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.

Rating: 3 stars
DNF'd at 80%

I really wanted to like this book and maybe my expectations were too high but I'm disappointed in this...
First of all the cover is gorgeous but I didn't really get into the story and never really enjoyed the book. I tried but I just wanted to put it down and thinking about other things while I read this. Nothing ever happened in the book besides the smut scenes which I didn't mind because those were good and spicy but other than that no other thing happened.
They are fated mates and loved each other immediately they wanted to deny those feelings...
I'm just disappointed.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Persephone and Hades retellings are always either a hit or miss and this one? Total miss. It was just constant smut in the worst possible setting for a myth retelling plus the book was so incredibly long when it felt like it kept repeating the same stuff over and over that I ended up mostly skimming through after a while out of boredom. It was more smut > plot and I suppose some readers may enjoy that but ultimately this book was not for me at all. Also the smut was cringy as hell I cannot lie. I just felt bad for the actual myth after reading this mess.

Thankyou Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a full serving of smut and a sprinkle of plot. I’m all for steam but it was a little light on the the plot. The plot was only at the beginning and the end. I actually liked the side characters more and was really disappointed when they pretty much disappeared for the rest of the book. I’d read a novella about Mellie and Helios because they were funny and I want to know how that whole situation plays out. This wasn’t really my favorite retelling of Persephone and Hades. Hades was clingy and insecure while Persephone was just dense so I was hoping for more Mellie and Helios. The ending brings more action back to the story after the monotony of them screwing each other for like 70% of the book. Of course it had an interesting cliffhanger but I wish elements of this had been woven into the story. It was a decent read if more of the plot was put into play earlier but I will probably still check out the next book to find out what happens to them and see if we find out more about Mellie and Helios.

This book was a spicy Hades and Persephone retelling. There was miscommunication between hades and persphone and the story revolves around this. I good book if you like miscommunication troupe.

A wonderfully hot and heavy fantasy romance, fans of Katee Robert and Sarah J Maas will devour this and sink their teeth into it and never let go.

Holy freaking smut haha, I love smut but man this was a lot and just constant. I actually really enjoyed the underlining plot and cant wait to see what happens in the next book!I loved their little nicknames for eachother. I also really liked learning more about Hades and Persephone.

Thank you netgalley and rose and star publishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, first thing I have to say is the spice! Oh wow, I'm in love
I’m hoping that Helios and Melinoe get their own book.
My only issue is that it could've been shorter. That, and the fact I have to wait for the next book to be released
A modern day retelling of Hades and Persephone, what isn't to love! Definitely worth the read.

Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.

Hades, God of the Dead, and Persephone, Goddess of Spring, are fated to be together. They spend their days mingling with mortals and working their roles in the corporate world, in contemporary society. They spend their nights attempting to resist their quickly rising attraction for one another.

I love most mythological retellings but, usually, my preference is not to see these notable figures transcend into the modern world. I was intrigued to see how these authors would adapt them and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, however.

Both god and goddess retained personality traits from their mythological roots yet could also easily be viewed as any two individuals from any contemporary romance story. I liked how their magical abilities were quietly woven into the story, as were their roles, yet pages remained where it was easy to forget that they weren't human at all. The interplay between the two sides of them was executed really well here, in my opinion.

The spice was perfect! It featured heavily throughout and yet worked well with the storyline, ensuring neither dominated but worked together to craft something fun, exciting, and which I tore through in two sittings.

I will never prefer a modern-day retelling to a historical one but this book has assured me that I can expect favourable results from broadening my horizons in the genre of mythological retellings.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Maiden & The Unseen is a modern day workplace romance Hades and Persephone retelling and my gosh it's spicy. Like, can't keep their hands to themselves spicy! Throw her on the desk spicy!! I would say that most chapters had spicy scenes or thoughts of spicy scenes. So if you love that, you will love this.

This is my first ever Hades and Persephone specific read, and I can say I'm hooked and want to read even more of them.

We're talking enemies to Lovers, fated mates, "you're mine", "his life is forfeit". I laughed, and giggled and gasped my way through this book. It gave me all the feelings and I loved it.

I give The Maiden & The Unseen a 4 star rating. I will definitely be reading the next in the series!

Thank you NetGalley, Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune, and Rose & Star Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Maiden & The Unseen (coming out tomorrow, September 27th!) may appeal to readers who like lots of steam in their romances, HadesxPersephone retellings, fated mates, and enemies to lovers. I think this book may also appeal to readers who were fans of Helfyre by Mariel Pomeroy, which I also read but wasn't for me. And while I haven't read them yet, I think fans of Nikki St. Crowe and Molly Tullis may like this book, too.

Ultimately, this book was just not for me. Much of the writing felt underdeveloped: the characters, their motivations, their arc, the fantasy world, etc. I think many people will dislike that there was so much smut and not enough plot, but personally I don't mind stories with a lot of smut if it's done well and makes sense to for the story and characters (Katee Roberts, Kathryn Moon, Tessa Bailey, Sierra Simone, Sara Cate, Jade West, Lily Gold are all authors who do that really well imo.) In the case of this book, so much just did not make sense to me. People complain about insta love in romances, but this book has insta hate and it made absolutely no sense to me. It felt like grasping at straws for conflict. Then, it escalates from hating to sex so ridiculously fast. Also, Hades is like obsessed with how Persephone smells which felt so cringey.

All in all, both MC's got on my nerves where I ultimately just became Team Jackson. And not like "I hope Persephone ends up with Jackson" more like "I hope Jackson finds someone who treats him right" and I just cared about no one else lol. There will definitely be a sequel to this book based on the cliffhanger it ends on, but I don't think I plan on continuing to read this series.

This was a spicy(!!) Hades and Persephone retelling.

It’s set in modern day New York, in a world where gods and goddesses are allowed to come down from Olympus to live if they feel bored. Hades spends half the year in New York, taking care of all the finances of those who chose to live with mortals, and half the year in the underworld.

Persephone comes to work for Hades and their attraction is immediate. Hades knows of the prophecy but is forbidden to tell her. And the only way she becomes queen of the underworld is if Hades…ahem. Well, considering this book is heavy on the spice, I think we can figure out what would bind these two together.

My only complaint is that for two immortals with hundreds of years of living, these two had terrible communication and not a whole lot of trust. Their relationship reminded me of a high school one, where someone jumps to conclusions and/or someone runs away at the slightest inconvenience. Also, Persephone is “casually” dating someone for 6 months, but then there’s a ring (which tells me Persephone doesn’t communicate at all with the men she’s with). And what I’d consider cheating, since she was remiss to break it off with the other guy for a while.

The book seems quite long with 78 chapters but I ate it all up. And with the way it ended, this has to be book one in a series.

So if heavy spice and/or cheating is not your thing, I suggest not reading this. But if you like fates mates, an experienced heroine, and a pierced hero…this book will do the trick.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gods and Goddesses can live amongst the mortals in the present world with the help of Hades, as much as he hates it. Persephone has been living, working, and passing as a mortal for the last two years. When her bank account mysteriously empties out, she goes to talk to the man who runs the bank. Hades offers her a job at the company as a social media manager as a way to work for her money. Fate has destined them to be together and, as much as they fight it, it will not be stopped.

I love Greek mythology and the Hades/Persephone tale has always been my favorite. I adore Hades/Persephone retellings but this one was not great. There was almost no plot, the characters were all one-dimentional, Hades and Persephone didn't build up to a relationship, or even a friendship, none of Demeter's rules for Persephone were enforced, it was as if this book was just written just for a way for the authors to practice their smut writing (which wasn't even that good).

All I had to hear was Hades and Persephone and I came running. What can I say? I'm predictable.

This was an interesting take on the myth with a fresh look at how Persephone becomes Queen of the Underworld which I liked. If you are looking for a strict retelling, this isn't it and if you are looking for a plot driven story: Look elsewhere. The little bit of plot this did have was actually intriguing and after that horrible cliffhanger of an ending I am left dying to know more. I usually don't like super modern retellings like this one yet I found myself highly enjoying it anyway. Now I am left with the agonizing wait for book two.

4⭐️ 4🌶

I am a sucker for Hades and Persephone retellings and downloaded this the second I saw it on NetGalley. It was just after midnight and I stayed up until 4am reading it because I could not put it down. I had to finish it.

I loved this Hades, his inner dialogue was hilarious. Ok sure he might have been mad that someone was trying to bypass his systems and sneak into the human realm and he may have frozen their bank accounts one by one until eventually finding the mysterious god. But that was only because he has such strong morals and work ethics. He was really a giant cinnamon roll. A super sexy cinnamon roll with shadow hands and a pierced 🍆.

Where this book lost a star for me was with Persephone. I loved that she was a strong, independent woman, who rocked her fabulous curves and who wasn’t afraid to pursue what she wanted from Hades. What I didn’t love is that she was terrible at respecting his boundaries. He set a boundary and she took it as a challenge and barreled straight through it.

I really loved the side characters. I’m hoping that Helios and Melinoe get their own books!

The spice in this book was amazing see my reference above to shadow hands and a piercing. I am also a sucker for a praise kink and sexy degradation. So this book made me so happy.

The worst part about this book is going to be waiting for the next one. I can’t wait.

Rating is probably closer to 1.5 stars.
There was nothing unique in this book. This was a Hades and Persephone retelling in the modern world very similar to A Touch of Darkness. The plot is basically non-existent ….oh wait the whole plot is I AM CHEATING ON MY BOYFRIEND. Really? Persephone is cheating on her boyfriend , but has the mind set that that she isn't doing anything wrong. Her and Hades aren't sleeping together just making out and therefore its not cheating.
This book is just tons and tons of spicy scenes, cheating, and 100's of years old gods acting like teenager's.

I LOVE reading any retelling about Hades and Persephone - so when I saw this book on NetGalley, I was so excited! Yes, I know, that most of these retellings are usually FAR from accurate, but I just love seeing how different authors take on different takes and I don't read "fantasy romance" for the accurateness.

This book.... is my least favorite retelling -- there isn't a plot (and I was definitely expecting to see more of Demeter, since visits from her are one of the rules - that was disappointing) and the characters didn't bond or even TRY to get to know each other. They saw each other, and boom - just horny all the time.

The book started out really good, and there was character development and some world building... but then once Persephone started working for Hades, that all ended and it was just smut.

My favorite parts of retellings are the authors take on how things happened - and.I was really hoping for more bonding and.. something, anything, between Hades and Persephone, other than mind-blowing foreplay throughout the book, and I was sadly disappointed.

Hades is whiny and kind of a creep... so, that ruined the book some for me.

It also ends on a cliffhanger. I literally did not even know that I was at the end of the book until I tried swiping to the next page - I ended up cursing out loud and laughing at myself.

But, the book IS entertaining and the smut IS good (and a lot of it)- So, I will be reading the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and Rose & Star Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.