For readers who enjoyed “A Song Achilles,” there’s much to relish in Madeline Miller’s second novel, a retelling, in part, of “The Odyssey” from Circe’s perspective. The feisty and resilient witch goddess proves that even those most constrained of characters can cultivate power and authority in a patriarchal world. “Circe” by Madeline Miller (Little, Brown) As much as I loved Miller’s first novel, there were moments in which the stubborn pride of its many male heroes wore me down, even as I’ll admit to being a sucker for her rendering of the Achilles-Patroclus love story.