Just Read: BUT NOT TOO BOLD by Hache Pueyo
Several friends (and students) have mentioned Hache Pueyo’s BUT NOT TOO BOLD over the past few weeks, and as a fan of both spider bride stories and spiders in general—not to mention a good steep in folklore and a brutal, sharp-fanged novella—I was an easy sell. Considering this book came out in February, I’m a little ashamed of myself for not devouring it sooner!
Pueyo’s BUT NOT TOO BOLD reimagines the spider bride mythos through a fragmented, lyrical narrative of obsession, performance, and identity. It follows a woman entangled in a web of desire and surveillance, navigating the fine line between spectacle and self-erasure. The spider bride becomes both a metaphor and a metamorphosis—an unraveling of femininity, power, and myth—and it’s stunning. This is a quick read so pace yourself, but devour it completely.
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.
BUT NOT TOO BOLD is now available from Hache Pueyo and Tordotcom!
