But Not Too Bold

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.

D¡lia, 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, D¡lia might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.

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