Book will be published April 10, 2018 + spoiler-free

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Publisher: Little Brown
My Rating: 5 stars! ⭐️
Description:
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child–not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power–the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Thank you to Little Brown & Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book!

My Review:
Madeline Miller has done it again. I have, and always will be captivated by her brilliant writing and I have to say that she’s definitely become my all-time favorite author.

This book is written in a way that contains some scenes in the present tense, while in others we have Circe explaining the outcome of the situations she’s been in. It was a different experience for me to read something like this, and I loved every minute of it.

The writing in this is so seamless and there’s something about it that keeps you so invested into the story and the characters. Every line and piece of dialogue are crafted so beautifully that they really hit home with their words and the impact of it stays with you throughout the book.

As for the characters themselves, Circe is one of my all time favorite protagonists. Throughout the novel we experience her struggles finding herself in a world where power is the most important thing. All her life she has to look out for herself since there is no one else she has bonded with.

It’s easy to relate to her character because of all the insecurities that she has, as well as her inability to fit in with others like her. Including all this, it was absolutely fantastic to watch her character develop and grow throughout the novel. This is one of those cases where you truly get to see the whole arc of a character from the beginning of the book to the end of the book and it was amazing.

The pacing of this book was another thing I enjoyed. I never felt that some parts were being rushed through or going by too slowly. As Circe’s tale isn’t the most commonly known Greek myth, I liked the thoroughness of the mythology and the way that it interweaved so well with certain aspects of the book. I definitely think there are benefits knowing her story beforehand, but there’s also that element of surprise if you didn’t know (as was my case).

Did I like this book better than The Song of Achilles? I think that Circe completely blew my mind, even though I was already expecting this to be a phneomenal book. Saying this, I feel like they both completely different stories in my mind.

Where The Song of Achilles had more of an emotional and story-driven plot, Circe focused more on the characters and the progression of herself as the novel went on. I have to say they hold equal ranking for me as they are both amazing novels that I CANNOT RECOMMEND THEM MORE!

Read this book when it comes out next week guys, it’s definitely one of those books that will stay with you for a long time.

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Thanks for reading!
-Ashley