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.

I really liked the tension between Hades and Persephone along the book. Loved Hades!
It was really nice to see him as the one responsible between both of them. Didn't like Persephone not wanting to end things with her "boyfriend " and wanting to be with Hades.
Loved Hades POVs. The MMC povs are always my favorites. Loved to see him struggling to protect her. His fears were so palpable .
It really made me sad everytime he said they're running out of time . It made it so real for the reader.
Would've loved to see more of the other Gods. It was an unexplored point that I was dying to read. Felt the book was all around Hades and Persephone accepting each other. Accepting they're fated. Would've been nice to have more subplot like seeing Hades trying to find out who was tricking him, but a few chapters in the book and he totally forgot about it and everything else. I understand the main plot was their relationship but I still felt the lack of something else to get a hold on .
Hated Demeter as always . Loved Hekates description and those last chapters were really good. I'll be looking forward to read the next one.

Jeanette Rose weaves a modern tone into a popular Greek myth: the Taking of Persephone. Her steamy, contemporary version describes the Greek gods in more than mortal attire. Many of the gods have descended from Olympus, shopping with the stipend provided by the God of Riches and slipping in to mingle with mortality--with a small set of regulations. Follow the rules, receive your allowance.

Persephone lives under strict rules, set by her mother, that grants her permission to live among mortals. No fraternizing with other gods; mother will check in every six months; no men. When her bank account mysteriously freezes, she is forced to confront the Rich One to prove her mother had not caught her breaking the rules.

Hades runs the finances for every god among mortals. When one name eludes his list, he believes they are trying to slip past the rules that are set in place to provide each god with their allowance. By freezing one account after another, he is certain he can flush out who has been slipping past his securities.

Contained by outside forces, Hades and Persephone work unravel secrets from each other while maintaining a public face. Where the book lacks in plot, it certainly makes up for with explicit sex scenes. Do not be mistaken: this novel is, in every sense, erotica. While there is little conflict beyond internal relations, this book is also good for the occasional laugh; Rose ties in small bits of humour that allow her characters to feel fleshed out and real. That, combined with a handful of loose ends in the conclusion, Rose has promise for a solid sequel.

I really wanted to love this book. A good Hades and Persephone retelling is always fun, and at times, this read was fun, but about halfway or a third of the way through, that is it. This was a quick read with main characters with physical chemistry, and an attempt at retelling a classic story, but it loses any substance and starts to not make sense in a lot of ways. The characters become repetitive and the storylines aren't fully developed so I am unable to rank this book any higher.

*Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to rose and star publishing for providing an arc through netgalley!

this is another retelling of the story of hades and persephone so if you've read enough of them in the last few years, this may not be the read for you. i, however, never tire of these two characters.

overall, i did enjoy this book. the miscommunication trope is a little tooo much at points though. the story also ends on a cliffhanger so reader, beware!

2.5
As a fan of Hades and Persephone retellings I really wanted to love this. Unfortunately, The Maiden and the Unseen was just an okay read for me. Persephone came across as selfish, and Hades in trying to come across as sensitive was a bit of a wet blanket. The story focused more on the physical side of the relationship with no real plot development and several interesting side characters seem to disappear from the story with no explanation. Despite my negative thoughts I will more than likely read book two to see if/how the characters and story grow.

This book is a steamy modern retelling of Hades and Persephone. I like the story of Hades and Persephone, especially steamy ones, but this one didn't feel like it brought anything new to the table. A few times during this story, I actually Googled whether or not this had previously been published under a different title, because it felt that familiar. But no, it's just so like all of the other retellings, that I thought I might have already read it before.

Overall, the writing was very informal. It was medium paced, with lots of sexual tension. I wish the author would have done more with Hades and Persephone's magic, as they really are cool, but this story, for the most part, could have been about any insta-love corporate couple. and it would have worked the same. I didn't like the ending. I'm totally cool with cliff-hangers, but this felt like the author just decided they were sick of writing, so we'd have to wait for the next book. I genuinely was surprised it was the end, and had to double check I didn't miss anything.

TLDR; typical modern Hades and Persephone story that doesn't bring anything new to the table. Nice and steamy, wish there was more magic.

I’ll start off by saying I love a good smutty book. Seriously. But I also love plot. And while I did enjoy the MCs. I swear everything was solely based only on sex. And while I can devour that, this one didn’t have the plot to keep me interested in it like I normally would be. I’d read the second book if there was one possibly.

This book really had me in the first half. Hades and Persephone is one of my favorite mythological stories. They are the epitome of grumpy sunshine and this book definitely hits that mark. The build up, obsession, and tension is strong between these two characters.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book kind of fell off. It felt like it was missing some structure or plot points to help move the story along. And even though I thoroughly enjoyed the spice, at one point I didn’t know what day it was or how long it had been and felt just a little lost waiting for the other foot to drop. There was also a bit too much miscommunication. As a 33 year old, that can get old and frustrating pretty fast. So I would say even though this is definitely a book for adults, maybe it would be better suited for those 18-25 years old.

Keep in mind, this is a contemporary Hades and Persephone retelling that takes place in the mortal world. There is some lore and magical elements but it does not take place in a fantasy world, so if you’re here for major world building, you will not be satisfied.

✅ forbidden love
✅ fated mates
✅ dual POV
✅ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

The Maiden and The Unseen by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune. Greek mythology and smutty plotline? YES, PLEASE. I had very little idea of what I was signing up for when I first started reading this book. Hades and Persephone had always been my favourite divine Greek couple from the mythology and even though the real plotline is a bit more sinister, this one humanizes Hades so much. So I knew it was based off around the Hades and Persephone romance but gosh! The chemistry in here is so unreal.
The amalgamation of Greek mythology in a modern urban setting blended with the perfect amount of smuttiness, which is basically dripping off of every page of this book, is absolutely chef's kisses. This is a chunky book but the hot breezy chapters will make it look like an easy 100 pages but let me tell ya, it's over 700 pages!
From Zeus, Poseidon and Hades bickering over absolute nonsense, to Demeter's strict rules for Persephone, to appearances of several other divine beings; this book has it all. The best thing? It does never feel like it's losing its ties from the actual plotline but it is just a sexier modern take on it. Which serves another purpose- if you don't like reading the Plain Jane mythology, you still get to know some bits of it from this spicy take on it. Brownie points, isn't it?
We've all read some smuts which have seemed very pointless and unorganized after a point, where the only point was the hot drama. Well, I'll agree at times they feel kinda nice but I mostly find them very monotonous and all. So, this one was a fresh breathe of air where I got two of my favourite things in one single book. But this one comes with its own quirks (can i even call them quirks? Idk.) The two main characters repeatedly miscommunicated and thought the other person somehow didn't like them and repeated and continued with their nonstop sex and to be honest, some chapters towards the middle of the book seemed overly stretched and some chapters seemed unnecessary but then it geared up once again towards the end and was quick to fill the reader with the anticipation of a mysterious ending.
I will give this book a solid 4 out of 5.
Tropes involved: fated mates, workplace romance, modern retellings.

The Maiden and The Unseen was a good spicy read that I will be looking forward to seeing a sequel to in the future. It is a well-written spicy retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth, that kept me reading until I finished it. There are some inconsistencies in the mythology, such as Hades being the middle brother and how he does not know his own sister Demeter from what the authors eluded to. In all a solid read that kept me entertained and looking forward to what was going to happen next.