jess_suits's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I will never recover from this.
Some nights I wake up and think about this book and the hole it left behind.
I am a big greek mythology fan and picked this up as the first greek retelling. I was fairly familiar with the story around Achilles and Patroclus, but I do think that knowledge made it so much worse in the best kind of way.
I ugly cried, sobbed all night long, and sat in class with burning eyes the next morning but when I tell you it was so worth it - it was.
A piece of me left after flipping that last page and I feel like I will never get it back.
No book has ever touched me as this one has and I feel like no book will ever amount to what this made me feel. I have been empty ever since finishing this story, but I wouldn't want it to be any other way.
If you decide you want to read this be prepared to pull an all-nighter and make sure that you are comfortable with a bunch of tissues ready. When I tell you I have never cried like this in my life - I was screaming, crying. Literally. (And I am not a crier whatsoever so let that be a warning.)
The prose is certainly its greatest strength; It is fairly simple yet immersive and emotional. It never tells too much or too little and it flows nicely. One of the first English books I read at the time and it was easy to go through.
It got me out of a reading slump and put me back in because I could not bring myself to pick up something else after the greatness this was. I could not put this down. I will never read something as beautiful ever again.
I can see why people would not enjoy this story as it is not for everyone, but for fans of Greek mythology and especially for fans of Achilles, I highly recommend checking this one out.
Some nights I wake up and think about this book and the hole it left behind.
I am a big greek mythology fan and picked this up as the first greek retelling. I was fairly familiar with the story around Achilles and Patroclus, but I do think that knowledge made it so much worse in the best kind of way.
I ugly cried, sobbed all night long, and sat in class with burning eyes the next morning but when I tell you it was so worth it - it was.
A piece of me left after flipping that last page and I feel like I will never get it back.
No book has ever touched me as this one has and I feel like no book will ever amount to what this made me feel. I have been empty ever since finishing this story, but I wouldn't want it to be any other way.
If you decide you want to read this be prepared to pull an all-nighter and make sure that you are comfortable with a bunch of tissues ready. When I tell you I have never cried like this in my life - I was screaming, crying. Literally. (And I am not a crier whatsoever so let that be a warning.)
The prose is certainly its greatest strength; It is fairly simple yet immersive and emotional. It never tells too much or too little and it flows nicely. One of the first English books I read at the time and it was easy to go through.
It got me out of a reading slump and put me back in because I could not bring myself to pick up something else after the greatness this was. I could not put this down. I will never read something as beautiful ever again.
I can see why people would not enjoy this story as it is not for everyone, but for fans of Greek mythology and especially for fans of Achilles, I highly recommend checking this one out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Death
ally91's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death
ambert's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Death, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
malloray's review
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Slavery, Misogyny, Gore, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
mikkiokko's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The writing in this book–especially at the end–is SUBLIME! I need more of it!!! And look, please don't kill me, but the ending of this book is what made me like this book so so much. It was exactly what the ending should have been, and a part of it did genuinely surprise me and flip my thinking on its head. And for so long I was just in an out of body experience of existential dread until the last paragraph. Again, SUBLIME! This is the second mythology retelling I've read and oh my god do I need more!!!!! I love it!
Finally–screw that Pyrrhus kid. I don't care that he's twelve, that little shit is a murderous egotistical sociopath and is easily the most terrifying part of this book.
Finally–screw that Pyrrhus kid. I don't care that he's twelve, that little shit is a murderous egotistical sociopath and is easily the most terrifying part of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, Violence, and Death
odette_tbdk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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
4.25
Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro, por una parte me pareció muy emocional y profunda la relación que tenían Aquiles y Patroclo, pero el ritmo de la historia no me convenció del todo. Hacia el final del libro el ritmo fluyó muy bien, pero el principio es difícil de continuar, la vida de Patroclo de niño y en sí todo el proceso que les lleva a la guerra de Troya es bastante lento y tedioso. Pero aún así, me hizo sentir muchas cosas y también me enseñó de mitología (cabe aclarar que yo no sé nada de estos temas), así que sería injusto darle mala calificación por eso.
Me faltaron personajes femeninos que no giraran en torno a los protagonistas, pero eso ya no es culpa de la autora, simplemente no hay muchos porque así es la mitología. Cuando lea Circe tendré lo que me faltó aquí.
En general, un libro muy triste cargado de mitología y de referencias muy extensas a los ornamentos, política y costumbres de la época. Tedioso a ratos pero al final te deja con un buen sabor de boca (en parte). Buena lectura.
Me faltaron personajes femeninos que no giraran en torno a los protagonistas, pero eso ya no es culpa de la autora, simplemente no hay muchos porque así es la mitología. Cuando lea Circe tendré lo que me faltó aquí.
En general, un libro muy triste cargado de mitología y de referencias muy extensas a los ornamentos, política y costumbres de la época. Tedioso a ratos pero al final te deja con un buen sabor de boca (en parte). Buena lectura.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Grief, War, Child death, Medical content, Violence, Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexism, Death, Genocide, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Torture, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Animal death
ejspiese's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
Is this book perfect? Probably not. Is this book perfect for me? Yes ♥️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Homophobia
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: Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Rape, Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, and Vomit
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.taryn_g's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, War, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, and Slavery
starribones's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Slavery