BUT NOT TOO BOLD by Hache Pueyo – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
Published by Tordotcom on February 11 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 128
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: I enjoyed parts of this bizarre fantasy/horror novella, but some elements were a little too bizarre.

But Not Too Bold is a very weird piece of fiction that didn’t completely work for me, but I do appreciate some of the things the author did with worldbuilding. I also loved the Latin American flavor of the story, as the author herself is Argentine-Brazilian.

In Capricious House, the master of the keys has just died—or rather, she’s been consumed by the master of the house, a giant, spider-like creature named Anatema—and her successor is Dália, a young woman who has been training for the position since she was brought to Capricious House as a child. Dália’s job is to attend to Anatema, who never leaves the third floor of the house. Dália holds the keys to every locked room and box and is in charge of opening them whenever necessary, but she also knows that Anatema has many rules, and if broken, the punishment is usually death—to be consumed by Anatema herself.

The day that Dália takes on her new position, Anatema discovers one of her memories is missing. Before eating someone, she weaves an elaborate, magical tableau of that person out of spider silk and locks the “memory” in a box. For someone in the house to betray Anatema by stealing from her is unheard of, and so she gives Dália the task of investigating the crime.

But what Dália uncovers turns out to be dangerous for everyone in the house.

First, what I enjoyed. The story idea was so far removed from anything I’ve read before, and I loved having my brain rewired for a bit with new ideas and storytelling concepts. Weird idea #1: Capricious House is surrounded by poppy fields, which are harvested for decoration, drugs and food. Weird idea #2: a giant spider/human creature rules the house, eating anyone who pisses her off, while she gathers “brides” from time to time (who always end up being eaten as well). The “employees” who work in the house expect that they too will be eaten someday. Weird idea #3: this land (the wider world is never explained) has had a spider plague, so tarantulas are everywhere. The people who live in Capricious House have decided to deal with them by taking them as pets (everyone seems to have their own personal tarantula) as well as incorporating them into the menu. How can you not appreciate such weird ideas? Hache Pueyo is a creative and talented writer, even if I didn’t fully love her story.

I also enjoyed the lush descriptions of food. One of Dália‘s favorites is fried tarantula legs, which was both fascinating and gross. One of Pueyo’s themes seems to be “consumption,” both in the way the humans appreciate the many delicacies from the kitchen, and the way Anatema revels in eating her employees.

Despite these mind-bending ideas, though, the story itself didn’t always work. I found the mystery of the missing memory to be weak and the reasons behind the theft a little convoluted. Also, the story is billed as a sapphic romance, but the romance elements, which are almost non existent, turned me off and didn’t work at all. The characters themselves are also weird to the point that it was nearly impossible to understand or connect to them. Dália and her fellow employees are human, but to live in a house with a giant spider who is going to eat you is sort of ridiculous.

Still, I’m glad I read But Not Too Bold, and I’ll definitely remember it as one of my more unique reads of the year.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.