We hope you’ve been enjoying our series of dual reviews, where we pair two complementary new books to add to your reading lists. If you have, fabulous! If you haven’t, we hope you get used to it because we’re having so much fun picking them out!
Now, be warned: the two books we’re reviewing are sequels. Bonds of Hercules is the highly-anticipated sequel to Jasmine Mas’s Blood of Hercules. And A Queen’s Match is the dramatic sequel to Katharine McGee’s A Queen’s Game. So if you haven’t already read book one of either series, we highly encourage you to do so. (Though we try not to spoil too much about the book plots, it’s better to be safe than sorry.)
Book Overview: Bonds Of Hercules
Content warnings: death, murder, attempted murder, graphic violence and language, torture, gore, bodies, cannibalism, decapitation, forced captivity, human and animal bones, stalking, scarification, serious injury, mentions of child abuse, sexual activity, vomiting, warfare, weapons (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: I’m Hercules, but my powers are not what they seem.
I’m trapped in a marriage with my two enemies and I’ve accidentally joined a cult. To make matters worse, Augustus and Kharon are trying to seduce me. It doesn’t help that my mentors, Achilles and Patro, are acting really strange.
Now, a dangerous prisoner has escaped from the Underworld, and things are spiraling out of control.
Men are fighting over me.
Mysteries are unfolding left and right.
And I’ve had enough.
Everybody better beware because I’m fighting in the Gladiator Competition and seizing my power.
Things are about to get very messy.
For Sparta.
Our Review
Jasmine Mas’s Bonds of Hercules reimagines the Greek myth of Hercules, featuring a female main character who’s finally coming into her full power. A few months after the end of book one, Blood of Hercules, Alexis Hert tries to settle into her new life as heiress to the House of Hades and wife of Augustus (heir to the House of Ares) and Kharon (heir to the House of Artemis). But an escaped prisoner from the Underworld creates chaos in Sparta, straining the facade of peace between the Olympian and Chthonic Houses.
All the while, Alexis must participate in the annual Gladiator competition, along with her husbands, friends, former mentors Patro and Achilles, and the rest of the Chthonic House descendants. They face individual battles creatures like lions, jaguars, and Minotaurs. And they even get a surprise appearance from the monstrous beings they live to kill.
This new adult romantasy novel has everything we could ask for in a sequel! Alexis undergoes a powerful transformation in Bonds of Hercules, along with her protector creature. She gives her relationship with Augustus and Kharon a chance to grow and become something more. (And whew, we weren’t ready for just how spicy this book was!) Best of all, the story isn’t over yet! We already can’t wait for the next installment of the Villains of Lore series, one where we can already see another throuple forming.
Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas comes out October 28th, and you can order a copy of it here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JASMINE MAS:
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Book Overview: A Queen’s Match
Content warnings: death, mentions of family member deaths, manipulation, blackmail, trauma and grief, panic attacks
Summary: Hélène d’Orléans, exiled princess of France, was forced to break off her engagement to Prince Eddy because of a mistake from her past. But she’s determined to win him back, even if it means pretending to court another prince.
Alix of Hesse is desperately in love with Prince Nicholas of Russia and promises to wait for him, no matter how long it takes. But what happens when her grandmother Queen Victoria introduces a new suitor . . . one who makes Alix question her heart?
May of Teck isn’t even looking for love, just a crown—and now, after all her scheming, she might finally have found a way to marry Prince Eddy. So why can’t she stop thinking about his younger brother, George?
In this stunning conclusion to the duology that began with A Queen’s Game, Katharine McGee offers an intimate portrayal of a near-forgotten moment in royal history: a story of agonizing loss, of impossible choices, and of love—and hope—that defied the odds.
Our Review
The next sequel on our radar is Katharine McGee’s A Queen’s Match. It’s the sequel to A Queen’s Game that released last November and the conclusion to the duology, A Queen’s Duet! And we are ever so glad that we didn’t have to wait long to follow up on the historical romance featuring three princesses of 19th-century Europe: Hélène d’Orléans, Alix of Hesse, and May of Teck. Just a few weeks after the fallout of book one, each girl finds herself in a new conflict, pining after a prince she can’t have.
Hélène d’Orléans pretends to court another prince as she tries to find a way to be with Prince Eddy without the threat of her past coming to light. Alix of Hesse wants nothing more than to be with Prince Nicholas, only she knows his parents would never allow it. And May of Teck longs for a title that would change her family dynamics for good.
Each princess’s ambitions clash with one another, bringing so much political and romantic drama we’ve desperately been missing in the last year. Buckle yourselves in for a sweeping historical romance full of glamor, meddling, and plot twists! (That is, unless you’re well versed on European history…)
A Queen’s Match by Katharine McGee comes out November 4th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KATHARINE MCGEE:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
Are you stoked to read Jasmine Mas’s Bonds of Hercules and Katharine McGee’s A Queen’s Match? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us @TheHoneyPOP! You can also find us on Instagram or Facebook!
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