READING: The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1) by Suzanne Young

Publication date: February 4 2019
Published by: Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery, High School
Rating: 

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn't enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson's the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad-turned-spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn't be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty! When Tessa's own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa's sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?




Holy moly guacamole! This book was swell!

No joke, that is how Tessa spoke…

The Naughty List totally took me by surprise. I was in the mood for a light, funny high school drama (I’ve been binge-re-watching Veronica Mars and I am currently obsessed) and I thought I got that in spades at the beginning of the book, but as it turned out, not quite so.

Tessa was the teen equivalent of a 50’s Stepford wife. She was the head cheerleader, constantly perky, never swore, and a straight A student. I can confirmed she baked, but I'm pretty sure she did.
Her boyfriend Aiden was the most perfect, dreamiest boy ever and the captain of the basketball team. What Aiden didn’t know though was that Tessa had a secret, and that she was the leader of a group called SOS, dedicated to exposing cheating boyfriends.
Just as the perfect veneer of Aiden and Tessa’s relationship begins to crack, new kids Christian and Chloe are determined to give it the final blow.

So, pretty straightforward right? Tessa finds out after a series of misunderstandings that Aiden is not as perfect as she thought he was and is in fact a major dick, all with the help of her selfless sidekick Christian, who Tessa sees in another light and begins to like and fall in love with. 
I mean I have read hundreds of the type of books and they are all the same, an overdone trope which I don’t particularly mind as long as I’m in the mood for it and it is done well.
Turns out, I completely pre and misjudged the Naughty List. I thought it was just another of those cookie cutter teen angst high school dramas but it was the opposite of that. I have to give mad props to Young, she fooled me in the best possible way.

I liked how she showed that Tessa was more than met the eye and that yes, she was exhausted from trying to be perfect all the time and balancing school and relationships and cheerleading and SOS and how she desperately wanted a break from everything. But at the same time and even after that realisation, Young didn’t completely change Tessa by removing every part of her that made her, well, her. Tessa just transformed to a more “mature” person (just a little, let’s not get crazy) who has learned a lot from past mistakes and most importantly how to cut herself some slack occasionally.

As for Aiden, he was the perfect boyfriend. I mean, he was. I am trying to find a fault in him and I can’t. I totally expected him to be a douche but he so wasn’t. It was really nice to see both him and Tessa come to a mutual understanding in the end, even though it would momentarily and knowingly suck for them. The lack of unnecessary over the top drama and angst was refreshing.

I can’t reveal much about the plot I’m afraid even though I really really want to. My advice is to go into the Naughty List spoiler free and give it a chance to pleasantly surprise you. As funny and preppy as should be, I guarantee it will appeal to all YA high school fans out there! 

READING: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Publication date: May 14 2019
Published by: St. Martin Griffin 
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, MM, Romance
Rating: 

What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?

I love him, with all that, because of

all that. On purpose. I love him on purpose. 

If the Lord of Over-the-topchester and the Duchess of Over-hypedshire had a child, it would be Red, White and Royal Blue.

Before I am publically flogged at the city square for blasphemy, hear me out.

Red… wasn’t a bad book. It was, above all else, a very optimistic and positive take on the revelation of a romantic relationship between two prominent and powerful men in today’s society. It was very hopeful and sweet and cute and rainbows and glitter and as pink as its cover.

I couldn’t relate much to the characters which was of course to be expected. No matter how down to earth and humble the FSOTUS and the Prince of England were, and they were not, they are still the FSOTUS and the Prince of England. Their lives are outwardly to us and I am assuming ours is to them. So yeah, I don’t really care about extravagant parties and royal weddings that cost a developing country’s GDP. Thanks but no.

HENRY & ALEX
I thought they were both really sweet and their courtship very romantic and lovey-dovey, almost fairy tale-ish. I truly believe that Alex loved Henry (I had no doubt about Henry, he was obsessed with Alex) even though I’d rather he mulled it over a bit more seeing how impulsive he was. I liked their banter and their sense of humor, Henry’s “rigidness” balancing out Alex’s almost clownish behaviour. 
The emails they sent to each other could have been dialled down a notch; rich beyond measure, 20 something year old guys can’t recite so many literary quotes. They can’t recite any actually. Nice touch, but silly after a while.
I have to admit, I was a bit lukewarm about Alex throughout the book. I didn’t believe he was as “real” as advertised, definitely not a Texas country boy and I wouldn’t be surprised if down the line he broke Henry’s heart. It’s not that he was a bad guy, not at all. Like I said in a previous review: it’s the Westernised upbringing: entitled to everything, go get it, you can do it! While that is a great sentiment and I applaud it, it has a self centered undertone to it, a “if don’t like, dispose and get another one” kind of feel. I was pleasantly surprised to see that McQuiston did maintain that difference in attitudes between American and English whether inadvertently or not. Henry was always more composed and put more thought into everything he did and said, not because he was supposed to be the stiff heir to the throne, but because as Europeans we are all programmed to think and behave this way, from royalty to low class. Some of you might think that I am exaggerating or that I am simply wrong. I am telling you though, I wasn’t aware these cultural differences even existed until I migrated from Europe to Australia, so I am speaking from personal experience. 
Seeing that Red…was told exclusively from Alex’s POV in present tense, it was even harder for me to go along and understand the way his or his family acted. That is why I wasn’t particularly fond of the back and forth emails, they kinda took away all the intimacy and didn’t give them the chance to interact with and learn more in depth stuff about each other.
As far as NA MM romantic relationships go this one was OK, but I have seen way better (ahem Mark Cooper versus America) 

POLITICS
Always being on top of what’s happening in the world and constantly educating myself, I have formed my own political views and I will surely not be swayed by a NA romance novel of all things. Apart from it praising Nazis and sexual predators, I don’t mind reading others' political opinions and views. McQuiston is obviously very influenced by the 2016 US election as she mentioned in her acknowledgments, and is taking a very clear stance against a fictional Republican candidate who is apparently very vile. I wasn’t at all surprised at that, as I wouldn’t be surprised if the same was said for a Democrat candidate. I am old and cynical enough to not have any trust in politicians no matter how great they may seem. I don’t begrudge McQuiston’s political stance at all, this is a work of fiction after all.
However, I agree that her characters were one dimensional, Richards was the dark, evil villain and Ellen was the gallant, self-sacrificing hero, which is utterly unrealistic and an obvious lie. I don’t believe for a second that she wouldn’t throw a massive fit when her son’s scandal came out that close to elections or that she wouldn't try to twist it to her benefit, there is simply too much at stake. But again, over-romanticised, super wishful work of fiction.
I would have mad respect for McQuiston if she made Henry and Alex denounce their positions and live their lives peacefully away from the public eye. But I guess giving up Burberry button downs and Gucci bomber jackets was too much to ask.

OTHER CHARACTERS
The rest of the characters were way over the top and I didn’t like any of them :/ Sad, but true. Luna’s story was too convenient and I didn’t like McQuiston springing sexual harassment on me, too much on the nose.

Was Red… over ambitious? Yes.
Was it pretentious? Definitely.
Was it way too long? For sure. 

Despite all that, I’d still recommend it to all the wide-eyed, day dreaming teens out there who haven’t got their hopes totally crushed by the system yet. This is definitely for them.

READING: Kissing Tolstoi by Penny Reid

Publication date: November 7 2017
Published by: Cipher-Naught
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, College, Romance
Rating: 

What do you do when you discover that your super-hot blind date from months ago is now your super-hot Russian Lit professor?

You overthink everything and pray for a swift end to your misery, of course!

It is popular to say that one must find love within oneself before knowing how to love another. 

I rejected this statement outright, as both imbecilic in theory and impossible in practice. 

Kissing Tolstoy read like any girl’s – or at least most girls’ – fantasy. The sitting under the window sill in your nightie looking longingly at the stars and moon kind of fantasy. The one when a strapping, well educated, knowledgeable man is obsessed with making you his. 
At the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? 
It sure was for Anna, after she meets dapper Russian lit professor Luca who is:
A) Drop dead gorgeous
B) rides a motorcycle 
C) wears leather pants like nobody’s business and 
D) is kind of a dominant. But with a soft side. Duh.
Now why did I always picture Russian lit professors as long nosed, hunched backed 60 somethings, I honestly don’t know. Popular misconception I guess.

Kissing Tolstoy was a really sweet, very funny story about Anna, an unremarkable 21 year old self-proclaimed nerd, who loves jigsaw puzzles and Russian Lit, falling in love with her very hot 32 year old professor.
Before you say anything, yes, I realise the theme is a bit “taboo”, but is it really? 
They are both consenting adults and Luca did the right thing and was responsible and mature enough to nip the issue in the bud when he knew he wanted to pursue Anna. Not that I am congratulating him for common sense and decency, I am just saying that's what happened.
You can’t help who you fall in love with and these things, as crazy as they seem, do happen. Probably not as exaggerated and over the top as in Kissing Tolstoi but I can personally attest that they happen. A close friend of mine fell in love with her professor in her mid 20s and they have been happily married for 15 years and have 2 kids, so there.

I loved the sense of humour in the book, I LOLed on a lot of occasions which can be kind of awkward when you are reading the book at work and the manager/monster is looking at you all weird.

"His words landed like a physical blow and the wind was forced from my lungs, leaving me breathless.
And wretched.
Breathless and Wretched, the new fragrance by Calvin Klein.

What I felt missing from Kissing Tolstoy was EITHER 100+ pages more, so Luca’s automatic obsession with Anna could be explained and justified OR more of Luca’s POV, which would have the same result.
I love reading Russian characters or characters with Russian decent because their mindset is very similar to Greeks: this totally pessimistic and cynical view of the world and people, which I guess is imbedded in our DNA from years and years of political and economic upheaval in both our countries. I always envied the optimistic and confident Westerners who were told they could have anything they want in life and that the world is their oyster. But in a way this perspective, appealing though it is, never felt real to me. So on the rare occasion I read about a self deprecating, mad at the world, defeatist character, I immediately like him.

Overall, Kissing Tolstoy was a super cute and sexy, but unfortunately very brief, story about a whirlwind romance between a college student and her professor. It was very enjoyable for what it was, a very short shot of romance with clever banter and over the top situations that will make you smile, even though they are far from relatable or believable. 

READING: These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Publication date: October 27 2015
Published by: Random House
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Crime, Mystery, Suspense 
Rating: 

Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.

Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.

The more Jo uncovers about her father’s death, the more her suspicions grow. There are too many secrets. And they all seem to be buried in plain sight. Then she meets Eddie—a young, brash, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. Only now it might be too late to stop.

I thought These Shallow Graves was going to be another one of Donnelly’s epic HRs, with strong characters and an exciting, addictive plot.
Though still enjoyable, I felt like it lacked the spark and that something extra that would make it stand out from other books of its kind.

The characters, whilst well written, were all one dimensional - the good guys all but wore a superman cape, and the bad guys might as well be sitting on a chair petting a cat with a ringed pinkie! Their reactions were a bit childish at times, especially Jo’s, and it reminded me more of a middle grade book than the books I was used to by Donnelly up until this point. 
That being said, Jo transforms right at the end, giving us a glimpse of how wonderful this book could be if the characters had more room to grow instead of spending all this time on the “whodunnit” aspect of the book.
After the legendary love stories Donnelly has given us, I admit I was unpleasantly surprised by Jo and Eddie’s insta love. Especially considering Jo’s upbringing; it was totally out of the blue and way early in the story for her to fall in love with a complete stranger. Fortunately, they did have chemistry, which was their saving grace, along with the amazing ending Donnelly decided to give them, showcasing Jo’s strength and determination to start her life and rebuild relationships from the beginning.

As for the mystery part of it, I wasn’t impressed. I knew from the start who was behind it all and I thought if my naive dumbass self is right, then it was pretty obvious. It just frustrated me even more when instead of learning more about and understanding the characters, the majority of the book was used up explaining in length what was basically a kid’s mystery plot.

If you’re looking for a murder/mystery book with a light and breezy romance targeted at very young adults, then These Shallow Graves is the book for you.
I wasn’t looking for that :/

READING: A Feast of Sparks (Thornchapel #2) by Sierra Simone

Publication date: August 1 2019
Published by: Sierra Simone
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, Menage, BDSM
Rating: 

I’m an outcast and a loner, named for death itself. Fate wasn’t supposed to have plans for me.

But then she came back—the girl I once kissed in a thorn-covered chapel in the woods. She came back, and I could no more resist her than I could pry out my own heart. And by some trick of fate, she wants me as much as I want her. The only problem? She also wants the man who owns Thornchapel, Auden Guest.

And so do I.

Eight years ago, I did something to Auden, something terrible. He hurt me back the only way he knew how, and so here we are: our hatred seasoned with pain and my loneliness seasoned with longing. The only thing we can agree on is Proserpina Markham, and she wants us to find a way to be together—all three of us. 

If Auden wants to earn her as his submissive, then he has to earn me as well.

But with the discovery of bones behind the altar and the carnal revel of Beltane fast approaching, it’s becoming clear that Thornchapel’s secrets are much deeper and older than any of us could have ever guessed. And no matter how bright and merry a feast of sparks may be, it’s always followed by ashes. 

And darkness.

Well, I’ll be damned.

Even though my TBR pile is ginormous, I decided that reading the sequel of a book I didn’t like, was the best use of my time. 🙄 But that’s just me, I can’t abandon books. Once I make a commitment, I am in all the way. And A Lesson in Thorns was too intriguing, if nothing else, to not at least try and read the next in the series.

Feast of Sparks starts right where A Lesson of Thorns left off. Not giving anything away, just saying it was something very traumatic and shocking for Poe. So instead of dealing with her grief, she decided instead to have a lengthy BDSM session with Rebecca and Auden, who is now Rebecca’s BDSM student (thirsty for knowledge, that one!). I am not going to judge people’s grieving process and the way they choose to deal with sadness, to each their own. It’s just something about this scene that I found offensive, even though there was not an instance of an objection of any kind or lack of consent. All participants seemed to fully enjoy it, but for me it was too much. I felt like Poe didn’t request the scene because she wanted to deal with her pain and grief, but she just plain wanted to have sex just for the sake of it. That she used what happened to “justify” her incessant need for sex, didn’t sit right with me.

After that, there were short sexy scenes here and there but nothing too major until the very end, something I found very refreshing. Finally we learn about Saint and Auden’s back story and it was a real treat. It was touching and almost romantic to see how much these two loved each other from a very young age and how Auden just adored Saint, which is not apparent in A Lesson of Thorns. He lusted after him sure, but we didn’t see how deep his feelings for him went until now. That was the books’ main difference in my opinion: how unromantic and completely in your face and matter of fact A Lesson of Thorns was, and how more subdued and calm Feast of Sparks was.

That is, until we get to the last scene. Because trust me, there was nothing subdued about that!
We’re talking massive sex free-for-all with all of the characters participating – yes, even the priest. Completely unexplained, out of the blue, but I’m not gonna lie: still hot.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Feast of Sparks. I don’t know if that’s because I had zero expectations going in, or because it was actually decent. Don’t get me wrong, it was stilled filled with silly moments that made me snort, even though they were supposed to be “serious”, but I am satisfied with the amount of effort Simone put into her characters. They had more interaction with outsiders and they were actually putting some thought into their actions.

But everything was just noise compared to teenagers Auden and Saint seducing each other, that was pure gold.

After feeling exhausted reading about copious amounts of sex, I was ready for the ending everyone has been talking about.
And it was a big one (pun definitely intended) 💣 💣 💣
I’m not going to say I was shocked at the actual revelation, but I was surely shocked about the fact that Simone actually went there. I guessed it right around the middle, but I thought “Nah, no way that’ll happen, it’s too risqué”. But it did, and I don’t know how I feel about it. Obviously I don’t like it, but I am sure it will easily be explained away at the beginning of the next book, so I am not going to be too upset just yet.

Confession: I am definitely going to read book 3. 

READING: A Lesson in Thorns (Thornchapel #1) by Sierra Simone

Publication date: March 19 2019
Published by: Sierra Simone
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, Menage, BDSM
Rating: 

When librarian Poe Markham takes the job at Thornchapel, she only wants two things: to stay away from Thornchapel’s tortured owner, Auden Guest, and to find out what happened to her mother twelve years ago. It should be easy enough—keep her head down while she works in the house’s crumbling private library and while she hunts down any information as to why this remote manor tucked into the fog-shrouded moors would be the last place her mother was seen alive. But Thornchapel has other plans for her... 

As Poe begins uncovering the house’s secrets, both new and old, she’s also pulled into the seductive, elegant world of Auden and his friends—and drawn to Auden’s worst enemy, the beautiful and brooding St. Sebastian. And as Thornchapel slowly tightens its coil of truths and lies around them, Poe, Auden and St. Sebastian start unravelling into filthy, holy pleasure and pain. Together, they awaken a fate that will either anoint them or leave them in ashes… 

"If I don’t come at least once a day, I’m miserable. And yet, I still haven’t had sex."

🙅🏼🔴
I can't, I just can't. I never EVER give up on or DNF books but I disliked this book almost immediately. 
I was this close to abandoning it after only 8% but after much consideration, and honestly because I was bored at work, I decided to give it another chance. So naturally, I skimmed.
And skimmed and skimmed.

Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, skipping all the unbearable pretentiousness (the female lead's name is Proserpina ffs! Poe for short [...]
Other ridiculous names are Auden, St. Sebastian and Delphine. So you get the gist...

Character development was non existent - the only thing we know about these characters is that they like sex. Like, a lot. There is no other personality or character trait mentioned, no life stories, no background, no talk of families, other friends etc. It's like they exist just to be at Thornchapel and constantly have sex with each other. The only thing we learn from the tiny prologue, is that six 12 year olds performed a fake wedding at a chapel behind some rich boy's house, and then three of them kissed. 10 years later and Proserpina (ugh),being the exceptional librarian that she is (is there a bad librarian?) is summoned to that guy's mansion to go through some old tomes - I don't exactly know what she was doing there to be honest because a) I skimmed and b) didn't really care.
Now, she hasn't seen these people in 10 years, and as soon as she sees one of the guys she kissed when she was a kid, she immediately wants him and is 100% sure belongs to her and all that crap. She then sees the other guy she kissed back then, who is engaged I might add, and she thinks he belongs to her too. And the guy, honourable man that he is, thinks the same.

Skim skim skim, and around halfway in Poe finds an old book with an ancient binding ritual in it which is performed at Thornchapel. One person is the Lord and the other the Bride, and they must unite under the fool moon and whatever else, I didn’t get into details.
Of course all of them (practical strangers) went “Yes, let’s do an orgy!” (as you do), and decided to perform the ritual. 

And thus begins a ridiculously over the top tale of endless boners and wet pussies. 
I know, I know. That is basically the definition of erotica. What else did I expect, right? 
Well, some kind of story for starters. Interesting and likable characters, maybe? I have read other erotica books, granted not many, and while they still have a lot of sex, it wasn’t all about that. The characters resemble real people and they have actual thoughts and emotions that don’t revolve around getting off all the time.

A Lesson in Thorns was pure, unadulterated porn. That’s all.
That being said, it was great porn. The scene with Poe’s spanking and the orgy itself which was like 100 pages long, were admittedly very very hot. I personally had some moral objections about a couple of things, but at that point taking the moral high ground was not an option, considering the book I was reading. 

In a sentence, A Lesson of Thorns was an extremely sensual, tantalising, sexy book of complete nonsense.
If you are in it only for the sex and don't care about the fact that there is no story and all the characters are very unlikeable, then go for it. Otherwise, I personally don't get the hype at all.
----
EDIT: Sorry, did I mention that 4 of the 6 characters were basically described as sex on legs, but at 22 they were still virgins? Yeah.

READING: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Publication date: August 28 2012
Published by: Bloomsbury
Genre: New Adult, MM, Romance, Historical 
Rating: 

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. 

Screw Romeo and Juliet. 

THIS the most epic love story of all time!

How can you review a book that is absolute perfection? How much can you gush over something you love? I feel like Chiron when, after seeing Achilles unique prowess, told him “I have nothing to teach you.” I seriously have nothing to say about the Song of Achilles that would do it justice, it’s that good.

I knew Miller is an exceptional writer (Circe is another masterpiece of hers I read last year) so I knew going in that I was at least going to like the Song of Achilles. What I didn’t expect was a deeply emotional and sensitive page turner of a book about the life journey of two boys in Ancient Greece.
Having the story and world building practically already mapped out, Miller has plenty of time to explore her characters and does so beautifully. I love that there is such a linear progression to her characters growth, we see them from a very young age growing and developing through the pages, steadily, almost respectfully, like every detail of their lives matters in how their personalities are eventually shaped. Nothing is left to chance and nothing seems out of place. Miller doesn’t choose the easy way out, there are no repeats of done-to-death tropes and that’s what makes her writing so unique and extraordinary.

Yes, the Song of Achilles was a great love story between Achilles and Patroclus, but for me it goes beyond that. What those two had was way more than simple love for each other. The level of devotion and the pure idolisation Patroclus had for Achilles was unreal. I do not doubt for a second that Achilles felt the same for Patroclus (he was the one who initially approached him after all) but in a slightly different way, which to some might not be quite enough, and maybe it wasn’t. Because Patroclus love for Achilles was so intense, any show of affection from Achilles could not possibly compare. Patroclus dreamed of kids and another life but he would happily put all his wants aside for Achilles, just to be with him and die with him. Achilles wouldn’t, at least not that easily, and Patroclus knew that very well. And he still loved him all the same.

The Song of Achilles is a tale of two boys with an unbreakable bond. It is a tale of war, death and destruction, but also of friendship, love, loyalty and forgiveness. 
In an nutshell, an absolute must-read.

The next day...
I can't stop thinking about this book you guys, and that very rarely happens to me. The effect it had on me is remarkable and it will always have a special place in my heart. 💖

-------------------

Because I have seen some crazy shit in some reviews, I feel the need to address some of it:

Mythology comes from the Greek words "mythos" which means legend and "logia" which means words, coming from the verb "legw" which means speak.
So, mythology is just that: stories, fables, fiction, basically a total fib. You can twist it any way you like and give it the shape you want. You cannot be "disrespectful" to mythology even if you tried, such thing is a paradox, it doesn't exist.
I am Greek and I studied Ancient Greek and Latin for 4 years in high school and I am telling you now I wouldn’t give a fuck and certainly wouldn’t be offended if Miller wanted to make Achilles a flamboyant drag queen from San Francisco or a surfer dude from the Gold Coast, who cares? She writes fiction, she is not a scholar. Stop picking everything apart and try enjoying books more would be my suggestion. Or read non-fiction, that could be a choice. 

And one more thing: if you don't like MM romance, don't read MM romance! It is really that simple.