
My number 3 read of 2025

#WeeklyForecast
Also, Whispers from the Shadows (Christian Fiction-Roseanna White and Tilt (Emma Pattee

The Voyage Home (Women of Troy 3), by Pat Barker (2024) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A Trojan nurse accompanies the doomed prophetess Cassandra to her fate as Agamemnon‘s entourage returns home.
Review: In a landscape overstuffed with retellings, once again this effort from Pat Barker elevates the genre to its full potential. It was jarring not to have Briseis as our point-of-view character in this third book. Cont.

June‘s book club choice is a Greek mythology retelling from the perspective of Briseis, a Queen in Troy taken as a prize for Achilles towards the end of the Trojan war. I enjoyed learning about the war and time period and I think it‘ll make a fun discussion next week. This is the first of a trilogy so I may pick up the audio for the rest of the series.

The Women of Troy (Women of Troy 2), by Pat Barker (2021)
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Premise: As the victorious Greek armies are stranded by impossible winds and tensions rise in the camps, the enslaved women of Troy ponder what comes.
Review: I was blown away by the first book in this series, and the sequel did not disappoint. Cont.

I found this haunting. There is something about the authors use of language that mimics the ‘for the ages‘ style of the original works whilst bringing fresh perspectives and an almost practical infuse telling. In this one our narrator is slave to Cassandra sailing home with Agamemnon who is mostly secondary to the story of his waiting wife and family. The horror of their home, ghosts of slaughtered and canabilised children adds tension .& horror.

The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy 1), by Pat Barker (2018)
Premise: The last days of the Trojan War told through the eyes of Briseis, the enslaved former princess of a Trojan ally whose theft by Agamemnon set off the events of the *Iliad*.
Review: The Greek myth retelling fad got old very quickly for me, but this is one of the best. Cont.

Honestly, going to the library is bringing me such joy! This is another library book that I've finished and it was really good. I've been super tired and grumpy as last couple of days and going to the library today just really perked me up ❤️