C is for Circe

This year I’m taking a break from Faerie and doing an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list instead. Each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book. I’ve decided not to include words like “A”, “The” and “An” during this challenge.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

This book was recommended to me on Goodreads and languished on my TBR for ages. I finally got around to reading it for this challenge.

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.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

If taken as a story where a young woman comes of age over a couple of hundred years, it is an okay read. Some parts were needlessly long, some parts were rushed through. Sometimes the language choices made no sense at all.

The gods and titans are cruel children throughout. Circe was different from the start. I felt sad with her when her lion died of old age.

For the most part, I didn’t like her. For all she said about the callous, vain, glory-seeking behaviour of her kind, she was eventually the same. It was why she was exiled. The men she got involved with were… Trophies. Except the last. He is the only one who truly loved her and whom she truly loved.

It was becoming a mother that changed her into a relatable and likeable person. It was being a mother that finally healed her of her family’s abuses. And it was being a mother that brought her to love.

The imagery and descriptions were excellent. Except for the monsters: they weren’t fully formed and I had to fill in the blanks too frequently with them. It’s good that scenes of true brutality and passion were left off the page and only vaguely mentioned – there is enough gore and abuse filling the pages.

I liked how Circe learned magic, practiced it and used it. It was part of what drew me to her even when I couldn’t stand her neediness.

In the end, Circe is a strong, independent woman who can take care of herself and others without the help of her divine relatives.

A good story marred by strange storytelling choices.

Trigger warning: rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, violence.

My Book

Stories on Scrolls

I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?

*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*