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.

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!