Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Lies We Sing to the Sea

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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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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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

This book was very interesting to read. I finished it in a single day and I wasn't bored for a second.

I've read about people saying the author did not research this book well because she did not read the Odyssey. Still I think this was a good story in its own right. I probably would have liked it more if she built her own world instead of using Greek mythology as a setting but still.

I think the thing that I liked most about it is how much is she committed to the ending.

It would have been easy to give it a happy ending, and many other authors probably would have done that too, but that would have taken away from the story. The whole plot is based on the Prince having to die so him not magically coming back was a good thing in my opinion. While reading the ending, I thought that he may turn into a sea-creature like them but i'm glad he didn't.

The thing I did not like was the cheating aspect of the relationships between the characters. If it had been better defined as either polyamory or something else I would have perhaps understood it more. But because of the jealousy involved it still felt more like cheating, which is a big no for me. I was positively surprised that this was a sapphic story, since I did not know that before starting the book. Originally I was convinced Leto would just fall in love with the prince which would put make it harder to kill him so I liked that twist to the story.

I did feel like some aspects of the story were underdeveloped or just not explained well enough. But especially for a debut novel I am very surprised by how well written this book was.

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itsbumley's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Writing: 4⭐️/5

The writing in this story was clear and poetic. At times, I really did love the beauty of the words and how the story was unravelling carefully. I think Underwood writes very cleanly and epically, which served this Greek-myth-inspired story well. The shifting character POVs served the story well, though I do wish each character had a more defined voice during their own section.

Characters: 3⭐️/5

The characters in the story were clear and relatively strong. Or, at least, the main characters – our narrators – were. The side characters felt much more wishy-washy, their personalities left unexplored and undeveloped until the climax of the story, which then felt far too late. Despite our three main characters being clear in their characteristics, they also didn’t develop much throughout the story. The plot took the centrefold of the story, and the characters simply continued along their paths.

Plot: 3.25⭐️/5

I did enjoy reading the story, as the plot felt clear and decided. However, at many points, the plot’s pacing felt incredibly off. I wondered at the stretched out timeline between Menthalo and Leto’s training to the condensed timeline of them returning to Ithaca and crashing into Mathias’ life. Since the timeline felt rushed, many of the plot points felt rushed. Personally, while I enjoyed both of the love stories in the novel, I wondered whether they could have been handled a bit better to make it feel more respectful. I love a good poly relationship, but – while Menthalo and Mathias ended up respecting each other – one was left in the dark about the other, and Menthalo herself never seemed to be settled with the fact that Leto also loved Mathias.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of Greek Mythology looking for something inspired by it; readers looking for a tragedy that isn’t hopeless; those who like LGBTQIA stories;

Content Warnings?

Blood, death, hangings, drowning, murder, injury, injury detail, fire, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, sacrifices, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, abuse, suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, classism,

Post-Reading Rating: 3.25⭐️/5

I liked the ending, but I wanted a bit more from the lead up into it.

Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5 (3.38)

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sandymaple's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I don't understand why this was marketed as a retelling of the Odyssey - it is not. I thought the writing style was quite beautiful, but to be honest, I did not like much else. There was insufficient character development, I didn't like any of the characters, the premise of the curse was not clearly explained, the ending was drawn out, there was way less mythology than I expected, the love triangle was completely awkward and felt forced... I am stubborn and wanted to get to the end, but this easily could have been a DNF for me.

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hevlav's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

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