Scan barcode
A review by jose_kg
Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
slow-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? Yes
3.5
*** This review contains a few light spoilers ***
I really enjoyed the premise and the first half of this book, pretty much everything up to Leto and Melantho arriving in Ithaca. To me the second half of the book felt overly drawn out and I'm not really sure how I felt about the love triangle, I definitely didn't love it, I think it might have been a stronger story without it or if Leto had seemed genuinely torn between the two.
I also personally really dislike the lack of communication trope, especially in a multiple POV narrative which leads to the reader knowing that if they did just talk everything would be resolved pretty quickly. This added to the second half of the book feeling like it dragged as you knew that once they actually got round to properly talking the issue would be resolved. Likewise their 'research' felt kind of pointless, it was clear that there wasn't anything in the library and then they just went to a couple of potentially interesting locations but didn't do any kind of actual looking around when they got there. Then suddenly deciding to go to the cellars felt like the author not knowing how to get them to a location she wanted them in.
I did enjoy the first half though, I enjoyed the descriptions of Melantho's island and how her relationship with Leto grew and developed. The language used was beautiful throughout the novel and the voices of the three POV characters were strong and independent of one another. I enjoyed the plot and the various aspects of the curse, though at times it's execution was a little clunky. I also enjoyed the fact that we got a bit of insight into Mathias' mother and why she behaved as she did, I would have liked a bit more of that or Leto bringing some of that insight to Mathias before the end of the novel.
I listened to this book on audio and I really enjoyed having three narrators portraying the three POV characters, it made it easy to know who's chapter you were in. I also thought the voice actors were very good at portraying emotion and weren't afraid to slow down or speed up to portray their characters fully. It very much felt like the book was being acted rather than just read, which I think works incredibly well within the oral and stage based Ancient Greek traditions that this novel uses as it's source.
Overall it was a enjoyable read and, though sections were a bit long, I'm glad to have read the whole story.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and Sarah Underwood for the free audiobook, it was a great audio performance.
I really enjoyed the premise and the first half of this book, pretty much everything up to Leto and Melantho arriving in Ithaca. To me the second half of the book felt overly drawn out and I'm not really sure how I felt about the love triangle, I definitely didn't love it, I think it might have been a stronger story without it or if Leto had seemed genuinely torn between the two.
I also personally really dislike the lack of communication trope, especially in a multiple POV narrative which leads to the reader knowing that if they did just talk everything would be resolved pretty quickly. This added to the second half of the book feeling like it dragged as you knew that once they actually got round to properly talking the issue would be resolved. Likewise their 'research' felt kind of pointless, it was clear that there wasn't anything in the library and then they just went to a couple of potentially interesting locations but didn't do any kind of actual looking around when they got there. Then suddenly deciding to go to the cellars felt like the author not knowing how to get them to a location she wanted them in.
I did enjoy the first half though, I enjoyed the descriptions of Melantho's island and how her relationship with Leto grew and developed. The language used was beautiful throughout the novel and the voices of the three POV characters were strong and independent of one another. I enjoyed the plot and the various aspects of the curse, though at times it's execution was a little clunky. I also enjoyed the fact that we got a bit of insight into Mathias' mother and why she behaved as she did, I would have liked a bit more of that or Leto bringing some of that insight to Mathias before the end of the novel.
I listened to this book on audio and I really enjoyed having three narrators portraying the three POV characters, it made it easy to know who's chapter you were in. I also thought the voice actors were very good at portraying emotion and weren't afraid to slow down or speed up to portray their characters fully. It very much felt like the book was being acted rather than just read, which I think works incredibly well within the oral and stage based Ancient Greek traditions that this novel uses as it's source.
Overall it was a enjoyable read and, though sections were a bit long, I'm glad to have read the whole story.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and Sarah Underwood for the free audiobook, it was a great audio performance.