Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others
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When Blood of Hercules came out in the summer, I’ve read it right away and was swept away with the characters, the story and the smut. There are so much right vibes with this book and the dry comments made me laugh out loud.
Later, I found out that the audiobook is multiple cast and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to listen to this book as well. It was great to listen to it!

If you want to read a romantasy with Olympian vibes, morally grey men, a sassy FMC with dry comments, a ferocious snake who wants to kill everyone and has a great smut tast than I definitely recommend this book. I can’t wait till the next book is out next year!

Blood of Hercules is a romantasy that plunges readers into a futuristic world filled with Olympians and Spartans. I REALLY wanted to love this and I was so excited to read it but it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

I really liked the concept of futuristic greek mythology, even though it took me a while to wrap my head around them having guns etc. I wanted a little more worldbuilding, I think because this is such a niche concept, I struggled sometimes to truly imagine the world. Unfortunately the writing style and choices had me rolling my eyes on more than one occasion. The humour throughout wasn’t for me, it really reminded me of 2000s American high school humour - maybe this just fell flat because I’m British?

I really struggled to connect with the characters on the whole. With Alexis, a lot of her internal dialogue was quite repetitive, especially with the sheer number of times that she says she’s going to k!ll herself or that she’s never going to talk again. I found myself wanting to shake her to speak up and actually say half of the stuff she was thinking! However, I understand that her being awkward and shy is a trauma response.

Patros is probably my favourite MC, but unfortunately he was only really in the first and last part of the book. I will say that the narrators were fabulous though, especially the narrator for Alexis - she truly brought the character to life!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I devoured this in 24 hours, so it’s absolutely getting rounded up to 5!


Read if you like:
- Fourth Wing crossed with Powerless and hints of Zodiac Academy, all set in an urban Greek mythology-inspired world
- Morally grey men
- War academies
- Death trials
- Greek mythology vibes
- Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
- Animal companions
- Grumpy/grumpy dynamics
- Delicious ‘Who did this to you?’moments
- ‘Touch her and you die’ energy
- A disabled but strong and stabby FMC

The dedication told me straight away this book was written for me, it read ‘To all the girls who like morally grey fictional men and screamed out loud the first time they read ‘’Who did this to you?’’ I knew right then the book was going to be enjoyable

A big thank you to HarperVoyager Audio for the audio ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book and was so excited to get it early. It was addictive - I flew through it in under 24 hours. It’s packed with everything I have previously enjoyed in a romantasy:

- A fierce FMC who gave me Fourth Wing Violet vibes
- Deadly trials that felt like Powerless but better (from what I’ve heard it sounds more like Serpent of the Night but I haven’t finished that yet)
- MMCs oozing Zodiac Academy energy
- A rich Greek mythology background woven through the story.

I’ll be honest: this book isn’t out there trying to win awards for literary prose, and that’s okay. It’s the book equivalent of a comforting dessert: bingeable, familiar, and totally satisfying. If you are not looking for that you may not enjoy it as much.

The story is set in a futuristic, Greek-inspired world and follows Alexis, a ‘mortal’ girl hardened by a life of abuse and struggle. She enters the Coliseum at Sparta Academy for a chance at immortality - or to die trying. The concept is brilliant, and while it leans on familiar tropes, Jasmine Maas brings them together in a way that works.

The pacing starts off slow with a lot of world-building, but once it kicks into gear, it doesn’t let up. I actually loved the slower start - it gave me time to really connect with Alexis and understand her. Most of the book is from her POV, and her internal monologue makes her feel so vivid and real.

I’ll admit, I saw the big twist coming, but I didn’t mind- the journey to get there was so good. It gave me Powerless vibes in that sense (I guessed the twist there too but still enjoyed every moment).

The audiobook is narrated by Teddy Hamilton, Tristan Morris, Aiden Snow, and Meg Sylvan. While I found the narration pacing a bit slow and had to crank it up to 2.5x (and I’m usually a 1.7- 2x listener), the overall narration was good. Meg Sylvan, in particular, really brought Alexis to life, capturing her thoughts and emotions perfectly.

Overall: This has all the makings of the next big TikTok romatasy for 2024. It’s fun, bingeable, and packed with everything readers love in the genre. I can already see it becoming a massive hit. I would love to see the world explored more in the next book but I see this getting better and better as the series progresses. I think the speed I read this speaks volumes about how gripping the story is.

I’m dying for Book 2 already - if I manage to snag another ARC, I’ll be delighted as I wish I could binge the series now. Also let’s talk about the special editions that I’ve heard are on the cards - this book is made for gorgeous sprayed edges, and I cannot wait to see/ buy them!

DNF at 50%.

I feel like at 50% into any book, you should care about the book in some way shape or form. Care about the characters. I found this was not the case.

The language is so… weird for a fantasy book.
The synopsis of the book had great potential but the execution did nothing to capture me

The only thing I will remember from this book is the overuse of “someone did xyz (it was me)”. More than one use of that is too much… I lost count how many times that was used.


As for the narrators, I would say the female narrator spoke incredibly slowly, and I had to listen at 2.5x (I’m usually 1.8x-2.0x)
Teddy Hamilton however did a great job (as always). Just a shame that 50% of the way through he only had 2 chapters to narrate.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the Audiobook ARC

I would like to thank the editor for this free copie of the book (audio format).
I kept seeing this book on socials so I was really intrigued because I enjoy Reverse Harem and mythological retelling so this book sounded just right for me.
However, this book did not live up to the hype in my opinion.
First of all, I could not connect with the main character because she did not feel concrete as if the author couldn’t really decide on which character traits to give her.
I also struggled to actually ship the love interests because their personalities felt too similar from one another. For me, RH is a genre where you can lean on stereotypes so I expected a cinnamon roll MMC, the bad boy, the rich one of the group that is also older but wants to protect the FMC at all cost, etc.
But I felt like all the MMCs had the same character traits : extremely hot and all hate the FMC.
Another aspect of the book that I could not connect with was the writing and the humor in particular. It was part actually funny, part extremely cringe and maybe trying a little too hard.
The writing also made it hard to easily follow the flow of the book making the pacing at times super slow and at times super fast.
That being said it was an interesting universe and the RH was perfect for this setting because fantasies like these always make the most sense for multiple partners in my opinion. Unfortunately if felt like a poor execution to me.

I read this book like I binge watch tabloid reality TV shows.
THE DRAMA, MY GOD!
Blood of Hercules by @jasminemasbooks will definitely keep you entertained with its witty banter and references to birds as government drones that clearly only exist to spy on you. In reality, this is a mix between a Greek mythology retelling and the hunger games (add in a touch of a dramatic reality TV show) set in a futuristic dystopian world where humans get shit on for the benefit of the gods.

I am BEGGING you to read this story and send me your thoughts, because I am left utterly bewildered and flummoxed...

If you like...

✨ Greek Mythology ✨
✨ Who did this to you?! ✨
✨ Multiple POV ✨
✨ Slow Burn RH ✨
✨ Enemies to Lovers ✨

This one is for you! Personally I really liked all the monsters and animals in this story! Especially the snake and sirens! Make sure to pick this one up when it releases later this month!!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. There wasn’t enough detail about the characters or their world for me. The book is well narrated but I was confused at times, because a lot is unexplained. This is no reflection on the author and I’m still grateful for the opportunity.

Attack on Titans meets Greek mythology meets war camp meets dark romance.
I am so conflicted because this was brain rot fun… until it wasn’t?

Alexis has a poor, abused, and traumatic childhood in a world infested by monstrous Titans and barely protected by mainly uncaring Spartans - immortals with god-like powers who rule over a world.
Life can’t get much worse. Then, Alexis is discovered to have Spartan blood and she is forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, the only and first girl to face the gruelling tests (pure torture). Somehow, it is worse than high school.

For some reason, the Chthonic families seem weirdly obsessed and possessive with her. That’s not good as Chthonics had powers that only hurt others, such as torture, mind control, pain. They are the ones forced to fight Titans to keep them in line against the Olympians.

Alexis is allocated to the Crimson Duo - Patro and Achilles. They are hot. They are dangerous. They hate how weak Alexis is. She appears powerless. There is no way she will survive. She concurs and regularly comes up with creative ways she could off herself.

As you can tell, this isn’t my usual read. Dark, possessive romance. Reverse harem seemingly. A heroine who has the most annoying and cringy inner monologue.

Saying that, I had an UNDERWORLD of a time. This was like brain candy. It was so fun. Alexis is the reason this is so addictive. Her sarcasm and dry stream of conscious was extremely entertaining.

Plus, Alexis has a homicidal and sexually frustrated snake best friend that only she can see, understand, and speak to. Nyx is the best wing girl. Also, quite disturbing.

<b>Blood was everywhere.
She screamed in my face—I screamed back.
Oh, look, we're harmonizing. Mozart would have loved this.
</b>
Okay, admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of the possessive, psychotic, overbearing alpha a-holes. And the lack of understanding and communication between them and Alexis FRUSTRATED me so much.

Also, Alexis’s naivety for a 19-year old was crazily unbelievable. If she were maybe 15 years old, I could understand some of her thoughts, jokes, and reasoning. But at 19?!

Finally, I just have to mention without delving into spoiler territory, the last part of the book was my least favourite. That ending was like one star.⭐️ I am glad the rest of the book was not like that, but I am now not sure if I would be inclined to pick up the next one. It for sure became dark romance DARK and messed up.

Overall, a very mixed back. Was I seated and addicted? Up until the last part, YES! Would I recommended it? I think if you like books like the Zodiac Academy or Broken Bonds, yes. Or if you can deal with my complaints which are more to do with the genre (which I don’t typically read). Otherwise, probably not.
For me, this is between three and two stars…🌟

Thank you to Harper Voyager for sending me a physical arc in exchange for a review!

Thank you NetGalley for this audibook ARC.

Honestly, I don't know what crack Jasmine puts in her books, because I consumed this book in a day! This audiobook really takes the story to the next level and the narrators absolutely smashed it out the park,

This is book 1 in a new Roman mythology-inspired story set in a monster-invested apocalyptic future realm.

Our FMC Alexis Hert, finds out at the age of 19 that she is in fact, a rare female demi-god spartan 'mutt and is immediately thrown into a Spartan trial called a crucible.

Here she meets her new two Mentors Paro and Achilles, her professor Augustus and her trainer Kharon who all are infamous for being powerful but evil billionaires.

There is a loads of politics and government plotting happening in the background, all while Alexis is trying to survive the crucible and these four Spartans who seem to be obsessed with her.
I can't wait for more books in this series!

If you enjoyed Jasmines previous series, Psycho Shifters , this has a similar vibe of strong FMC and hot-obsessed dark love interests with a lot of fighting and dark politics.

Alexis is 19 and lived her whole life trying to survive in a Titan infested world.
The Spartans, immortals with god-like powers, rule over all. After a blood test reveals she is at least part Spartan, she is forced to attend the Spartan War Academy and if she passes the test she will become immortal.
Achilles and Patro, two scary warriors, are her mentors and Kharon (the ferryman of death) and Augustus (the son of war) are her professors.

I listened to the audiobook and Meg Sylvan does a great job with multiple characters. Her voice sounds different depending on the character. And she managed to transport me in Alexis’ mind. Most of the book is told from her POV and depending on her mental and physical state, Meg changed her voice to enhance the situation.
There are also a few chapters from Kharon, Augustus and Patro’s POVs and the fact that there are different narrators helped. They are narrated by Teddy Hamilton, Tristan Morris and Aiden Snow.

Even if the book is inspired by Greek mythology, it is set in the future in a post apocalyptic world. The beginning is a bit slow, but the pacing is faster after Alexis gets in the War Academy.
She suffers a lot there and it is clear that she is depressed. There is a lot of self deprecating inner monologue that she uses to cope with the situations she encounters. Also, she is obsessed with Carl Gauss and maths.

The love interests are villainous, unhinged and possessive. The romance is a slow burn and there is only a bit of spice at the end.
I wish there was more chapters from their POV, I especially want to know more about Patro and Achilles.

I received an ALC from Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.