Unfortunately I was not getting on with this book and DNFd at 15% in. I think that's more of my reading preferences than it being bad per say.

3.5 STARS. I love anything greek/roman gods related and this aspect of this story did not disappoint. There were aspects that I felt I didn't really enjoy - such as some of the quips that the main character made which I didn't find funny but I think that was reflective of her mental state. I wish the spice had started earlier than it did as it was a long wait but I am excited to see how it plays out in the next book. I think overall I was left with a lot of answers.

Fantastic, the audio really brought this book the life.
I couldn't stop listening.

It was witty, and I loved the banter.
It was a very chaotic story, which I loved, and I'm excited for the next book.

.Multiple enemies to lovers
.Forced proximity
.Academic setting
.Found family
.“Who did this to you”
.Reverse harem
.Greek mythology
.Multiple POVs

This book was so much fun! What an incredible story. I can’t believe it flew under my radar until it was nominated for the Goodreads awards. It’s such an injustice, it deserves ALL the praise. I really didn’t want it to end.

Alexis is exactly the kind of FMC I love reading about. She’s strong and resilient but also has this delightfully dark humor that clicked with my own. Her constant ramblings about dying and her self-deprecating were hilarious, and the fourth wall breaking commentary on certain situations made it even funnier. I’ve never encountered a character with a death wish quite like hers 😂

There are so many interesting male characters orbiting around Alexis. I can’t wait to see more of Parto and Achilles. I already love their tender relationship, and I hope we get more of it in future books. Augustus and Kharon are HOT (yes, capital letters), though I wasn’t happy with how they handled some things. I enjoy a possessive MMC, but their behavior crossed into “too much” territory for me.

Charlie is such a mystery. I’m convinced he’s immortal too, and I’m betting he’ll be Helen’s love interest later on. But if I had to pick one standout, the award definitely goes to Nyx. She’s unhinged, psychopathic, and absolutely amazing. I love her.

There is one spicy scene toward the end that, while undeniably hot, felt unnecessary. I wanted their relationship to mature more before they went there (I’m surprised too. I can’t believe I’m saying this either). It felt like it was thrown in just to add some smut before the book wrapped up.

I listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic. Augustus’s voice was melting, and the female narrator was perfect. Still, I wish I had a physical copy too so I could slow down and soak it all in. I’m already planning to reread it closer to the next book’s release because I can’t wait!

Ah! This audiobook was the perfect listen for anyone who has been a fan of fourth wing. Kharon and Augustus, the terrifying professors sound so hot - I mean so mysterious - they are clearly up to something but I cannot wait to see how this progresses. This book was really tame in the "spice" market but I can tell you the next in the series will be spot on! Alexis is hilariously sarcastic and has survived more than anyone else and I truly loved the connection between her and her animals.

I cannot wait to continue this series! Thank you netgalley for letting me listen to this book and write a review. I needed this.

🏛️BLOOD OF HERCULES🏛️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blood of Hercules is a Greek mythology inspired dark romantasy set in a war academy. There are villainous love interests (yes INTERESTS, you heard me right), gods, gladiators, warriors, animal companions, and it’s packed with everyone’s favourite tropes 👀🥵

If you’re a fan of feral FMCs (F E R A L‼️), I think you’ll love this one! This girl genuinely needs help 💀

I actually found this book quite hard to rate because I am pretty conflicted with this one! I read the entire thing in pretty much one sitting so I can’t deny that it was addictive and kept me hooked. I don’t think I was prepared for just how feral (and highkey odd??) the FMC would be and some of the scenes made me severely cringe but also I couldn’t stop reading. But also, if I had the option to read book 2 RIGHT NOW, I absolutely would. SO IT’S HARD but for sheer addictiveness and the fact that it’s living rent-free in my head, I went for 4 stars! I think this is one of those junk food books that are great for pulling you out of a reading slump, and this one did exactly that for me!

I was also approved for the audiobook recently (after I already finished the book sadly) but I listened to a few of my favourite scenes and I really enjoyed the narration so I’d recommend that if you’re a fan of audiobooks!

I had such high expectations after seeing everyone singing its praises online. This was my first Jasmine Mas read and honestly I’m not sure I’d read another. I really struggled to be interested by the characters, they were all very one dimensional and the men were totally insufferable. It’s such a shame because I think I could’ve liked the premise had things been different. I also struggled with the voices used in the audiobook but it might just have been the content? I’m not really sure, just not my thing. I can totally see how some people might enjoy it and find it bingeable though.

Regardless, thank you so much for allowing me to listen to the audiobook on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an okay book. It's not bad but it's not revolutionary either.
I cringed one too many times at what the MMCs sometimes tried to say "attractive things". There is also a big chuck of lack of informed consent happening in this book on a variety of topics that should be looked at a bit closer.
Overall the story is intresting but gets lost and diminished by these overbearing MMCs that while they are supposed to be attractive they end up being off-putting. Thank God for the racoon.

2.5 ⭐️

It pains me to say that I just could not get into this book. Gosh, I had such high expectations and I wanted to pre-order every beautiful special edition…but I’m thankful I haven’t.

Let’s start with the female protagonist, Alexis. I’m all for feminism and empowerment of women but she was such a dislikable character throughout. I found her extremely difficult to connect with, really childish and very frustrating. I’m struggling to understand how she was supposedly 19. The forced humour(?) was a hard read. I found myself continuously rolling my eyes but perhaps it’s because I’m British and it’s more American humour? It just didn’t flow; if anything, it made the book really disjointed and hard to enjoy.

I absolutely love most things to do with Greek Mythology as there are so many family trees and complex individuals but I struggled a bit to remember who was who. That being said, maybe in the physical copies of the book there’s more information readily available.

I found the MMCs very unlikeable too but I suppose the silver lining was that they were portrayed exactly as Greek mythology describes them. As an fyi, the male narrating in the audiobook is not the one.

The actual story was very hard to listen to. I found there to be massive jumps and gaps that didn’t really make any sense. A lot of the chapters were filled with inner monologues that brought childish and teenage elements into a supposed adult novel.

I enjoyed the description of powers and bonding animals but would’ve liked more information on them. I feel like the book lacked in many areas where things needed to be explored more.

Charlie was continuously mentioned but also never deemed important enough to try and see up until the end and seemed rather random to add to the story. Nyx was very much involved throughout but we never received a true explanation as to why she ended up with Alexis and how she is bonded to someone but, we are never given anymore information than that. Again, this adds to the disjointed aspects of the novel.

I don’t know if perhaps the author wanted to really push to make this a modern day Hercules and perhaps that’s why 1. She’s female? 2. The constant use of “tiktok” / “modern day” slang was used? I.e “C***, absolute c*** served” and “pu*** power, f*** the patriarchy!” “You need to get d***** down”.

I’m thankful I was able to listen to an advanced audiobook of this novel through NetGalley even though my opinion is not what I had hoped unfortunately.

I am completely and utterly obsessed with this book. Extremely morally grey men, war academy, so much storyline and well crafted plot. The world building is so subtle and easy to get into whilst being incredibly vibrant. Greek gods, power dynamics, this book had it all.

Well I absolutely loved this!

I've been mood reading my way through the month and saw this book....sounds fab I thought. And I was so right!

Alexis is a homeless orphan who is very academic. But, when a test reveals she has Spartan blood, she is whisked off to a version of actual hell! Her mentors are Patro and Achilles, Augustus is her professor and Kharon (aka Karen!!) has been given the job of basically tormenting the students in the crucible!

This book was funny. I mean laugh out loud funny. Alexis's inner monologue was exquisite!

I won't really say anything about the plot, the love interest or the psychotic tendencies of some of the characters in this book but you need to read this.....

~ Dark fantasy
~ Greek gods returned
~ Set in the future
~ Godly politics
~ War academy
~ Very morally grey love interests
~ Who did this to you vibes
~ An amazing animal sidekick (hssssss!)
~ A sneaky reveal, well 2, that made my jaw drop!

I could not get past the first few chapters
Narration was just awful, I know it’s multiple narrators but the first one just made want to give up so i did

5 ⭐️
3 🌶️
1st person multiples POVs
RH

Loved the world building, it’s not your typical traditional fantasy book, especially by the writing, but I enjoyed it

The FMC Alexis is completely unhinged, and very likeable. I laughed and gasped so many times, there’s such dark humour, I loved her for it.

Can’t wait for the next book! Countdown is on, October 2025!

The audio was great, the different voice actors for each role is a favourite of mine.

Thank you netgalley and Harpercollins for the audio arc.

The magical world was mesmerizing from the beginning till the end of the book. I absolutely loved each chapter of this book as it amazingly focused on the development of our protagonist along with the background build up. All the characters were mesmerizing starting from the protagonist to her nanny, a magical creature that I can't even imagine in that role.
I had a great time reading this book.

DNF at 14%
Honestly, I wanted to DNF earlier, but I wanted to give this a chance.
The prologue is...preetty much a standard prologue. But then we get this whole infodump that reads like an author's outline of how the story needs to start, and it reads very much like this. Then this happened. Then this happened.
By the time we get to chapter 1, the MC is 10, living with foster parents, sleeping in a cardboard box, and a stammer that echibits itself around humans, but not invisible poisonous snakes? Ok.

But when she hits high school, of course, at 19, she is studying Riemann's Hypothesis (one of the famous Unsolved Problems of Mathematics) and believes that in a couple of months she could have solved it - a genuine thought running through her head as she is placed in the first of what will be many (I am sure) moments where she might die. She is also, in a world where sexuality seems pretty liberated, an adherent of "agggessive celibacy".

The content warnings at the beginning of the book include bullying, but also listed the authors website to check out a full list. Which I did.
This list included sarcasm as a trigger warning.

I am sure that some people will enjoy this book. I am a passionate lover of Greek mythology and some of the retellings are PHENOMENAL. I picked this up thinking it would be a greek mythology x hunger games style book. But lo and behold, when she gets to the Spartan Academy and she is the only girl among 50 boys, I had to stop.

This was my first book with Jasmin Mas and It. This story was dark, witty, and had a strong female main characters. There were all so interesting plot twists and hidden messages throughout the books. There was excellent writing and dark humor was great. I would definitely recommend this. And the narration was excellent!
Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for providing me an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **| 5 Stars**

**Warning: This book is a DARK romantasy. Make sure to read the trigger warnings first!**

Okay, this book had me hooked! I listened to it in under 30 hours, which is alarming, considering the 15-hour runtime.

Alexis, our FMC, is one of the funniest characters I’ve encountered in a long time. Her inner monologue made me chuckle more than once. Jasmine Mas very impressively managed to build a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world while also including Greek gods and demi-gods (Spartans), morally very questionable 6’ 5’’ tattooed men (yes, plural—there’s a sort of reverse harem vibe!) who have that classic “who did this to you” energy and prefer shooting before asking questions. All this is done with slight nods to Gen-Z pop culture and language, which made it relatable. It wasn’t cringe for me, but I could imagine others might feel differently.

Nyx is hands down the best side character I have ever had the pleasure of reading about, and I feel like she is every reader’s voice included in the books.

Is this high literature for the distinguished mind? No. Did I eat it up? Absolutely! This was my first ever dark romance/romantasy, and I’m not sure I can go back now. Although it is kind of in the spirit of “I’m not like other girls” while all the men want her, I can forgive that as it is done in an excellent way. The writing style and general word choices are way above average for a book of this genre, making it delightful to read or listen to!

I highly recommend the audiobook, which Meg Sylvan primarily narrates. Her impressive voice acting beautifully brings out Alexis’s emotions. Teddy Hamilton, Tristan Morris, and Aiden Snow narrate the male POV chapters. They all do justice to their characters with their deep, raspy voices.

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
.
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!