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A review by bookshopbree
Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
3.0
I had access to an ARC of this book through my employer.
I wanted to love this story, the potential was definitely there, and for that I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2. While I feel that overall the story is underdeveloped, it really has a fantastic layout and flow. I loved ancient setting and the Greek mythology woven throughout the plot. I also enjoyed the various POV's and the central character, Leto, really held her weight.
At first I loved it, the writing felt good, with intriguing characters and a gripping plot about a mysterious curse that must be broken. But as it went, all of that was kind of lost. The writing started to become less developed, the characters unlikeable and inconsistent, and plot points flimsy. I had difficulty picturing the imagery and following the story. The last 30% of the book was just written in a way I could not wrap my mind around and never really understood what exactly was being said. Overall it ended up feeling like novice writing that could have used a couple more rounds of editing.
But oh, the potential is there! The substance is there! Another reviewer said it felt like fan-fiction and I agree with that. Something about the romance in this was very off putting and I think it's because I had a hard time figuring out how old the characters were. I pictured Leto as 12 or 13 throughout most of it and only started questioning whether that was correct much later in the book...by then my image of her as a minor was already imprinted in my mind, making it distasteful to read through sex scenes that were already challenged by underdeveloped relationships and characters.
If you love Greek mythology and don't look too critically at the writing and plot, the story is enjoyable with a tragic ending that will definitely keep you hooked throughout.
I wanted to love this story, the potential was definitely there, and for that I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2. While I feel that overall the story is underdeveloped, it really has a fantastic layout and flow. I loved ancient setting and the Greek mythology woven throughout the plot. I also enjoyed the various POV's and the central character, Leto, really held her weight.
At first I loved it, the writing felt good, with intriguing characters and a gripping plot about a mysterious curse that must be broken. But as it went, all of that was kind of lost. The writing started to become less developed, the characters unlikeable and inconsistent, and plot points flimsy. I had difficulty picturing the imagery and following the story. The last 30% of the book was just written in a way I could not wrap my mind around and never really understood what exactly was being said. Overall it ended up feeling like novice writing that could have used a couple more rounds of editing.
But oh, the potential is there! The substance is there! Another reviewer said it felt like fan-fiction and I agree with that. Something about the romance in this was very off putting and I think it's because I had a hard time figuring out how old the characters were. I pictured Leto as 12 or 13 throughout most of it and only started questioning whether that was correct much later in the book...by then my image of her as a minor was already imprinted in my mind, making it distasteful to read through sex scenes that were already challenged by underdeveloped relationships and characters.
If you love Greek mythology and don't look too critically at the writing and plot, the story is enjoyable with a tragic ending that will definitely keep you hooked throughout.