A review by books_baking_brews
Circe by Madeline Miller

4.0

First things first: this book cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I would be lying if I said I, in part, did not pick this up because of it. The other part being that I love mythology. And once you get past the gorgeous-cover photography of it all, I am simply conflicted with this book, which I know is an unpopular opinion. Miller's prose is beautiful, that is certainly not the problem. It grabbed me from the beginning but grew tedious toward the middle. The story of Circe is not bad, it was just not the most exciting. I am not sure for what I was waiting to happen, I knew only that I was waiting. To backtrack, this book tells the story of the goddess Circe, daughter of the titan Helios and the nymph Perse. She is banished to an island after performing witchcraft and to appease Zeus. It is a retelling of her time on that island and her encounters with Hermes, Odysseus, Jason and Medea, and Athena among others. Throughout the book, I went back and forth on my feelings for Circe, one moment frustrated with her and the next championing her. I would give this book 3.5 stars, as I saw someone else put it: This book was not my cup of tea, but that does not mean it was bad tea.