A review by nexusgoblin
Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

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.

 
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