ARC Review: Circe

About The Book:

  Title:  Circe

  Author: Madeline Miller 
  Pub. Date: April 10th, 2018
  Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
  Pages: 400

  Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology

  Rate: 4.5/5 stars 

Synopsis :

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.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

Review:

This book is not only about Circe, it's submerging you in the ocean that is Greek Mythology. Like, I thought I knew a lot about Greek Mythology, and then I read this book. Let me tell you, what I do know is basically an abysmal fraction compared to the big picture of things, and it is seriously awesome.

Circe is the greek goddess of sorcery - so basically she is a witch. She doesn't even realize this until after she turns a human that she loved into a god and he ended up being a complete asshole and loving another nymph. When jealousy reeks it's ugly head, Circe turns the nymph into the infamous sea monster - Scyla. There are soo many characters in this book, but it's definitely necessary seeing as how we are taken through Circe's entire life and she is a goddess so she basically lives forever. Her punishment of sorcery is complete exile on an abandoned island. We also get to know a little of the more famous figureheads - Athena, Hermes, Odysseus, and the Minotaur. If it's one thing I can say, this book is never boring -there's always a new adventure.

This book would be nerd porn for people SUPER, SUPER into Greek Mythology. I think a family tree would be helpful in terms of this book because it would provide a visual depiction of who is related to who (We all know those Greek gods love messing around). Anyway, i did really like this book. The actual research that had to be done to compose this book is literal insanity - I can't even believe how information packed it was. I definitely recommend this book for those fans of Greek Mythology. I've heard Ms. Miller's previous novel, The Song of Achilles, is absolutely beautiful. I already bought it on my Kindle actually. I haven't read it yet because I like physical copies so much more, ah! Have you read The Song of Achilles? I am guessing this book would also be for fans of her previous novel - one of the reviews said this is a sort of sequel. Are you thinking about picking up Circe?

Thank you to Little, Brown & Co. for providing
this book in exchange for my honest review

- Jocelyn