Book Review of Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas: Greek Mythology Gets a Dark Romantasy Makeover
Apparently, all I needed to make Greek mythology even more chaotic was a sarcastic heroine, a terrifying war academy, morally questionable men, and a whole lot of danger.
Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas is the first book in the Villains of Lore series, a dark romantasy reimagining of Hercules in which the legendary hero is very much not the Hercules you remember from mythology class.
This book is dramatic, ridiculous in the best way, dark, funny, and completely committed to its own brand of chaos.
What is Blood of Hercules about?
Alexis has spent her life trying to survive.
She grew up in foster care in a world threatened by Titans and ruled by Spartans—immortals belonging to powerful royal families with godlike abilities and enormous wealth.
Then a blood test changes everything.
Alexis discovers that she isn’t ordinary at all.
She’s Spartan.
Even more surprising?
She’s Hercules.
That revelation lands her at the Spartan War Academy, where she must survive a brutal series of trials while dealing with some particularly intimidating men: Achilles and Patro as her mentors and Kharon and Augustus as her professors.
As you can probably imagine, things do not go smoothly.
Greek mythology—but definitely not the Disney version
The fun of Blood of Hercules is how freely Jasmine Mas plays with mythology.
Familiar names are everywhere, but this isn’t trying to faithfully retell the traditional Hercules story.
Instead, it takes pieces of Greek mythology and throws them into a dark fantasy world filled with academies, powerful families, dangerous tests, romance, and morally gray characters.
If you go into it expecting historical or mythological accuracy, you’re probably going to have a very strange time.
If you go into it expecting Greek mythology meets completely unhinged romantasy, you’re much closer.
Alexis makes the book
One of the things that keeps the story entertaining is Alexis herself.
She has been through terrible things, but her internal voice is sarcastic and funny, which gives the book a strange combination of genuinely dark circumstances and humor.
And she isn’t suddenly transformed into a perfectly confident heroine just because she discovers she’s powerful.
She’s still trying to figure out who she is.
She’s just doing it while surrounded by immortals who are alternately threatening, protecting, tormenting, and obsessing over her.
Normal college stuff, really.
Is Blood of Hercules spicy?
This is dark fantasy romance, and romance becomes an important part of the series, but the first book spends a lot of time building tension and establishing the complicated relationships between Alexis and the men around her.
The publisher specifically markets it toward readers who enjoy extreme enemies-to-lovers, morally gray heroes, possessiveness, and dark romantasy.
So definitely check the content warnings if darker romance isn’t normally your thing.
Who should read Blood of Hercules?
This is a good pick for readers who like dark romantasy, Greek mythology retellings, academy settings, enemies-to-lovers tension, sarcastic heroines, morally gray characters, obsessive love interests, and books that aren’t afraid to get a little ridiculous.
Final thoughts
Blood of Hercules knows exactly what kind of book it wants to be.
It is not subtle.
It is not calm.
And nobody involved seems interested in making healthy, sensible decisions.
That’s part of the fun.
If you’re in the mood for mythology mixed with dark romance, dangerous immortals, absurd situations, and a heroine discovering she’s much more powerful than anyone realized, this is an incredibly entertaining start to the series.
And considering I also read Bonds of Hercules this month, you can probably guess whether I wanted to know what happened next.
