This book, it grabbed my attention and would not let it go.

Did I know this was going to be a series. No. I got to the cliffhanger and almost raged. The book is that good!!!

I don’t even know how to rate it. The book is just epic. It is a great blend of what we know of gods and goddess, epic journeys (like the odyssey), and even better character arcs and developments.

Was surprised at all the twists and turns along this journey and can’t wait for the next book to come out!! Would and will recommend this to everyone who loves mythology.

I LOVED this book! I was honestly a bit intimidated by this book since it is an epic and seemed very detailed with all the Greek nomenclature. However, after the first chapter or two I was pretty much fluent and it didn’t take away from the plot at all. Once the book started it only got more interesting and action packed and the world building was so detailed it created a truly enjoyable experience. Although there really isn’t any heavy romance, there is a sort of slow burn between many characters that kept me satisfied! This author really impressed me and I can’t wait for the next book in the series! Thank you so much to the author MJ for allowing me to read this as an ARC and for being involved in Goodreads as I posted my progress!

A Greek mythology inspired fantasy. The cover and blurb gave me high hopes, and to be fair to the author the book is well researched - you can tell they have a great love for the period - but unfortunately it wasn't well written and I had to force myself to keep going.

This is whole new sub-genre for me of speculative mythology/fantasy. This book’s story takes place on the island of Helinthia which appears to be where the ancient Greeks moved to. It’s complete with Greek gods we know and love - plus one more, Helinthia (a newer goddess) and very true to Greek history.

Synopsis: The story starts off with an evil high king taking the throne and ousting a long line of descendants of Apollo. We then jump to 18 years later where Helinthia is suffering under this king, and there’s plans of a rebellion to overthrow him and potentially restore the land to the rumored surviving heir. The story follows Dargon, Kelric, and Gadnor on their path to rebel against the king and hopefully restore favor to the gods. Unfortunately there are many invested parties in keeping them from succeeding in their mission. The book also has the POV of Gonivein, Dargon’s sister, who has her own separate path to follow.

The book leaves off on a cliff hanger setting the stage for the upcoming two to three books the author has planned for the series.

My thoughts: What an amazing book! The characters were complex and I loved really learning and getting to know them more deeply as the book progressed. I loved the setting and how it took place in a made up place within a time we are all very familiar with. The author stayed true to the time period and typical references to the gods. The story really picks up in the middle of the book once the pieces start coming together. It’s full of action/adventure and even has a little 🌶️! Some mysteries were a little predictable but others were not. Either way it did not deter from the story because you wanted to see how all the characters would react when the big reveal came.

I am definitely excited to finish this series and see what else this author writes!

Thank you to Net Galley and Muse and Quill Press for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for letting me read your book in advance Mj Pankey! Like I said on my Instagram, this book was extremely well written and thought of, it also had an amazing Greek mythology vibe from a brand new story created by you that made me feel like I was in Ancient Greece ! I absolutely loved how the universe was described and it was easy to get into with all the gods and goddesses, they were well portrayed.
Sadly I had a little bit a hard time to get In the story (it happens to a couple books) and started to get a bit more interested (for me) in the last 100 pages with all the actions and revelations. I also had a bit of hard time with the characters, some of them I did not like at all and just thought they didn't help with the story. Some of them I just wanted to give a hug and others just strangle them, it’s also a good think cause they all have different personalities which helped them grow. The story may have little kinks, but I still enjoyed it a lot and definitely recommend it for the readers who loved Circe or even the song of Achilles! Again thank you so much for letting me get a chance to read your amazing book, don’t give up your work and continue to write amazing stories! I also can't wait to see what happens next to Helinthia!

5/5 Absolutely amazing read by MJ Pankey! I’m always a sucker for Greek mythology based books and this one is no different. The Characters are personable and there’s a few times I needed to remind myself that they are fictional and not real especially when it came to Kelric. The pettiness of the Gods/Goddesses were spot on, showcasing their amusement to use mortals as pawns in their elaborate chest game against one another. The life of a God/Goddesses is boring when having an immortal life.
I will admit, the book did start off a bit slower than I would have liked ,however, once I got further into the book, it was hard to put down.
There were a few parts that seemed a little rushed but overall I highly recommend this read.

I found the start really slow but it did pick up and ultimately, I did enjoy it. I liked the family dynamics of the siblings.

It was very refreshing to read an original story/ myth set in Ancient Greece. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a sucker for retellings of Greek myths. However, I appreciated the author’s gusto to write her own myth. Not to mention, the author wrote an amazing and original story. The author included the classic elements of Greek mythology, like gods/goddesses, prophecies, royalty, palaces, war, etc. Yet, the author made this story her own.

The multiple perspectives was a nice touch. Though, I felt interested in some characters’ journeys more than that of others. Still, some characters I grew to appreciate a bit more. I’m interested to see if readers will follow the same characters in the sequel or if new characters’ perspectives will be added.

There was an element of mystery in the book that I really liked. I also really liked the inclusion of Greek words/ terminology. The author definitely did her research.

This is a bit of a long book. It’s also one of three or four in a series. The author was right to call this story an epic. I hope I’m able to read the sequel and eventually the entire series.

Thank you to Muse and Quill Press and NetGalley for the ARC!
3.5/5 stars

I can confidently say I have never read a fantasy novel quite like this before. Greek mythology retellings/adaptations normally don't go into this much detail from a historical point of view, but I really appreciate that there was clearly extensive research done into the time period and a good use of terminology that we don't typically see in these stories. It is less of a retelling and more of a reinvention of the genre, which is really impressive. The author is clearly really good at creating her own universe built on stories we've grown up with and loved.

I did have some issues with the plot and character development; the story was a bit predictable overall. I also found the main characters to largely be quite flat and too tropey. The plot seemed to carry them moreso than they carried the plot. But even with the end very easy to foresee, I did like that the action picked up in the second half of the book. I'm assuming that this is the beginning of a series, so there is some room for more character development. I just wish I were more attached to the protagonists. Overall, I would read another installment.

"But he came back. For her. Taking down the wall she'd built around her heart brick by brick and making love to her with a tenderness she never thought possible."

thank you mj pankey and netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

*spoiler free*

i went into this thinking "wow pretty cover" and was not expecting what was awaiting me.

lets start with the glossary (which i loved) however since i was reading as an e-arc, i had to keep flipping towards the front which was kind of annoying. im sure this issue will be fixed with the paperback, which i am absolutely going to get for a re-read.

i love greek mythology but my admiration has never extended to the heroes or stories where the main character isn't a god. however i have to say, this book pulled me in. even though it was a work of fiction, it had me believing there was an entire gap in my knowledge to where helinthia existed.

the writing was so immersive. the research that went into this was immaculate. the characters were well written and thought through i adored the contrast of their thoughts during the pov (even though it was in third person).
its definitely hard to start and follow but once you make it through the first quarter, it will pull you in. i was completely bamboozled at every turning (partially because i was confused) but i never expected what happened, to have happened. i did not have any issues with the writing or the plot because they both perfectly complimented each other! there's a little bit of romance, (there's quite a bit of romance (but it was closed door), along with a little "nobility tied in) if you're looking for tropes.

this book is part of a series (and ends on a little bit of an insinuation) but i absolutely cannot wait to read the next book and check out more of this author's work.

Epic of Helinthia describes the struggles of the people leading Helinthia - a land fallen into a draught, leading to hunger and poverty. In an effort to better their land, Dargos and a group of his allies set on a quest to rebel against the leadership they believe displeased the Gods. What we get is a tale truly living up to its name: an Epic.

What struck me first about this book was the helpful guide at the beginning. A glossary describing the Gods and a map of the places important to the story. The story started off with a bang, with an intense, heart-racing situation before getting to the characters in their current day.The author did a phenomenal job with both character building and setting the scene. At all points of the book I had no trouble imagining the landscape, facial expressions, or reasonings why someone made the decisions they did.

What I most enjoyed about the story was the multiple POV. As with any Epic inspired by Greek Mythology, there are many people playing important parts. Although that can get confusing at times, I felt MJ Pankey did such a good job with descriptions and separation from events that things were actually really easy to follow. I felt invested and connected to the story and the characters.

Overall, I very much liked this book. It got a bit slow at times, although I understand why the pace varied. More characters requires more attention to detail and the slowing pace helped keep things clear for me. I was enthralled following along the story, and really enjoyed the various revelations throughout the book. Epic of Helinthia contains acts of heroism, personal growth, romance, friendships, and perfectly depicts the relationship of a Greek civilization with the Greek Gods. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about Greek Mythology and adventure!

I liked this book, but I feel like I read it at the wrong time, so I will definitely give it a reread some day.

This book is different from most Greek mythology novels in a couple ways. First off, it gives you a glossary! I loved having the ability to actually have context for some of the lesser known terms. Secondly, it focuses less on the Greek Gods and more on the actual island of Helenthia. Don't get me wrong, there are still lots of references to the Olympians, but there's more of an adventure as well.

In addition, this book utilizes multi POV which I thought made it more interesting. However, multi POV in 3rd person can be confusing at times as well.

It's obvious that the author put in a lot of time and energy into making this book historically accurate. A must read for any Greek mythology fans!

4.5 Star

The Epic of Helinthia is a historical fiction disguised as a Greek retelling. It has all the wonderful aspects of a retelling but a breath of fresh air of a new story. I highly recommend this novel for Greek mythology lovers.

At points the writing was slightly wordy and some of the plot directions was obvious. With that being said, the prose is beautiful and captivating. The author did their due diligence in their research to give the feeling of a story that fits the setting. Also, I have to give the author kudos for not shying away and using proper Greek terminology and verbiage.



Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

<b> <i> "men with power don't need proof from the gods to be persuasive" </b> </i>

This book was a bit tough to start - mostly because I started it out a little confused. Once I fully understood the relations between the characters, I was capable of fully enjoying it. It was incredibly useful to have a diagram at the start of the book, so I could go back and understand everyone's positions.

The description of the book is rather captivating and I'm happy to announce that the author does it justice. It's a rich tale of a plot to perform a coup and bring peace to the island of Helinthia - except it's much more than it first looks like. Throw in greek gods, oracles, mythical creatures, secret brotherhoods, betrayals and some extra secrets and you're still not quite seeing the whole picture.

My most favourite part of this book is that I couldn't predict where it was going. There were moments I thought I was guessing correctly when in truth I was falling for an intricate diversion - that's some of the magic of this book too: you find the strings and connections along with the characters and rarely ever before.

About the characters, some of them stressed me in the beginning and I could easily pick which ones I didn't like but, as the book progressed, I found that I couldn't dislike them quite as much - here and there, the author cleverly shows us a little bit of the depth each character holds and shows us faults that we cannot hold them against them. It's hard to say which one was my favourite but, in order to avoid spoilers, I'll restrain myself to pointing out how much Gadnor grew, never once letting go of his kindness.

As for the writing, MJ Pankey is damn good. Sometimes, no matter how good a book or plot is, the author's writing makes some parts of it boring and hard to get through. This was not the case. Never once did I get bored or skip any paragraph or line. I was captivated until the very last word.

Overall, if you're looking for adventure mixed with greek mythology and enthralling characters, I absolutely recommend this book.

I cannot describe how beautifully written this book was. When i tell y’all that i was so invested in this book that i literally got upset when I had to stop reading and go to work , oh my goodness. This book for me is not like any other mythology based book, I’ve personally never read anything this detailed that was mythology based and i love that about this book.

I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this book , I feel like the glossary, map, and the hierarchy chart would’ve been beneficial if I received the physical copy of this book because it was difficult to flip back to the beginning to really understand who was who and what was what. Regardless of that i still enjoyed the book.

Now as someone who doesn’t have a huge knowledge of mythology , i can confidentially say that i appreciate how the author writes so descriptively that you really feel like you dont need to know anything else except for what was written (even though i will most likely do some outside research later on ). I know this is fiction and that the books characters are based off of the certain Greek mythological gods and goddesses / their oracles , saying this i appreciate the research i can tell the author put into writing this book to make it historically accurate and this book makes me what to further my research in Greek mythology.

I also enjoyed the multiple POVs from the characters , i think it was a good choice with this book to have those multiple POVs to further the story. However i do understand if people get confused with the multiple written POVs because i sometimes had to go back and be like “i thought it was someone else speaking not them “ and double check what’s going on, but i feel like once you read the book for a while you get the hang of who’s talking and whos not.

Now , what made me only give this book 4 stars rather than 5 was the fact that I was greatly confused in the beginning of the story and before i reached 100 pages i was really debating on whether or not i wanted to fight through and finish the book. I am glad that i finished it , obviously , but i wish it didn’t take me so long to get attached to the book like i ended up being. I could 100% be me but I couldn’t grasp what was going on in the beginning and had to really pay attention to the details the author was providing and that at first was draining to me and didn’t make me want to read but as the book went on i ended up understanding more and later enjoyed the details and the plot of the story.

With all this being said , i hope that there is going to be a second book to this one ( in the future of course not immediately ) and i cannot wait for the physical copy to be released so i can share with my friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and thank you to the author MJ Pankey for the Arc copy of this book granting me the treat to read this book.

I received a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review

An original greek tale? Never heard of the like! There’s bound to be a second part given the ending but this epic was an engaging read with interesting developments in characters such as Goinvein, but there are cliches to get through and unfortunately they slow the story down. However, the portrayal of ancient Greece is remarkably well done and the conclusion was promising.

I love a bit of Greek mythology, but I couldn't get into this book at all. The tone just felt very laboured to me and the characters were unlikeable. There are so many great Greek books around, but sadly this isn't one of them. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review of the book.

Epic of Helinthia is a great idea where MJ Pankey is not trying to retell a Greek myth, but create one. The author clearly has a great love for Greek mythology and it was really interesting seeing how they played out. The atmosphere of the book was my favorite part and I enjoyed that the author didn't shy away from using Greek terms.

While the book had a really cool premise, the characters didn't do it for me. They were simply one-dimensional and boring. Kelric's personality is asshole and he often does illogical things because his only motivation is to be an asshole. Dargon is noble, Gadnor is unsure and Fortuna and Gonivein don't have any personality to speak of. The dialogue between them all feels stilted and unnatural. Im hoping in book two that the characters develop more and I can connect better to them.

The plot also proved very predictable to me *Spoilers* I wrote down 20% of the way in that Gadnor was going to be the heir. It's obvious since we are told not many people know Raelon has a second son because he's ashamed of him for constant embarassing him. Yet, we never see Gadnor do anything stupid that would justify this. It's obvious Raelon is trying to hide the truth of who Gadnor is.

I think people looking for something new in the world of Greek mythology would enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and MJ Pankey for the ARC!

Wow! What a fantastic book!

The Epic of Helinthia is an enthralling novel that follows a group of heroes on their quest to free their island from the clutches of a ruthless tyrant. This book is a must-read for fans of both fantasy and Greek mythology, offering an immersive experience that exceeds all expectations.

Although the use of traditional Greek language may be challenging for those unfamiliar with the mythology and terminology, the included glossary of Greek terms makes it easier to follow.

Furthermore, I found the coming of age stories in the novel to be particularly captivating. The characters undergo significant growth and transformation, which is skillfully portrayed by Pankey. I was particularly drawn to Gonivein's story, as she evolves from a shallow, infatuated child into a fierce woman who fights for survival.

Overall, I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a thrilling and unpredictable story. MJ Pankey's brilliant writing has left me completely engrossed and eagerly anticipating the release of the sequels.

Thank you NetGalley and MJ Pankey for the ARC!

I liked this one! It had a very slow start, so I had trouble getting into it, but I got really interested around the 30-40% mark, once the drama started to kick off.

The character development is a strong point. Gadnor and Gonivein's development are particularly well-executed and I enjoyed their chapters a lot. Loric was my favourite, and I HOPE (!!!!!) to see more of him in the next book(s).

The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the treatment of the douloi, which I think was probably the point. It was nice to see characters like Gonivein recognize the injustices of this system, but in the mean time, it is hard to sympathize with/root for protagonists like Dargon and Kelric who are so close-minded about it.

This definitely reads like the first book in a series; it establishes the world and politics, and it left a lot of unanswered questions. I think the next book(s) will be even better as we'll hopefully dive straight into the plot and wrap up those loose ends.