A review by crothe77
The Maiden and The Unseen by Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Maiden and the Unseen by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune is a dual-POV retelling of Persephone and Hades meets billionaire romances. When Persephone’s bank accounts are drained, she confronts Hades, the god in charge of all of the other gods’ finances. Hades offers her a job as a social media expert at his company, setting off a high steam office romance with the fated mates trope.

The novel uses the idea that Persephone and Hades were foretold by the Fates and that Persephone is the true ruler of the Underworld. I’m a big fan of that aspect in recent retellings and have enjoyed it in every iteration including in this one. Hades and Persephone sometimes use their magic in order to tease each other, with Hades having shadow magic and Persephone using vines. 

When they first meet, Hades is terrified to learn that she is a Goddess of Spring because of the prophecy. Persephone, however, is somewhat attached to someone else. She’s casually dating a young man who calls himself her boyfriend despite her insistence that it is not that serious. Even with her guilty conscience, Persephone can’t resist Hades when he’s around, especially in the office.

One feature of Persephone’s POV chapters occasionally features her thoughts saying ‘lie’ when she’s trying to fool herself or deny her attraction to Hades. There’s also a lot of mentions of HR and how it’s a workplace romance where Hades is Persephone’s boss. 

I would recommend this to readers looking for a Persephone and Hades retelling that places emphasis on steamier bits and those who are comfortable with BDSM (particularly in the discipline category) in their romance novels and like the fated mates trope.