Interesting storyline, but the writing was not at all inspiring... the Epic of Helinthia is a very plain fantasy book, with no Greek myth vibes - just a few god names and old Greek social classes. The universe building is superficial, and the world elements and character names did not remind me of the Greek myths, history, or retellings of the last 15 years (and I've been reading the myths and Bronze Age history of the area for over 35 years). The characters evolve through the story, but they are not all built to their full potential. And the most disappointing part is that the book doesn't even have a stand-alone powerful wrap-up - it's yet another "let's write a series with faerie/fayrie/fayeryeiy - yeah, that's how the names sound - kind of characters". As a reader of historical fiction and avid consumer of Greek myth retellings, I will be much more careful when selecting a similar read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC - this was my first digital download from NetGalley and the experience with the website was great.

“The goddess’s head whipped toward him. The weight of doom settled upon him like a ton of bricks.”

On the Island of Helinthia, both the powers of gods and men are at play. The island is dying and a terrible drought has wrought havoc. Dargos plans a rebellion to overthrow the king, and brothers Kelric and Gadnor join him. Whilst Dargos’ sister, Gonivein, assumed safe, fights terrors both within herself, and her home.

This multiple POV story was such a fun and thrilling read. I haven’t read too many stories around Greek mythology, but I found this story easy to follow, and immersive (the glossary also helped). I found the book a little slow to start off and initially struggled to get into it, but the pace definitely picked up, and by the end I could not put this down. I really enjoyed the level of political intrigue, and had fun trying to puzzle it all out. Despite not particularly liking any of the POV characters at the start of the book, as the story progressed, I felt like I got to know them better, and finished the book feeling invested in their arcs. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series!

Epic of Helinthia is a thrilling adventure set in an original setting within Ancient Greece: the island of Helinthia. I thought this was an interesting feature as this is the first time I have encountered a story set in a fictional setting in the ancient Hellenic world.

This island comes with its own unique mythology, including that of their patron, eponymous goddess, Helinthia.

I was gripped by this novel's introduction as we witness the ransacking of a city and the subsequent launch of our main plot.

Throughout the story, we follow our two main characters, Dargos, who acts as the Basileus (royal ruler) of his polis (city-state), and Genovein, Dargos' sister, who is dealing with her own personal challenges as she comes to accept new leadership responsibilities on her shoulders.

I enjoyed M.J. Pankey's writing style, I enjoyed how descriptive her writing is with vivid imagery sewn into her passages.

I especially enjoyed Genovein's character arc as she comes to discover her true destiny.

I also appreciated Pankey's inclusion of Ancient Greek terminology. I did have to do some side research to understand some terms but as an avid consumer of all things Ancient Greece related, I enjoyed the learning process. This may be a drawback for some readers but I think it adds to the immersion of the story.

I do think there was a bit of overcrowding with POVs and it was a little hard to grasp Helinthia as a place in the beginning but this is overall a great start for what I'm sure is to be a successful line of future novels.

Thank you very much to M.J. Pankey, Muse and Quill, and NetGalley for the ARC, I am very grateful.

More of a 3.5!
I love mythology inspired books, and this one was no exception. The reason it isn't rated higher is because I did feel it struggled to keep me engaged at some points, and I didn't feel myself becoming very attached to the characters. Though it did break my heart when Loric died, and Gadnor really won me over. Little feminist king. Although, I didn't knock the book for it too much because most epics are somewhat like that anyway, with a removed sort of feel from the characters.
The plot twists were so good that I didn't guess what was going to happen, and I usually do (its a curse).
Other than that, it was great. It had the betrayal, loss, friendship, tragedy of a real epic poem. I did enjoy reading it and I will be reading the authors next book too.

I struggled to get into this book until I was around 30% in. Once I had more time to sit and binge read it I found myself much more engaged and I enjoyed the remainder of the story.

The beginning of the book introduced the characters and each chapter is told from a characters viewpoint, which I found worked well. I think my initial struggle with the introduction to Helinthia and its residents was that none of the characters are particularly likeable. The main characters we initially get to know are all very ego driven, arrogant and rash. As the book progresses we get more insight into each character which rounds them out more but I still found it difficult to root for any of them except for Gadnor, Forluna, Loric and Tor. Dargon and Kelric are headstrong and both pretty selfish, Kelric more overtly so. Gonivein constantly acts without thinking.

After the scene setting the book was well paced and lots of ‘edge of the seat’ moments. I found I struggled to put it down and ended up reading the the last half of the book in one sitting. I enjoyed the moments we encounter the gods and goddesses of Olympus and the twist towards the end was well introduced and, despite the fact I’d worked it out a bit earlier in the book, it was still shocking with elements I didn’t see coming. Overall it’s an enjoyable, easy read.

I hadn’t realised it was the first in a series and it sadly means I need to add another book to my tbr pile as I need to find out what happens next in Helinthia.

An incredibly good read and well detailed. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapters being from different characters points of view, and I did feel a great deal more empathy towards some of the characters than others.

The character development was very good, as well as the descriptions of the scenes that unfolded.

My only critique, which is not really a critique at all, is that this book was the start of a series. Honestly, I wouldn't have read it if I would have known that, as I prefer standalone books, but I'm thankful with the way this book ended; so I am able to draw my own conclusions, should I not continue with the series.

2.75 ⭐️ rounded up

From within an ancient Greek mythological setting, the Epic of Hellinthia tells the story of a fictional Greek island foresaken by its own god. A group of tenuous allies seeks to find the root of the island’s disfunction and rebel against the dictator who took control eighteen years ago. There are oracles, elves (?), and prophesies in this version of ancient Greece.

With all that going on, I was surprised to find this a boring read. Characters don’t feel grounded in their reality, and they often act without reason. The changing perspectives did not help to endear any of the characters to me. A fairly significant twist brought this up from 2 stars, but I would still not recommend it.

Main takeaway: this book was not my cup of tea. The comparison to Circe by Madeline Miller convinced me to request this ARC and that was not at all what this was. Thank you Net Galley! I wish I’d liked it better.

An adventure with many twists parallel to the Greek mythology world. This book is an enjoyable and easy read with interesting characters.

Thank you Book Whisperer for the early access!
#EpicofHelinthia #NetGalley

Epic of Helinthia is a fantasy quest story interwoven with Greek mythology. Occurring on a fictional island, Helinthia, where tyrant Charixes has seized the throne. The people are suffering through a famine and unrest and their gods are nowhere to be seen. A group of city leaders, led by the protagonist Dargos, then set out to try and recruit support for a rebellion.

I really enjoyed the world building and characters as I thoroughly enjoy Greek mythology however, if you don’t enjoy Greek mythology as much, the world building and list of characters may seem a little daunting. It is set in a world with Greek gods but the story is fundamentally original and therefore not a simple retelling. The story also incorporates many elements of mythology such as excessive pride, interference from the gods, sacrifices, betrayal. There are multiple POVs throughout the book, which I enjoyed. I think the author is a wonderful storyteller and enjoyed their writing style.

Overall I enjoyed this book and found it to be an easy read.

I love reading retellings of Greek mythology. This wasn’t one though, it’s more like historical fiction set in Ancient Greece, an original story supported by some greek gods and creatures we know.

I enjoyed this story and the world it was set in even though it took quite a bit for me to adjust to all the world building. I was overwhelmed by so many different characters, I had to use the look up tool a few times to remember who was who.

I will pick up the next part if I come across it🤭

I was so impressed by this book! I was expecting it to be another mythological retelling but it definitely stood it's own ground. The characters were well introduced and described which really helped me envision them as I read. In other books, there is like a "perfect" character which kind of annoys me but in this one, all of them were deliciously flawed and yet strong. The multiple POVs really kept me engaged throughout the entire book as well. The Gods were very well portrayed as well. They are other worldly and you know it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be on the lookout for more from MJ Pankey!

Greek mythology may be explored in intriguing detail in MJ Pankey's Epic of Helinthia. The protagonist of the tale, Dargos, mounts an uprising against an oppressive ruler in an effort to win back the gods' favour and preserve the collapsing island of Helinthia. Along the way, Dargos encounters duplicity and supernatural meddling as he travels through a turbulent voyage with comrades Kelric and Gadnor.

The book's intricate world-building may be daunting, despite its captivating tale and rich mythological setting. Sometimes the story is hampered by the intricacy, making it difficult to follow several individuals and their stories. The dictionary is helpful, but it doesn't clear out everything. The whole experience is hampered by predictable components and perhaps hurried character development, but if you like fiction with mythical inspiration, this novel is still worthwhile to read.

“Epic of Helinthia” is the first in a new series by MJ Pankey. This is a fantasy Greek retelling - which is a really interesting combination, in my biased opinion. I will admit to getting a number of characters confused for a while in this book - but over time they do get separate enough storylines that things become clearer. What was always clear was that Dargon and Gonivein are siblings. Dargon is leading a rebellion against the king, and he enlists the help of brothers Kelric and Gadnor to, hopefully, appease the gods that seem to have deserted Helinthia. While I enjoyed the journey with these characters, as they get separated and have to manage on their own, for me this story became bogged down in the world-building aspects - there are a number of side characters, a number of different government powers, different people with different agendas … I felt like I needed more than the resources provided in this book (the glossary helped, but it took a while for me to actually understand all the nuances of the world’s structure). I think if one likes world building in a fantasy world - granted, one based upon a lot of Greek history - this might be the book for you. I will add that a lot of research went into this book - and for that I applaud the author.

Uau just uau!!! Loved this book with my life. Such a cool story. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and incredible to dive in this book.

Epic of Helinthia is an original fantasy quest story with a Greek mythology spin. It takes place on a fictional island Helinthia where tyrant Charixes has seized the throne. The people are suffering through a famine and unrest and their gods are nowhere to be seen. A group of city leaders then set out to try and recruit support for a rebellion.

As a huge fan of Greek mythology, I really enjoyed the world building and characters. It is set in a world with Greek gods like Apollo and Hera but the story is fundamentally original. The story also incorporates many elements of mythology such as excessive pride, interference from the gods, sacrifices, betrayal.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. Plot was a little predictable but definitely worth it to follow til the end. There are also quite a few characters. This is very common in myth based stories so I just wrote them down on a post it to keep track of at first. The author MJ Pankey is a wonderful storyteller and her use of language is a delight to read. Will be looking forward to the sequel.

It wasn’t really for me unfortunately. I really enjoy reading Greek mythology stories but I found it hard to follow at times and wasn’t really drawn in by any of the characters. that said, the writing style is easy to read which did make it enjoyable

This was a fun little adventure of a book! I feel that the establishment of the story took a while and the climax felt a little rushed, but I enjoy how the story wrapped up. This is certainly a book with some difficult themes and emotional sections, but overall I think it was worth the read.

Will I read the next book: YES

I really feel bad for every author in the Greek mythology space, because you constantly live in a world where you're compared to Miller or Saint, when really, this is not comparable to either of those authors. Epic of Helinthia is not a Greek mythology re-telling, but a fantasy novel with Greek mythology as the threads.

It's really, really difficult to write a book with 5 perspectives, because oftentimes there's one or maybe even two characters you simply do not care about. I didn't find that to be the case with any of these characters - even those characters that I loathed for a good majority of the book were interesting to unravel, and I think Pankey does a great job of showing character development, albeit some of it felt rushed.

This also being said, I can't really say this book surprised me in any way. There were times I was honestly surprised that half the cast was still alive. If you tried to make a drinking game where you took a shot every time a character was injured and miraculously saved, I believe you would probably have alcohol poisoning by 33% of the way through the book.

Either way - it's an easy read, it got my attention, I sped through it much faster than I thought I would, and it's the first book I've read in awhile that made me want a sequel immediately afterwards. So, you'll see me back here when Oracle of Helinthia is released.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is perfect if you enjoy retellings of greek mythology with complex characters and interesting story telling. The story will captivate you, make you angry, sad, and happy throughout. It's perfect for fans of Jennifer Saint or Madeline Miller.

An interesting if slightly heavy handed fantasy of Ancient Greece. I had a bit of trouble following who the characters were and how they moved the story along.