The Maid's Secret

by Anita Zara

“The more you repress something, the stronger that desire is fueled.”

Expecting a life of repetition and drudgery, Artemisia arrives at Voltaire Manor to begin her life as a maid. But she soon finds herself in a world far more forbidding and depraved than she could have ever imagined. Amidst the manor’s lush, seductive atmosphere, something monstrous lurks under the surface, waiting to be unearthed. As Artemisia navigates the treacherous waters of her new home, she becomes entangled in a web of secrets, forbidden desires, and monstrosities from the deep. Caught between her mistress with a sultry voice that whispers of temptations, to the dastardly butler with strange, inky eyes that threaten to drown her, Artemisia must face her inner demons...or be consumed by them.

Readers of gothic romance will be captivated by this deliciously dark and twisted tale~

Dear Reader, please note this book contains:

- Enemies to Lovers
- Sapphic pining
- "I don't know if I want to be her or court her"
- Snark-flirting
- Victorian monstrosities
- Bisexual representation
- Supernatural contracts
- Dark Academia vibes
- "She's mine"
- Themes of polyamory

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, Romance, Queer, Gothic, LGBT, Monster Romance

159 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2023

About the author

Anita Zara is fond of morally grey paramours, strange creatures of the night, and various other monstrosities. Connect with her on her Instagram and Tiktok for writing updates, secret snippets, and other tomfoolery.

Reviews

[Anita Zara]

Just writing the book I wanted to read but couldn't find ;)

[Ash Danley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want this to be longer!!

[Nasty_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Read this because my goverment name is Artemisia and I am a lesbian and I was VERY distraught to see a sapphic book... with my name as the protags name. Didnt think that would EVER happen. I guess Artemisia really IS a gay ass name huh
Anyways

In general I did enjoy this! The smut was was really good and the characters were fun!

What I didnt like tho were some parts that... just didnt make sense for a first person narrator to see?? Like when she looks through a keyhole and can see in detail the way Florain is moving his tongue on Viola and the pearl exchange. I feel like that would've just been.. impossible to see? Through a keyhole?? Idk I thought that was a little bit annoying 💀 (before anyone says this is nitpicky... the book has 148 pages... scenes like these take up a lot of space)
I also thought the pacing was a bit odd but that could just be personal preference tbh.

But mid to the end part was really good I really enjoyed reading it (even if....it was weird reading my own name and I tried VERY hard not to read myself into this HAHA)
It also had some very pretty quotes and dialogs that I really loved.

I feel like you can tell this is the authors debut novel (at least I think?) so this has definitely a lot of potential!!

[Marrisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness

This book was everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be. Honestly for a short story the characters were well written and had decent development. I wish it was longer! :( the romantic tension between all 3 of them was absolutely delicious and the spice was perfect. It was a.very satisfying read! Perfect book to start the New Year! I highly recommend.

[Mar Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,25⭐
i feel so bad for giving a low review because this is written beautifully, but i would have liked to see more actual romance between viola and artemisia, rather than spicy scenes. and i kinda couldn't stand florian, plus the octopus thing gave me the ick 😭.
this is just my personal preference of course! the author is still very talented and i can see why people like the book, it's just not my personal preference

[kelisliveshere˚₊⋆ ʚɞ ⋆₊˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this while soaking my acrylics in acetone and even though I melted a plastic cup (chemistry) and inhaled a good amount of chemicals I can confidently say it only clouded my judgement for the moment I decided to open this book. I only finished it cause it’s short. Maybe it was the octopus thing but I didn’t like it and I’ve read some crazy shit😭

I see why people like it (I guess? Lmaoo)

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pining omg I enjoyed this much more than I expected ( clearly we can tell I have a fav). I love books with these vibes so much they truly never disappoint me.

Ngl some parts in the book did confused me. Mainly some sentence structures but overall I would read this again.

If ur looking for a quick FFM monster romance give this a try.

[Marianne Alfaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need a quick monster romance to get you through the night and this definitely did the trick! I wish it was a little more detailed in the back stories of the mistress and the butler, but overall it was a nice, short spicy read that kept me blushing through the scenes. Great detail in the spice!

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was beautiful and I loved the romance between the main character and Viola, however with Artemisia and Florian I feel like they could have had a few more scenes together one on one for their romance to completely make sense to me.

[Red✨💕 · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable

An enjoyable quick read. This book had great soliloquy in its pages. A monster romance that enticed for more b

[ila · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t know how to feel about this tbh

[Angela Pearse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! I'm not usually into monster romances but Florian yikes 🥵 now I need more books with hot snarky butlers. The author's writing is perfection. I gobbled this one up!

[Columbinus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lush, playful, steeped as much in literary seduction as steaming on-the-page smut - a lavish and intense interlude. The heroine with a penchant for peeping gets exactly what we hope for. Her mistress is gorgeously wanton, the butler is a punchable snarky cad, and Artemisia gets embroiled between them in the most delicous ways...