In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon a
ll her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Hardcover, 394 pages
Published April 10th 2018 by Lee Boudreaux Books
Current Goodreads Rating: 4.37 Stars
Finally just bought the book after our audiobook had expired while listening to this with my husband. Mythology is memorizing. I listened to this with my husband, who loves mythology and then there is I, who is clueless to it. I seemed to be the annoying person in the movie who is constantly asking questions, but to me I think that should just prove that I enjoyed it. I was actively paying attention and getting excited to the different stories this book encompassed. I was impressed by the research Madeline did, at how she fit Circe into so many more well known mythological escapades. I had never heard of her before (which is not saying much), but now I know her more than most others I've seen only by their references in stories and movies. I love that mythology holds almost no bounds. The results and journey can be endless to any adventure. If she doesn't like a man, instead of just a normal break up, why not curse him or turn him into a beast. So much more fun to read than your typical romance! Deceit, treachery, love, adventure, mystery, vengeance. This story holds a mixture of everything you can imagine with a witch on top, what could go wrong?
“He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.”
“I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.”
“You cannot know how frightened gods are of pain. There is nothing more foreign to them, and so nothing they ache more deeply to see.”