persephone is no maiden, she doesn’t care about the feelings of those around her, she’s social media smart but money dumb. She cheats on the man she’s with, saying they aren’t a couple but also doesn’t try to understand how Hades feels being the side hoe.

Hades was easy to love. He has his low moments but you grow to like him because he’s trying, he’s in a raging battle with himself and their fate, and he’s trying to learn more about Persephone and her likes, he’s constantly worried about their relationship.

What didn’t work for me is the miscommunication, which is sky high, the toxicity, the plot that finally showed it’s face at 85%. So MUCH of this book is smut! I got bored so often, because it’s either them imagining about doing each other or them actually doing each other. The use of shadows and vines were a nice touch I have to admit.

There were a few things that didn’t make sense, like Persephone overworking herself when the book starts and I guess she drops all her projects to work for Hades but we don’t exactly know, which once again goes to show how little she cares about anything. The side characters disappear COMPLETELY halfway through the book. Minthe? Millie? Helios? Hello? Don’t see them again at all.

This also ends on a cliffhanger. Wonderful.


Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the eARC

I was really into this series until around chapter 65ish and quickly became bored. The plot was interesting! The steamy scenes hot! But then...it just drops off and becomes sort of nonsensical and doesn't resolve a thing - because "sequel". The saddest thing is that established side characters (and no, not talking about Jackson) just don't show up after around chapter 30.

The reason I'm giving this book 3 stars is because although I didn't love it, I know that there will be many people that enjoy it. I love an extremely smutty retelling but I also need a great story line to go with it.
But this book was almost all about the spicy scenes and not enough about the story. I wish there had been more build up, some more suspense maybe. It just need more to the story.
The ending does leave on a cliffhanger and I will definitely be reading the sequel to see how it turns out.

If I was judging this book by its cover, it would have a much higher rating. 😅

So, I’m going to start by saying, I did know this book was going to have smut, BUT I didn’t realize that was all it was going to be. I don’t mind smut, but I do like there to be some sort of story and plot involved. And this…. Yeah, not so much.

I chose to read this book due to the Hades and Persephone theme, and though it was fun to see the different gods/goddesses, it was the bare minimum that actually connected it to the myth.

And for the romance? Their relationship was awful (in my opinion). I considered her cheating on her boyfriend (she said they weren’t boyfriend/girlfriend though they were dating for 6 months?) a major pitfall - I don’t like those types of romances. They had no trust for each other and the reader is yanked back and forth constantly. I think there is a curse that keeps Hades from sharing? Throughout the story it felt like random information, that should have been better explained, was just thrown in. It ends on a cliffhanger that I can’t bring myself to care about and I won’t read anymore that follow this one.

So, all in all, I was very disappointed in this one, but perhaps someone who doesn’t care about a storyline would enjoy it!

Thank you to #netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the writing style and the level of smut. There is also a strong storyline with a good plot. The characters are fun to read about and the book is still unique even though hades and Persephones stories have been redone a few times recently. Overall, a really good read and I’m excited to purchase the book when it comes out and recommend it to my book club.

Rating 3.5🌟
Plot twist: 2 🌟
Spiciness: 4-4.5🌶


This is probably the spiciest Hades x Persephone fated mates book I have ever read!

It has so many smut scenes 😍 and they are definitely unique and spicy on their own 🤤

I loved the modern touch of the book and the writing style 👌

HOWEVER:

It took 40 something chapters for the main characters to actually be together and everything before that was back and forward, hot and cold and not much of a story building. There was a point where I considered DNF-ing the book as I was getting frustrated of all these "it almost happened but nope 🙅🏻" moments for 200 pages straight 😅

Also, I do get that there was a curse to make the book more interesting; but was it really necessary that cream 🥧 was the trigger of the curse? Lol

I did end up enjoying the book and reading it completely but I think I could have done with either less chapters of hot-n-cold or with more action and drama!

I also loved the side characters but they were kind of undeveloped, I get that they are not the MC's but it just felt like they were unnecessary brought in the book for 1 chapter or 2 and out the window for the rest of the book 😁

Overall, great smut book to tickle all your dark fantasies but not much of a fantasy or romance (for me at least).

Would I read book 2? Yes. I liked it more than I hated it so we shall see what emotions the next book 📖 will bring 😁💋💌

I loved the premise and I love a mythology retelling, especially a Hades/Persephone one. I really enjoyed the more spicy scenes, but the rest of the writing did feel kind of cheesy. The characters had good chemistry with one another but kind of felt like they could be just anyone, not really THE Hades and THE Persephone. I also thought the modern setting was a fun way to do the retelling but also felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a little to believe that Greek gods had jobs as social media managers. That aside, I had fun and I'll probably read a sequel if there is one!

Anytime I see a Hades and Persephone retelling, my grabby hands start going. I LOVE this trope. The dark. The light. THE STEAM?? Hello! Sign me the hell up! This was so good and hit all the right spots. Highly recommend!!

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.