My thoughts on this were mixed there were some things I liked and some things I didn't overall I'm giving it 3 stars but I just as easily could have given it two, it gets one more for the spice. This is a SERIES by the way, it is not a standalone.

There were a few issues straight off the bat I don't like the whole cheating thing no matter how it's done, I think it sullies the romance between the main characters. I don't care if one of the couple thought they weren't exclusive, the other clearly does, so cheating and miscommunication are just ew. In my opinion, is lazy writing. It also ruined my opinion of Persephone, she's supposed to be this headstrong individual, and yet ew? Hades isn't much better he says he wants her to be fully single but then does things with her anyway? Also, Jackson (the guy Persephone is cheating on with Hades) cheating on her does not cancel out the cheating, two wrongs do not make a right...Persephone is also a bit wishy-washy in her thinking but that can I suppose be excused by her overbearing mother and her want of freedom. Miscommunication also dominated this book, it was the major conflict and all the minor conflicts too there should be a limit to this kinda stuff. But then again most people don't pick up smut for the plot.

Thank you to Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune, NetGalley, and Rose & Star Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book #234 of 2022

The Madien and the unseen by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune

A dual written book. Which is using the mythology of Greeks. I have absolutely been engrossed in this book and have not wanted to put it down. Each chapter I need to know what's happening next. I adore the way Hades and Persephone meet its a unique take on the tale of the dates.

I like how Persephone has a great friend on Helios.

Hades he is my favourite character in this book he's so funny to read and you can see where his frustration come from. Hades been refrences to the wolf on wall street made me laugh it seems very fitting for his status.

The sexual tension between Persophne and Hades is fun and it's hilarious to see there ongoing with thier own godly powers.

Having the book tell you how the characters feel through two pov works extremely well fof this the writing flows brillant.

When she finds the deal between the underworld and there deal she's very upset but doesn't want to let it show

I would highly recommend reading this book for any fans of Greek mythology who want a twist on the classic tale. I want to read more of these so hope there will be more.

#TheMaidenTheUnseen #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #goodreads #romance #sci and fantasy #erotica #roseandpublising

Thanks you Netgalley, Jeanette Rose, and Alexis Rune for this ARC of The Maiden & The Unseen! I love a good Persephone and Hades retelling and when I saw this book I was so excited to dive in and read it.

The book is told in a dual POV with each chapter switching back and forth between Hades and Persephone, which is one of my favorite ways for a story to be told. It is also SO spicy, Hades and Persephone have great chemistry, and the secondary characters are all in Greek mythology as well (specifically Hades and Persephone's story).
Hades is a WallStreet banker, controlling the money and bank accounts that all of the off-mountain deities (those who have left Olympus) need to live in New York City. After much convincing, Persephone is one of those deities that leaves her golden cage on Olympus in trade for some freedom in NYC. Through some series of unfortunate (or fortunate???) events, Persephone starts to work for Hades at the bank and we immediate get forbidden office romance vibes from both of them. They both start to lust after each other HARD, and then is when we first get a peak into the spice and the dirty inner-monologues.
Hades and Persephone start to challenge each other right away, which is when Hades learns that Persephone is the goddess of spring and we learn about how they are fated to rule the Underworld together. Throughout the rest of the book we see them go head to head and get to experience how Hades handles conflict with his curse/prophecy from the Fates and how Persephone reacts to Hades' changing moods.

Overall I loved this book. It was a fun retelling of a classic, although at first I was afraid it was going to be a lot like Lore Olympus since it was in an office setting, but it definitely distinguished itself. I loved the characters (from the main characters to the secondary ones) and the conversations and the inner-monologues really helped with getting to know Hades and Persephone better. And finally, the SPICE WAS AMAZING. The shadow hands, the dirty talk, the forbiddeness of it all -- just perfection. Since the book ended on a cliffhanger I will absolutely be reading the next book!

Myth: 1/5

I love Hades and Persephone retellings, but I just didn’t like this one. Hades was a bit of a creep, and his internal dialogue acknowledging he was being creepy didn’t really make it better. I also just had a hard time with the plot, I’m usually pretty good about letting plot slide for the sake of the story/romance, but there were things that just didn’t make sense. He just told her she worked for him now and she did? What about her other job that she loved? He was obsessed with her but he didn’t check to see if she got her money back (after he took it)?

Lastly, the timelines jumped in weird ways in a number of places, going from Friday night to another work day back to the weekend, and it wasn’t moving the timeline for the sake of the story, it was more like the days of the week/weekends weren’t plotted out to line up with what the characters were doing.

Magic: 3/5

The shadow and plant magics were good, though they really only used them in sex scenes. Persephone’s power build around Hades was also fun.

Overall: 1/5

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

I really loved this spicy retelling of Hades and Persephone. The characters we know and love but in a different light was refreshing. I had a hard time putting it down and really wish the next book was out already. The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is because I feel like the Hades/Persephone love story is played out and a couple of moments felt rushed in the story. Would have loved for more suspense and build up!

This was such an amazing read I loved every second of it and couldn't put it down. I loved the characters so much

Read it in 1 night! Can't wait for the next book in the series. I didn't know anything about the author's work before picking this book up, it was really unexpectadly good! Really enjoyed this, I loved the mix of genres, modern day corporate setting with the fantasy aspect. Going to read more from the authors!

The cover is beautiful and the overall tone of the novel is quite lighthearted, but unfortunately, this book was not for me. The two characters, Hades and Persephone, are quite juvenile and their relationship is purely physical, so I found the romance to be quite lacking. There was also barely any plot, which meant that a majority of the book was about Hades and Persephone thinking about or having sex. The writing could also use a bit more refining since there was a lot of repetition (e.g. describing something and then describing it again in the very next paragraph). I also had a few personal grievances about the book that didn't make sense for the real world, and I'm not a fan of one of the aspects of Hade and Persephone's relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I pride myself on reading every Hades/Persephone retelling possible, and usually I give them a pass even when they're slightly dumb or weird or whatever. This is not one of those times. Please enjoy my rants.

There is no set up in this book, and the pace is breakneck. Weeks move by in the span of a single page and time is very iffy. The writing is also not great for a battle of the wits style romance. The banter leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, Persephone's name in the mortal world is Persephone Proserpina. That's literally Persephone Persephone. Are you joking? She also calls herself "P" in the narration and I don't know why, but it really bothers me.

And there's a Bill Clinton affair reference. What year is it?

Also, Hades says he's never met Demeter?? HIS SISTER?? AND FELLOW OLYMPIAN??? And there's no explanation of that, even though the book pretty much follows the laws of the basic myths, so that's really odd.

And the prophecy, which is the least cryptic, most obvious prophecy I've ever heard in any Greek myth-esque book is very dumb and bad. Hades is terrified of it for literally no reason, and spends so much of the book scratching his head about what it all means when it's so obvious. There's no downside to the prophecy, so why is he sooooo scared? A lot of characters also refer to this as a curse? How is being fated to fall in love a curse?

There is pretty much no plot in this book. And I love romance, but this romance is not plot because there is no actual conflict, internal or external. Hades/Persephone, you'd assume Demeter would be a conflict, nope, she's not even in the book. Literally nothing happens except they get together. That's it. Also they work at a bank. Wow.

Hades also has a female friend who jumps on him, kisses him, and they both seem to think it's funny? NO ONE HAS A FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT. Of course, it's just so "P" can misunderstand and blah blah blah, you know how this trope goes. And of course, Hades and Persphone both seem to hate any other women (who are evil blonde sluts) except #weirdgirl Melinoë, who is their child in myths, but apparently just a random undeworld lady?

Any lore in this that isn't Greek Myths 101 is pretty much a rip-off of other Hades/Persephone books. Hades and Persephone have glamours that hide horns and their true god-forms, hmm, what popular retelling series did that? Oh right, A Touch of Darkness, which is a much better modern romance version of Hades and Persephone.

I don't even get why this is a Hades and Persephone retelling. Maybe it will be more obvious in a sequel, but this book is a pretty standard office romance with the most basic Gree mythos thrown on top.

I am not a fan. If you're considering reading this, just go read A Touch of Darkness again, and don't waste your time. One star.

4 stars - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"'Do not ever doubt how much I want you. I'd give my entire kingdom and crown to have you.'"

The Maiden and the Unseen is a New Adult Fantasy Romance that is modern day Persephone and Hades retelling and the first in a series. In this story, Hades is a powerful businessman in the human world and is the vital connection between Mount Olympus and the human realm. When gods wish to enter the mortal realm, they must rely on his wealth and knowledge to blend into the world. Persephone has been living in the human realm for the last two years after spending centuries convincing her mother, Demeter, and Zeus to allow her. She must adhere to the rules set out by her mother, including not engaging with any other gods but Persephone has not been known to always follow the rules. When she realizes her bank account has been emptied she must seek out Hades to reinstate in moneys and ends up with a job as his social media head. Tensions rise when both feel such attraction and both slowly come to realize fate refuses to be ignored.

The sexual tension and attraction between Hades and Persephone was absolutely delicious in this book. I really appreciated that Persephone felt like a properly rounded character in the ways she refused and responded to Hades. She understood and felt the draw to him but she needed time to process what that means and nothing Hades could do could push her. Hades, on the other hand, falls incredibly hard quickly and I liked seeing this contrast between his all powerful strength. He is known to hold things together but even he cannot ignore the fates.

"My first and only thought: I was right about the shadows."

This book is extra spicy with some fantastic shadows and vines. I would say after the 40% mark you're going to see a lot and it does slow down the plot but I, personally, enjoyed the watching their attraction and emotions entwining. The spice is well written and highlights the romance between the characters.

We get a little side character development but the books mainly focuses on the two star characters. I hope to see more of Helios and Hekate in the next book as I really liked them. I felt this was definitely a character driven book. The story is light and we see more plot pick up towards the end. This is the first book in the series and I felt this book was meant to give readers a foundation to move from as the series grows. I felt the first 25% was a little slow as we wait for Hades and Persephone to move past their miscommunication and Persephone's relationship with another man. Also this story does end of a cliffhanger which leaves me with quite a few questions.

Overall, if you're looking for a spicy Persephone and Hades retelling with fated mates and want all the heartstrings pulled as they navigate their love this is an excellent book. I can't wait to see how the story will build and evolve in the next book!

This was received as an ARC from Netgalley.

This was a really hot and sexy Hades and Persephone retelling, I loved the chemistry between the characters their interactions were fire and the smut was well written and genuinely sexy. For me, the plot was a little bit lacking, I felt it took too long for Persephone to make up her mind, and I'd have enjoyed a bit more information about Demeter and what her motivations were to add a bit more conflict because the miscommunication started to frustrate me near the end. That said, I'll be keen to read the sequel to find out what's going on! And if you're looking for a spicy Hades and Persephone story then you definitely don't need to look any further!

This definitely wasn’t the worst read. Some of the writing needs improvement in my personal opinion. Redundant phrasing / formatting. I like the idea of the story but I did struggle to finish. It just didn’t pull me in fully.

This was a disappointment and an extreme letdown. If you take away the smut, you would have been left with 50 pages of one dimensional characters and no actual conflict whatsoever. Apart from that, the world building was just beyond bad and the setting was really badly chosen for a Hades X Persephone retelling. This is the perfect example of no plot just smut and even that was, like everything else, poorly executed. While I expected a thousand times more from a Greek myth retelling, the least there could have been should be uniqueness or some sort of originality, but there wasn’t. This seems like a ‘A Touch of Darkness’ fanfiction or, in some sorts, a compilation of the author’s dirty fantasies together with smut writing exercises in one book. This was really bad. I had no connection to any of the characters whatsoever because of how one-dimensional they were. Is it possible to be stuck in a time loop in a book? Because it felt like the characters had the same thoughts for every page of the book, and there was no conflict, and the plot repeated itself again and again.
If you’re looking for (bad) smut, this is the book for you. Other than that, do stay away.

I did a review on goodreads, but really enjoyed the book. I’m excited for the next one in the series. The spice was extra hot, and I loved how hades and Persephone could barely keep their hands off each other. I loved the angst between them

Who doesnt love a Hades and Persephone story, especially one with a lot of spice. Throw in a prophecy, naughty texting and will they wont they vibes and this book is perfect.

Only disappointment is book 2 isn't out yet!

This Hades and Persephone retelling was pure smut and I was tickeld by it. I went in not knowing how it was going to be and I have to say I didn't hate it. The plot was mostly non existent and it could have been a little shorter, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

I enjoyed this immensely in the short time I got with it before its release! I am glad I spotted it when I did, I think it makes an easy urban fantasy pivot for fans of Lore Olympus.

I was browsing Netgalley one beautiful evening and came across this little gem. Hades and Persephone retelling? YES PLEASE!

The mythology of Hades and Persephone has always been one of my favorite Greek/Roman stories and I am always excited to see it used in storylines. Some of them have been really wonderful reads while others have fell flat on their achievements. Let's discuss the pros and cons of this one.

Pros: Hades and Persephone. Smut. The other gods. The banter between the three brothers. Helios and Mellie. Sexual tension is so hot that it could melt glass.

Cons: Hades constantly goes on about how he's the babysitter, etc. Persephone always says "Lies" every time she does lie. >> That kinda gets old there. The whole "curse/prophecy" thing Hades keeps away from Persephone. Persephone's personality - she can't decide whether she wants Hades or to stay with Jackson. Just pick a guy dammit! This gets really old after a while. And please for the love of Olympus, give Persephone some brains!

I am really on the fence about where to place this book because the story is unique and I loved it very much, but as always the cons tend to outweigh pros when it comes to enjoying something like this. This is the first book in a series (if I understood correctly) so I am hoping that some of the questions we have over the characters and storylines will be answered on the set. So, I am definitely going to give the second book a chance.

I was provided an e-ARC by Rose & Star Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 ⭐
4/5 🌶️

This was such a fun retelling of Hades and Persephone. I absolutely loved the humor and the storyline, and this Hades may be one of my favorites I've ever read. I think my only complaint was that I loved Helios and Mellie so much, and they just disappeared in the second half without a trace.

The office romance trope was really fun here. The boss/employee, forbidden relationship is always a good time, that little extra taboo factor tends to up the spice a lot. Their first office tryst was fire, and then spice just got hotter and hotter. I really loved the chemistry between these two.

Hades was hilarious. I loved his inner dialogue so much, especially his "Hades, God of (insert ridiculous title here)" bits. And his shadow hands... by gods, his shadow hands were incredible. He was fun, séxy and sweet as héll. I hated that he had to keep things from P, you could tell it was unaliving him inside.

I was not expecting a cliffhanger like we got. I was hoping for a Helios and Mellie book next, but clearly that's going to have to wait until we get more answers from Hades and Persephone. Shít's about to get wild and I can't wait.

I’m completely enthralled and obsessed with this book. It has everything and is the best retelling that I’ve read so far. Hades is 10/10 the BEST male MC that I’ve read in such a long time.