Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

Opinion

Quick-paced but adequate, as mentioned in the first impressions there's detail where it needs to be and we can read through parts that are just transitory for the story to move on. I actually liked the pacing of the book, however, I found it was a bit impersonal or cold, the same happened to me when reading Call me by your name.

I saw the spark of love but because it was being described to me, I would have needed a bit more small hints or acts that show how the other partner fell in love. However, this may have been because we read the whole book in Patroclus POV.

Nevertheless, Madeline's writing made me want to read more from her because of her way to tell this story that has been told countless times, not this tenderly and clearly not always showing all the truth behind Achilles fame.

As for the plot, even though its part of classic mythology, there were some events that I missed or that aren't commonly explained, surely there's part of fantasy and maybe added scenes, but what I'm trying to communicate is that those factors all together made the book very entertaining and interesting. During the reading, I continuously wanted to know what was going to occur next and what would be the outcome of each problem the boys faced, making it an engaging lecture.

//SPOILER AHEAD SKIP UNTIL THE NEXT PARAGRAPH// 

For the last part and pages, I have to say it was heartbreaking and, even though I could sense why Achilles saw his death as a peaceful ending, I could have never imagined the continuation of Patroclus death, it was just tearing my heart to pieces.

//END OF SPOILER// 

    Characters

At first I found it difficult to like Patroclus as the main character, even though I loved him being the narrator the whole time. Maybe because it was presented as a bit clumsy and not very clever, but that was the way he felt about himself so with time passing by I grew more attached as he also developed as a character. He had a warm heart that just didn't have a great start nor a great past, but he tried to overcome his mistakes and be a better person for him and Achilles. Truly admirable.

Regarding Achilles, he simply wasn't made for not loving him, not only he was beautiful, talented, polite, but kind and as warm as his golden locks. Contrary to what happened to me with Patroclus, I started internally hating the son of Pithia and his actions hurt me as if I were present in the story; I guess I could understand his change of mind and self if we see it as the godly side of him and the brainwashing effect her mother and the prophesy had on him...

More characters I have a soft spot for was the lovely Brie, her soft-spoken self, and Chiron, which I may or may have not interpreted in my mind as Camp Half-blood Chiron. There were many other names of Greeks and captains and different characters which I forgot their names, and as we didn't get as deep in knowing them I will not go into further explanation of them.

Rating

9 out of 10

Still, for an overall commentary of the book, I have to say I enjoyed the reading and found it very interesting to get to know more about greek mythology and history itself, as well as the known events and places like Troy. I suffered a lot towards the end, shedding tears twice, but that's what makes it a heartfelt and well-written novel. I'm not much of a romance genre reader, and I could still enjoy it quite a lot, even if it's not what I would say perfect mix, and I recommend it to anyone really who wants to see the other side of classic stories like Achilles, the great Greek warrior.

Read you again, Nym.