Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Format: Paperback
Book Type: Series (Book #1 – Villains of Lore)
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Romance
Review:
🚨 Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t read Blood of Hercules yet, proceed with caution… or, you know, accept your fate. Your call.
Well. That was a ride.
Let’s just get this out of the way – the Crucible took up almost the entire book. And while I understand its importance, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed by how long it dragged on. The tension? Great. The stakes? High, sure. But after a while, I just wanted to move on and actually see more of the story outside of the trials. We get this major revelation about Alexis’s parents, and instead of fully diving into that, we’re stuck in the Crucible for way too long. There could have been so much more story development here, but instead, the book felt like it was stuck in a loop of endurance challenges and survival tactics.
And then there’s the Augustus and Kharon marriage… yeah, I didn’t really care for it. It felt unnecessary, and while I get the whole political strategy behind it, it didn’t add much to the emotional weight of the story for me.
That being said, I am invested enough to see where this series goes. There’s a lot of potential, and I’m hoping the next book gives more room for deeper character development and plot progression outside of the constant trials. Because let’s be real – after everything Alexis has been through, she deserves more than just another round of suffering.
Favorite Blood of Hercules Quotes:
“A man was speaking, so I stopped listening.”
“The devil has a pretty face, and humanity is going to hell for worshipping it.”
“Hot take, you know what’s uncivilized? Forcing homeless children to starve because they have no ability to provide for themselves.”
“Memento homo quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris! Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.“
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