piper's pages

a place to share my reading journey with whoever wants to join the adventure

[piperspages]

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston - 5 out of 5 stars

*spoilers*

i always hesitate to give something 5/5 stars because everything has its problems and nothing is ever perfect; but this book, this book comes about as close to perfect as something can get.

red, white & royal blue follows alex claremont-diaz, the son of the first female president, and henry fox-mountchristen-windsor, the prince of england and fourth in line for the throne, through an enemies to fake friends to secret lovers storyline that knocks you right off your feet.

following a royal wedding gone wrong, alex and henry are forced into a fake friendship in order to boost the media’s views on international relations between the united states and the united kingdom during alex’s mother’s re-election year. what starts as a forced friendship that neither want to be apart of, turns into such a pure love and heartwarming relationship that will have readers craving a love just like theres. 

each of the characters are their own individual and provide their own special something to the book that would a missing piece in the story if they weren’t there. each characters fits like a puzzle piece and, bar your standard bad guys, take up a space in the reader’s heart with their characterization and enderingness. 

although completely unrealistic, given the way we’ve seen how the british royal family react to anything outside of tradition, the storyline and the world that casey has given us is completely heartwarming. you want nothing more than for these characters to live a life full of happiness and love. 

i honestly am struggling to find anything bad to say about this book. it has everything. it has great characters, a heartwarming romance, enemies to lovers, a sense of found family, and a desire to do something great and leave your mark on history. 

ps... i’d 100% die for nora.

[piperspages]

the song of achilles by madeline miller - 4 out of 5 stars

*spoilers*

I, like many others, found this book through social media. When a book blows up on social media that I’ve never seen before, I am sometimes hesitant to dive into the book incase it isn’t as good as expected. However, ‘the song of achilles’ did not fall short. 

The Song of Achilles, written by Madeline Miller, is a retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, and follows their relationship from children until men in their late 20s as they detail with the progression from platonic to romantic love, as well as the looming prophecy of Achilles’ fate. 

From the beginning, I felt nothing but love for Patroclus, and I wanted to protect him at all costs. His exile and struggle to find himself was heartbreaking and his upset was so strong that I felt it too. Props to Madeline and the way she writes, making the emotions feel so alive and in real time. 

The love between Achilles and Patroclus is so raw and warm, even before it is something romantic. Achilles takes Patroclus by the arm and marches him through life by his side, unwavered by the thoughts of others. Even when parted, they find a way back to each other, and isn’t that the true moral of the book? I found myself craving a love like theirs. It had its flaws, as all relationships fictional and real tend to come across, but it felt so real and true that I couldn’t help the desire to have what they had. 

The character of Achilles is an interesting one; you know he’s a good man, a man willing to protect who he loves and cares for - mainly Patroclus - and you see him weighted by the pressure of his mother and what he is to become. HIs pride, however, rears its ugly head about 200 pages in, and I found myself tired by his actions for the rest of the book. You can’t fault that too much, I suppose, as it is his pride that bring the tale to what it is, however it is also his pride that brings us to the tragic end. 

The end is known from the beginning, maybe even before you go into the book. The story of Achilles and Patroclus is not a new one, and a five minute google will tell you their fate. If it is something you have managed to avoid, you know by half way through the book that Achilles is fated to die following the death of Hector, and so the ending is not a surprise. You find yourself on edge, waiting for the end, waiting for the final blow. And when it finally came, the knowledge of knowing what is to come does not stop the tears. I cried something ugly, for the last 50 or so pages of the book, and the following half hour, because I could not get the image of Achilles’ sadness, and Patroclus’ desperation out of my head. 

The book was beautiful from start to finish, and I find myself jealous of those who get to read it for the first time. 

My only gripe is that some of the names are a bit of a pain to pronounce without prior knowledge, and I think it would make the reading experience a bit better if there was a printed pronunciation guide in the book just to flick back to when needed.

Achilles and Patroclus, told through song 

[piperspages]

my january book haul

this month i had the pleasure of adding a few new books to my collection that i cannot wait to delve into!

red white and royal blue by casey mcquiston

the falling in love montage by ciara smyth

the invisible life of addie larue by v.e. schwab

maurice by e.m forster

only mostly devastated by sophie gonzales

the duke and i by julia quinn

it’s a great list of books that are all completely different with a new adventure behind each cover and i’m so excited to take that journey with each of them in the following weeks