This book is brutal in his descriptions of fights and violence!

Alexis became one of my favorite heroines, I loved her sarcasm and innocence and resilience.

As for Achilles, Patro, Kharon and Augustus... sign me up for that!! I would go through the Spartan War Academy for them!!

The banter, the funny scenes were amazing and compensated for how graphic the descriptions were.. but at the same time I feel like we needed them to be that way to fully appreciate Alexis's strougle and her victories.

This is definitely more fantasy than romance, but these toxic, manipulative men were so good, fun and interesting, that I'm more than interested to see where this new aliange will go.

I'm so curious for the next book and really want to get to know what happens now.

3⭐️

I am 100% sure this book is OVERHYPED.

It was SO funny for the first 50% but then it just became so repetitive. Did we actually need to spend so much times knowing the main character was tired and near dying????

I was excited to know the MMCs but all we got was the FMC tired inner monologue..

There was 0 characters development and the smut at the end made no sense.

However.. I admit I’m curious enough to read book two so 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

This was so fast paced and crazy, I just couldn’t put it down. It was filled with so much excitement and mystery that it truly was the page turner that I didn’t know that I needed.

It is unlike any other Greek re-telling that I have read and I gobbled it up. Such an interesting take on Hercules and the world of Greek gods. I loved Alexis and her back story and there is definitely more to it that I hope we learn about in the next book. The dark themes were also a surprise and I am intrigued.

As of right now, this isn’t really a romance….yet. I am sooo interested to see where this goes.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

Read this if you like:
🏛️ Stalker romance
🏛️ Hidden Identity
🏛️ Dark Greek mythology

Wow. I absolutely loved the storytelling in this book. The narrator is fantastic, and the story itself is so rich and engaging that I was genuinely lost in the world. I did stop halfway through and wasn't sure if I'd pick the book back up. This was not a reflection of the book or author but my problem with a certain trope. I became annoyed with everyone being so awful all the time, especially since I couldn't find compassion for the characters being jerks. I'm so glad I finished the book! The ending was perfection. And I can't wait for the next book.

An unusual take on Hercules. The book is a little slow to start, but finishes strong. Meg Sylvan; Teddy Hamilton; Aiden Snow; and Tristan Morris do a phenomenal job as narrators. If you're looking for hot scenes, it is a little lacking until then end, then jasmine Mas knocks it out of the park. I will say it's probably one of the hottest scenes I've ever read. I hope book 2 has a lot of the same

I am not usually an audio girly because for whatever reason, I tend to check out when I listen to a book. But there was something about this one that just clicked with me. Interestingly enough, it took me a bit to get into (around 20%). But after that, I was completely obsessed and incapable of setting it down for even a minute and ended up binge listening to it in one day. Suffice it to say, I was obsessed.

Having read and absolutely LOVED Jasmine's Cruel Shifteverse, I was so excited for this new world and I was not disappointed. I love Mas's combination of self depreciating humor, wit, and world building. And I especially love how she crafts these fierce FMC who survive hell to become legends. And Alexis has definitely survived hell. As an abandoned baby, she grows ups with abusive foster parents who she finally escapes at a young age when her foster mother brutally dies at the hands of a mysterious entity and her father is blamed for the death. Being left homeless with her foster brother, she is desperate to finish school so she can place herself in a situation to provide for them. But then she receives the shock of a lifetime when a standard school test finds her to have spartan blood and placed in the midst of a grueling challenge.

I enjoyed the narrator bringing Alexis to life with personality and found it fun and engaging. But I especially loved when we finally get the small trickle of POVs from 3 of the 4 men. We have Alexis's two mentors; Achiles, who doesn't speak because of his voice powers and muzzle and Patro. And then we have Augustus and Kharen, who we get the most of. There's a small snippet of Patro's POV in the end which I definitely devoured.

The story and world building was deliciously enchanting and gripping. And the romance is very much slow burn. If you've read anything by Jasmine, you're already familiar with her brand of humor. And I for one enjoy it thoroughly.

I hope book two brings us more of the male POV because I am absolutely dying to hear Achiles. If you're looking for a slow burn romantasy with unique spin on greek god mythology, this one hits just right.

A dark fantasy romance with a dystopian twist, this reimagining the Hercules myth held my interest and left me with all sorts of feels. Alexis, a desolate foster care teenager, is chosen to attend the Spartan War Academy after finding out she has royal blood. Along with its coming of age vibes, lots of action, a ton of mystery and deceit, classic villain vs hero vibes, I appreciated that Blood of Hercules also broached tough topics and the extremes one would go to protect those they love. Although the overall story was captivating and it was a retelling like I’ve never experienced, and most likely due to my inexperience in fantasy reads, I did find myself a bit confused with the numerous characters, forced romance, and a somewhat rushed plot line.. but I’ll definitely read book two !
The full cast narration was spectacular, especially the narrator voicing Alexis, with each having a depth of emotion particular to the scene(s) and their heroic or villainous character.
3.75 stars
Thanks to HarlequinAudio and NetGalley for the listening copy. Thoughts are my own, honest and voluntary.

I went into this book more or less blind so I found a lot of the story surprising. I loved Alexis's character, and her inner banter had me laughing out loud. There were bits in the middle that were slow for me tho and I wasn't a fan of the ending. I do plan to continue this series, and the audio narration was terrific!

I really jived with this book. It's exactly my brand of humor and usually I don't connect with books written in this style but it scratched the itch for me. I 100% can see how this isn't for everyone but it is incredibly entertaining for the right person. I highly recommend either print or audio (I did a tandem with both).

This was not terrible, but it wasn’t good either. At no point did I actually like the FMC, she doesn’t do anything to further the plot. The story had pacing issues and felt repetitive more than once. The most interesting characters, Achilles and Patro, aren’t given any purpose besides shock value.

I listened to the audiobook 7 months after reading the book when it was indie published. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK! It lifts the entire story - yes, even with Alex's constantly revised thoughts! If you've read it on the page, you know Alexis thinks a lot like Juliette in "Shatter Me" (Tahereh Mafi). I really enjoy the comedy in this style and was worried about how it would translate into an audio performance. But narrator Meg Sylvan does a fantastic job layering the snide commentary. In fact, the narration is less distracting than the text and allowed the true experience to shine through.

I had missed the romantic intentions that developed with Augustus and Kharon when I read it on my own (maybe I'm more like Alexis than I realized). But in the audiobook, I clearly gathered their growing interest and the machinations implemented to save Alexis from her trials. And I now know the correct pronounciation of "Kharon" hahaha...

"Blood of Hercules" is a contemporary greek tragedy which thrusts 19-year old Alexis Hert into an arena of demigods. Though she's grown up abused and homeless, her blood test revealed Spartan heritage so now she has endure one year of Spartan training. Misunderstood by her dark mentors and darker professors, she suffers brutal physical and mental trauma. But she does it with the nihilistic attitude of Gen Z that's really entertaining. She's survived worse... well, she's survived with less. And if she survives the year, she'll have the power to flee and save her brother.

The romance is a slooooow burn so be prepared to lock in for a full series. But I'm excited by the original and chaotic mind of Jasmine Mas.

This was SO GOOD !!

I loved the style of the narrators as well as the story im super excited for the next book.

10/10 please keep the same audio style for the next book !!

Oh my goodness did I absolutely DEVOUR this!! The narrators were SO GOOD and did such an amazing job. I definitely wish we had gotten mode of teddy and Aiden but hopefully book 2 will have more of the males POVs since this was mainly told from Alexis’s POV.

Alexis’s inner monologues had me cackling 😂 this book was so fun & unserious and I loved it. I love that she was actually Hercules & not one do the men. I also loved the dystopian/post apocalyptic vibes of the story mixed with the fantasy and Greek mythology elements. This was definitely a SLOOOOOW BURN 🔥 but I love those so I was eating up every bit of it. Hopefully we’ll get more romance and more interactions between the MC’s and more of the men in book 2 cause sheesh were they hawt 🥵

This definitely breaches on some heavy topics so definitely check TWs but if you’re of books with darker themes, fantasy, trials & morally grey men, then definitely add this one to your TBR! I can’t wait for the one!

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the gifted listener’s copy 🎧💛

Tropes:
- Why Choose
- Slow Burn
- Enemies to lovers
- Greek mythology elements
- Morally grey MMCs
- Trials

3.5 ⭐️ Vibes. This book is straight. Vibes.
If you’ve read Zodiac Academy book 1 and thought “what the heck did I just read” but also “you know what, hell yeah” simultaneously, this book is for you 🤣

I really enjoyed both male narrators (Teddy Hamilton & Aiden Snow) as well as the female narrator that played Alexis. I did NOT vibe with the character narration for the fate (especially in the prologue). It nearly made me DNF because of the over sexual tone and rasp. It was… just not placed well.

As for the content of the book. Um… it was a TRIP. I highly recommend going into this one 100% blind lol that made it even better.

I do feel like there was a bit of a disconnect with the romance aspect of the novel. It kind of felt like it was written as a YA fantasy and that the romance and spicy-ness of it was an afterthought and last minute addition. Like the tension was there, but ultimately kind of fell flat. The pure hatred towards the MMCs and the whole mystery/secret plot is fantastic!

The way these Cthonics and Spartans were played up to be absolute HORNDOGS and then they gave absolutely ✨nothing✨… 😵‍💫 The one group “party” scene also gave YA turned orgy vibes.

THAT BEING SAID, the potential for the next novel has me NEEDING it right now.

Absolutely loved it! The voice actors and actresses kept me engaged. Anything with Aiden Snow or Teddy Hamilton is a go to for me! I can’t wait for book 2! Thank you so much for the chance to listen to it on NetGalley!

This dark romantasy had me hooked me with its academic vibes, morally grey men, and I’m a sucker for Greek mythology (set in more modern times). Alexis’s death-wish energy, self-deprecating humor, and slow rise to confidence had me both laughing and rooting for her. Nyx? The ultimate un-alive-your-enemies bestie. The men went from ‘we hate you’ to ‘we’d die for you’ with psychopathic flair, and while the romance didn’t fully hit yet, the sequel will. Predictable twists? Sure. But the 100 pages? Couldn’t put it down.

I was not gonna give feedback on this book because the first time I listened to it I had to DNF it in the content warning page. Then I saw that it went viral on Booktok, mostly due to dark romance readers and I gotta say that the FOMO won over me and I started listening again. But I realized Im not a dark romance reader so this one is on me. Didn't like it. Sorry :(

I have to say that this review is going to be so hard to keep it short. Many people will think this is a cute fantasy romance but it’s not and beware it’s a dark romance. This story follows a young girl who finds out she is a Spartan and must attend the academy where she runs into problems. I do have to say that the dialogue in this book is outright cringy and corny but just made the book so much better. It was honestly like reading a wattpad book. I enjoyed the writing style because I was entertained with how the FMC thought. The pacing is fast but the chapters are long. I really enjoyed the world building of this book and am excited to see the author expand on it more. This book is mainly told from Alexis’ pov with a few from the male leads.

Alexis has been through a lot and she isn’t getting a break. She does develop and I can see her growing but she is not there yet. She’s very sarcastic and not the typical FMC. Then we have Patro, Achilles, Kharon and Augustus. They fit the dark fantasy romance male leads so a bit hard to love but somehow loveable? I feel a connection with Kharon because I believe that he understand Alexis more than we are led on. There are many side characters in this book but mainly they are the other immortals in the academy or Nyx who is the bestie we all need. This book isn’t in the romance side yet as it’s mainly Alexis trying to figure herself out. The last chapter is the spicy one but other then that it mainly just angsty tension on the male leads. And I’m super excited to see how it all plays out.

The ending was great and honestly was just hooked with this book. I know many won’t enjoy this writing style but for me the storyline, world, and morally grey characters. I’m really excited for the next book which I will be reading once I hear there are arcs of it.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

This book was so good! I was a little nervous at first because I am not super well versed in the history of Greek Mythology (I literally love all this so idk why I’m not) but the author did an amazing job explaining everything in the beginning and a little throughout the book. 

Alexis, the main character had me dying the whole time. Her sarcastic tone throughout the book was so great. I know her personality was based on the absolute worst childhood of being an abused orphan. And it didn’t help that she then had to go learn the ways of the Spartans. But she continued to make light of awful situations and I cannot wait to read more and see her grow to be the badass she is! 

Thank you so much The Hive, Harlequin and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

|QUOTE|
“If evil is unnoticed does it still exist?”

4.25⭐️ 2🌶️

What a whirlwind!! And omg do I need more! This was oddly addictive???

I had moments where some of the language and some of Alexis’ behavior pulled me out but other than that, call me obsessed!!

This is sarcastic and filled with self depreciating humour, something I appreciate being French! While some things may have felt obvious, I honestly was just so enthralled by the story and the vibes that I forgot to put my fantasy reader hat on and just enjoyed a damn good ride.

The narrators absolutely aced this and I cannot wait for book 2, which should hopefully feature the male cast more prominently because oh lord were they hot! And just in general, I need more interactions between them all and I desperately need the romance to start making its way through the plot! One can only hope this will maybe become duet style with such a fantastic full cast.

The FMC has some growing to do. I understood her traumas but I also felt like sometimes the self depreciation took over her whole character and then all of a sudden transformed into self confidence and murderous tendencies without any gradual growth. She oblivious and naive to the point where it got a bit frustrating. All in all, I’m excited to see her journey in the next book.

Little warning - if you’re getting into this looking for romance and spice… it’s not this. It’s a SLOW SLOW burn and similar to the legacy series, lust comes before any feelings and nothing really happens on that front in book 1. However, it’s set up very nicely for the sequel!