In Icebreaker, ice hockey players know their moon and rising signs…?

I saw Icebreaker on offer on the Apple Books front page back in February 2023, and only bought it because I had seen a slew of good reviews for it. I gathered that it was an ice-skating romance of some description, and considering I am a big fan of ice sports, I thought it would be perfect for me.

Icebreaker felt reminiscent of old Wattpad stories I used to read, only written a lot better. Revolving around an ice-skater and ice-hockey player in forced proximity and an ever-so-slight enemies to lovers vibe, I honestly couldn’t fault the story for having lots of elements of a romance that I actually like and sometimes seek out.

In short, here’s what I thought of Heracle’s Bow by Madeline Miller

After capturing my attention with both Song of Achilles and Circe, I know that Madeline Miller is an author I now choose to pay attention to. But, this short story really failed to live up to the expectations set by her longer novels — but that’s okay.

Short stories always come with high and often unrealistic expectations. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this ten page short by Miller, but I definitely felt underwhelmed by the entirety of it.

The ending packed a punch and was the only part I can actually remember in detail from this short. I still have no recollection of anything Miller actually said or tried to say here. The story of Philoctetes was brand new to me, but unfortunately, this slight palette cleanser did nothing to create a lasting effect, and I can say that after reading, the myth still feels new and unexplored.

I know that Miller can write fabulously and her other stories have left profound impacts on me, but Heracles’ Bow did nothing of the sort. But for a short, I don’t necessarily care too much about it. I just know that I’d rather read longer stories with Greek myths if I’m looking to genuinely engage with the myth in its entirety.