Lies We Sing to the Sea: AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! New for 2023, a sapphic YA fantasy romance inspired by Greek mythology, for all fans of The Song of Achilles

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I would give this book 0 stars if I could because it’s poorly written, poorly conceptualized, and it’s an insult to Greek culture and mythology. It takes ideas from Greek mythology, concepts that are common all over the place, and plays with them. I’m sure there were plenty of inaccuracies I missed and even so, the anachronisms and instances of downright revisionist history are too numerous to name. At 8% in, I was already tired of the countless diversions, so I just had to browbeat myself into not caring so that I could just read. I am—by far—the hardest reader to please when it comes to Greek re-tellings because as a rule, I don't really read them, so you can trust me when I say this book is going to blow.

The characters at times have some depth but do really seem largely superficial most of the time - and I found it difficult to really care about them or identify with them. I was lucky enough to get to read this book, and after the high hopes from the synopsis, I was still blown away! it’s just so indicative of the fact that this chick is brain-rotted from consuming primarily children’s content that she can’t conceptualise of a form of storytelling not easily mappable to modern television. heterosexual relationships are prioritized here, which isn’t shocking after you read what the author thinks about lesbian relationships in greece.The extent to which the story is faithful or "accurate" to the original is one issue to consider, but it is not the only issue. The writing style is very basic - in fact, there was a very dramatic scene played totally straight that was written exactly as the "Shrek Fiona DONKEY! Perfect reading for fans of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint, Underwood's utterly immersive debut novel delivers a sweeping Sapphic epic of sacrifice, revenge and female courage inspired by Greek mythology.

Given the sheer volume of contrived information, I don’t understand why this was not a second world fantasy. This could have been a book with ancient Greece aesthetics and mythology, that's ok I guess, but saying it is a re-telling of the Odyssey is claiming prestige when there is little to no work or interpretation behind it. The characters are not so much developed, I couldn't see their growing or the chemistry between them. She washes up on an island and meets Melantho, and the two hatch a plan to make sure no more girls have to die.

Or, Melantho is trapped on an island for three centuries and just as Leto built a raft she's able to escape from Poseidon's eye. Odysseus and Penelope are very clever, there’s layers and layers of deception and trickery, and it’s delightful. the audacity of this British bitch to get a six-figure advance for a “retelling” of a book she HASN’T EVEN READ. A "love" they got from, wait for it, children's books and YA retellings like Percy Jackson and The Song of Achilles.