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pencilspeaker's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is definitely NOT a retelling of the Odyssee, rather (just) a "what if I take one side character from this myth, put them in a YA love triangle, use ancient Ithaca as a backdrop and see what happens".
There were some plot holes and inaccuracies, but I enjoyed the prose. The book kept me entertained; at times I was unable to put it down.
Leto is a really cool protagonist, I like that often times we only know what she knows. I really hate Mathias tho like how can you fall in love with him after he had you executed and the whole sapphic/bi romance arc was poorly executed (I was here for the sapphic couple that was advertised, and have a lot of anger for the trope of the bisexual who cannot choose and cheats on both of the people they're (supposedly) in love with) .
The plot of the curse was really interesting, but I do have a lot of questions that remain unanswered, because they were apparently solved off-page (hello, what happened to Adrasteia? Where did Selene get her information?). The ending was written beautifully (apart from that jump-scare-y Sex scene, wholly unnecessary at that point), however can I for once have a happy ending in sapphic fantasy please?!
There were some plot holes and inaccuracies, but I enjoyed the prose. The book kept me entertained; at times I was unable to put it down.
Leto is a really cool protagonist, I like that often times we only know what she knows. I really hate Mathias tho
The plot of the curse was really interesting, but I do have a lot of questions that remain unanswered, because they were apparently solved off-page (hello, what happened to Adrasteia? Where did Selene get her information?). The ending was written beautifully (apart from that jump-scare-y Sex scene, wholly unnecessary at that point), however
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Suicide
Minor: Slavery, Blood, and Murder
mariah_storm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
summerspence's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m wrapped up in the post-reading-endorphin-rush, so I want to give it a higher rating, but I can’t. I think I’m already being generous. There’s just something about Greek myths… However, this is so loosely related (read: under-researched and oversold as something it isn’t). According to the author, this is a feminist retelling of “The Odyssey”, except she didn’t read it/do additional research or include the other 99% of the original story. She admitted she gathered info from “Percy Jackson” and other stories. To me, there needs to be more than 1% to be considered a retelling. The historical details are also very inaccurate for 4th century BCE.
Even with all of that, there are so many plot holes and straight up UNCLEAR details that really do make a difference to the story. The reader is just supposed to accept that things are the way they are because the internal monologue of the MC says so.
So, why give it 3 stars then? Idk, I still kind of liked it 🤷🏻♀️😂. There really is a story there, and I do think that some of the writing is very beautiful, even if it was full of holes and inaccuracies.
Even with all of that, there are so many plot holes and straight up UNCLEAR details that really do make a difference to the story. The reader is just supposed to accept that things are the way they are because the internal monologue of the MC says so.
So, why give it 3 stars then? Idk, I still kind of liked it 🤷🏻♀️😂. There really is a story there, and I do think that some of the writing is very beautiful, even if it was full of holes and inaccuracies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
em_of_swags's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Death of parent, and Alcohol
kris_tiff's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape and Suicide
theinkedpath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ES:
Este es un libro complejo de reseñar.
¿Me ha gustado? Sí. ¿Me esperaba más? También.
Creo que ha habido mucha controversia con este libro por el concepto y por el hecho de que la autora a confesado no haber leído nunca el texto original de la "Odisea", ha empañado un poco esta novela en general.
Esta novela se vendía como un retelling de la Odisea, pero no lo es. Es una continuación (cientos de años en el futuro) de un solo capítulo de la Odisea. La mejor forma de describirlo sería: "¿Qué pasaría si al colgar a las sirvientas de Odiseo y Penélope se desatara una maldición sobre Ithaca en donde, salvo que se cuelgue a 12 mujeres inocentes, Poseidón inundará la ciudad?'. Esto es lo que se presenta aquí. Y en el centro de todo esto Melantho y Leto dispuestas a que esto no pase nunca más.
¿Con esta premisa era necesario leerse la Odisea para escribir una novela con mitología griega? Puede que hubiera sido deseable pero no obligatorio porque no es un retelling directo. Y pienso lo mismo sobre su lectura: puedes leer este libro sin necesidad de leer la Odisea.
Dicho esto, ¿que pienso yo de "Lies we sing to the sea"? Me ha parecido una propuesta interesante, con una trama y unos personajes complejos que tienen muchos secretos ocultos. Me ha encantado la forma tan detallada y estilística de escribir, llena de florituras, que me ha recordado mucho a los textos clásicos. Sin embargo, no es oro todo lo que reluce. Aunque me han gustado la complejidad inicial de los personajes, tengo que reconocer que creo que a veces su forma de actuar no era acorde con cómo se nos presentaban previamente, siendo, en ocasiones, inmaduros, torpes o simplemente ciegos. Como punto negativo también debo indicar que la narración tiene problemas de ritmo, siendo durante largos fragmentos del libro muy lenta y sin rumbo y, sin embargo, en su último tramo creo que ha pecado de acelerada y de que algunos hechos y revelaciones aparezcan o se les ocurran a los personajes por arte de magia.
¿Me ha gustado? Sí, pero esperaba más, aunque entiendo que, siendo la primera novela de Underwood tiene mucho que evolucionar.
EN:
This is a tricky book to read because of its controversy...but her we go.
Controversies:
-Firstly, the concept. This story was marketed as a retelling of 'The Odyssey" but it is not. It is a fantasy story that takes one chapter of 'The Odessy', the hanging of the Penelope´s maids and uses it to build up a fantasy story that happens hundreds of yers after that event. To me, that is not a retelling, but a follow up of the story, a what if if you will. Therefore, I did not feel offended by the use of the original text through the story (because the novel itself is a new product on its own).
-Secondly, the fact that the author had not read 'The Odessy' by Homer. I do not see it as alarming as I have read in some places. Should she have read the original text prior writing the story? Probably it would have been a good idea, for research, context and tone for example, but I do not consider it compulsory. The story itself I read it as if a "what if". What if, after the hanging of the maids, Poseidon cursed Ithaca and Odyseus´s family for their cruelty towards the maids by threatening to drown the city? The only way to stop this from happening is hanging 12 young innocent people each year as payment to the God. However, hundreds of years later, our protagonist, Melantho and Leto, decide to break the curse by killing Odysseus's descendant, Mathias. With this premise I do believe that the author introduced enough elements let the reader know the classic passages it refers to while having a new story. So, to me, the fact that she did not read 'The Odyssey' is not that bad. I think the author could have benefit from it, but it is not the end of the world. And I hold the same opinion for the readers: you could read 'The Odyssey' before reading this book to have more context and connect all the references, but you can also jump directly to Underwood's novel (which is what I did although I want to read the classic story too).
What do I think of this book?
This is a complex question because I liked it but, at the same time, I expected more from it and saw a few flaws. Let me explain:
I really like the concept of the story and how it was presented to us. I also loved the characters and how grey the were, specially the three main characters, with their multiple layers. I also love the very crafty way in which Underwood used the language and her writing craft, producing a very flowery prose that conjured beautiful scenes in my head. In this particular aspect, her writing reminded me of the classic text such as 'The Iliad'. However, this book has flaws as well. Firstly, it has problems regarding the narrative reading as it has really big portions of the book in which the action is very slow and, then, in the last third of the book everything happens very quickly and, some of the revelations happen too quickly or out of nowhere. As for the characters, though I love their complexity, I do believe that sometimes they behave in a way that goes against their previous behavior or in a very immature or irrational way producing that, sometimes, the enchantment around the character personality breaks producing in the reader a sense of inconsistency.
Does this mean I dislike the book? No. I like the book, but I do feel that some aspects of it could be improved more to make the story reach its full potential, as well as meeting the good aspects I listed before. However, this is the first book of the author and I am confident she will get better as she writes.
So, in the end, is a 3 stars book. Let's see what Underwood writes in the future
Este es un libro complejo de reseñar.
¿Me ha gustado? Sí. ¿Me esperaba más? También.
Creo que ha habido mucha controversia con este libro por el concepto y por el hecho de que la autora a confesado no haber leído nunca el texto original de la "Odisea", ha empañado un poco esta novela en general.
Esta novela se vendía como un retelling de la Odisea, pero no lo es. Es una continuación (cientos de años en el futuro) de un solo capítulo de la Odisea. La mejor forma de describirlo sería: "¿Qué pasaría si al colgar a las sirvientas de Odiseo y Penélope se desatara una maldición sobre Ithaca en donde, salvo que se cuelgue a 12 mujeres inocentes, Poseidón inundará la ciudad?'. Esto es lo que se presenta aquí. Y en el centro de todo esto Melantho y Leto dispuestas a que esto no pase nunca más.
¿Con esta premisa era necesario leerse la Odisea para escribir una novela con mitología griega? Puede que hubiera sido deseable pero no obligatorio porque no es un retelling directo. Y pienso lo mismo sobre su lectura: puedes leer este libro sin necesidad de leer la Odisea.
Dicho esto, ¿que pienso yo de "Lies we sing to the sea"? Me ha parecido una propuesta interesante, con una trama y unos personajes complejos que tienen muchos secretos ocultos. Me ha encantado la forma tan detallada y estilística de escribir, llena de florituras, que me ha recordado mucho a los textos clásicos. Sin embargo, no es oro todo lo que reluce. Aunque me han gustado la complejidad inicial de los personajes, tengo que reconocer que creo que a veces su forma de actuar no era acorde con cómo se nos presentaban previamente, siendo, en ocasiones, inmaduros, torpes o simplemente ciegos. Como punto negativo también debo indicar que la narración tiene problemas de ritmo, siendo durante largos fragmentos del libro muy lenta y sin rumbo y, sin embargo, en su último tramo creo que ha pecado de acelerada y de que algunos hechos y revelaciones aparezcan o se les ocurran a los personajes por arte de magia.
¿Me ha gustado? Sí, pero esperaba más, aunque entiendo que, siendo la primera novela de Underwood tiene mucho que evolucionar.
EN:
This is a tricky book to read because of its controversy...but her we go.
Controversies:
-Firstly, the concept. This story was marketed as a retelling of 'The Odyssey" but it is not. It is a fantasy story that takes one chapter of 'The Odessy', the hanging of the Penelope´s maids and uses it to build up a fantasy story that happens hundreds of yers after that event. To me, that is not a retelling, but a follow up of the story, a what if if you will. Therefore, I did not feel offended by the use of the original text through the story (because the novel itself is a new product on its own).
-Secondly, the fact that the author had not read 'The Odessy' by Homer. I do not see it as alarming as I have read in some places. Should she have read the original text prior writing the story? Probably it would have been a good idea, for research, context and tone for example, but I do not consider it compulsory. The story itself I read it as if a "what if". What if, after the hanging of the maids, Poseidon cursed Ithaca and Odyseus´s family for their cruelty towards the maids by threatening to drown the city? The only way to stop this from happening is hanging 12 young innocent people each year as payment to the God. However, hundreds of years later, our protagonist, Melantho and Leto, decide to break the curse by killing Odysseus's descendant, Mathias. With this premise I do believe that the author introduced enough elements let the reader know the classic passages it refers to while having a new story. So, to me, the fact that she did not read 'The Odyssey' is not that bad. I think the author could have benefit from it, but it is not the end of the world. And I hold the same opinion for the readers: you could read 'The Odyssey' before reading this book to have more context and connect all the references, but you can also jump directly to Underwood's novel (which is what I did although I want to read the classic story too).
What do I think of this book?
This is a complex question because I liked it but, at the same time, I expected more from it and saw a few flaws. Let me explain:
I really like the concept of the story and how it was presented to us. I also loved the characters and how grey the were, specially the three main characters, with their multiple layers. I also love the very crafty way in which Underwood used the language and her writing craft, producing a very flowery prose that conjured beautiful scenes in my head. In this particular aspect, her writing reminded me of the classic text such as 'The Iliad'. However, this book has flaws as well. Firstly, it has problems regarding the narrative reading as it has really big portions of the book in which the action is very slow and, then, in the last third of the book everything happens very quickly and, some of the revelations happen too quickly or out of nowhere. As for the characters, though I love their complexity, I do believe that sometimes they behave in a way that goes against their previous behavior or in a very immature or irrational way producing that, sometimes, the enchantment around the character personality breaks producing in the reader a sense of inconsistency.
Does this mean I dislike the book? No. I like the book, but I do feel that some aspects of it could be improved more to make the story reach its full potential, as well as meeting the good aspects I listed before. However, this is the first book of the author and I am confident she will get better as she writes.
So, in the end, is a 3 stars book. Let's see what Underwood writes in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
hollynicole04's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
There were parts that were very slow, and the parts that needed to be more drawn out were a little too fast.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death, Suicide, and Murder
kailajay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was gifted to me, based on my Goodreads books, and my gifter hit the nail on the head. I love retellings of mythology, and have a particular affinity for the retelling of mythologies that undo the white cis-het versions, and tell new (and sometimes old) stories from a more modern, intersectional lens.
This was definitely that. A often glossed over part of Odysseus' story, the hanging of the 12 maids, is retold and reexamined. Hundreds of years later, a young girl called Leto- the daughter of an Oracle- finds herself one of the 12 girls chosen as sacrifice to keep Poseidon's fury at bay. The story follows her death and rebirth, meeting Melantho(her eventual outing as one of the original 12 maids is less exciting if you a) read into the things she says or b) know of the Odyssey already) and discovering how, and why, she isn't dead yet.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story was appealing- like I said, I love retellings- and the impact that the demand of retribution has and the acknowledgement that winning doesn't always mean surviving runs throughout the book.
This was definitely that. A often glossed over part of Odysseus' story, the hanging of the 12 maids, is retold and reexamined. Hundreds of years later, a young girl called Leto- the daughter of an Oracle- finds herself one of the 12 girls chosen as sacrifice to keep Poseidon's fury at bay. The story follows her death and rebirth, meeting Melantho
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story was appealing- like I said, I love retellings- and the impact that the demand of retribution has and the acknowledgement that winning doesn't always mean surviving runs throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, and Blood
elderwoodreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The first third of this book could've been about a quarter of the length. I honestly couldn't tell you much of what happened outside of the bits of backstory sprinkled in. The last 2/3 the book really shined, however, the love triangle felt so unnecessary and really made it a struggle to get through at times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
autumnanderson's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide