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Dec 07, 2020YourLocalReader rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Song Of Achilles details the journey of a famous Greek hero, Achilles, along with his lover and childhood friend Patroclus. The Trojan War is approaching rapidly; the Greeks desire to recruit Achilles into the army for his extraordinary fighting skills. Achilles is torn between the temptation of eternal glory, a dire prophecy, and protecting his lover. I went into this book with high expectations due to the intriguing plot description. I adore Greek mythology; moreover, I had prior knowledge about the Trojan War. The author did a phenomenal job of easing the reader into the mythological background with a vibrant setting and complex characters. The characters stick to their traditional origins within the Greek myths, but there is slight modernization. Achilles's and Patroculus's romance was the catalyst for most of the plot and pacing. There is much speculation around the Iliad that left historians speculating the nature of Achilles and Patroclus relationship, whether platonic or romantic. My experience in Greek retelling novels is expansive; however, I have not encountered one that made the move of creating a romantic subplot between Achilles and Patroclus. The execution was perfect. The author put in the research about ancient Greek customs, which made me appreciative of the mix of nonfiction and fiction to educate about historical traditions. I can say with certainty that this novel is my favorite for the year 2020. It contains everything I could want: Greek mythology, a romantic subplot, controversial characters, and gentle honesty behind painful topics. I would compare the writing style to poetry; many of the lines in this novel are so descriptive and beautiful quotes that stick with me beyond the story. It reminded me of the beloved Percy Jackson series for the parallels between the Greek myth modernization and character development; however, Song Of Achilles is an adult version bringing more intense stakes to make you wonder what will happen next. Even as a person who has read the Iliad before, the ending shocked me with how brilliantly the author put it into her creative perspective; I never thought of imagining the events playing out like that. The book is a pure masterpiece, certainly a crowd-pleaser that will make you hesitate between rushing to finish it or savoring it. Age Recommendation: 16+ , depends on maturity level TW: Mentions of rape, female slavery, graphic violence, mild sexual descriptions