I did read Blood of Hercules when it was first released, I really enjoyed it and liked the twist of who Hercules was. I do prefer to read a written book before then listening to the audiobook. The female narrator does an excellent job of showing Alexis’ exhaustion and I don’t think I fully appreciated her delirium when I read it originally. This is an audiobook I could listen to over and over again

I love fantasy stories but I don’t normally like Greek/Spartan mythology books, but this is a very different take. This is very much a two sided read, and I can see from reviews this book I can see from reviews this book. I come down on the like side. There is a lot of descriptive violence, bullying and abuse. That may make it sound this is a dark, uncomfortable and unsettling listen. But all of this is totally tempered by Alexis’ snarky and self deprecating commentary. There were so many times I would chuckle at her responses. Small thing, towards the end, that for me seemed out of place based on Alexis’ reactions to everything that came before. That was during the ball scene when she seems to lose all her common sense. I look forward to more from Alexis in future books. Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump (and no, it hardly counts as cheating, even though it is an audiobook we are talking about).
The story is fast-paced, intriguing, and simple enough to slowly lure you in. Before you know it, you're rooting for Alexis and being Nyx’s number-one fan.
As the author warns several times, the themes are quite dark so make sure you read the list of trigger warnings before starting.
But If you checked them and you're ready to read/listen, you are in for a ride. Absolutely worth the praise it gets.
Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity and for granting me this arc.

I am obsessed 😍 This is absolutely one of my top reads of the year and I’m so sad I have to wait for the next installment as I need it now 😂
I adored Alexis, she’s such a nerd and I loved her approach to nearly dying everyday. She’s funny and the mystery surrounding her in the book had me hooked!
Kharon and Augustus were the more central male characters in this book and I love them both. The overprotective but grumpy professor role is one of my fav 🥰
Achilles and Patro are still a mystery to me but I am excited to find out more about them in the next book 🤞🏼
Also any book that involves trials is an instant win for me, just can’t get enough of it 🙌🏼

✨ Dark Why Choose romance
✨ Fantasy Greek mythology
✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ War academy trials

💕 All the animals! 🦝 🐆 🐍 🐺
💕 The backstory for Alexis
💕 The siren scene
💕 Who did this to you

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌶️


Thank you to @Netgalley for the audiobook!
The audio was perfection for me. I’ve only recently started listening to audios and I adored the voices for this one.
The narrator for Alexis was spot on, she captured the humour and the uniqueness that is Alexis and I loved how she voiced Nyxx
The guys all did a fantastic job, their voices were amazing and have me so excited to hopefully hear more from their POV in the next book

3.5 stars the internal monologue of the main character was funny and slapstick but sometimes felt a bit forced at times and a bit immature this book 100% is a ya but added spice at the end I don’t think the spice at the end was needed it could of just been left as a slow burn in my opinion because the basis of the whole book is quite young adult. If there wasn’t the funny immature sometimes monologue and the situation alexis was in was more taken seriously in the storyline it would of been 5 stars. I feel like the hidden secret was glazed over and could have been told in more depth.

The premise for this book had me intrigued but it unfortunately missed the mark across the board. 80% of this book is a poorly written internal dialogue of an incredibly abused girl being tortured in different ways. The "tik-tok language" was shocking and I have never read so many pointless parentheticals. There is zero romance in the entirety of this book, no found family, and the animal companion I wish redeemed this letdown of a book said things like "I knew you had it in you bestie, pussy power, crush the patriarchy" among other cringe-worthy dialogue between them. None of the MMCs had any redeeming qualities so they could have all kicked rocks and I wouldn't have batted an eye. I'm still not sure what the point was of giving them random POV chapters?? The only redeeming quality about this book was the hot AF character art of our pathetically pointless MMCs. This was nearly my second DNF of the year but was hoping the end might be epic and redeem it. Unfortunately not the case 😔

✨ Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of the audiobook, my views are my own. Meg Sylvan can do no wrong but even she couldn't make me like this book ✨

I really thought I was going to love this because I have always been a sucker for mythology and I love fantasy fiction but….

Firstly, I don’t know if this is just because, although I read a lot of fantasy, I don’t read ‘romantasy’, but the level of writing was pretty basic.

Secondly, I don’t get it. 90% of the book is suitable for a young teen audience and then the other 10% is quite graphic - either sex or swearing or both. I found this kind of inconsistency quite irritating. I mean, it literally ends with a bang 💥 ❗️

Thirdly, I don’t believe that there are any 19 year olds living a life of such deprivation who are also that naive or that wouldn’t recognise signs of sexual predation when they see it. I mean, come on.

I could go on but you’ve probably got the gist.

I really appreciate and am grateful to NetGalley, the publisher, HarperCollins UK Audio and the author, Jasmine Mas, for an advanced audio recording of this in exchange for an honest review. I’m sorry, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I’ve only ever read a couple of fantasy books previously so I wasn’t really sure what to expect for this book. I absolutely loved it. I’m not sure if it helped ease me into it that the characters were ‘familiar figures’ even though they are much different that the myths. I lived alexis’ strength, although sometimes I did find her a bit to naive. I was hooked right from the start. I liked that we only got glimpses of the other perspective too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook copy to read in exchange for a review.

Blood of Hercules follows Alexis, who grew up as an impoverished and abused foster child. At school, a blood test reveals that she is a Spartan, who are members of immortal families with powers. She has to compete to prove that she deserves immortality, but she has to deal with her scary mentors and intimidating professors, along with the dangerous challenges.

I thought the premise was interesting. I love a good competition, and I always like to see female characters push back against the status quo. She was definitely different compared to traditional main characters, and the addition of Nyx made for an interesting dynamic.

I will say that as time went on, I did get more interested about where the book would end up. Some of the twists and turns were intriguing, too, although I did guess some plot points.

However, this book was unfortunately not for me. Alexis’s inner voice was very distinct, and she simply annoyed me. I think if you mesh with her humour, you could love this book. However, because I didn’t, I found it hard to connect with her as a main character and I just didn’t find her comments funny.

This is actually set in the future, but I was a bit confused at the beginning based on how the world building was introduced. It might be that I wasn’t paying proper attention to the audiobook, but I think it could have been clearer. The inconsistent mythology and pronunciations was a source of frustration for me.

This is marketed as a dark romance. Dark romance is one thing, but I really hated basically all the male characters in this book. They had no development beyond being brutal killers, and no matter how hard the author tried, I did not feel convinced by the “relationships” in this at all.

As a disclaimer, I did study Classics, so I’m picky with how Greek mythology comes across in books. I actually like reading new takes, and I don’t necessarily mind a lack of accuracy depending on the story. However, all of the Greek gods, names, creatures etc in this book felt completely pointless. It was all a big jumble and I couldn’t see any logical connections, so I think it might have been better to keep the concept but have original names for all the characters.

I know I’m probably in the minority with this opinion, but I was disappointed. I think enjoyment really will hinge on what you think of Alexis’s inner voice and the writing style. This book didn’t do it for me, so I won’t be continuing on with this series.

I loved this, I thought it was funny and well written. I kept forgetting one of the plot points as I feel like it could have been a bit more fleshed out at the beginning, so I kept getting confused when the main character would say things like "he needs to get stabbed 23 times", and obviously the death of Julius Caesar took place after the events of the book, but the comedy made up for that, and I could move past it.
A loose retelling of Hercules but if you're looking for something historical, funny with a dash of romance, then this'll do the trick.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I've listened to over 100+ audiobooks this year and this is honestly one of my favourites! The writing of the book is incredible but also the performances of the four person narrator cast really bring the story to life!

Honestly, this book was the perfect mixed of mythology, plot and spice! I devoured it and absolutely couldn't get enough. The world setting at the beginning, the introduction to the characters and the development. I like how plot points are revealed throughout the book, done tactically and just keep you in the world of the story. There is the perfect amount of pop culture references to set the timeline but also not pull you too much out of the story. I normally enjoy a spicy book, this book didn't have too much but it was the perfect amount for this story - it added to the story in the right way and didn't feel like it was written in for the sake of it!

My only criticism - having to wait until OCTOBER 2025 for the sequel!!!

Thank you to @netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the
ARC Audiobook for this book! (Released on the 21st of November this year)
My absolute favourite thing about this audiobook is that it actually read out the trigger warnings in the beginning of the book? It really frustrates me when audiobooks DONT do that.
This audiobook was done so well. The fact that there were multiple narrators and POVs made it so much more engaging and enjoyable! I found myself giggling a lot at the FMCS internal monologue and dark humour
This overall was a unique retelling, very different from the other Greek mythology romance books!!

One of my favourite audiobooks of the year! So entertaining. The author has really nailed the use of comedy in her writing and the voice actors executed it perfectly. I already miss the story and need book 2!!

4 stars

Blood of Hercules is a Hercules retelling, but Hercules is a woman and has to survive this school like institution.. so a very loose retelling. If you were a fan of K.F. Breene's Ruin of Roses, which is essentially a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a lot of smut and goes a fair bit away from source material - this will be down your street.

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did, but I found myself addicted to the dark romance and I struggled to put it down. It is kind of silly and depressing, but the main character is pretty lighthearted and funny with it. It might not be a masterpiece, but it was exactly what I needed and I am really glad I picked it up.

I listened to the audiobook for this, and thought the voice acting was absolutely excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I literally could not put this book down. It kept me up reading well past my bedtime, glued to the pages, waiting for some follow through on some intense slow burn (though I wouldn’t yet call this a romance book in any way 😂).
<i>’There was comfort in wearing a mask and pretending everything was all right. I’d done it every day of my miserable life.’</i>
Alexis’ self-deprecating sarcastic inner monologue was genuinely hilarious, and even though the themes and events are dark in this story I loved it and found myself laughing (often). The narrator was absolutely INCREDIBLE and I loved the fact that you could hear how tired, sarcastic and at times exhausted Alexis was, with the narrator putting so much emotion and feeling into this story. Alexis is strong and tenacious and I think she was an all round well developed character, rolling with the punches to the best of her ability with no idea of what is actually happening around her.
I enjoyed that the occasional chapter was told from a few of the different male POV’s and found it added a nice depth to the characters, though currently beyond ‘psycho killers with unhealthy obsessions ’ I’m not sure what else could be said. I’m really looking forward to exploring their characters more in following books, and I really enjoyed the fact that this book had duel narrators.
I found the end was a bit rushed (talking about the ending without a spoiler is HARD but I feel like a whole lot needed to be faced and acknowledged between a certain event and a certain other event 🙈😅) and I’m not sure where this story will go in the second book but I AM crushed I have to wait a year for it 😭
4.5⭐️

This book is so good!!

I listened to the whole audiobook in one sitting, I cannot wait for the next book.

The story was truly gripping and never slowed down, the characters felt real, each one with a very distinct personality and the narrators did a wonderful job at portraying each of their voices. The main character was hilarious, I was laughing out loud constantly!

I loved her friendship with Nix and her protectiveness over Charlie.

The way the narrator voiced the main character made me feel like I was right there with her feeling all the exhaustion.

I think I've found my new favourite author, I'm gonna start reading all her books right after finishing this review.

Thank you so much Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the arc!!!

I'm torn, I enjoyed elements of the plot yet some aspects were annoying.

Alexis and her apathy for death was refreshing to read about instead of the usual hopeful FMC, because she was strong willed and just trying to get back to her brother. Although at the same time there were parts where she didn't stick up for herself and just went with the flow. Yes she was thrust into this new world, but she didn't ask any questions and flip flopped between, no I must get back to Charlie - to - yey it's over too much.

Nyx at the beginning of the book was absolutely brilliant but then she takes a back seat and I wish we got to hear more from her.

All the men in this book were very surface level, none of them really showed anything about themselves rather than evil, brooding and also reluctant to ask any questions.

Overall it was ok, but I don't think i will continue with the series, which is a shame because the world building was also great.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was completely engrossed in this book. Although impar I felt it was a little bit dragged out and the language was a little juvenile. I enjoyed the story and especially enjoyed the character of the snake. I would definitely be interested in reading the sequel to this it was a novel telling of a Greek mythological tale.

This book being set in the 2090s was quite the jump scare, I was expecting a fun new take on Ancient Greece and was unpleasantly surprised to find I was reading a dystopian novel. The expectations I had for this book were completely misaligned to what it actually is.

I began on the wrong foot with this book after the beginning chapter of info-dump world building. My feelings did not improve as the book progressed.

I found the humour and writing style extremely cringy and the childish narration only exasperated this further for me.

I binged Blood of Hercules in a day, even though the writing was so cringe at times. (Free the n!pple and the lips. Vag!nal?) This was repeated a LOT.

It was a slow burn and I love that but just wish there was more chemistry with Patro and Achilles because they felt more brotherly than the main two love interests but I assume that will change in the second book.

It was an addictive read and I will definitely continue the series even if the writing is a bit questionable and the world building is often ridiculous.