Book Review: The Song of Achilles

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 4/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

The Song of Achilles is the story of Achilles and Patroclus, but in the way that Homer was too chicken to write it out. They're in love, but they're also tragic heroes. So you can probably guess where the book goes if you somehow haven't heard of the myth before. But it's not just a story of their battles and wars, it's a story of their lives and how two people could fall in love during the bizarre and intense situations of a Greek epic. 

My issue with this story was that I did not like Achilles. I thought Patroclus deserved better and that the real tragedy might just have been how everyone treated him like baggage his entire life. I also thought that the ten years within the Trojan War were a little boring, but that's just my personal preference on pointless battle scenes. We kept being told that tragedy was coming, and if you know anything about the story then you're pretty much expecting it the whole time, but they just drag it out with ten years of monotony. In a way, it's great that they got that time together but also they were like hardly interacting at all at that point. It dulled the romance for me. 

But still a good read, just took me a bit to get through. This was like my third attempt reading it, but I'm glad I made it because it is a beautiful ending. 

The Women of Troy (Women of Troy #2)

 

The Women of Troy

Pat Barker

Linsey Hall

Overall: 4/5

Plot and themes: 4/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 4/5

Attention-grabbing: 3/5

The Women of Troy is the second book in the Women of Troy series, which I did not know until after I finished the book. The thing is that it relates so closely to the events of the Odyssey and everything that I figured we were just jumping right into it, which was my bad. But if you want to read it as a standalone it is in fact possible. 

I love books that depict historical events, or myths or stories like this, from a non-traditional perspective. It's easy to be swept away by the heroics of mythology or to imagine suffering exclusive to the heroes of the narratives, but the ripples of their perceived "strengths" were probably widespread. I appreciated the strengths of the women, Briseis specifically but also Cassandra and the others around her. Comparing it to the "hero narrative" is also a fun kind of side-by-side that emphasized the comparative of the perceived struggles. 

So much of it probably went way over my head but I don't mind that much as I enjoyed it. It was a bit dull at points where we were just living the day-to-day of everyone, but I liked the way that it felt.

 

Book Review: A Gift of Poison (The Kingmakers' War #1)

A Gift of Poison

Kate Avery Ellison

2/5

Briand has lived with her uncle since she was six. It was her father's home and her uncle resents her for that. The rest of the castle isn't much better, and right when she's on the brink of exile she discovers a hidden magic and sets off on a dangerous quest. Her life is on the line and she's risking everything to try to restore the rightful prince and end the Seeker reign of terror. 

I will say that the book was keeping me reading just because I wanted to see the resolution. But like, there were so many things that were just so poorly explained. The entire castle hated her because her uncle told them that they could, but like why? They called her annoying, but no one could be so annoying that they would lose all their allies like that? Literally everyone aside from her cousin hated her and for no particular reason. No one in the castle that her father owned had any loyalty to their prior master who Briand remembered as a decent man? Didn't make sense and they kept bringing it up, none of these people who she was supposed to rely on or be friends with had any trust or kinship with her at all and it was way overdone. 

The ending was the worst part too. We had some things building up, it wasn't the best plot ever but it was interesting enough. Then all the sudden they were like nope no thanks whatever I gotta go on another quest. I read the synopsis for the next book and it's set two years in the future? There definitely wasn't enough friendship between them to motivate the continuation of their relationships past that point, if I were Briand I would be working on trying to find people who didn't insta-hate me for absolutely no reason. Kindle Unlimited books can be kind of hit or miss or watered down, this one was probably the kind of miss that's just bearable enough to get to the end of.

Book Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow

Gods of Jade and Shadow

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

5/5

So you've awoken an ancient god who is desperate to get vengeance upon the brother who betrayed him and now your fates are tied, what do you do? Go on a series of quests to retrieve his stolen body parts and help him reclaim his throne obviously. Casiopea is used to men pushing her around, her grandfather and her cousin have lorded her inferior status as a poor relation over her since her father died and her and her mother were forced to seek refuge. When she finds out that her grandfather's fortune was built on the capture of a god and that she has to help him, she doesn't really have a problem doing so. 

Casiopea is one of those unique protagonists who just makes intrinsically good choices. She doesn't know all the answers, but she's good to her core and that reflects in everything she does. She seems like the perfect person to take along with her on a quest and she really fulfills that realistic heroine role. She's facing things she's never faced before, while she fears them and speaks on this fear she really does what she has to do. 

Now some spoilers, I'm a big fan of HEA. I tend to read stories where the romantic pair ends up together, though I pepper in a few tragedies here and there. This is a unique book because it's not a tragedy, it's not some horrible breakup or something. It's a simple matter of being realistic. Two people who care deeply for each other and are willing to give up everything for one another but put it aside because of their consciousness of their duties and their disparities in life. I think it was a beautiful story of growth and forgiveness and aside from the beautiful setting it really just deserves the five stars for that alone. 

Yeah I'm recommending this book a hundred percent. It's set in Mexico in the 1920s, a unique blend of historical fiction and mythology that give it a sort of gritty romanticism. I loved it and I can't wait to read more by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.