Jake
This was my second read of Circe by my favorite author, Madeline Miller and I believe it not only is better the second time but you also understand and relate significantly more as your grow. Circe is a complex character and it is beautiful to read of her story and watch her mature through thousands of years in time. The last few pages wrap up everything flawlessly. Miller's words are poetry to me. I cannot wait to read what is next.
I was nervous to give Jennifer Saint another try after I really did not like Elektra but I thought I might give her another chance since I enjoyed her debut, Ariadne, so much and WOW I am so glad I did. I am not a quick reader and I devoured this in 3 sittings. Atalanta's quick wit and fierce voice makes her a character you want to root for from start to finish. Jennifer's beautiful one liners spill off the page and stick with you in the best way. And I adored the ending. This could be one of my favorites of the year and one of my favorite retellings of all time.
“She grows up feeling wrong, out of place, too dark, too, tall, too unruly, too, opinionated, too silent, too strange. She grows up with the awareness that she is merely tolerated, an irritant, useless, that she does not deserve love, that she will need to change herself substantially, crush herself down, if she is to be married. She grows up, too, with the memory of what it meant to be properly loved, for what you are, not what you ought to be. There's just enough of this recollection, alive, she hopes, to enable her to recognize it if she meets it again. And if she does, she won't hesitate. She will seize it with both hands, as a means of escape, a means of survival. She won't listen to the protestations of others, their objections, their reasoning. This will be her chance, her way through the narrow hole, at the heart of the stone, and nothing will stand in her way.”
It's been a minute since I've cried this hard at a book. I will admit that it took me a minute to really get into this book, the first half dragged a bit for me but once I passed the threshold into the second half, I read the rest in one sitting. Maggie's writing just melts into your skin in ways that few authors have been able to do for me. We've learned so much about Shakespeare and talked of him so much over the years but know so little of his family so this story, though fiction, was a breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately underwhelmed by this adaption. Medea is one of my favorite women in greek mythology and reducing her to someone who never did what she famously did was disappointing. Medea is the original woman scorned and seeing her get her revenge on Jason and others and the complexities that come along with whether her actions were justified were the most interesting parts of her original story. For those who are interested in an adaption with BEAUTIFUL writing and a story that stays true to Euripides, read the play Medea by Robinson Jeffers.
oh my god i absolutely loved this book. casey mcquiston absolutely nailed the chemistry of these two characters from the jump and was able to flesh out their personalities and their growth as people together. the side plots of politics in two very different countries aided to the story so well. this book was fun, steamy, raunchy, cheeky, beautiful, fast paced and one of the best YA romance books i've read. i cant wait for the movie!
I just adored this book. Though it is certainly YA and at times I was cringing at the more juvenile material, most of the time I was smiling ear to ear. It usually takes me months to find the time to read a full book but I devoured this within a week. The characters are so lovable and you find yourself rooting for them the entire way through. This book taught me a lot too. I'm excited to read the sequel.
I grew up on this series and came back to it while in a reading slump as a way to have a quick read to keep up with my yearly goal. Rick Riordan's intelligent writing stands the test of time 18 years later. Percy's sarcastic 12 year old voice is still relatable to me as a 22 year old. The book continues to be as clever as it is adventurous and I think anyone who enjoys reading YA would enjoy this book. The ability that Riordan has to adapt the classic myths we know and love and put them through a modern lense is unmatched in my opinion.
The story of the book is very captivating and interesting yet the author failed to keep me captivated and interested all the way through. I am a huge fan of Jennifer Saint's previous book, Ariadne, this one didn't live up to that one's beautiful writing. Reading a split perspective book can sometimes be confusing but this one was especially confusing with there being 3 different perspectives. The beginning started off very strong and lost me in the middle and the end as well. I probably would've enjoyed it more from one perspective. All that being said it is still a well written book and I did enjoy a lot of it. There are some really beautiful lines and I enjoyed hearing the story of the Trojan war from a women's perspective and from the Trojan perspective. Clytemnestra's storyline was the most interesting by far for me followed by Cassandra and then Elektra so for Elektra to be the title character was odd for me. Elektra was very one dimensional and by the end I didn't know much about her besides that she loved her father and wanted revenge on her mother. I went into the book excited to learn about Elektra as I didn't know really anything about her and I think the book could've benefitted from a title change as it would suggest it's Elektra's story when it was really the story of at least 4 people.
Never have I ever been so impacted by a piece of art. I am a queer person who loves to consume art but very rarely do i feel impacted by something to the point of being misty eyed. This book had me absolutely sobbing in the best and worst way. I grew up loving Greek Mythology by way of the Percy Jackson series so this was right up my alley. If you're looking for a queer story to leave you heartbroken but also warm and fuzzy and will make you cry happy and sad tears this is for you.
The last maybe 75 pages made it worth the read and were my favorite part of the book. I felt such a deep connection to the characters by the end of it and was heartbroken even though we all know what is coming. A very well written YA novel and I am always so happy to read about queer love.
I am not really a fan of slow burn novels and this didn't feel like a book that should have been a slow burn since it all happens over the course of a day and there is a significant urgency that needed to be had for this particular situation. That being said, it made the pay off of romance that had been building very rewarding. I wish the romance had happened way earlier though. The writing wasn't sensational but was done well especially for the target audience.