This was amazing. I was absolutely hooked from the very first page. There is something so simple yet beautiful about the writing, and I loved that this book creates a compelling narrative and also injects a lot of Greek mythology without it seeming like pure exposition. It feels like a memoir, which I think works really well for this type of story.

Circe is a fantastic protagonist. She is flawed AF. She can be impatient, envious, and impetuous. She gets herself into a lot of situations that have dire consequences. But at the same time, she's strong, loyal, and brave. I love that she takes responsibility for her own actions and grows from her mistakes. I love that she is contrary enough to her family that when she is exiled to Aiaia she looks at it as a good thing, a place she can finally live her own life on her own terms.

TW: If you know anything about Greek (or really any) mythology, you know that there can be some really intense happenings...if you're at all triggered by assault or violence in any shape or form, you may want to tread lightly here.

This is the first Madeline Miller book I've read, but I really want to pick up A Song for Achilles soon.
Circe is absolutely one of my new favorites. I feel like this is one of those books that has been really hyped the past few months, and it is completely deserving of it!

If this book isn’t enough to make you want to start hoarding goods for the apocalypse, I’m not sure what is. I’ve seen reviews saying that everything in this book happens too fast, that people wouldn’t lose their humanity as quickly as it happens in this book. I disagree. People already have a tendency toward selfishness (which would be totally understandable in a case such as this) and intense, life-threatening circumstances such as these would only heighten that predisposition.

Neal Shusterman is a very talented writer. His stories are unique and engrossing. I will read anything he publishes...(really need the 3rd Arc of a Scythe book, btw)

I listened to this on audiobook, which was done very well. There are several perspectives, and each is voiced by a different actor.

One note, maybe don’t listen to this right before bed. I had some crazy dreams because of this book!

I loved so much about this book. The writing, the setting, the source material -- this is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling-- all of it is really well done. I love that this is a book with several examples of strong women. They are all smart and brave, loyal and honorable.

There are a couple things that knock the rating down for me though.
This is a multiple perspective novel, which I tend to love. The problem comes when perspectives are switched without any indication of who we are now following, several times each chapter. It gets confusing, especially if you listen to the audiobook, like I did for the first half of this book until the number of POVs went from three to six. The audiobook doesn't even pause when switching from one perspective to another, so I would have no idea we had switched protagonists at first. Also, while I like multiple POV novels, I didn't think Irina's nurse was necessary at all, and I wasn't super excited about Stepon either. I would've preferred more of Irina's or the Tsar's perspective, especially to tie up their story at the end.

I also thought it took awhile to get to the main plot of the story, although I enjoyed the writing in the beginning as well. I can see some people saying that this book is slow or has pacing issues. It just depends on what you value in your storytelling. I tend to really enjoy these kind of character-driven stories.

4.5 stars, rounded up because of the very last chapter. Wow.

I loved the way this story unfolded. The story is so twisted, but not in a way that feels convoluted, at least to me. I didn't feel like there were any huge AHA! moments that flabbergasted me, but each reveal just made me more and more uneasy as I read. The story unfolded at exactly the right pacing. And even though we pretty much know the story by the last 20-30 pages, the book didn't lose the tension that had built up because I still wasn't sure how all the chips were going to fall.
Most times when I read thrillers I find myself trying to figure out what the 'big twist' will be. With this book, I was so consumed with the characters themselves that I just kind of let the story happen, which made for a wonderful reading experience.

This was tedious.

I get that this is a classic, and that there are many people who look at it as a transformative novel and a stellar example of modernism. YAAAAAWWWNNN...
It's ironic that this book takes place over the course of just one day, because it felt like I was stuck in this book for years. It was dreadfully dull.

I've found that I don't enjoy the stream-of-consciousness writing style. I think playing with structure is great, but there has to be something, anything, that compels me to read and enjoy a book. This has no plot, vapid and pompous characters, and almost no dialogue to move the story along. It's 200+ pages of nothing but a bunch of insipid internal narrative.

The ONLY reason I was able to make it through this is I was listening to the audiobook while I was doing housework, and even then I contemplated DNFing. I'm really happy for people who read this book and love it. I wish I'd had that same experience, but I just didn't, and that's okay.

3.5 Stars
This was a solid start to the series. I don’t know that there is anything super original here, but it was an enjoyable reading experience that made me want to immediately continue with the second book.

The only other Marie Lu book I’ve read is Warcross, and I wasn’t impressed, so I went into this one with relatively low expectations. I’m glad I gave it a shot!

I enjoyed this even more than the first book. The action was enhanced, the stakes were higher, and that ending? Wow. I'm glad I have the third book waiting to go.

I will say, I don't care for the woman who narrates the female perspectives. She has a very strange cadence. There are times when she should pause and doesn't. It's as if she's trying to inject tension into the book and forgets that commas and periods denotes moments of pause.

That aside, these books fly by for me. I hope I enjoy the finale.

Well that was definitely not an ending that pulled punches. Wow. That was the perfect ending for this story. Going into this third book, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. The end of the second book (btw, potential spoilers for previous books...that should go without saying but I'll say it anyway) had Adelina thoroughly embracing her dark side. Driving her sister away, seizing the throne, letting the voices in her head run rampant...so I wasn't sure exactly where Marie Lu was going to go with this story. In my mind, there were only a few ways it could go. I will say that I was right about the fate of Adelina, but how that actually manifested was so much better than I could've imagined.

I love the trope of enemies working together toward a common purpose. The fact that many of these people weren't always enemies made it even more interesting. Also, the stakes are high here. The ending isn't made up of a bunch of conveniences and contrivances where everyone gets a happily ever after. But at the same time, the ending is hopeful. It's really bittersweet, which I appreciated.

I'm so glad I gave this series a chance, and really want to pick up the Legend series next.

3.5 stars

Interesting premise and protagonist. My biggest issue was that the climax felt a little rushed and easy. I wish the stakes had been a bit higher. It never felt like any of the main characters were in any real danger.

That said, it was a quick read that I enjoyed. The dystopian world is interesting, if not fully fleshed out. This takes place in a future Texas where only five cities still remain. What happened to cause so much destruction? What is happening in the rest of the world? I wish it hadn’t been so myopic in that way. But as I write that, I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense. After all, we’re digesting this story from the perspective of a girl who has been basically enslaved and controlled her whole life by this oppressive group. Perhaps she had no idea what life was like elsewhere in the world. But it would be nice to get some answers in the next book.

Overall I liked this well enough. I would recommend to someone who enjoys dystopian books with a sci-fi bent.