This book is my new personality. I love everything about it.. Nyx is a an amazing side character. Alexis is snarky , smart, and overly dramatic in the best way. I finished this book and immediately recommended it to all my friends, who have since purchased it and have enjoyed it on their own.

Slow Burn
War Academy
Animal Familiars
Everyone is just obsessed with her.

read it.

Alexis is a foster child, half blind and deaf from abuse, with a monsterous venomous snake friend named Nyx that only she can see or talk to, and a mute younger foster brother, Charlie, to protect. She finds out during her high school Spartan merit testing that she is a Spartan and thus whisked away to the Spartan War Academy where she will train to go through the Crucible. Her mentors are Patros and Achilles, who are doubtful she will survive. Her professor Augustus and Kharon are darkly obsessed with her, and she has a feeling she is being stalked. Her goal is to survive, but she has plenty of experience doing that prior to being brought here.

The plot has plenty of action, drama, and mystical intrigue. The inner dialogue of Alexis is witty and often comical, but also very naive. Most of the male characters are pursuing Alexis in one way or another, and they seem to all have the same characteristics, which makes it hard to distinguish them from each other without the names being attached. I enjoyed the audio narration, which helped keep the characters apart and my intrigue in the story. This is the first in the series, and there are plenty of characters to expand upon in the next book. I look forward to seeing how the story develops.

If you see this…you have just entered an agreement to go read this book now. Then please live message me all of your reactions while you read.

I loved this book. I went in totally blind so all of the tropes were a surprise and it made the book that much better. Definitely jump on this one before the internets become overly saturated with discussion spoilers.

Also if you’re an audiobook listener, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narration was amazing and really brought out the playfulness of some of the dialogue.

100/100, no notes, go read it.

*I did receive an audio ALC via NetGalley but I am a million percent pre-ordering the collectors edition of this book because it’s amazing and worth paying for.

This was absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t stop listening. The story is epic, and the narration is incredible. I would absolutely recommend this if you looking for an Olympian retelling. Heck, I would recommend this if you were into romantasy. This was easily a favorite for 2024.

The story is everything! Absolutely loved it! The voices here? The actors? Fantastic!
They fit so well for their characters and having the various actors here makes the story even more engaging. This is such a great audiobook. I’ll be recommending it and I am so glad I got to listen to it and read the book as well. The immersive reading for this would be amazing for anyone wanting to try it!
I am so obsessed with everything about this and I can’t wait for book 2!

Wow, I loved this book! I didn’t expect to like it this much. I was worried a 19 year-old FMC would feel too young or immature, but nope! Although, she is innocent. I had to double check if this is a YA. It’s definitely not though! Loved the ruthless competition/academy aspect. The beasts were great. I’m also not typically into dark romance, but this one is done well! Excellent audiobook too. The narrator does a great job on this one. Can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The narration? Perfect. The book itself? Entertaining but not what I expected. I wish there had been more of an interest romantically from the FMC’s POV. It would have made for a more believable ending. This was a book that was long but didn’t feel like much was happening either. I hope I like book two more and this will have been setup for that!

I absolutely loved this books so I had to give the audio a listen and I was not disappointed. The narrators were amazing and they really gave the characters life. The men... were hot, just like the men in the book. I will definitely be doing a reread while I listen to this again because I couldn't get enough. Thanks to the Hive for hooking me up with this copy!

I am absolutely obsessed with this book, and listening to the audiobook version has just enhanced my experience tenfold! I absolutely could not stop listening to this book's narration until it was finished! I think the narrators did an amazing job conveying the emotions and actions chapter by chapter, and I enjoyed seeing the different narrators' perspectives per chapter! I recommend this to anyone who loves Greek mythology retellings, enthralling storytelling, and a wonderful depth that is added to the story through the narration!

This audiobook was well narrated, each narrator was very similar to what I had in my head for the characters. I loved the different voices cause they were fire. As someone who has read both the paperback and the audiobook, I think the audio really brings to life the story in a great way and audiobook lovers will love this.

The plot of this book was so intriguing I couldn't put it down at all. I love Greek and Roman mythology and I liked how unique this Hercules retelling is. The fmc Alexis was great, she's witty and her inner thoughts are so sarcastic and fun. I loved that she has a best friend named Nyx who's a snake that no one can see or hear who is usually found wrapped around the fmc's neck. Now the mmcs, all of them are intriguing and hot but Professor Augustus and Kharon are especially hot. Achilles and Patro are already together so it will be interesting to see how they all develop together. The next book is going to be so good, especially with the ending and build up and I can't wait. Thanks to HTP Hive for this arc.

I loved this🥰 so exciting, suspenseful and funny. Highly recommend! Jasmine mas really knows what she’s doing with this. So much fun

(Spice level: 1.5 🌶️)
I am solely basing my review off of the enjoyment of this book, which was off the charts. I devoured this in one day and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it.

I can see how others may not enjoy this writing style (it was very modern using 2020 terms and phrases) but I had a blast reading it and laughed out loud several times. Definitely not the highest brow of literature on the market but what a fantastic story.

Usually slow burns drive me crazy too but the pay off I can feel will be so worth it. (Semi spoiler: the who did this to you hasn’t happened yet but is hinted)
I cannot wait for book two !


Update: I’ve reread the book by listening to the audiobook and WOW even BETTER. I wish I could give this more stars! There is something about multi pov and different narrators for them. Ugh again cannot wait for book two!!! The male voices had me swooning.

(I was provided a copy of the audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Okay so this book was so much fun to read. The hype around it definitely didn't lie, I absolutely loved how much mythology surrounded this book, as my little mythology loving heart needed all of this!


The audiobook was fantastic and I had a lot more fun listening to this book then I did reading it! Hearing it made this book ten times better and I couldn't put it down!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

This book has been getting rave reviews and popping up everywhere, so I was initially hesitant to pick it up. I’m so glad I did, though. This hit every note that was promised — a dark fantasy romance with sarcastic humor. Truly the best part was the dry, witty humor. Alexis’s sarcastic inner monologue was one of the best parts of this book. Beyond that, this book packs a punch in terms of plot. There’s prophecies, slow burn villainous love interests, Gods, gladiators, creatures, plot twists, betrayals. Really, there’s something for everyone. Nyx deserves her own shout out because her comedic timing was so on point to break up the dark and bleak. The banter between Alexis and Nyx was pure perfection. Mas also did incredibly well with her overall world building and character developments. For me, the plot was well paced with a good balance of slow and faster scenes. I read this via audiobook and it was well worth it. Utilizing multiple narrators was the perfect choice and helped separate the different POVs that otherwise could have gotten muddled together. I can’t recommend this audio and this book enough. It’s worth all the hype it’s receiving.

Truthfully I got impatient waiting for this approval (yes in the week between request and approval I got impatient) and sat down and read the physical copy I bought.
But anyway I’m obsessed. I literally read this book in a day because I could not put it down. The only time I stopped reading was when an unfortunately had to go to work. I think the characters are so much fun and the quantity or broody men we get in this book is amazing. I hate that I have to wait until October for the next book but I’m so excited to continue this story!! I love everything I’ve read from Jasmine Mas and this is no exception

Oh where do I begin. This book is a train wreck that you can’t look away from. From the cringy dialogue (“pussy power” are you joking?) to the HORRIFIC treatment of the side characters to the dubious consent (at best) everything about this book was, well let’s just call it what it is, BAD. By allowing TikTok to decide what books should be traditionally public I fear we have failed as a society.

Listen, I can enjoy a dark romance. But the fact that these men are MUTILATING innocent people for merely being near the main character? To TRAPPING this poor girl into a marriage contract that she did not consent to AT ALL? I’m appalled. If you enjoyed this, I have a whole slew of questions.

And finally. Alexis HERT? Be for real.

I had been getting bored with the whole Greek God collection of books that have been published over the past couple of years, But this one is worth your time. I enjoyed this one and was happy to say that it was not all smut, but story as well.

Definitely not my usual go-to genre of choice but I got sucked in to this dark YA romantasy by the fantastic cover/packaging and the way it gave off Fourth Wing mixed with Daughter of Sparta vibes. Featuring, Alexis, an abandoned, abused young girl who discovers she has the blood of Hercules in her veins and gets kidnapped and forced to compete enroll in the Spartan War Academy where she will have to fight to the death to survive.

I did really love the disability rep (Alexis has a stutter and is partially blind/deaf on one side), she also has a lot of childhood trauma, an invisible best friend/familiar snake, Nyx, and a bevy of morally grey men vying for her attention and affection. Reverse harem love stories aren't typically my favs but I loved Alexis's character and look forward to seeing where her story goes.

As far as the romance in the book, it wasn't as spicy as I was expecting and I didn't find myself rooting for any of the male prospects in particular over the others. Great on audio with a full cast of narrators and while a tad long for my tastes, still worth picking up for fans of the genre. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely loved this book. It was action packed and full of mythologically themed characters and places. I can't wait for the next one to come out. It was epic, and I would highly recommend it for anyone to read. There is a trigger warning at the beginning.

Thank you Net Galley ARC and Harper Collins Publishing!

What a unique twist on an old tale. I love gender-swapped stories and this one didn't disappoint. Having not read the tale in a while, it was nice to refresh and get a few new perspectives along the way!