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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
lizy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
kanadrallegria's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Listen, I hate to be dragging down this author’s Goodreads rating any further than it already is. It seems like the majority of 1 star reviews on here are review bombs without having read the book. I, on the other hand, have read the book, and there was so much wrong with it I don’t really know where to start.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that town’s population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesn’t tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didn’t stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if you’re going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where it’s due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that town’s population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesn’t tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didn’t stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if you’re going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where it’s due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Rape, and Sexual assault
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sophmcgraw's review
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery and Sexual harassment
withlivjones's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is much less of a mythology retelling and more of a fantasy book inspired by the myth of Odysseus, but even though I’m not a huge fan of fantasy as a genre I really enjoyed reading it!
The prose is excellently written and the pacing is good, particularly regarding gradually revealing information to the reader so there isn’t a ton of exposition at once. The main three characters are developed and likeable, and the different chapters in each of their perspectives adds a good amount of tension to the story. I adored the romance between Leto and Melantho and I think it may even rival the legendary relationship between Achilles and Patroclus in The Song of Achilles in terms of how much it made my heart ache. However, I felt that the love triangle with them and Mathias was perhaps a little unnecessary and cliché (though that might be my hatred of love triangles talking). The ending, although it totally wrecked me, was well-written and fitting for the story.
The prose is excellently written and the pacing is good, particularly regarding gradually revealing information to the reader so there isn’t a ton of exposition at once. The main three characters are developed and likeable, and the different chapters in each of their perspectives adds a good amount of tension to the story. I adored the romance between Leto and Melantho and I think it may even rival the legendary relationship between Achilles and Patroclus in The Song of Achilles in terms of how much it made my heart ache. However, I felt that the love triangle with them and Mathias was perhaps a little unnecessary and cliché (though that might be my hatred of love triangles talking). The ending, although it totally wrecked me, was well-written and fitting for the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Suicide
nexusgoblin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
First, Lies We Sing is not a retelling but a sort of reimagining/continuation. I wasn't expecting anything from it in that regard so I enjoyed the ideas that Underwood put forth. I love the exploration of the curse and the sapphic portions.
But I think what held me back was the love triangle aspect and the way the plot seemed to flit between moving too fast and too slowly. The plot sort of spins for a bit in the middle and it feels like it prolongs the page count for almost no reason. I think I would have much preferred for the relationship between Leto and Matthias to have developed more as a close friendship and ally than a love interest, bc we spend so much time watching Leto and Melantho pine for each other it just seems weird to have this sort of flip-flop. It also has some dialogue moments that feel weirdly out of place and more British than greek.
But overall I found it to be enjoyable, but not one I'll likely remember outside of the interesting curse aspect.
But I think what held me back was the love triangle aspect and the way the plot seemed to flit between moving too fast and too slowly. The plot sort of spins for a bit in the middle and it feels like it prolongs the page count for almost no reason. I think I would have much preferred for the relationship between Leto and Matthias to have developed more as a close friendship and ally than a love interest, bc we spend so much time watching Leto and Melantho pine for each other it just seems weird to have this sort of flip-flop. It also has some dialogue moments that feel weirdly out of place and more British than greek.
But overall I found it to be enjoyable, but not one I'll likely remember outside of the interesting curse aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
hanne_'s review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
ecarper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Months ago, on TikTok, I heard about this book and its complicated relationship with its source material, The Odyssey. However, I’m so glad that I picked up this book because, while The Odyssey may have inspired this book, this book is definitely not a retelling. This is very important distinction, as I think the marketing team may have done this book a disservice by marketing this novel as a sapphic retelling of the classic early on. Instead, this wildly adventurous and heart-wrenching tale builds upon the life (and afterlife) of a virtually unknown and oft-forgotten character, the only named maid of twelve, in the classic. Melantho died centuries before this book takes place, yes at the hands of Odysseus, but this book not only gives voice and justice to her as well as names to the other maids. I appreciated that this was a book not about romance, or mythology, but justice. This story is a Greek tragedy of its own and it delightfully plays into each trope, while giving voice to the often voiceless and misunderstood women in classical literature. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape