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residentgremlin's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Transphobia and Pregnancy
layzuli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
heart ripped out stomped on how dare yall tell me to read this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Rape, Blood, and Colonisation
estelleidekreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i could read this book a thousand times and find something new each time. the writing is beautiful and melodious. the story gut wrenching and sweetly beautiful.
patroclus, my love, you will always be remembered as a true hero. the same samwise gamgee of the trojan war. he really was the best of the myrmidons i love that boy so much. he was so brave, so kind, so smart, so sweet, so moral & loving. his character development was stunning, i loved seeing him grow in confidence.
the foreshadowing reminded me of my memories of the story, but i still broke when patroclus died and achilles fell
i love all the symbolism in this book and i would love to study this text like we did at school. there’s so much depth.
i love that achilles feet were described as this beautiful wonderful thing, foreshadowing his heel. but then it wasn’t an arrow through his heel. as apollo said “he’s a man, not a god”. thinking he was a god is what was the death of patroclus and then him in turn. without achilles hubris and butthurt ego, patroclus wouldn’t have done what he did. i also found it interesting how patroclus suffered the same inflated confidence and sense of invincibility when he adorned achilles’ armour - as if the myth of achilles is what corrupts.
i actually love odysseus’ character. i’ve always loved his story and i could tell straight away it was him from how he spoke. defo a top favourite character.
and the end??? my heart absolutely broke. Thetis was traumatised and it was easier to hate humans than other gods. easier to punish patroclus. but she saw her mistakes and she gave patroclus and achilles their eternity. it was such a nice touch
last but not least, i had to dedicate one of my tabs for the commentary on the misogyny in ancient greece. i love how well it was portrayed and how we saw its impact on even the strongest of men. in a story that focuses so heavily on men, i think it was a really important layer to add.
i love all the symbolism in this book and i would love to study this text like we did at school. there’s so much depth.
i actually love odysseus’ character. i’ve always loved his story and i could tell straight away it was him from how he spoke. defo a top favourite character.
last but not least, i had to dedicate one of my tabs for the commentary on the misogyny in ancient greece. i love how well it was portrayed and how we saw its impact on even the strongest of men. in a story that focuses so heavily on men, i think it was a really important layer to add.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape
nervcorp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
todays teens dont want jesus; they want achilles and patroclus to be happy
if you like popular game "hades" you should 100 percent read this please oh my God read this
if you like popular game "hades" you should 100 percent read this please oh my God read this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
thetinybookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, and War
muffycantread's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There is a portion of this book that undeniably reads like Greek erotic fanfiction. Patroclus made me want to rip my hair out for most of the book...But the last few chapters are really interestingly written and I am ultimately glad I endured the unbearable beginning and middle to make it to an interesting and kinda beautiful ending.
Why do I feel like this a book for Lana Del Rey fans?
Why do I feel like this a book for Lana Del Rey fans?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
hatchtag's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am honestly surprised I ended up rating this 5 stars, only because it took me so long to really get into it. But after I finished, I can't think of a legiti ate fault I had with this book. I think it was a mood thing, especially knowing the story of Achilles. When fall turned to summer...I couldn't put it down. The writing is absolutely, heartbreakingly beautiful. Reading this book was like wrapping myself in a warm blanket and giving myself a chance to feel some emotions I had stored up - not something I would expect of a book. Side note: I have a degree in Classics and was worried this retelling would feel gimmicky or distractingly off but it **wasn't** at all! I love the retelling, the liberties taken but the clear attention to the source framework, the way the characters moved through life as people and not necessarily heroes. 10/10 would recommend....to certain friends and in certain seasons (or seasons of life).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, Slavery, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
athenian_frog's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.75
Am rereading after a while, using the audiobook.
Some phrases are a little repeated (a lot of feet references LOL) but I found the romance overall to be very loving and emotionally satisfying. I found that part of what made Achilles beautiful to me was Patroclus’s perspective/attention to detail, and I think that’s lovely. As they grew close, I appreciated how Achilles always seemed to carve place for Patroclus at his side, and would make an effort to communicate honestly.
The latter half of the book involving the war is particularly strong. My favorite side characters were probably Briseis, Odysseus, and Thetis. I think the author did a good job of making them strong on their own!
A few people found Patroclus to be a bit lacking/soft, but I think it was his gentleness that won me over. While he didn’t do much fighting until closer to the end of the book, he still did a significant amount of verbal maneuvering with the other characters to his or Achilles’s benefit. From his attempts to connect with Thetis to the exchanges with the members of the war camp, I enjoyed the way Patroclus interacted with the rest of the cast the most.
All in all I enjoyed it a lot, probably one of the few Booktok/Booktube books I’ve read that has ever maintained it’s place so close to my heart.
Please consider the content warnings below!
Some phrases are a little repeated (a lot of feet references LOL) but I found the romance overall to be very loving and emotionally satisfying. I found that part of what made Achilles beautiful to me was Patroclus’s perspective/attention to detail, and I think that’s lovely. As they grew close, I appreciated how Achilles always seemed to carve place for Patroclus at his side, and would make an effort to communicate honestly.
The latter half of the book involving the war is particularly strong. My favorite side characters were probably Briseis, Odysseus, and Thetis. I think the author did a good job of making them strong on their own!
A few people found Patroclus to be a bit lacking/soft, but I think it was his gentleness that won me over. While he didn’t do much fighting until closer to the end of the book, he still did a significant amount of verbal maneuvering with the other characters to his or Achilles’s benefit. From his attempts to connect with Thetis to the exchanges with the members of the war camp, I enjoyed the way Patroclus interacted with the rest of the cast the most.
All in all I enjoyed it a lot, probably one of the few Booktok/Booktube books I’ve read that has ever maintained it’s place so close to my heart.
Please consider the content warnings below!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Transphobia
- Deaths, especially those in war, are described in a fair amount of detail -women are taken from raids to be enslaved to enemy soldiers -Vomit and illness, medical content especially visible when a plague rips through a war camp -there is one instance of rape that is vaguely described that a supporting character undergoes. -there are two instances of very dubious consent/sexual coercion that occur regarding the main leads, not with each other. -it is mentioned that men who dress as women are extremely looked down upon -sex is typically not very detailed, even between lead characters. Usually some allusions to what is going on but not much else.librerin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A great travel read! I enjoyed the story from Patroclus's perspective, and found it to be beautifully written. I got a bit tired of Patroclus coming off as a damsel-in-distress and wanted more depth to Achilles's evolution during the war, but I felt that the later parts of the book really helped to alleviate that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Ableism and Physical abuse
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
lizdon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Deportation
Once they reach war, there are mentions of how they treat female slaves that are stolen during raids, which is accurate to the time but can be hard to read. Not detailed, mostly just commented at.