Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Circe by Madeline Miller

356 reviews

lindyloureads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Bullying, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Body shaming, Sexual content, Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Death, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, War, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pregnancy, Incest, and Physical abuse

tottles's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Physical abuse, Incest, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Torture, Animal death, and Bullying

Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Alcohol

cynthiaplans's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I’m partial to Greek mythology but Miller’s version elevates the characters and adventures to another level that feels like historical fiction rather than fantasy. Her prose is absolutely breathtaking. And I found the reflections on parenthood through the lens of Circe so thoughtful and poignant.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, War, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Rape, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Sexual assault, Murder, Violence, and Death

katie0528's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

A beautiful tragic tale of the goddess and witch Circe, one of the nymphs famously depicted in The Odyssey. While Odysseus and his crew make an impactful stamp on her life,

including giving her a son and Odysseus's own family joining Circe

there is so much more to the tale. From her early life, born to Titan parents and scorned by her family, to her banishment to her island, and growing powers and witchcraft. While this is a strong novel, and I enjoyed it, I found myself often comparing it to Song of Achilles, which to me was so emotionally devestating, that this semi-connected book just didn't have quite as strong of an impact.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Rape, Body horror, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Murder, War, Confinement, and Misogyny

linneak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Body horror, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: War, Confinement, and Incest

kellyofcali's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A sort of slow read, though a nice one, that takes you through a number of stories of Greek Mythology from a different perspective. I've always loved the Greek gods, so I enjoyed this, though it didn't GRAB me the way some books do. Appreciate a strong female center.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Death, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: War, Animal death, Sexual content, and Blood

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.5

Madeline Miller exceeded my expectations with this one. Circe as both character and story is lovingly rendered, and the culmination of her constant change and constant striving for more at the end of novel is more than I could have hoped for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Body horror, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape

Minor: Genocide, Slavery, and War

hammie_32's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

This was really disappointing. I had a lot of hopes for a dark, reflective retelling of a myth often starring a villainous evil bitch, easily defeated. And this gets 2.5 stars ONLY because for precisely the first 50% of the book, it was the dark, captivating, sorrowful tale I was promised.

And then it turned into a shitty "feminist" novel. And I know that makes me sound gross, but it's in quotes for a reason. Because why, why does every book featuring a powerful woman always have to end up about

motherhood

? I have nothing against it, and yes, sometimes that IS a powerful statement to be made. Not like this, and not this often. If someone somewhere needs permission, you have my allowance to write a feminist, feminine power, woman-dominated, whatever else story where your main female character DOESN'T

get pregnant

!! Doesn't "

find power in nurturing

." Doesn't

use a child to remedy their own traumas

!!! Successfully might I add! It's just never the feminist statement that these authors think it is, and I'm so sick of having to read it after hearing the same sentiment shouted from the rooftops for years by young women and femmes.

I wish I could have more love for this book. But I want 500 pages of an immortal's torment at the hands of humanity. I want a narrative of her suffering on finding a few kind souls, only to be torn apart by the next pack of dogs. I want a dark assemblage of our species' sins told via a recollection of an eternal life's worth of memories. I want her to be twisted and cold and cruel and I want it to be justified because that would be real. If someone wants something happy in there, throw a Sapphic romance in at the end that doesn't "fix" her. But I can't stand to read Circe talking about the cruelties of men, cruelties of gods and goddesses, cruelties of LIFE, just to turn around and

pop out a baby

because she wishes a reprieve of her solitude.

And then she

fucks her stepson

, and that just made me mad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

mbelle97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was beautifully written, but brutally difficult to read. I'm glad I got through it, it was a fascinating story, but I'm left a bit emotionally exhausted 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Abandonment, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: War

janey_bones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Pregnancy, and Slavery