Miranda

i like horror, i do. i don't mind gore either. i don't mind violence. the DETAILS in which the author goes into animal genitalia? unacceptable and unnecessary. what does this add? the random blurbs that feel so out of place, what does it add? i couldn't finish the book, it turned me off so much. i really wanted to like this, but it just felt like oh no mommy and daddy are werewolf people? and we all have a birthmark???? oooooh so scary. i wanted to cringe reading because of how horrific the content is, not because of how unnecessary and disturbing-but-not-in-a-good-way it was. DNF!

I gave this a 4 star rating but I never reviewed it. 5 years later I'll write my review now LMAO

possible spoilers head, read with care
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I read this book as a sophomore in high school, but there's a lot of backstory to it. To make it short, I read the Iliad and became hyperfixated, like full swing. I read fanfic after fanfic and found one that really resonated with me. Turns out, it was a fanmade version of this book from the perspective of Patroclus. When I saw that, I was like “omg if this is a fanfic, imagine how good the book is!”

boy was i wrong

this book is by no means BAD. there's little parts that i cringed at and was like “yeah, this is so aimed for preteens looking for another m/m to fetishize and romance over,” not to mention the use of “spurt.” that really set me off. like why? what??

because of my insanely overwhelming obsession with the iliad (it is still my favorite book to this day) i was so highly critical of every. little. detail. you can imagine my frustration seeing patroclus portrayed as a measley little manwife, tending to wounds and holding onto his big strong hero. like, did we skip the part that he posed as achilles in war and no one realized it wasn't achilles? homie caused absolute devastation and was a powerhouse of a human and all i gathered from Miller's rendition of the story was “he stayed in the tent and helped heal wounds :)))” like girl what???

besides all my critiques, no matter how trivial, this was a well written book loved by MANY. there were many heartfelt moments that made me sit and stare at my wall for a few minutes pondering my existence. but, knowing how the iliad itself ended, and how i basically knew every detail of the epic down to each individual characters non-existent social security number, i was really disappointed.

pushing all of my useless, useless rage aside, it's a good book. no hate to madeline miller, she clearly made a banger of a novel that is loved and treasured by many. i'm happy for the success of TSOA, it just was not for me. perhaps my mind will change after a reread of it, which I may do someday :)

“How could you hide from a murderer who lived under your skin?”

I have finally completed the quest of finding a book that was similar to “The Ruins” by Scott Smith. This was so much better.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Everything about it had me on the edge of my seat, and made me extremely nauseous at times. Cutter's writing is stellar. I cannot get enough of this story, from the body horror to the literal and figurative creature that is Shelley, it is perfection. 11/10.