Cadaceus

by Allie Grey

Anastacia is a thief who dares what no mortal should—stealing the souls of the underworld from the Ferryman’s riverbank. Clever, defiant, unstoppable… until one mistake draws Charon’s gaze.

Bound for eternity to the Archeron, Charon has never strayed from his duty—until her. What begins as fury turns to fascination, and soon he’s caught in the very snare she has spent her whole life setting.

But Anastacia’s ambition is to steal life itself. And if she fails, she risks not only the gods’ wrath, but the immortal she has come to crave.

360 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2025

About the author

Allie Grey is an author who loves genre-hopping in both her reading and her writing, but most often dabbles in fantasy, romantasy, and romance. When she isn't writing, she is playing with her kids or animals, or watching movies with her husband.

Reviews

[Brit Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from the author, and I’m so glad I did because I loved this story. It follows Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, and honestly, I didn’t expect to fall for him as hard as I did. The MMC was everything — dark, broody, mysterious — but also had so much depth for a deity.

The FMC is definitely selfish at times, but I actually kind of loved that about her. She knows what she wants and never pretends to be anyone else, and that confidence made her stand out.

The plot kept me hooked, and I was not ready for what Anastasia had up her sleeve at the end. And the spice? I was blushing, kicking, and giggling. I’m completely obsessed with how this man worships her. Charon is a man who’s never wanted anything in his immortal life, and the way he’s drawn to her is unreal.

If you love Greek mythology, dark romance, and a few shocking twists, this one’s for you.

Thank you so much Allie for the chance to read this for you. I really enjoyed this Charon romance 🖤

[Mynxiemel olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️. 4🌶️

I got this as an Arc from the Author and fell in love with the story! As soon as I saw it was about Charon I was like “sign me up” and Allie did not disappoint with this version of him! I loved the characters , the plot, the spice, everything!! The main character being named Anastacia *chefs kiss* giving what the name means ❤️ Finished the book and now I need the second book asap lol.

[Tehmeena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content Warnings;
some graphic s*xual scenes...

~Thank you, the author, Allie Grey, for the free Arc of this book. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.~

Tropes;
⚖️💛𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓼𝔂
💛⚖️𝓐 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓸𝓷 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
⚖️💛𝓐𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓖𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓴 𝓜𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝔂
💛⚖️𝓕𝓲𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓕𝓜𝓒
⚖️💛𝓟𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓜𝓜𝓒
💛⚖️𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓮/𝓢𝓶𝓾𝓽
⚖️💛𝓖𝓸𝓭𝓼/𝓘𝓶𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓼
💛⚖️𝓢𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓼/𝓢𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓽 𝓘𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓽𝔂
⚖️💛𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭
💛⚖️𝓝𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼
⚖️💛𝓓𝓮𝓮𝓹 𝓟𝓵𝓸𝓽
💛⚖️𝓝𝓸 𝓒𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓯-𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻
⚖️💛𝓗𝓔𝓐

"𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊," 𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖉 𝖘𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖑𝖞.
𝕾𝖍𝖊 𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖉. "𝕴 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉.

Both of the FMC and MMC, Anastacia and Charon, are interesting in their own ways. The story begins with Anastacia who has been stealing souls from the riverbank (which belongs to Charon) in order to save those who've passed away too soon with unfinished business, and this has been going on for years. So when she catches Charon's eyes, captivated and irked by her, he can't deny the sizzling connection between them. He wants to claim her, and she's more than amenable. But what will happen when he discovers the truth about her, about her true intentions?

I haven't read anything quite like this before, and I'm glad I'm branching out into different genres! This is a whole new world for me and I must say, I'm surprised I like it so much. It's not super long and is very well written, holds the reader's attention without the pace dragging, and the imagery is stunning. The descriptions are immersive and fantastical. The book is a tad bit slow-paced for me because this is out of my comfort zone, but that's on me, I'm pushing my boundaries and trying new things. I did enjoy it a lot in the end. And the smut/spice was edible; when he asked her to crawl for him? F*CK OFF. The way I stared at my Kindle, hehe. Oh, Charon. He's quite possessive of her, not even letting water touch her. We love possessive man, don't we?

"𝕺𝖐𝖆𝖞, 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖆𝖗. 𝕮𝖗𝖆𝖜𝖑 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊."
𝕳𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖔𝖚𝖙𝖍 𝖉𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖕𝖊𝖉 𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖓. "𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙?"
"𝕮𝖗𝖆𝖜𝖑. 𝕿𝖔. 𝕸𝖊." 𝕴𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖓 𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖗, 𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊. 𝕳𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖔𝖚𝖙𝖍 𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖉𝖗𝖞.

Now, let's talk about the chemistry between the main characters. Wow. It hit the roof for me! I loved it! Their romance and relationship dynamic is captivating. Her personality is instantly likable because she's fiery, headstrong, and expressive - she says what she wants. She's also soft and kind-hearted when need be. The nicknames are endearing, by the way. The plot-twists and her true identity made me sit and pause - I didn't expect that. A beautiful romantasy inspired from Ancient Greek mythology. Expected release on 7th of November!

Out of Fives;
💛⚖️𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓:✨✨✨
⚖️💛𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆:🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
💛⚖️𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏:💋💋💋💋💋
⚖️💛𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆:🌹🌹🌹🌹
💛⚖️𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔:🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
⚖️💛𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔:🎲🎲🎲🎲
💛⚖️𝑴𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝑽𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔:🔱🔱🔱🔱🔱
⚖️💛𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚:⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
💛⚖️𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒂 𝑭𝑴𝑪:🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
⚖️💛𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝑴𝑪:💙💙💙💙💙
💛⚖️𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆:🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬
⚖️💛𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈:⌛⏳⌛⏳⌛
💛⚖️𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕:🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
⚖️💛𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈: 🌍🌏🌍🌍🌏
💛⚖️𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅: 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪/𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆.
⚖️💛𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔: 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆.
💛⚖️𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 291.
⚖️💛𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: 25.
💛⚖️𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: 𝑭𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑴𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚.
⚖️💛𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆: 7 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 2025.
💛⚖️𝑾𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅: 𝒀𝒆𝒔.
⚖️💛𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Kaely Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by this author, and I was not disappointed. It was a perfect blend of Greek mythology and romance. I've always loved the Persephone and Hades retellings, so this being about Charon was intriguing. Greek mythology has always been fascinating to me, so the incorporation of the underworld was so interesting and led for the perfect backdrop.

The book reads fast and easy. No clunky prose, so you don't get caught up in too many descriptions. As the story goes on you get little bits and pieces of why Anastacia is the way she is. What motivates her and what's pushing her forward. I really enjoyed her character a lot. She clever, caring and perfectly imperfect. She fights for the things she wants and is wholly her own. It's not just a plain love story with spice (Though the spice was absolutely amazing, it added to the story rather than detract from it. It made sense to the story progression and fit their relationship). It's Anastacias' journey and we're just along for the ride.

I also really loved Charon. Getting to see him as a diverse character and not just the "Ferryman". He wants and thinks and feels. He seems so easy to love. I also loved his obsessive tendencies and how he will do anything to have more of Anastacia even if it's just a few moments of her time.

This was a 6-star read for me for sure. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to read this. Maybe in the future we will get one about Ophelia too so we can see more of this world. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

***I was honored to have read this as an ARC. The thoughts and feelings are my own. ***

[Nanasbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

Caduceus by Allie Grey is a Charon romance.

Anastacia has been stealing souls from Charon's riverbank for years, determined to save those who died with unfinished business. But one day, she catches Charon’s eye. At first, he’s furious—but soon he finds himself captivated by her. She’s mouthy, feisty, and unstoppable. The connection between them is undeniable, and Charon is determined to claim her as his forever. Anastacia is more than willing to oblige. But will he still feel the same once he uncovers the truth about who she really is and the purpose behind her actions?

This was such a fascinating story. It’s rare to find a romance centered on Charon, and I loved how he was portrayed—neither as arrogant as the gods nor as fragile as mortals, but something in between. His dynamic with Anastacia was engaging, and their chemistry leapt off the page. Anastacia herself was a strong and intriguing heroine—mysterious, kindhearted, and just a little sneaky. Her true identity and ultimate goal took me by surprise, and the ending was my favorite part, beautifully showing the depth of their love.

If you enjoy romances inspired by Ancient Greek mythology, this is definitely one to add to your TBR.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second ARC from this author and I was not disappointed either time!

This was a unique Charon romance and it was such a good read. The possessive Charon and clever Anastacia made this book everything you wanted. The story and plot twists the author was able to develop and deliver in this quick read was amazing!

There is plenty of banter and sass from the main characters! You have gods, deities, demigods, schemes and hope for a better life.

The spice…. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🫠🥵

I loved that Charon and Anastacia were working with each other and against each other at the same time but made it work and made you want more.

Give this unique Charon romance a chance! You won’t regret it!

[Heather E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story of perseverance and shaking one’s fist at fate. Ana took her angry and made a plan to change herself to help those like her. The plan involved many trials with a side benefit of falling in love with Charon.

The story is a bit slow at times, as the author took time to build up the background of each character, and I was able to figure out some of the story before it was revealed. However, I do recommend reading this story.

[Jill E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the privilege of having this as an ARC read. Do you like Greek mythology? Then you definitely need to read Caduceus by Allie Grey. I honestly couldn't put this book down. This story had me hooked from start to finish. I absolutely loved Anastacia and Charon's story. It's a little spicy; keep that in mind. Highly recommended!

[A Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about Charon, the Ferryman of souls in the underworld for Hades. It was such a refreshing spin on Greek mythology, I loved it so much!

The FMC was brilliant and kept us on our toes. Charon was handsome and broody and everything the underworld Ferryman would be personified.

Cadacus is out now! Run to get your copy!

[BusyMommiesBookClub · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Greek mythology and this one did not disappoint with the storytelling. Anastasia was such a strong character and I appreciate how she didn't compromise her goals for love.

There was a lot of smut. So if you're a sensitive reader I would caution to this one. Honestly, sometimes it felt a little out of place, a bit forced.

[Stephanie Stradtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started off kind of slow but once it got going, wow the plot and spicy was 💋👌🏼

The nicknames, the twist, the way Charon was all for Anastasia!

The writing of how all the gods were connected at some point to the secrets they had for each other.


Definitely read this!!

[emmaz.bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★

Thank you so much, Allie Grey, for this ARC! 🫶🏻

My gosh, I fell in love hard with the Ferryman! The moment I saw this, I knew I had to read it. I loved every part of this story and absolutely adored the characters. If you like Charon and a some spicy spice, trust me, you need to read this!!

[Rebekah Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I normally don’t write reviews, but I have to say this was a really good book! And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like Greek mythology. I really enjoyed this book and the spice was really good 👌🏻🌶️