I know there’s a lot of controversy about the author saying she didn’t read The Odyssey.

I also know that the book doesn’t suffer for if. The books is pretty darn good and is set hundreds of years after Penelope’s husband returns.

I loved this story. It's well-written, and I loved the complex characters and relationships that were established. The ending had me heartbroken.

Lies We Sing to the Sea was absolutely fantastical! Underwood wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

This book is an enjoyable read. The characters are all lovable, despite being flawed, and the love triangle is different and refreshing, if a little implausible at the end.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend for someone dipping their toes into greek mythology.

However. A major problem I had with the book was discovering halfway through that the author had not actually read the Odyssey. It bothers me that it is presented as a retelling without having read the source material and instead relied on interpretations and summaries. I tried not to let that impact my enjoyment of the book, but I would be lying if I said that didn’t bother me.

I would still recommend it, while also suggesting that the Odyssey is also read for comparison.

This book has been one of my most anticipated reads and I got to read it EARLY!!

I have come to the conclusion that I will have to collect every single edition possible of this book because it has captured my heart and become my entire personality.

Lies we Sing to the Sea is a beautifully sapphic book inspired by the story of Penelope’s twelve hanged maids.

Receiving this arc early has been both a blessing and a curse.
A blessing, because, LOOK AT IT! It is gorgeous. Also, the book is absolutely phenomenal.
However. The curse comes now as no other book can quite hold up to the love I had for this one, I was absolutely captivated from the very first page. I binged 25% of it before I had to force myself to be an adult, and let me tell you, prying myself away was HARD.

The storyline was gripping, I was entertained, surprised, and excited by numerous parts of the plot. The characters were perfectly written, their individual journeys had me invested, and all of them managed to tug my heart strings at least once! By the end of the book, I really was rooting for them all to succeed in their endeavours, and in doing so managed to set myself up for some extreme heartbreak.

The ending just encapsulates the whole story so well and I was full on sobbing.

Overall, a really enjoyable read. A very well written, lyrical, poetic and beautiful story indeed.

Id recommended this to fans of Greek Mythology and those who love beautiful writing.

1 Sentence Summary: After Poseidon cursed Ithaca centuries ago, every year 12 girls must be sacrificed to the sea; Leto, one of this year’s sacrificed girls, comes back to life after she’s hanged and learns she must break the curse by killing Ithaca’s prince.

My Thoughts: I’ve seen a ton of controversy surrounding this book and I totally agree with the damage done by white authors writing other cultures’ mythology. The privilege is upsetting.

Anyway, to review the actual book, it was okay but I didn’t really enjoy it.
I give it 1 star because the writing was good and 1 star because it was an interesting story and didn’t have a tidy ending.

However, I didn’t like any of the characters. They all just annoyed me so much and didn’t have a lot of substance. And the relationships were extremely weird. What is it with 500 year olds who look like teenagers falling in love with actual teenagers??? (*cough* the darkling *cough*) It grosses me out. And the bizarre love triangle (was it a love triangle?) between Leto, Melantho, and Mathias??? Idk what was going on there.

So yeah tbh I wouldn’t really recommend this unless you’re super into greek mythology and want to read whatever you can about it (though I’m sure there are better greek mythology books out there).

Recommend to: Greek mythology enthusiasts

(Warnings: swearing; sexual content; death; sexual assault; rape)

Well written retelling if mythology. The writing had alot of prose which I loved. Unfortunately the characters lacked a little dimension. The pacing was great.

"'We are more than our actions,' said Leto. 'We are the way we love others and the way they love us back.' And the way that others will ruin themselves in our absence, the way that no one else will ever be good enough for life to be worth living."

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Each year twelve women in the failing kingdom of Ithaca must follow the sacrifice of Penelope's twelve handmaids to protect the kingdom from Poseidon's wrath. Leto is a young oracle who has been chosen as one of  sacrifices for the year. She faces her own hanging and somehow survives, washing up on a mysterious island with another survivor, Melantho. She teaches Leto to survive in her new body, which transforms whenever water touches it and presses for Leto to return to the kingdom to break the curse. 

Leto wants not only to end the curse but vengeance on the royal family who killed her mother and herself. But when she arrives, the prince is a little more dashing than she remembers and she struggles with the task ahead. As they research more into the source of the curse and what might break it, the three become much closer bonding over the trauma the gods have caused in their lives.

This one has some beautiful lesbian love, if you liked The Song of Achilles this one will be right up your alley, a great balance of action, magic and queer love.

Thanks to Harper Collins Childrens for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

I know the controversies surrounding this debut and the author's interview. Honestly, I could care less. Underwood has crafted a story spawning from a tale within The Odessey and was not offering a retelling of it. The premise was a positive for me. I was intrigued and curious enough to want to read it. I was also pulled in by the comparisions to other big retellings, which i have immensely enjoyed. After reading, I think it is a major mistake to try to get the attention of readers by grouping the author's writing with the likes of Madeline Miller. While it is a good first attempt, Lies We Sing to the Sea is nowhere near the caliber of The Song of Achilles and Circe, and frankly, if you don't want people to compare this novel to the works of Miller and find it utterly lacking, the advertising must be changed.

I thought the prose itself was fine and at times really well done. That being said, I thought it felt underdeveloped and the characters fell quite flat. I also strongly felt the use of modern day cuss words seemed so absurdly out of place. There was also so much going on, and an extreme amount of foreshadowing to bigger things. It was almost ridiculous. Selene and her death, Hekate and her exile, Thalia, Timo, Ophelia, what mystery lies between the oracle and the royal family, and on and on and on. This all in the first third of the book. It felt messy. The thing is, there was so much happening, but yet, nothing was happening! Boring. It took me almost a month to get through the first half. When I would put it down, I didn't care if I picked it up again. I tried, I really did, but eventually, I just didn't want to pick it up again. It felt too much like work. Honestly, I just didn't care what happened. I DNF'd after one month, 50%of the way in.

I fully acknowledge that I am not the target audience for this one. I'm a 45 year old avid reader who loves literary writing and strong character development. I'm sure this could be well received by those it is intended. I am just not that person. Due to the fact I was unable to finish, I do not feel I can give this a fair shareable review; therefore, I'm leaving my feedback here and am not going to post it anywhere on my social media.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this digital arc, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I knew nothing about this book when I decided to read it. I'm a 48-year-old mom and a full-time college student and YA is a great escape for me.

Frankly, I am 100% fine with a "Greek-mythology-inspired" tale... One does not need to know or have read the Odyssey from cover to cover to write something that is inspired by one of the many tales in it. I haven't read it cover-to-cover either. Like the author, there are some parts of the Odyssey that I find impenetrable and/or completely and utterly boring; however, I do have an incredible collection of Odyssey stores that was published during the Art Deco era (the illustrations are incredible) that I have read cover to cover countless times.

Anyway, I digress - I read a lot of YA and this was a lovely first effort. I think the characters might have enjoyed a little more depth but I'm also coming at this with the emotional and intellectual maturity of a middle-aged woman. Imagining my tween reading this, I suspect that probably wouldn't be such an issue.

Listen I too like the author did not fully read the Odyssey. I like greek mythology mainly from reading Percy Jackson as a kid. I love finding retellings in YA and this gave us that. I saw this would be sapphic on twitter and was taken very off guard by the love triangle and the male love interest. This was well written, I enjoyed the sapphic relationship pieces, and I liked the prophecy aspect with Apollo. It's not a happy ending but more a peaceful one that I felt okay with. This book is over 400+ pages but did not feel that long to me!

An imaginative and poetic retelling of one of histories most classic tales with the queer representation myth nerds have been longing for. The writing is both lyrical and approachable, which is great for readers new to the myth retelling genre.

I’m giving Lies We Sing to the Sea 3 stars here, but on Goodreads I will give it 5 in and attempt to balance the scale against people who give it 1 star based on one line in an interview without reading the book.

Comparing Lies We Sing to the Sea to The Song of Achilles and Circe was a mistake. Anyone who picks up LWSTTS expecting to have the same experience as TSOA or C will be sorely disappointed. Madeline Miller is way out of Sarah Underwood’s league and they’re not comparable. LWSTTS is a lot of tropes, twists, and a love triangle. It’s hardly a retelling of anything and lacks any sort of character development. Read Madeline Miller if you want something that feels authentic. Read Sarah Underwood if you want vibes and tropes. As for describing it as a retelling of The Odyssey… that is a lie. LWSTTS begins centuries after Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, or any of the original tale. LWSTTS is based on what happened when Odysseus returned to Ithaca and many of those characters are mentioned and influence the plot, but that’s it. Not a retelling.

My biggest frustration with Lies We Sing to the Sea is that it’s boring. A whole lot of nothing happens for the first half and the ending is painfully predictable. I DNF as many books as I finish but I stuck with this one because, although boring and predictable, it’s fast paced and entertaining. I’m a sucker for love triangles and that might be the one thing that kept me reading until the end. I don’t think a good ending has to be a complete surprise if the rest of the book is engaging. Lies We Sing to the Sea is not. She had two love interests and there was no tension between any of them. The side characters are flat, the setting is lackluster, and drama is disappointing.

Overall, I wouldn’t suggest spending your time or money on Lies We Sing to the Sea. It’s not terrible, but there are certainly plenty of other better things to read. It’s painfully average, which is disappointing because it has potential, but feels rushed and flimsy.

Lies We Sing to the Sea will be hitting publication quite a bit later than the Greek Mythology phase of the book-ish community is ending. A bit sad yet the writing fits the publication as it comes across as a bit childish and underdeveloped.

I enjoyed this book, but for whatever reason it just could not hold my attention for long spans of time. I think it was Mathias because I loved Leto and melantho. He just was so whiny and poor me, despite being a prince and not really doing a whole lot until fairly recent to the storyline to change his situation. I just had no care for him. You’d think the event that he says is his trauma would be the spark to start trying to break the curse, not a random girl he didn’t even know. Just was off.

I will say a lot of the secondary characters, especially the Queen were super interesting and I loved that we had a quick glimpse into her POV compared to how Leto and Mathias’ view the queen.

Overall I really loved the plot and the concept, I just wish Mathias wasn’t a POV or just written differently. I didn’t want to attend his pity party, especially compared to Leto and melanthos lives. I really admire how the story was spun and the accounts of different POV on the same topic.

Now, The book itself is a solid 3.8 in my opinion, however I rounded down because of the controversy of this book and the author. Do I think the author did a great job despite not painfully reading the odyssey? Yeah 100%, this is a spin off/future state of a minor character in that story. However, I think a lot of people being upset about lack of respect and humbleness (although I have a feeling interview jitters played a part in the responses in the interview a lot of this stems from) for the original work, especially when it’s not your culture is completely valid. Especially when in the interview the author describes herself as someone who is very methodical and research oriented.

In the end, it’s a good book, especially if you like Ancient Greece and LGBTQ romance. However, if you don’t want to read it because of the controversy, that’s valid too.

Thank you net galley for a free ARC of this book. Everything in this review is of my own personal opinion. I also wrote this review on my phone, so please forgive me for any errors.

*3.5 stars

Neither good nor bad. It was very easy to put down; nothing drove me to keep reading. Which is why it took me so long to finish.

Positives: I love Underwood's writing style. It had the right type of poetic-ness for this type of story. And the sapphic relationship was very sweet. I loved that this book was (mostly) its own story (this is definitely not a retelling in any way despite the original marketing. It’s just been inspired by the Odyssey and definitely could stand on its own without it).

I liked that the book dove into the three main characters’ povs. However, Mathias was a boring character to follow. His chapters didn't propel the story forward at all, especially in the first half. I didn’t feel any sympathy for him and was just patiently waiting for him to die. And unfortunately Leto’s and Melantho's chapters read very similarly. They weren't diverse enough in personalities for me to want to read from both of their povs. I didn’t dislike either of them but I also didn’t fall in love with them.

In all honesty, the most interesting person was the Athenian princess who shows up for a chapter. I would rather read about her adventures.

The middle of the book dragged; it was painful just waiting for them to kill the prince. The ‘will they, won’t they’ aspect of the plot was excruciatingly frustrating. The last fourth of the book was decent though.

I would recommend this to people who love reading stories inspired by ancient Greece (but personally, it’s not one of my favorites). I am glad I was able to read it!

This was disappointing. Not even getting into the drama of the author admitting she's never read The Odyssey in full (which is ridiculous when you're adapting and retelling a story so closely tied to that epic), the book is a bit of the mess. The concept is decent, I liked the ideas behind the story and the idea of giving female characters a larger role in a story they're mostly left out of, but the execution is pretty bad. The story reads like a surface level intro to ancient Greece and Greek mythology, outside of the myth directly associated with Penelope and her maids, there's very little mention of any other myths/legends/gods and the setting the author paints is very bland. The characters are inconsistent, which goes on to cause issues in the plot. The plot drags as soon as they reach the palace, and becomes a will they won't they story that's more annoying than suspenseful. The ending was not a surprise, but wholly unsatisfying. This is a pretty poor attempt at utilizing the mythology craze in YA publishing at the moment that not only falls flat, but fails to execute the myths it's adapting in any sort of interesting way. Definitely skip this one.

This has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to read it early. LIES WE SING TO THE SEA is a sapphic retelling focusing on the twelve maids from the Odyssey. For fans of Ancient Greek mythology, this is the book for you.

Since the very first page, it was as if a scaled arm pulled me deep into the book and refused to let go. From the beautiful prose, to the multi-POV characters, to the lush setting, I cannot wait for readers to dive into this story.

A genuinely engaging book with many twists.
I'm not a big fan of Ancient Greece so in the beginning, I thought I had picked the wrong book, but that quickly changed. The characters are fully fleshed out and the mythological aspects are deftly blended with Underwood's plot.
It seems there is an uproar because the author didn't read The Odyssey. Guess what? It doesn't matter because it's fiction. It's being touted as a retelling for marketing purposes. The author probably didn't even have a say.

The thing that bothers me is how young Leto is (12-ish). I guess she's considered an adult in an age where the life expectancy is 35-40, but I had a hard time not imagining her as a child.
*****Semi spoiler*****


I want to know what happens when Leto dies. Does Melantho dump Thalia or does she go for Mathias???

First of all, I’d like to be clear that I really don’t care whether the author read The Odyssey in its entirety or not. Could the marketing people at her publisher being smarter about calling a book that is three centuries removed from The Odyssey both a retelling and a direct sequel? Yes, but again, I don’t care.

I only cared about the story and I only expected to like the story until I read the book. I hated Matthias’ character from the beginning, I’m not going to lie. I don’t really understand white people’s obsession with the ‘not like other princes’ trope. We get it, heavy is the head, bla bla bla. The self-pitying royal thing is boring to me, I’m sorry. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll probably have a much better reading experience than me.

I hope a lot of people do have a better reading experience than me. It’s not a bad book. It’s not on the prose and storytelling level of Madeline Miller, and here I feel like the publisher is doing the author another disservice with the comparison, but it does grab you from the first line and it is, when we’re in Leto’s perspective, propulsive and interesting. Melantho also has an interesting voice for me, but I like sad girls.

I could have spent all the time with them, but every time the book is interrupted by Matthias’ self-pity, I just wanted to give up, and eventually, I did.


Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for this ARC.