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
April 2, 2018 at 2:16 pm
This book is stunning! I totally agree that Song of Achilles and Circe are very different stories – like, the former is still my favorite because it’s a tragedy, but I think Circe is actually more impressive an endeavor. (I loved the Daedalus scenes btw, and the ending is so dang uplifting.)
And same! Madeline Miller has jumped into my top 2 favorite authors of all time. Her writing is so intimate and poetic, I always never feel like rushing through her books. ❤
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April 2, 2018 at 2:28 pm
Yes I totally agree! The scenes with Daedalus were SO good! And I was really happy with the ending of the book, especially since TSoA ruined me after reading it lol. + I really hope we don’t have to wait too long for her to release another book! ❤️
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April 2, 2018 at 2:54 pm
Yes, I think I’d die if we had to wait another half decade or so for another release…but I’m already excited to see which character she’ll focus on next! Haha Circe hasn’t been released yet, but I’m already itching to find out! 😀
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April 2, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Same here! IK it’s not even released yet and here we are hoping for another book ASAP! 😂
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April 2, 2018 at 4:21 pm
Kekeke we’re so greedy when it comes to Madeline Miller… XD
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April 2, 2018 at 4:03 pm
Wonderful review! I’m so glad you loved this book! It’s one of my highly anticipated books and now I’m even more excited to read it.
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April 2, 2018 at 4:22 pm
Thanks Raven! I really hope you enjoy it! Her writing is so beautiful and the story itself is amazing! This book really deserves a lot of hype! ❤️
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April 2, 2018 at 4:50 pm
Lovely review! I’ve heard only positive things about it, and am dying to get my hands on it! ❤️
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April 2, 2018 at 5:43 pm
I really hope you enjoy this book! It’s an amazing read! ❤️
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April 3, 2018 at 12:45 am
Aghh I’m so excited to start Madeline Miler’s books. I really want to see what her writing it like because I’ve only heard amazing things.
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April 3, 2018 at 10:08 am
Great review! I seriously cannot wait to read this!
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April 3, 2018 at 3:08 pm
Yay!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, it really is a great book! ❤️
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April 3, 2018 at 2:17 pm
I had read many great things about the Song of Achille and now reading your review make me even more intrigued about that author!
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April 3, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Her books are amazing! Even if you’re not the biggest greek mythology fan, the authors writing is so beautiful and engaging, that it’s still worth the read!
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April 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm
I haven’t read Song of Achille but after hearing so many people rave about it this kinda automatically ended up on my TBR. Because I really want to read more mythology based books!
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April 4, 2018 at 11:39 am
Wonderful review! Circe’s one of my most anticipated releases and I’m so excited to read it! 🙂
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April 4, 2018 at 6:14 pm
I really hope you enjoy it! ❤️
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