In a Nutshell: 
 A book that spans 20+ years ends up having surprisingly little action. 
 The Elaborate Explanation: 
 I wanted to love this book. I know so many people who love The Song of Achilles (TSOA) and in theory I should have loved this book. War, same-sex romance, death, and destruction are all right up my alley, but when I read TSOA I couldn't help but feel like the book fell flat. I loved the first 180 pages, but after that I was struggling to want to finish. 
 I really enjoyed reading about how Achilles and Patroclus fell in love. It wasn't instantaneous and their friendship began with a rocky start. But eventually Patroclus' loathing and envy grew into a mutual friendship and after years they became lovers. 
 "After that, I was craftier with my observation, kept my head down and my eyes ready to leap away. But he was craftier still. As least once a dinner he woulf turn and catch me before I could feign indifference. Those seconds, half seconds, that the line of our gaze connected, were the only moment in my day that I felt anything at all. The sudden swoop of my stomach, the coursing anger. I was like a fish eyeing the hook." (page 27) 
 TSOA is a retelling of The Iliad from Patroclus' POV. At first I enjoyed the first-person narrative, but for the last third of the novel I hated it. I missed knowing what was going on during the war. I missed the action. I wanted to know what was happening in Troy, on the battlefield, during late night battle planning, with the gods. I wanted to know so much more than what was limited by Patroclus' POV. I thought that this book would focus more on the war (which lasts nearly a decade). Instead the book focused more on the boys' teen years. But shockingly that ended up being my favorite part of the novel. I thought that I would be wanting the war to come sooner, but I actually hated the war chapters. Patroclus developed a sort of blind love during it and all the interactions Patroclus has with other people (besides Briseis/Achilles) were boring (up until the last chapter). I loved how by Miller focusing on their teen years it allowed Achilles and Patroclus' romance to develop naturally and not feel forced like many other romances I have read. 
 However, the novel struggled with its pacing. The book at times seemed rushed trying to fit in the events that span more than 20 years and other times it seemed to drag on. There were times, especially towards the end, where Miller basically was just summarizing events. if I wanted to read a summary of The Iliad I would have gone on SparkNotes. Often times I felt like Miller was "telling" readers what was happening not "showing" which left me feeling bored. She didn't go into depth of the various emotions of characters and it left everyone feeling slightly one-dimensional. 
 I think part of the reason why I don't like this book is because the narration reminds me strongly of The Great Gatsby. Both novels are narrated by men who are pretty much average but are welcomed openly by very exclusive, mysterious, "popular"/"special"/"important" men who each narrator struggles to see his flaws. I hated Gatsby. I hated the writing style and thought the narrator was boring and similarly to TSOA I wish that the novel was told from the "popular" man's perspective (Gatsby/Achilles). Honestly this novel's saving grace was its romance. I think that if Patroclus and Achilles didn't have such a strong bond from their youth I probably wouldn't have finished TSOA. 
 Let me be clear: there was nothing inherently wrong with this book. But something wasn't clicking and I think it was a combination of the writing style and how much summarizing occurs. Although I will admit that I hated how Patroclus went on and on about how he could not live without Achilles (it was too similar to Romeo and Juliet for me and was eye-roll worthy). How taboo Achilles and Patroclus' relationship was in TSOA felt more like Western opinions than the opinions of Ancient Greece. 
 But on a more positive note, whenever Achilles and Patroclus would flirt I would find myself grinning idiotically because I could just picture the two men so well in my head. 
 There were a few occasional times were I laughed or chuckled, but those were very rare. Mostly I found myself bored or just simply content while reading TSOA, not wowed or incredibly impressed. This book wasn't bad, it was just simply...there. Which is unfortunate because I was really, really excited to read The Song of Achilles. 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: death, murder, rape, war, neglect, kidnapping, corporal punishment, forced marriage, slavery, kidnapping, human sacrifice