Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Circe by Madeline Miller

1223 reviews

meguniqueuser's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, this book was amazing. Extremely well written and expert use of mythology. 

It is an examination of one woman’s life, it dives deep into character and introspection and examines life beautifully. It has so many good phrases and thoughts that I highlighted. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Blood

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

louisec12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read this book right after finishing The Song of Achilles which was the right thing to do because this book contains spoilers for The Song of Achilles. 

I loved Circe! She was a complete powerhouse and I loved her journey from being timid and naive to bold, strong and powerful but still caring. I loved reading about her carving her path in life and perfecting her witchcraft in the face of everyone who wants to tear her down and the many challenges she faces. I also loved the revisiting of quotes from characters who appeared earlier in the book when Circe realises the meaning behind what they were saying.

I would say that I found some of the wording quite confusing. The author sometimes uses a phrase like "and there it was. I knew what it was before I saw it...." but then would take ages to explain what it was to the reader so it could be confusing for people who aren't up to speed on Greek mythology such as myself. I also found the book slightly slow in parts and sometimes struggled to finish it because of that. The beginning of the book is quite slow which might put some people off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War

sweettartdemon's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This took me ALMOST a year to finish (literally started it on august 18 2023 and finished it on August 1st) because I’m terrible at reading consistently otherwise I would’ve finished it wayyyy earlier. It was a bit boring at times so I don’t think this is for everyone. The idea of immortality is so interesting but more specifically daunting to me because of how stagnant everything seems if you live forever. I don’t think approaching this as a feminist retelling is a good idea because of circe’s relationships and how the book progresses so you will get bored and disappointed. I suggest going into it with the assumption it’s an exploration of the juxtaposition of mortality and the immortality of divine beings.

Unfortunately I’m at a point in my life where reading about how Telemachus wanting to see and known Circe’s past despite her fear of being hated by him for it made me tear up. So the ending just felt so comforting and lovely  (/□＼*)・゜

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

arulow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

pixelua's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

coldheartedbirch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

willoughby's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

frankahilde's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

After loving the song of Achilles I finally got around to reading Madeline millers second book. I was instantly hooked on the story and felt sucked into circes world. I also read it on vacation in southern France and the scenery made me feel so connected to Circe on her island. It is beautifully written but I did find it a bit slow towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Incest and War

_polaris_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility and War