Sarah  Underwood

Lies We Sing to the Sea

Sarah Underwood

Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die—or the tides of fate will drown them all.

Paige Leitner

the reflections that looked back at Leto- a girl and a boy, their hands entwined- shimmered and fractured. If she was the moon, he was always, always the sun. A blazing, beautiful boy, destined to burn. 

Bro you can’t do that I cried that was so hopeless at the end my hope for life is gone why did you do that bro

Jafe

Hannah DCamp

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've read one too many books with wonky pacing, and now I'm displeased. Luckily I have The Stolen Heir on my tbr next, and I'm quite hype. Trying desperately to avoid a slump here.

This is one of those books that has a really interesting concept. The author took something she was interested in and wrote a fantasy about it - I love that for her, and I'm excited for her. I don't know why, but I was thinking more about how much she probably loves the characters and how close they are to her heart. As a reviewer I feel safe commenting on other author's work, when I know firsthand how difficult it is to write (and for me especially, complete) a novel; I can easily imagine what that means to a person. I put the blame/onus on A Deadly Secret, because of all the talk of criticism being easier than doing the work to write. I'll have a lot to say about that later probably, but it's not entirely relevant for this review; I only mention it to say that I feel a bit bad for only giving this two stars, because I can only assume she put her heart into this project.

But only a bit bad. Don't worry, I'll probably be back to my salty self tomorrow. Also ymmv for every book you read - that's how art forms generally function.

As I've already stated I loved the premise, but I didn't completely buy Ithaca as a setting. If you've been to place with as much place-ness as Ancient Greece (speaking entirely based on my own assumptions), there should be something more to it than just daffodils growing everywhere. This is actually a decent example, because it pulled my out of the setting every time they were mentioned. Since I don't know anything about flowers, I had to google if daffodils even grew in Greece (spoiler alert, they might have actually originated there and I might actually be an idiot), but every time they were mentioned I thought of Scotland - they grew every-hekkin-where, all year long (it felt like) where I lived. Underwood could mention as many marble columns as she wanted, I kind of felt like the story could have been set anywhere.

The characters were another place I had an issue. I did not particularly like any of the characters as people, aside maybe from Mathias. He's my first official M/Gary Sue. He was like a wet rag for the first third of the book, moaning about how he had to kill twelve girls, complaining that there was no way around it. When he decides to try and find a way out of the curse, he apparently does nothing for several months? And it takes him forever to think of/follow new leads? This boils down also to the pacing issue I already mentioned, and Mathias definitely grew on me as the book went on. Part of his problem I decided was that he was genuinely nice, which sometimes comes off as boring or doormat-ish; it was a good change of pace having an actually nice character for once, and I nearly missed out on it because he didn't do much that was interesting.

I really struggled with Leto though, especially once she and Mathias started interacting. She would flip-flop emotions on him so quickly - one day she'd be flirty and pleasant and the next she'd fly into a rage, then she'd feel bad because she had to get him to trust her so she'd be flirty again. I get that this was her goal, but it was so toxic and off-putting. The worst part was the he kept going back - he was so hopeful for a loving marriage that he let her abuse him. It seemed transparent to me that he would be down to sacrifice himself to end the curse, because he's already trying to do everything he can. Some careful communication might have resolved a lot of this book's conflict a lot sooner. I don't think this was trying to be a miscommunication trope, because it was the "I have to kill you but I'm falling in love with you" trope, but Leto's blindness to Mathias' character was really irritating to me. Obviously this is a weird example, because usually empathy shouldn't lead to you realizing the person is willing to let you kill them, but I feel like I see this dynamic everywhere irl. I understand - truly - how challenging it is to have empathy for someone when you yourself have been hurt, but for a society that tries to ram kindness down your throat (albeit a secularized, aimless, vague "kindness"), I see very little compassion.

That has nothing to do with the book. But it definitely affected my ability to enjoy the book.

The final hurdle for me was the romance(s). I am coming to terms with the fact that I'm officially Too Old for YA novels, because I roll my eyes every time the characters' hormones take over. This is the last time I'll mention it, and after this I'm done: All they could think about was sex. I would love for someone with a kindle to someday tell me how many times the word "thighs" was used, because it seemed like a lot. Melantho's thighs were all Leto could see when she looked at her (/exaggeration, slightly), and it got old for me real fast. Also Leto and Melantho's only positive thoughts about Mathias seem to be that he was "beautiful." The objectification was too much for me.

I was aware going in that this was a lesbian romance, which is something I know isn't for me; I won't say anything more about it, since I read this book willingly, but I do have some complaints regarding the love triangle. (view spoiler)[Leto and Melantho have a full blown sexual relationship. It was so weird to me that the love triangle continued beyond that point. Leto kisses and has sex with Mathias after beginning her relationship with Melantho. Cheating is not okay, and it just made me like Leto even less that she couldn't keep herself away from Mathias, even for Leto's sake. (hide spoiler)] That felt very gross, and I wish it hadn't been given such a positive spotlight.

This was definitely not the book for me, but this book hits a lot of popular themes that other readers might appreciate.

The writing style was a bit underdeveloped but the story and emotions were phenomenal. The romantic aspect was well untwined with the plot, making it a page turner for sure!

Sarah Taylor

I loved this story. But it broke my heart!

Jodie Reads

This book was wonderful!! While a little slow moving at times, the urgency at the end of the novel made it all worth it. Mathias, Leto, and Melantho are all beautifully written, each with their own identities and personalities that created an entrancing world and captivating relationships. I wish we would've seen a little more of the thought process behind the curse and how Mathias came to his own realization at the end, most of this towards the end is implied and I just wished we would've got a little more insight into his mind during those last few hours. The ending was absolutely gut-wrenching, but so simultaneously so beautiful, it was difficult to read the last few chapters in public because I think I might've cried if I wasn't sitting in a crowded coffee shop. The dialogue and world-building was great and the history behind this mythological story is so vast!! I can't wait to read more from Sarah Underwood. 

Lies We Sing to the Sea

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