Circe by Madeline Miller- Slow burn or burn to the ground?

2.5 stars

This read was hard for me. While reading I was engaged enough, but every time I set the book down I didn't have a want to pick it back up.

Circe is about the greek mythological figure who appears in Homer's Odyssey. In the book we get a deeper look at Circe and it chronicles her life from living among the gods to her exile and adapting on the island of Aeaea. It explores her discovery of her witchcraft, monsters she encounters, the lovers she meets, and the tensions between the Titans and Olympians and how that effects her. Most of all, though, we are supposed to see how she goes from sort of a pathetic character to one of extreme power in her own right.

I'm just completely underwhelmed. I liked the writing in of itself, however for the many centuries and lifetimes we spend with Circe and all the tales she has, I found myself not excited once throughout the read. I am not sure how fighting a sea monster could be boring, but it was. As for Circe's character, I really had nothing that connected me to her throughout the story. We are supposed to connect with her empathy for humanity, but it's very thin. She is stomped on through the book and it feels like she is just meandering into "wisdom" for 2,000 plus years.

Felt very well researched. Definitely a book for some people, just not for me. Seems like something for fans of The Alchemist or other greek retellings.