'You have always been the worst of my children,' he said. 'Be sure you do not dishonour me.'
'I have a better idea. I will do as I please, and when you count your children, leave me out.'

I've had this book sitting around since April and never got around to reading it. I can't believe it took me so long in the end, because this book is INCREDIBLE and gave me a hell of a book hangover.

I gave Circe 4 stars, and it was so good that I just had to pick up The Song of Achilles. Hearing that Achilles might even be better than Circe had me practically buzzing with excitement, and I think my TBR might be getting a hefty shuffle ready for October to bring it closer to the top.

I've always been a sucker for a book with a strong character driven plot. I get invested in people before I get invested in stories (probably why I spend so much time reading fanfiction, honestly) and Circe is a beautiful tale spanning hundreds of years of Circe's life.

Initially, I was drawn to this book because I knew of Circe as a wicked and wild enchantress as a side-character in Odysseus' epic story. This is the kind of story that makes me sad for past me for thinking that. Miller's Circe is a powerful, independent woman surrounded by overbearing men that think they Know Best. Her father's a Titan, the sun god, and her mother has little interest in her because she won't make much of a bride. Circe's initial forays into magic are based out of a visceral desire to feel loved, and throughout the novel that thread of loneliness and a need for companionship thread under a lot of Circe's actions. To me, Circe's fatal flaw isn't a lust for power, it's a love for humanity, much like Prometheus. And when she reaches the crux of her powers, her thoughts still turn to protection before they turn to harm. Circe is a tale of an immortal learning what it is to be human, and what it means to be mortal, and Miller has managed to create a hauntingly beautiful retelling that makes your heart ache for her, but more than that this feels to me like the story of a downtrodden girl learning to be a woman, and finding strength in the realisation that she can be whole and strong all on her own, even in a male-dominant world.