But Not Too Bold - by Hache Pueyo (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House - Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides. Dalia, the old keeper's protegee, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's death, Dalia might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role. But there's a gaping hole in Dalia's plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path"--

Book Synopsis

The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings

The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House⁠--Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.

Dália, the old keeper's protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's execution, Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.

But there's a gaping hole in Dália's plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.

Review Quotes

Praise for But Not Too Bold and Hache Pueyo

"An intoxicating feast for anyone who has found beauty in the monstrous."--Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

"Pueyo weaves an exquisite web of a tale, full of enigmatic characters, eerie atmosphere and all-consuming passion."--Laura Pohl, New York Times bestselling author of The Grimrose Girls

"Pueyo knows exactly how to blend darkness and evil with cuteness and gorgeous prose. . . . A master of Latin American dark fiction."--Renan Bernardo, Nebula finalist and author of Different Kinds of Defiance

"Hache Pueyo jams in a metric ton of creativity into a small package, yet still leaves room for unanswered questions and inexplicable worldbuilding teasers. Readers ready for an unsettling speculative experience with some sapphic monster romance on the side should be very satisfied."--Reactor

"Will especially appeal to fans of Carmen Maria Machado." - Publishers Weekly on Hache Pueyo

"Stylish, unnerving, and highly original... packs an emotional wallop" - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The tense and fascinating relationship between Dália and Anatema... gives the story its fast-beating heart." - Library Journal

About the Author

Hache Pueyo is an Argentine-Brazilian writer and translator. She won an Otherwise Fellowship for her work with gender in speculative fiction, and her work has appeared as H. Pueyo in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, and The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, among others. Her bilingual collection, A Study in Ugliness & Outras Histórias, came out in 2022.