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mariam27's review against another edition
4.0
How do I write a review of this book? How do I explain what I felt with every page and each word that spoke from our characters? How do I describe the happiness I felt, the joy, and the downright pain I felt reading the last words of this book?
I think this story was beautiful but also heartbreaking watching Axios and Eryx grow older and the weariness of world, the life of a Spartan warrior drag their shoulders. It broke my heart watching them grow and how different they were from the precious years of youth. It was in its own accuracy, the truth of the unfairness of it all, that time was cruel to all, and no one no matter how great escaped it's claws. It was watching them grow older and toughen up that hurt the most, it was seeing them GROW UP from their innocent hearts that broke my heart.
And yet through the passage of time, a small bubble that cruelty of the world did not touch was the love Axios and Eryx had for each other. It was timeless and passionate, soul-deep and endless. It grew as they got older and intensified as the years progressed.
And I was in awe.
It reminds me of the simple things I seek in life.
Their love reminded me of the simple things in life I gloss over. It makes me appreciate and nauseate at the wealth of our generation.
This book felt 500 pages long and yet still not enough. I am not a history major and my knowledge of Spartan history is very little yet I praise and appluase at the historical aspect of this book. It might be naive of me but I wish to believe that historical value of this book, was indeed accurate as well.
I think Axios might have been everyone's delight and favorite, but I felt my heart sing with Eryx's appearance, absolutely curdled by his pain and downright joy at reading his bliss. And yet I feel like I still know barely anything about him, I mean I can read his tells, the look he gets in his eyes, the crease in his brows, the frowns in his eyes, I mean I can guess as much as I want to but can never fully confirm it. And yet, ever as the beautiful mystery he was, he was the light in this beautiful novel. My strong, courageous warrior.
Which is why I'm excited to read HIS POV, HIS DECLARATION for their journey and story even though it actually petrified me like the fucking boogey man, knowing I'll have to go through this book one more time again.
This book and the memories that i felt as if I shared it with Axios and Eryx remains, honestly, a sacred place in my heart. I look back at this book and think of our great warriors with so much fondness, because throughout all the pain, and death, and cold nights and cruel scars left behind, through all the desperation and longing our warriors felt and battled with, throughout war they found and had each other, they found love and shared that love, nurtured and cherished it until the final moments of this book.
It was without a doubt, maddeningly beautiful.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[ For clarification, I rated this 4.5 ⭐ and the way to it is 100 and 10% spoiler filled. ]
❌❌❌❌❌❌ WARNING.
SPOILERS AHEAD ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
❌❌❌❌DO NOT READ if you have read the book, you'll regret it, I promise. ❌❌❌❌
I felt betrayed, disgusted and horrified at every second of the King Agig whatever. I'm sure he was a great man in real life but in this book? Go find your own damn Axious mate! He's of Eyrx!
I felt disgusted because that stupid, even if Axios didn't move, HE LET HIM KISS HIM and for what? FOR THEIR FIRST FUCKING ARGUMENT. The first time they fought, the first time doubt was crossed, the first time conflict exchanged, yeah he was fucking hurt, but he dared to go into the embrace of another face and yearn for them? How dare he and how dare he do that to Eyrx? And ugk, don't get me started on the first thing he said afterward. I nearly threw my phone at a wall. That's the stupidest I ever heard. I was proud as fuck when Eryx threw him down.
Ugk, I'm mad at Axios because I FELT BETRAYED. Of all people and of all lovers, it was him who cherished the ground Eyrx walked on, and loved him inways unbestowed to their time that ripped my chest. I felt nauseated and violated and if this is what it feels like being cheated, I feel sorry for having loved cheating romance before.
And what I was mad even more was why Axios did it. IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. He said and I fucking quote, that the King called him Extraordinary and that was the first time someone had ever said that to them.
EAT SHIT AND CHOKE ON IT CUS THAT'S THE DAMNEDEST LIE I'VE EVER HEARD.
What the fuck do you think Eryx thinks of you as? A PIECE OF FUCKING WARM HOLE?
Eryx, in his own stubborn, prideful and confident ways, adored - loved - cherished and - protected Axios. It was him who teached and pushed Axios to be strong. He pushed the hardest of all of their mentors, Eryx pushed him at his moral dilemmas. He pushed him because if Eryx didn't, he knew Axios wouldn't survive the life of what a Spartan entailed. Yet no matter how strong he wished and pushed Axios to be, he cherished Axios' mind and his heart and his love of adventure, of the stars and the questions he seek and the knowledge he wishes to engulf.
There was never a heartbeat where it didn't echo of Axios in Eryx's soul.
So HOW DARE Axios belittle my warrior of the incredible love Eyrx beholds with him. Absolutely unbelievable.
And I let go of it okay. I ignored it and my mindset was: it happened already so I can't fucking do anything over it. I threw it to the back of mind and regrew my appreciation for him.
But God fucking DAMN IT. Really? When they met again, Axios heart flutters??? No. No. I feel disgusted as I type that and y'know, it was nice he was with the man until death BUT NO. how dare he regret that night he parted with him after that kiss. He dare he wish to know him better. Fuck that and fuck this entire plot. That's why I can't give this a full 5 star and I can't put this on my favorite list.
.
.
.
.
.
After that VERY passionate RANT that I -when I reread it- feel like: damn, who was she? take a chill pill woman.
Here's to my complete 180 of my entire rant lol.
.
.
..
.
.
.
I hate sad endings, sad endings have no place on this world. The world is already miserable enough.
But Axios and Eryx's ending was sad and my I cried with my whole body shaking, with my heart absolutely anguish. But the thing is... My heart didn't break at their ending. It didn't shatter. Because Axios and Eryx's ending was beautiful. It was them, as they've always been, from where they've started to where they ended, together with their heart and soul.
I felt silly typing this, but I couldn't help but say my very own love letter to Axios and Eryx for it felt like an ode to the stars.
To Axios and Eryx,
To your next life, for Axios may your dreams of that ordinary house by the seashore and a life full of adventure come true, and Eyrx, may you never falter in your bravery and begin a newfound purpose, together.
“For as long as there is breath in my lungs, I will love you. Only you. And even when I leave this world, I will still belong to you, for my soul will forever seek yours. In both this life and the next.
I think this story was beautiful but also heartbreaking watching Axios and Eryx grow older and the weariness of world, the life of a Spartan warrior drag their shoulders. It broke my heart watching them grow and how different they were from the precious years of youth. It was in its own accuracy, the truth of the unfairness of it all, that time was cruel to all, and no one no matter how great escaped it's claws. It was watching them grow older and toughen up that hurt the most, it was seeing them GROW UP from their innocent hearts that broke my heart.
And yet through the passage of time, a small bubble that cruelty of the world did not touch was the love Axios and Eryx had for each other. It was timeless and passionate, soul-deep and endless. It grew as they got older and intensified as the years progressed.
And I was in awe.
“There is no greater happiness than having you by my side.”
It reminds me of the simple things I seek in life.
Their love reminded me of the simple things in life I gloss over. It makes me appreciate and nauseate at the wealth of our generation.
This book felt 500 pages long and yet still not enough. I am not a history major and my knowledge of Spartan history is very little yet I praise and appluase at the historical aspect of this book. It might be naive of me but I wish to believe that historical value of this book, was indeed accurate as well.
I think Axios might have been everyone's delight and favorite, but I felt my heart sing with Eryx's appearance, absolutely curdled by his pain and downright joy at reading his bliss. And yet I feel like I still know barely anything about him, I mean I can read his tells, the look he gets in his eyes, the crease in his brows, the frowns in his eyes, I mean I can guess as much as I want to but can never fully confirm it. And yet, ever as the beautiful mystery he was, he was the light in this beautiful novel. My strong, courageous warrior.
I saw him as a god, a man to be feared by all, but one I loved above all others.
Which is why I'm excited to read HIS POV, HIS DECLARATION for their journey and story even though it actually petrified me like the fucking boogey man, knowing I'll have to go through this book one more time again.
The passage of time had touched many things, but it had not changed his beauty. If anything, it had only enhanced it.
This book and the memories that i felt as if I shared it with Axios and Eryx remains, honestly, a sacred place in my heart. I look back at this book and think of our great warriors with so much fondness, because throughout all the pain, and death, and cold nights and cruel scars left behind, through all the desperation and longing our warriors felt and battled with, throughout war they found and had each other, they found love and shared that love, nurtured and cherished it until the final moments of this book.
It was without a doubt, maddeningly beautiful.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[ For clarification, I rated this 4.5 ⭐ and the way to it is 100 and 10% spoiler filled. ]
❌❌❌❌❌❌ WARNING.
SPOILERS AHEAD ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
❌❌❌❌DO NOT READ if you have read the book, you'll regret it, I promise. ❌❌❌❌
I felt betrayed, disgusted and horrified at every second of the King Agig whatever. I'm sure he was a great man in real life but in this book? Go find your own damn Axious mate! He's of Eyrx!
I felt disgusted because that stupid, even if Axios didn't move, HE LET HIM KISS HIM and for what? FOR THEIR FIRST FUCKING ARGUMENT. The first time they fought, the first time doubt was crossed, the first time conflict exchanged, yeah he was fucking hurt, but he dared to go into the embrace of another face and yearn for them? How dare he and how dare he do that to Eyrx? And ugk, don't get me started on the first thing he said afterward. I nearly threw my phone at a wall. That's the stupidest I ever heard. I was proud as fuck when Eryx threw him down.
Ugk, I'm mad at Axios because I FELT BETRAYED. Of all people and of all lovers, it was him who cherished the ground Eyrx walked on, and loved him inways unbestowed to their time that ripped my chest. I felt nauseated and violated and if this is what it feels like being cheated, I feel sorry for having loved cheating romance before.
And what I was mad even more was why Axios did it. IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. He said and I fucking quote, that the King called him Extraordinary and that was the first time someone had ever said that to them.
EAT SHIT AND CHOKE ON IT CUS THAT'S THE DAMNEDEST LIE I'VE EVER HEARD.
What the fuck do you think Eryx thinks of you as? A PIECE OF FUCKING WARM HOLE?
Eryx, in his own stubborn, prideful and confident ways, adored - loved - cherished and - protected Axios. It was him who teached and pushed Axios to be strong. He pushed the hardest of all of their mentors, Eryx pushed him at his moral dilemmas. He pushed him because if Eryx didn't, he knew Axios wouldn't survive the life of what a Spartan entailed. Yet no matter how strong he wished and pushed Axios to be, he cherished Axios' mind and his heart and his love of adventure, of the stars and the questions he seek and the knowledge he wishes to engulf.
There was never a heartbeat where it didn't echo of Axios in Eryx's soul.
So HOW DARE Axios belittle my warrior of the incredible love Eyrx beholds with him. Absolutely unbelievable.
And I let go of it okay. I ignored it and my mindset was: it happened already so I can't fucking do anything over it. I threw it to the back of mind and regrew my appreciation for him.
But God fucking DAMN IT. Really? When they met again, Axios heart flutters??? No. No. I feel disgusted as I type that and y'know, it was nice he was with the man until death BUT NO. how dare he regret that night he parted with him after that kiss. He dare he wish to know him better. Fuck that and fuck this entire plot. That's why I can't give this a full 5 star and I can't put this on my favorite list.
.
.
.
.
.
After that VERY passionate RANT that I -when I reread it- feel like: damn, who was she? take a chill pill woman.
Here's to my complete 180 of my entire rant lol.
.
.
..
.
.
.
I hate sad endings, sad endings have no place on this world. The world is already miserable enough.
But Axios and Eryx's ending was sad and my I cried with my whole body shaking, with my heart absolutely anguish. But the thing is... My heart didn't break at their ending. It didn't shatter. Because Axios and Eryx's ending was beautiful. It was them, as they've always been, from where they've started to where they ended, together with their heart and soul.
I felt silly typing this, but I couldn't help but say my very own love letter to Axios and Eryx for it felt like an ode to the stars.
To Axios and Eryx,
To your next life, for Axios may your dreams of that ordinary house by the seashore and a life full of adventure come true, and Eyrx, may you never falter in your bravery and begin a newfound purpose, together.
“When you are near, it’s as if my soul reaches out to touch yours,” he spoke, moving his fingers along my jaw and staring at me with a look that made my stomach flutter. “To reconnect with a missing piece. And when we part, I leave that piece with you.”
jess0603's review against another edition
5.0
My favourite M/M historical romance ever.
I can see myself reading this book over and over again.
5/5
I can see myself reading this book over and over again.
5/5
bookloversofantastic's review against another edition
5.0
This book was just so so good, even if it made me cry. My first warning is that there is no HEA for the characters. But it still is a beautiful story and it’s gonna be one of my favourites.
This story follows the life of two Spartan warriors from their training to their life as soldiers. Axios is more than any Spartan, his mind is not the same and will cause him trouble going through his training. Until he met Eryx who will support and him help during all the steps of the harsh Spartan training, steeping boys from everything they knew to make them strong, intrepid and fierce.
Through this historical romance, it is possible to see the inner fight that Axios lives, but also all the childhood trauma they have to suffer to be accepted and considered as true men.
I couldn’t stop reading, it was just amazing. I loved all the characters and the relationship between Axios and Eryx is so intense, they feel no shame for who they are and who they love. I don’t know if I will read the book from Eryx's point of view yet, because this one really touch my heart and I fear being disappointed. So I will see later, however, I think I will try to buy it in paperback and add it to my bookshelf
This story follows the life of two Spartan warriors from their training to their life as soldiers. Axios is more than any Spartan, his mind is not the same and will cause him trouble going through his training. Until he met Eryx who will support and him help during all the steps of the harsh Spartan training, steeping boys from everything they knew to make them strong, intrepid and fierce.
Through this historical romance, it is possible to see the inner fight that Axios lives, but also all the childhood trauma they have to suffer to be accepted and considered as true men.
I couldn’t stop reading, it was just amazing. I loved all the characters and the relationship between Axios and Eryx is so intense, they feel no shame for who they are and who they love. I don’t know if I will read the book from Eryx's point of view yet, because this one really touch my heart and I fear being disappointed. So I will see later, however, I think I will try to buy it in paperback and add it to my bookshelf
kaylamei's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“You may not see it now, but when the time comes for us to go to battle, you will be brave for your heart is bigger than any I know.”
Premise: 5/5 - Friends to lovers with battles and a tale spanning decades.
Prose: 3.5/5 - Well written but long. Repetitive at parts. Sometimes a bit more “tell than show”.
Spice: 3/5 - Plenty of intimate scenes but they were not created equal and almost felt written to fill a quota. Lack of change in positions and mention of lubrication.
Tear-worthy: No, I didn’t cry. But it was definitely filled with quotable and lovely poetic passages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Homophobia
arys's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
toto7's review
4.0
Sparta. A place I could wander with my eyes closed and envision every tree and every meadow. A place that had once brought me pain, but I had learned to appreciate the pain—to overcome it and see the beauty lying within. The place I had met a boy with the most intriguing golden hair, so many years ago, and fallen in love.
3.75 stars!
Well, this was a surprise! I had NEVER heard of this book before, and it is actually relatively new (came out this year). It was when I was scrolling down Goodreads that I stumbled upon a review of this book. I cannot remember what the reviewer said, but I remember thinking: oh, this seems GOOD. It sounded kind of like The song of Achilles to me, a book I was loving but had to put down to focus on school. This year I have SO LITTLE TIME, but I was like what the hell!, I supposed I could read this in the bus/subway from uni to my house. So I download the e-book.
I must say... this book wasn't what I expected! I was just looking for a "light read". And I know I didn't pick the most light book ever (it is about war and death, after all), but I just wanted to read something! I have read literally nothing this year (uni, I do not like you). So when I saw this book, a book I wanted to read, for ONCE I wasn't willing to put it aside until summer. I'm tired of reading boring, old books. You could say I treated myself these two weeks with this book. My grades may have suffered tho, he he, but I don't regret it! If I didn't read something I liked, I am certain I would've gone M A D.
So, enough of my uni-rant and onto the book.
This deals with the life of Axios, a spartan soldier. The novel starts with Axios at age ten, all alone and scared and away from home. Three years ago he was taken from his mother to start the agoge, where he essentially is taught to how to be a perfect Spartan killing machine. All the children who enter the agoge (pretty much every boy) must learn how to survive the hard way. Until they are twenty, their lives are consumed with the agoge, training and training and being ready for war.
At ten, he meets a boy who is also taking part in the agoge: Eryx. He is the opposite to Axios, who is slim and scared and just wants to run away. Eryx is strong, diligent and wants to prove he's the kind of soldier Sparta needs. Against all odds, these two become friends. Their story begins with these two just being little kids and ends when they're both in their mid-thirties, so we cover a lot of their lives together. As friends and, sooner than later, as lovers.
I've never read a story set in Sparta. The beginning and how adults treat kids impressed me. Was it really like that? But anyway, me not knowing any of this stuff, I was quite intrigued with how everything work and what they made children do. That kept me occupied up until chapter 15, when both Eryx and Axios were around eighteen. Then after that, Axios kinda started becoming more like a flat character. When he was little and a teenager, he had his insecurities, his fears and his dreams. But then everything is about war and he starts losing himself in it. I don't know, I feel like, from the middle of the book, all he thought about was war.
Eryx was amazing. He is the complete opposite of Axios, but he still loves him and tries to understand Axios' fears and dreams of running away. For being one of the best soldiers, he could've been so arrogant and self-centred, but he was such a good person! He took control when the situations required him to, but he never brag about his positions over time. All he cared about was having Axios and his friends at his side.
Talking about friends! Axios and Eryx had the greatest friends ever. Haden, Quill and Theron. They became friends over the years together in the agoge, and they considered themselves brothers. Their relationship was honestly really beautiful. All of them appreciated the moments together, because they knew tomorrow they could be off to war.
I was really enjoying the book, but the last hundred pages were kind of a drag. It started going on and on about different wars? Like, I cannot tell you the wars they participated in because it got too confusing after a while. There was one war one moment, then that one ended and another one started right away. And the author didn't take the time to explain any of it! LITERALLY, she used two lines to say that a new war between Sparta and another city had started. Like, whut?
This also relates with another thing I hated. There were I think two times they went to fight to another location... and then they went back to Sparta the next day... and then that fight wasn't even relevant for the story! Why did they even go then?! Just to have more pages or what? At least they could've been interesting, exciting fights, but nooo!
Also... the king. The one that liked Axios (sorry I won't spell that name). WHY was Axios so sad when he died? He met him ONE TIME, when out with him ONE TIME, and that was all! But he dies and you say he had a part of your heart, Axios? You barely knew him.
Although i loved the last two chapters (I even teared up, which doesn't happen often), the ending was rather abrupt. Axios gets wounded, Eryx gets killed, and that's it? There weren't even cute words! >:( they say they will follow the other everywhere, but they just die and END OF CHAPTER. I needed more! More angst! Their deaths just took two pages, that's not enough! You need to make it more emotional.
Also, and this is just a comment... the name of this book could've been more interesting. Axios: A Spartan Tale? C'mon, it could've been something more awesome!
Overall I enjoyed this book A LOT MORE than I thought. The story kept me intrigued for most of the time, the characters were cool and the ending was bittersweet.
jenvile's review against another edition
2.0
This is basically just a rant and NOT a review, so please don’t read this if you want something articulate and short. Most of this is taken from conversations with my best friend so it’ll be lax and rambly and more about genre, writing and process than anything.
First of all, I want to preface but saying I know how many of my GR friends I will be disappointing … I really wanted to LOVE it okay! Please don’t hurt me! >_<
final thoughts: mixed feelings. I really, truly understand where the author is coming from and I know how hard writing historical fiction is (I haven’t even written any thing but I’ve already encountered a lot of barriers that just comes with the baggage of writing within this genre) so I’m not going to judge it on the accuracy aspect and I also don’t think it’s fair to judge it against books that are critically acclaimed since I feel like this story wasn’t meant to be judged as such, and it really was just meant to be published individually and to share a story that this author’s had in their mind forever. With those standards - I think it’s actually a good story. It’s better than a majority of the books out there that is in the same market that this one is in. So with those expectations, I feel like it’s not bad. You have a story set in a time period with love interests that never gets a light shone on them because of other stories saturating the market, you get an insight about war, about Spartan philosophy and it’s also a romance - so in those standards it’s great.
However - the thing that saddens me isn’t that it has potential to actually be something that can be more than what’s written, what really really really irks me is that there’s this weird feeling where I feel like the author DID want it to be this epic thing, and you can’t help but cringe at the presumptuousness of that. It’s riding a lot on Song of Achilles fame - and there are a lot of decisions which you can just *tell* that: oh yeah, SOA influence. But again I don’t want to compare the two because it’s not meant to be SOA, the standards are completely different. But why do I still feel that the author is expecting us to love it based on that SOA fame ?
The writer is expecting the reader to love these main characters already, love the world, love the circumstances and love the way their love unravels - all without them *earning* our love or respect. We don’t see a change or growth, we don’t see their internal conflicts and we don’t get to make our own decisions about these characters. But we do get told that. We get told how much these characters love each other, how much they need each other, how they’re truly soul mates. We get told that Axios grows into a strong man, Eryx is a great leader and then it’s covered by a couple of actions thereafter in an attempt to show us that. A lot of it is riding on a reader’s desire to fall for these characters already without having ever read their journey, and we’re swept away with those ideals - and it’s being presented as the most epic and one of a lifetime romance between these two people ever.
I think in that respect, it’s similar to Circe in that way. A lot of Circe rides on the presumption that we know the Greek myths and how much we love these figure heads already before these figure heads earn our respect in the story as just characters. The history and mythology trumps the story. In both books, we’re expected to read with a certain lens already - instead of making our own judgement about the characters and the story. The authors, thus, insert themselves into our reading experience in order to paint this larger than life story because of the assumptions and pre determined ideals for the way we *think* we should view these characters.
However, ironically enough, I think Axios has been one of the most important books I’ve read so far regarding my writing process. And this is the ultimate feeling I have with this book, which trumps all those feelings I talked about above (even though those feelings are valid and all). I’ve thought so much about the writing process, genre, story telling and everything within the craft of writing more than I’ve had reading this book than any other book. It’s one thing to read a guidebook on how to write, or a book that inspires me in wanting to write like someone or see how it can be done with my own ideas and practice (which is important of course) but what I experienced here is the strangeness of picking up a book and seeing it as a mirror.
Axios prompted me to think not only about how I can improve my writing in the future but the most important thing was what my CURRENT writing is like, in the present. It’s been a metaphorical mirror to my own work. I noted a lot of sentences, a lot of themes and a lot of ideas that have been reflected in my own writing which I personally dislike. I’m seeing the things I critique about stories, in my own story! I didn’t realise how cliche some of my ideas, dialogue and methods to revealing themes and recurring motifs were. And that’s because I AM an amateur, since no one’s read what I have nor has anyone given me critical feedback to change to make my story more *me*.
I realised early on, I need to earn the respect of my readers and I need them to respect my characters before they can love them - they need to see with their own eyes the development and the motivations without me spelling it out for them. Because I’ve experienced how much my story can backfire if I don’t. AND I KNOW ITS SO FREAKING HARD. Axios made me realise just HOW hard it can be - nothing’s wrong with book, it’s just not a book that I could quickly connect to. If I had read this years ago, and if I wasn’t someone who wanted to be a writer… I would’ve loved this book. And it’s sad because I know how hard it can be to writing historical fiction and how the author published the book because she loved these characters and she wanted to share her art. And here I am criticising it.
But that was such a big lightning bulb moment that I don’t think I would’ve had without reading this book and without talking to my best friend about it in our buddy read.
Even after all that, I would recommend if you just want ROMANCE set in Sparta. It isn’t too bad. But it’s not for me, in current stage of life, anymore.
First of all, I want to preface but saying I know how many of my GR friends I will be disappointing … I really wanted to LOVE it okay! Please don’t hurt me! >_<
final thoughts: mixed feelings. I really, truly understand where the author is coming from and I know how hard writing historical fiction is (I haven’t even written any thing but I’ve already encountered a lot of barriers that just comes with the baggage of writing within this genre) so I’m not going to judge it on the accuracy aspect and I also don’t think it’s fair to judge it against books that are critically acclaimed since I feel like this story wasn’t meant to be judged as such, and it really was just meant to be published individually and to share a story that this author’s had in their mind forever. With those standards - I think it’s actually a good story. It’s better than a majority of the books out there that is in the same market that this one is in. So with those expectations, I feel like it’s not bad. You have a story set in a time period with love interests that never gets a light shone on them because of other stories saturating the market, you get an insight about war, about Spartan philosophy and it’s also a romance - so in those standards it’s great.
However - the thing that saddens me isn’t that it has potential to actually be something that can be more than what’s written, what really really really irks me is that there’s this weird feeling where I feel like the author DID want it to be this epic thing, and you can’t help but cringe at the presumptuousness of that. It’s riding a lot on Song of Achilles fame - and there are a lot of decisions which you can just *tell* that: oh yeah, SOA influence. But again I don’t want to compare the two because it’s not meant to be SOA, the standards are completely different. But why do I still feel that the author is expecting us to love it based on that SOA fame ?
The writer is expecting the reader to love these main characters already, love the world, love the circumstances and love the way their love unravels - all without them *earning* our love or respect. We don’t see a change or growth, we don’t see their internal conflicts and we don’t get to make our own decisions about these characters. But we do get told that. We get told how much these characters love each other, how much they need each other, how they’re truly soul mates. We get told that Axios grows into a strong man, Eryx is a great leader and then it’s covered by a couple of actions thereafter in an attempt to show us that. A lot of it is riding on a reader’s desire to fall for these characters already without having ever read their journey, and we’re swept away with those ideals - and it’s being presented as the most epic and one of a lifetime romance between these two people ever.
I think in that respect, it’s similar to Circe in that way. A lot of Circe rides on the presumption that we know the Greek myths and how much we love these figure heads already before these figure heads earn our respect in the story as just characters. The history and mythology trumps the story. In both books, we’re expected to read with a certain lens already - instead of making our own judgement about the characters and the story. The authors, thus, insert themselves into our reading experience in order to paint this larger than life story because of the assumptions and pre determined ideals for the way we *think* we should view these characters.
However, ironically enough, I think Axios has been one of the most important books I’ve read so far regarding my writing process. And this is the ultimate feeling I have with this book, which trumps all those feelings I talked about above (even though those feelings are valid and all). I’ve thought so much about the writing process, genre, story telling and everything within the craft of writing more than I’ve had reading this book than any other book. It’s one thing to read a guidebook on how to write, or a book that inspires me in wanting to write like someone or see how it can be done with my own ideas and practice (which is important of course) but what I experienced here is the strangeness of picking up a book and seeing it as a mirror.
Axios prompted me to think not only about how I can improve my writing in the future but the most important thing was what my CURRENT writing is like, in the present. It’s been a metaphorical mirror to my own work. I noted a lot of sentences, a lot of themes and a lot of ideas that have been reflected in my own writing which I personally dislike. I’m seeing the things I critique about stories, in my own story! I didn’t realise how cliche some of my ideas, dialogue and methods to revealing themes and recurring motifs were. And that’s because I AM an amateur, since no one’s read what I have nor has anyone given me critical feedback to change to make my story more *me*.
I realised early on, I need to earn the respect of my readers and I need them to respect my characters before they can love them - they need to see with their own eyes the development and the motivations without me spelling it out for them. Because I’ve experienced how much my story can backfire if I don’t. AND I KNOW ITS SO FREAKING HARD. Axios made me realise just HOW hard it can be - nothing’s wrong with book, it’s just not a book that I could quickly connect to. If I had read this years ago, and if I wasn’t someone who wanted to be a writer… I would’ve loved this book. And it’s sad because I know how hard it can be to writing historical fiction and how the author published the book because she loved these characters and she wanted to share her art. And here I am criticising it.
But that was such a big lightning bulb moment that I don’t think I would’ve had without reading this book and without talking to my best friend about it in our buddy read.
Even after all that, I would recommend if you just want ROMANCE set in Sparta. It isn’t too bad. But it’s not for me, in current stage of life, anymore.
zhanghao's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Homophobia, Rape, Death of parent, Blood, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Murder
daal1592's review against another edition
4.0
Tres razones para leer este libro:
•Espartanos
•Friends to lovers
•BL (Estre guerreros espartanos, claro
•Espartanos
•Friends to lovers
•BL (Estre guerreros espartanos, claro