The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller broke me.

I’m a huge Greek mythology nerd. The Illiad and The Odyssey were my shit, and Percy Jackson will always have a special place in my heart. So when a friend recommended The Song of Achilles to me, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read it before.

The Song of Achilles is a story of love and the tragedy that comes with the quest for immortal fame. Told from the perspective of Patroclus, an exiled prince who forges an unbreakable bond with the famed Achilles. Despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess, the two become inseparable. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, and that the war would cement both Achilles’ legacy and his death, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy even though he knows that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

I’d planned to read a couple chapters of this book every night before bed (because after a long day of reading law casebooks, my idea of a reward is more reading.) But I remembered that I have zero self-control and ended up devouring the book within a day. And let me tell you, this book tore out my heart, tied me up to the back of a chariot, and dragged me through the dirt of a Trojan battlefield.

Miller, who is a Classicist, spent a lot of time with The Illiad and really crafted a vivid world that seemed to fit within the original text. Every word felt deliberate, driving the story forward while weaving together an intricate story of love, sacrifice, and grief. I would recommend this book to everyone, even if you’re not a big Greek mythology fan. It’s a captivating read that’s sure to hold onto your attention and stay with you long after you turn the last page.

5/5 would recommend and would submit myself to this pain again.

I’d always been aware of Neil Gaiman growing up. After all, Coraline haunted us all as children. But I hadn’t read any of his work until college when I picked up The Graveyard Book. And from that moment on I was in love.

You would think that I would just devour every single thing Gaiman wrote after that, but life always pulls you in multiple directions. And I wasn’t in middle school anymore where I could get through 10 books a month. I would tell myself that I can read for fun on breaks and on weekends. But winter, spring, and summer vacations were devoted to recovery, recuperation, and whatever internship, summer classes, or other commitments I’d bound myself to. The pandemic brought unexpected free time and the ability to read again, and I had realized that it had been almost five years since I sat down with a book I wasn’t assigned to read.

And then law school started, and I realized that I wouldn’t be able to read anything besides cases unless I was proactive about it, and realistic. Thus began my one book a month goal for 2021.

This month, I came back to Gaiman and finally read Neverwhere, his debut solo novel. Neverwhere follows protagonist Richard Mayhew, a normal and honestly a little boring business man from Scotland, whose mundane life never veered off-course…until he rescued a peculiar girl named Door.

After saving her life, Richard disappeared from existence. No mark of his life remained in the world. Determined to set things right, he follows Door into the dark and dangerous world of London Below and ends up going on an adventure that was a lot more than he bargained for.

I loved this story. The characters from Richard, to the Marquis were compelling, and the world of London Below was so masterfully crafted it was easy to get lost in the world. As a huge fan of urban fantasy, the way London Above and London Below melded together, magic weaving in between the two worlds effortlessly, set high goals for my own writing.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves the underground, mirror worlds, and fantastical adventures.

5/5