Circe: Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, the 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 all 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.
(Goodreads)

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT THEMES AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Fun Fact: I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought this book. I bought it on a whim because I'd heard excellent things about it. And I was celebrating my first day of nursing school treat yo shelf, And this book was not what I expected. This right here was so much better than I could have possibly imagined.
To repeat myself again, this book was not what I expected. Honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting, and this book was weird. It started out very slow, and Circe was very pathetic and weak. But that quickly changes because of jealousy, and she curses someone. Which then gets her banished.
And this is where the real story begins.
It begins on an island. After the incident of her cursing this one chick, gosh, I seriously CANNOT remember who it was... I think it was this mermaid who gets exiled to this island by her father, the titan saying that it was merciful of him. To have let this witch live in solitude. And at first, Circe is made, she's devastated. Here is this goddess who does not believe in herself, left alone for the first time ever... And suddenly... She's free <3
She begins growing herbs, she tends to her sheep. She becomes this woman who is self-fulfilled and is amazing. Then she gets a letter from her sister who needs help because she done fucked up.
You know what she did? She made Zeus angry, which in turn made her have sex with a bull... Know what I'm talking about? Her sister will give birth to the Minotaur and needs her sister's help in either delivering or killing the child. It's up in the air cue shrugging emoji. 
There Circe meets Daedalus, the infamous creator of the labyrinth... Though it's still a work in progress at the time... And basically falls in love for a while, and it's heartbreaking because he's mortal and she's not. But relishes the time that she has with her love.
And thus, she gets exiled back to her island, and devastation sets in. She thinks of all the things she's missing and the loneliness of her island. But that all changes when she has a ship land on her island. She's wary, but her loneliness wins out, and so she goes and greets her newfound guests. Turns out it's a pirate ship, and they are so happy for the hospitality of this beautiful woman... And you can kinda guess what happens, right? These men took advantage of her and raped her, and I felt my heartbreak for Circes. This woman only wanted to help, to be harmed in this way. Well... She got revenge and turned them into the pigs that they are. And every ship that landed there had the same treatment.
Until one, here we have another mythological story breathed life. Odysseus landed on her island and stayed there for years, and they fell in love.   

So much of this book resonates with our time in the present. The way they treated women then compared to now. The things she goes through, if you strip the magic away, the experience is something that can happen to a woman in this time.

Read it with an open mind, and be prepared to hopefully love it. 

Until next time readers <3

Love Kat 

Serpent and Dove: Shelby Mahurin

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all. 
(Goodreads)

Alright! So I honestly had no idea what I was getting into when I first read this book. My friend told me to read it, saying it is absolutely amazing. One of the best books she had read in a long time... Therefore I had to read it. AND I LOVED IT 

SO! This book is full of tropes, so many goddamn tropes. I was living. Enemies to lovers? And then they were roommates? THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED?! Marriage of convenience? Pining?
I'm telling you, this book has them all. Also, enemies to lovers are seriously my favorite trope, so of course, I was going to love this book.  

Now, where do I begin? This book has an exciting start. And I personally didn't like the beginning, and I struggled so hard to get into the book... Funny because afterward, I could NOT put the book down.

The book begins with Lou dressed as a man looking for something; we don't know what, but we know it's essential. The next thing we know, she gets caught by none other than our good sir Reid, and he notices she's a girl because her mustache falls off. Classic.

Things happen, and somehow, miraculously, Reid and Lou end up getting married in a marriage of convenience. Lou's freaking out because she's a witch, and Reid is devastated because he's now married to a woman he doesn't know. AND he was semi courting another girl who was "perfect."

This is where the meat of the story begins. THE ROMANCE BEGINS! He finds her beautiful, reluctantly. She is blatantly staring at this hot man, and now they're fake married... what could go wrong? A lot, actually. The moment Lou and Reid start talking like adults and sharing feelings is when my soul left my body and went to heaven. It's honestly pretty cute the way they fell in love, and the cliques just keep coming. 

Honestly, looking back, this book isn't the best. It's mediocre at best. Plot-wise the book is sound; it has a stable middle and end. But that's about it. The characters are meh. The interpersonal struggles are okay but not new. The conflict is what kept me going, I mean... Mother wants to kill daughter for power? Love it. 

Overall, I loved the book when I first read it, but having reread the book just kind of took away from the original sparkle. 

Until next time readers <3

Love Kat