I will yell more of my own thoughts when it is not nearly 2am, but, on the writing itself, like Jackie I did mourn the lack of powerful description and quotable lines. TSOA was full of them and had a very simple lyricism that I thought worked really well, and I felt like she was trying to recreate that here but almost took it too far - to the point at which I found the imagery/wording/unnecessary similes & metaphors in every sentence more distracting than anything, in a way that detracted from the reading experience.
...I don't get this feeling a lot. Y'all have read my posts, you probably already know I'm usually a complete sucker for unnecessary metaphors xD
*cracks fingers* Okay, here I go.
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I actually downgraded my rating from a 5 to 4 stars on Goodreads yesterday because I think at the time I was still sort of trying to convince myself it was as good as TSOA when I have to admit, it wasn't. I liked Circe as a character, I liked that although she was sort of disparaged by the entire Titan/Mount Olympus crew as being weak and spineless and not like them, that she still had moments where she was still prickly and proud and able to instill fear in mortals with her rage kinda thing when the mood struck. I liked how other Greek mythological figures passed through - like when her sister's engagement was mentioned I was like DUUUUDE IS SHE THE MOTHER OF THE MINOTAUR HOLY SHIT LOL and then she was the mother of the minotaur and I was cackling. And like Daedalus and Icarus, Jason, Achilles and Patroculus, Ariadne and Theseus, etc.
I didn't really have any issues except I agree that the plot was a little bit... lacking. Novels don't always need a wild plot to be enjoyed and I never found myself wishing it would end except in the respect that I didn't like carrying my beautiful hardback around for so long in my bag. I think a large part of that does lie in the character though, she seems to have been more of a stepping stone character in mythology rather than a protagonist type. In that respect it was interesting to see from her perspective but she was always a bit distant from the action but she was exiled and I wouldn't have wanted the author to take liberties for the sake of a thrill.
I think TSOA had more depth plot-wise but I do think the source material offered more to work with. Circe is an interesting character but maybe would have been better as a novella? I found myself wanting to see more of other characters like Pasiphae, Ariadne, and Medea but cruelly once they were gone they were gone. The most exciting part of the novel for me was when Circe was summoned by Pasiphae cuz I was like OH DAMN I BET IT'S THE MINOTAUR I WAS RIGHT IT WASN'T A DIFFERENT KING OF MINOS but I wasn't sure and I didn't know why she'd be wanted anyway and then it ripped her hand off and it was great. Oh I did find it tense when Telegonus sailed off cuz you couldn't not suspect that some sort of fatal shit was going to go down when he got off that boat. I kept wanting Circe to be a bit more ruthless and kick someone's ass.
I read Circe earlier this year and I can't quite put into words how I feel about it other than very very good.
I grew up with a huge interest in Greek mythology (and added a Classics minor for good measure) and it was beautiful to see these 'over the top' tales and characters made more grounded. Circe herself was remarkably relatable and made me feel bad for killing her in AC: Odyssey :P.
What did you make of the "plot"? (I say, because... I didn't think it had much of one...)
It had no plot, but not in a bad, clusterfork of a way. It was a series of incidents (much like Anne of Green Gables, if you will) rather than adhering to the traditional plot pyramid we're accustomed to today, which I think was a big part of it's charm for me! As a reader, I'm used to being moved along throughout the story, but this allowed me to really appreciate place.