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Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

73 reviews

bellesunbridled's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
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scary_blue92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow! Just wow! I'm ashamed that this has sat on my TBR for almost 2 years because wow! An emotional roller coaster through my favourite myths that just about finished me off by the end
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rhiaintheclouds's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

1☆. 

honestly. this should've been a dnf. 
i really wish the author chose to promote this story as inspired by the odyssey rather than a retelling b/c maybe then my opinions would've changed.

Leto as the main character? Extremely frustrating. Extremely wishy washy and a terrible bi-rep if that's what was happening. Melantho was literally just always pissy or trying to be sassy but it was honestly just annoying. Surprisingly Mathias was literally the only character I could tolerate. 

i was pretty much irritated throughout the story, and i couldn't even fully grasp the story. it was so messy. pacing was all over the place and this was a highly anticipated read for me back when it first got published. sigh.
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gds's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Beautifully devastating.
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norabee's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

this was such an interesting premise

i would have loved to see more of their time on the island & some of the action scenes felt off
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_puberty2's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

i was deeply disappointed with how the author handled her sapphic characters and the more sensitive topics she decided to include. with all of the major conflicts being driven by the rape, abuse, and death of the lesbian character — melantho — and pretty much every other woman in the book, i expected the ending to include some kind of meaningful resolution to their suffering that would give greater purpose to that narrative choice. instead, it was treated purely as a plot device, as was the lesbian character as a whole. i grew attached to her very quickly as i could relate to a lot of her internal conflicts and her guilt, but without her trauma she would have very little individuality from leto.
introducing a male love interest (mathias) to an established sapphic relationship is already a cardinal sin but melantho just kind of accepts it when leto is effectively cheating?? with minimal resistance?? especially since it completely undercuts her consistent distain towards him and his affection for leto throughout the rest of the book. i understand that mel feels unworthy of leto’s love, but failing to resolve that internal conflict with an expression of unwavering loyalty made it seem like their relationship wasn’t real enough to involve monogamy. leto questioning her “choosing” melantho over mathias (even though he was Always going to have to die) honestly solidifies that for me. the fact that the last thing to happen before mel ends up dead is fade-to-black sex that’s framed as a “parting gift” for mathias before they end the curse was salt in the wound. adding in the detail that the caveat to needing 12 princes was one prince who chooses really just felt like a way to make mathias the heroic, selfless one despite the fact that he was already the 12th and him accepting his death made no difference for mel’s centuries of tireless work and the thousands of girls who died in the meantime. similarly, her attempt to explain melantho’s acceptance of mathias (despite her consistent rejection otherwise) using his sister’s death was another severely underdeveloped attempt to make you sympathize with him and his “sacrifice”.
overall, i think choosing to create a sapphic novel with a foundation of women’s suffering then prioritizing the feelings and image of the singular male main character is very telling to the author’s priorities. this isn’t even getting into the complete non-effort put into making this the “odyssey retelling” it was advertised to be (despite the author never having ever read the book) and complete lack of research into the setting and time period. 
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rhi_submerged's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loosely inspired by Penelope’s twelve hanged maids immortalised in The Odyssey. Sarah Underwood’s Greek myth-infused debut was a surprisingly relevant and pacy, character driven read that brings female rage and resilience to the forefront of the narrative. 

Not a retelling as such, but a creative reinterpretation (that uses the original as a starting point), I had been a little nervous to start this one as I’d seen a few mixed reviews. But I’m soo glad I finally did, as I really enjoyed it! 

The prose was wonderfully immersive, and I enjoyed delving into the lives (and alternating perspectives) of our three protagonists — all of whom are trying to break the Curse that has plagued Ithaca for centuries. It can get angsty at, but I really enjoyed that tension. 

Leto-compassionate, fiercely determined and strong willed, is the first character we meet and she was incredible! It’s her rage and need for vengeance that initially propels the plot, but her dynamics with fellow hanged maid Melantho, Prince Matthias and her endearing capacity for empathy (despite all she’s endured), is what really kept me invested. 

Melantho (along with Leto) were my absolute favourite characters and I loved seeing their growing relationship develop. Their past experiences and emotional complexity was phenomenal. And really focuses on the difficult choices that they must make —in a world that sees them (and other women like them) as easily replaceable/ disposable. 

Matthias, was an interesting and somewhat endearing character too, but his complicity in the hangings (which he had to oversee) and slow start in actively trying to break the curse, meant I did kind of dislike him at the start. He does eventually begin to make up for it as the story unfolds, but I feel his character not being as developed as Leto and Melantho did hinder him a little. 

Nevertheless, his actions speak louder than any words ever could, and had me absolutely sobbing by the end. 

Given the current climate (and attacks on women’s personal freedoms) worldwide, this felt like a very relevant and topical read. In which the previously silenced voices of women (subjected, objectified or victimised) can use their new power to finally get justice for all the pain they (and others like them) have suffered. 

Overall, a perfect introduction to Greek Mythology for readers eager for more female centric reimaginings. Especially, if they’re already fans of Madeline Miller or Jennifer Saint. 

Also, thank you to Electric Monkey books for the PB copy. 
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leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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timbitsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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