Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

5 reviews

anxious_cowpoke's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

So, this wasn’t the feminine rage Odyssey retelling I was hoping for. This story follows Leto, one of twelve girls who have been sentenced to die by hanging in Ithaca to prevent Poseidon’s rage from devouring the island. Though she dies, she is resurrected on the shores of an island called Pandou, with a population of one, another girl named Melantho. The two of them are determined to break the curse that plagues Ithaca and save the next twelve girls from being sacrificed — but that includes killing Prince Mathias and sacrificing him to the sea, instead.

I wanted to like this book. The beginning was lovely, but the entire second act dragged horrifically. The third act picked up again, but the information presented right at the very end of the book should have been given to Leto at some point earlier. A lot of other convenient plot armor instances also occur — I’m pretty easy to please, and while at first I thought that it really was reading somewhat like an oral retelling of a hero, it just got to the point where everything happening was too convenient. There were also moments where characters acted out of character, and I felt as though that could have either been developed further or left out entirely. 

In general, I liked the writing style immensely. It really did read a lot like a myth with the language it used. This alone would have saved the book from being knocked down into the 1 or 2 star range, but there’s something else I feel the need to address.

As someone who is bisexual, I found this book to be a little bit biphobic in its love triangle. It falls into the “cheating bisexual” trope, where Leto’s internal monologue while kissing Mathias begins to work out how she’ll hide it from Melantho. I also found Leto’s and Melantho’s relationship to be rather codependent-feeling as well, with Leto obsessing over Melantho as much as she did. It got to the point where I wasn’t rooting for the two of them like I wanted to be because it just felt unhealthy. Because of this, I can’t within good conscience really rate it much further above than a 2.5. 

Finally, and this is a personal aside that doesn’t affect my review, and it contains a minor spoiler so proceed with caution.

Truly, I came into this book assuming it would be feminine rage. I didn’t really sign up for a tragic ending. I wasn’t in the headspace to cry as much as I did at the ending and still go away from the book saying “that kind of fucking sucked at the end.” There is beauty in tragedy but that wasn’t it for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Biphobia

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I'm sad... It's so beautiful though. It's also my second favorite

non poly

ending to a love triangle. I just got really attached to the characters and story. It feels like a Greek Tragedy. This story has already happened there is nothing you can do to change it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Grief

bluebreex's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A solid debut! I am always easily drawn into mythology retellings and inspired stories, and this book was no exception. The characters were lovable and witty - I felt like cheering them on the whole time even when I had a good idea of how this book was going to end. 

Would recommend to anyone with a love for mythology and mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, and Slavery

shetland_pone's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I cried.

It's not perfect, but my only real complaint is the love triangle. Apart from that, it's wonderful.

TW: sexual abuse

Something I think the author wrote extremely well is Melantho's experiences and character. She's afraid of men. It's never said outright but you can see it in her behaviour. And it's nuanced. She knows Mathias isn't a bad person, she even comforts him at one point despite her distrust of him. Her feelings of guilt and pain were something I was able to relate to as someone who has experienced another type of sexual abuse. It felt healing to read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Death

hanne_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Gods, what a slog. Had one early moment with properly horrific use of familiar imagery (the feet, what else?), and then… kinda fell apart. This could’ve been sweet and lush, but tried to do too much with too little and was narratively all over the place. It’s a reimagining of how the Odys— okay, it’s not really doing that rigorously but it’s an intensely personal exploration of— nope, it’s one of those “monarchic inheritance acts like a reality show competition” books— but don’t worry, this YA love triangle’s *bisexual* and even drifting toward polyam— oh wait, now we’re doing the senselessly tragic nature of capital-F Fate— whoops, have two sudden twists… and it’s over. Exhausting. 

I think the author needed to pick one or two things to really commit to: the worldbuilding as an extension of The Odyssey, the consistency of the magic and plot elements she wanted to include, Leto and Melantho’s first-person voices (which started out refreshing and distinct but soon blended together), the three protagonists’ relationships, or the political/governing elements. Instead, the story rushes past each in turn in service of the others, and the only reliably well-developed element is actually… the violence? If you for some reason want to read a lot of detail about people, mostly children, being disturbingly murdered and assaulted, this is the book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

It’s not creepy if the centuries-old entity having sex with a young woman also looks and acts like a young woman, right? No, nope, wrong, absolutely creepy, and some memory loss to reduce the weight of her years of experience does not fix it.