This is probably the weirdest / worst book I have ever had the displeasure of listening to.
It is written like a PJO book but with an even more immature FMC who has a horny snake as a pet for some reason???!!
I do not recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC! ✨

Is this book good? No. Will I read the second one? Probably...

A homeless girl with a traumatic past finds out she's half god (also known as a mutt) and has to complete tasks while her teachers plan how they can trick her into marriage. Turns out she's actually the long lost daughter of two gods, who knew? Oh, and her blood is poison.

Given that the names and locations are based on greek mythology I'm at a total loss as to why they speak latin.

The audiobook is good in terms of voices, although the pacing was maybe a little slow - I listened to it on 1.5x and it sounded like a normal pace.

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I received an audiobook ARC courtesy of Harper Collins UK Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This is difficult to rate as I did enjoy myself but I don't think it's a great book. The plot was obvious and I don't understand how the main character didn't see the plot "twists" coming. She was young so maybe that's why, but also I think it bothered me that she was so much younger and this was obviously a dark romance. That's just my personal taste though.

I did enjoy the many many love interests that she had throughout 😂 I was rooting for her to have to wear Achilles mask but maybe we get that in book 2. It was also quite funny, I think the cringey jokes did save it for me. I'll probably pick up book 2 at some point as it was an easy fun read.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a captivating read that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The storyline is engaging and the characters are well-developed, making it a very enjoyable experience. However, be warned that the book contains graphic scenes that might be challenging for some readers. If you prefer less intense content, this might not be the best fit for you. Overall, it's a thrilling adventure that fans of the genre will appreciate.
Also of note, the voice actors are excellent and do a great job at making this a very full bodied experience.

This book took me by complete surprise. I found the FMC's dry humour to be perfection, and Nyx was probably my favourite character.

The narrators did a fantastic job, especially the female. She brought this book to life with the emotions poured into her work, and I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy of the Audio ARC in exchange for my honest review 💕

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

With excitement, I picked this up as an audio ARC on NetGalley in November but struggled to engage with it. After multiple attempts, I finally gave up. I was excited for this dark Greek mythology romantasy, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the hype. The main character is well-written—strong, funny, and emotionally balanced—but the male characters were overbearing, and the story felt rushed, messy, and amateurish. The writing often came across as childish, with weak plotting and awkward language. Despite its potential, I just couldn’t connect with it and ultimately DNFed.

Listening to Blood of Hercules was quite an experience - definitely a binge-worthy ride from start to finish. The audiobook does a stellar job of bringing Jasmine Mas’s wild mashup of Greek mythology, a post-apocalyptic vibe, and a brutal Spartan War Academy to life. The narrator’s performance really stood out, perfectly capturing Alexis Hert’s sharp inner monologue and that dark, brooding energy the story thrives on. I loved how the story blended ancient legends with modern, gritty twists, and it kept me on my toes with all the unexpected turns.

That said, there were moments when the plot felt a bit chaotic and some of the tropes leaned into familiar territory a bit too hard. I found myself occasionally wishing for a little more depth in Alexis’s character, as her inner turmoil sometimes bordered on cliché. Still, the unique setting, the killer narration, and the overall energy of the story kept me hooked. It’s a solid listen for anyone into mythological retellings with a modern edge, particularly if you consume it as satire - definitely a four-star adventure worth checking out.

For me this book is DEFINITELY one of those that works best as an audiobook! Some of it was slightly cringey, but damn - I enjoyed it! Such an easy listen, and I'm DYING to know what happens next...

Narrator was brilliant, story was interesting and easy to follow, men were brooding - I can't wait to listen to the sequel!

Hilarious, bloody, and the promise of toe-curling evil romance (and a raccoon) making the perfect novel.

It's been YEARS since I've had a book making me laugh out loud so much. I wish I hadn't taken so long to read it, I didn't know what I was missing all these months! I need book 2 stat!

Boring. I could not get past the first few chapters.
The book was definitely not for me.


#netgalley #BloodofHercules

DNF
I really wanted to like this, with all the hype and artwork I’ve seen my expectations were very high. Unfortunately, I got to chapter six and could read no further as I dislike the FMC, the tropes were over done and unrealistic. The FMC was contradictory, the author embraces all the YA stereotypes for a FMC. It felt like reading a bad fanfiction where the main character needs to have the most tragic backstory. It almost felt comical how bad the backstory is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this.

An incredibly unique Greek inspired romance. Action-packed and gripping with deliciously morally grey characters. Alexis Hart finds herself at the Spartan War College where she is fighting for her birth right - immortality. A brilliantly twisty story that is brought to life perfectly by amazing narrators, if possible I think the audio is better than the book!

Although I found this quite hard to start with Alexis being a very young child, I eventually got really invested in the story and by the end, I couldn’t stop reading! I wasn’t sure how to feel about Alexis but she really came into her own and became a fantastic and powerful character. I loved the twists and turns near the end and it just made me more eager for book two! I loved the concept of Spartans, Olympian and Chthonic, and how their powers manifested differently. The story was really gripping and I grew to love all the background characters as well. The mythological theme throughout was executed brilliantly and the narrator did a great job with this book. Definitely worth checking out if you like mythological fiction with a modern touch and romantasy elements.

I listened to the audio on the NetGalley Arc app.
I have to start by saying this book is very bingeable but in terms of the actual plot and characters I didn’t fall in love and therefore I didn’t feel connected to the characters.
I found the whole book a little chaotic and confusing if I’m being honest.
Overall it’s not a bad book it’s just not a memorable read for me.

Thank you @netgalley for the chance to listen to this for an honest review

This book/audiobook was fantastic although not my usual vibe as I don’t enjoy harem or reverse harem romances. Some of the stand out tropes are;

- Morally Grey Love Interests
- Reverse Harem
- Greek Mythology
- Multiple POVs
- Post Apocalyptic Setting
- Strong MC

Smashing Greek Mythology/Gods together with a post apocalyptic setting is an intriguing and different perspective to the usual books on the Gods. It peaked my interest from the first chapter and kept me gripped through the book with an inevitable cliff hanger setting us up perfectly for book 2!

This audiobook was amazing. This book itself was amazing but the narrator did and incredible job, it was empathizing with Alexis so deeply it hurt at moments. The book itself was such a breath of fresh air in the genre. And I is at the top of my list for my favorite new books. I cannot wait for the next book.

Okay, I knew very little about this book going in except three things: This book has been hyped and EVERYONE was talking about it, I like mythological retellings, and the cover is stunning.

So when I actually got started this story was bewildering. We’ve got a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world, the Gods are real and are violent AF but also fighting to protect the world from the Titans with modern weaponry like ‘Spartan Guns’, aaand we’re also in the future.

I’ll be the first to admit this is not what I was expecting and not my usual kind of thing.

THAT BEING SAID, I had a lot of fun!

I really liked the writing style of the author, the way she has captured the inner monologue of our FMC Alexis is perfection. I love her intrusive thoughts, her nihilism and frequently laughed out loud while living in her head.

The mythology was…. Strange. I felt disorientated throughout this because it felt like it wasn’t one thing or another. It wasn’t the classic Gods, but it also wasn’t new characters, it was somewhere in the middle which ofc isn’t a bad thing it just left me confused at times.

This book is different. It’s out there. It’s certainly not what I was expecting and so if you want to read something that feels fresh and doesn’t follow the same old tropes and trials, this is for you.

I had so much hope for this book - Greek mythology meets The Hunger Games? Where do I sign?

Sadly, while the premise sounded amazing, I found the execution lacking. The Tiktok writing style and cheesy self-deprecating humour clashed with the setting. Alexis came across as a very naive 14 year old rather than the worldwise 19 year old we are meant to root for. The beginning chapter was nothing but a huge info dump, and the plot dragged for the middle part. The romance wasn't very romantic, more toxic, and the sex at the end seemed odd with the otherwise YA writing style.

All of that said, there was something addictive about this book. For all of its flaws, I wanted to keep listening, even though I wasn't really enjoying it and found myself rolling my eyes every other minute. Also, the narration was done well and helped me to carry on with the audiobook.

Overall, it's not bad enough to make it into my all-time worst reads, but it was a big disappointment. The beginning (after the info dump) had me hopeful, but I soon lost interest and the only joy I found was my amusement at the cheesy "f*ckity f*ck f*ck" dialogue.

Enjoyed this! Quite the brutal world, with our heroine thrown in to struggle and learn as best she can, in a harsh new environment I wouldn't want to be tossed into.

Loved that there was a different narrator for each of the men, helped give them a separation their written characterisation maybe didn't quite do on its own. Also enjoyed Alexis as a character, she's pretty awesome especially considering what she faced - I could root for her! There were some ways she didn't conform to expectations that made me smile.

Looking forward to book 2, but wonder how the setting up of the world and its ways in this first book will be followed up. Am a bit concerned with the men folks emphasis on sexy times at the end of the book - it jarred. After all the emphasis on Alexis' character and difficult experiences, it seemed to suggest they are going to hit the bedroom for some considerable time for a bit of hate sex in book 2. I'm really hoping this won't turn into one of those tedious ... And then they fell into bed and all of a sudden the heroine's brain malfunctioned and now can only spend half the time functioning, the other half is now to be spent drooling over muscles - sexy times are fun, sudden loss of plot progress is not. I want to see Alexis conquer her new world!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well I'm not sure what this was but it was definitely something. I'm a sucker for Greek Mythology so absolutely thought this would be right up my street and I would have been right if my street had a car crash on it. It took a while for me to get into because I couldn't get into the narration but eventually I did. I enjoyed the sarcasm and the internal monologues but there were just so much of it to the point of repetition.

Described as dark romance, I fail to see where the romance was. One of the love interests is obsessed with her, stalks her a little bit then tricks her into marrying him and the other love interest. So no romance at all. I will say that the tension between Alexis and Augustus was delicious though. To be completely honest I was much more intrigued with Achilles. A man who doesn't speak, wears a muzzle and has death tattooed on his knuckles? I'm sat.

I also could not get behind some of the language used in this. Using phrases like 'dicked down' in a Fantasy setting is wild.

My favourite character in this entire book was the snake and I'm interested to see what her deal is. I think I might be just interested enough to read the next one. I guess time will tell.

I liked the idea of this book I just don't think it was executed as well as it could have been which is disappointing.