synopsis: a book following circe, one of helios' children, and how she navigates her life after being banished to an island.

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this was admittedly a slow start. however, the more i read through it, the more circe grows on me. i confess that it took a while to see where the hype was coming from. in fact, the only reason why i didn't give this a 5-star rating was because i really struggled reading the first half of it, not knowing where the story was going.

i also didn't connect with circe in the beginning. i generally prefer female main characters with more grit, attitude, and personality than being a doormat, but i was really proud of her by the end of it. she had a great character arc, and deservedly so. the ending she got was also so satisfying and justified. i get her, and i'm just so happy for her.

for most of the book, i felt really bad for her. i already dislike men, but this book made me hate them even more because some of the horrible things that happened here is definitely still realistic in the modern and contemporary world.

what really made me push through the first half was the writing. i'm not especially drawn to greek mythology, so it was a surprise that i really liked this. madelline miller is incredibly talented for gripping my attention and making me so intrigued about the messy lives of goddesses and gods.

i'm so excited to read her debut novel soon!