Greek mythology is filled with a lot of great loves - enough to lose count. One story that isn't told quite as often as the rest is the love story of Patroclus and Achilles. You may think I mean Achilles and Patroclus, as it’s told in the Illiad, but Miller tells us the story of Patroclus and how he fell in love with Achilles. That is the story I know. It is the story I fell in love with.

Miller weaves her tale through Patroclus who, exiled by his father to live in the court of Peleus, soon falls in love with his host's son, the demigod Achilles. Ever since Achilles was a child he was always faster, stronger, more beautiful and more skilled than everyone else. It made everyone want him. Whether to make him fight for them, marry their daughter or bed him.

Shockingly as Patroclus falls for him, Achilles does the same. The two boys slowly grow from friends to lovers. Most of their connection was formed when they were schooled in the arts of war and medicine by the centaur Chiron. Soon word reaches them about Helen of Sparta; she has been abducted and all the Greek heroes were being summoned to lay siege to Troy in her honour. Achilles joins their cause after being drawn in by the promise of a bright future, and Patroclus, divided between love and dread for the love of his life, follows. Neither of them knows the horror that awaits them.

I love a lot of books but this book had me falling willingly, viciously, completely and irrevocably in love with it. I came completely undone reading this. I mean I love my queer stories but I didn’t think that this book could do this to me. Their love was so pure and real, you’d find yourself rooting so hard for them that when you eventually learn their fates you would break down.

Like The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue, this book reads much like poetry. Smooth, silky, soft yet excruciatingly painful. I hung onto every word. It just put me in a really good place while tracing cracks in my very fragile heart. Anyone that knows the story of Achilles and Patroclus knows that their love is a doomed one and yet Miller creates this universe where you cannot help but hope and beg for their happily ever after. 

I’ve expressed my love for this book so much that it’ll shock you to hear that I hated it at first. I remember a friend asking how my book was going and I straight up told her it was awful because at that time it was a very slow read. Miller takes her time with everything! The 10-year war in the book truly feels like 10 years. This reason alone would put a lot of people off, I only kept reading because the Greek mythology fanatic in me wouldn’t let me stop. I am clearly so glad I didn’t. So again, just like The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue, this book is an acquired taste. 

I would recommend the book to any lover of Greek mythology and very soft, intense love. If you’re patient and willing to wait for love, this could end up being the best book you’ve ever read. I rate this book a 9/10 and that’s only because of how long it took for me to love it.