Lies We Sing to the Sea

Written by Sarah Underwood

Narrated by Saffron Coomber, Ioanna Kimbook and Sebastian Humphreys

An instant New York Times bestseller—and a legendary YA debut!

This dazzling sapphic fantasy inspired by Greek mythology will captivate fans of Circe and The Song of Achilles.

Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die—or the tides of fate will drown them all.

Sarah Underwood weaves an epic tapestry of lies, love, and tragedy, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Alexandra Bracken, and Renée Ahdieh.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063234512

Sarah Underwood

Sarah Underwood grew up by the sea in Devon, England. She is currently studying for her postgraduate degree in epidemiology at the University of Cambridge. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Reviews for Lies We Sing to the Sea

[Latasha Renay · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love Greek Mythology. Huge fan of retellings, so this book should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately, the shallow characters and the slow moving plot left me disinterested and bored. The storyline felt very drug out and the love triangle forced. Why can't characters ever just be friends without an underlying sexual chemistry/tension? I kind of wish these YA authors would do the mythology a little more justice when weaving it into the plots of their books.

[Mickaella Ibarrientos · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

( no major spoiler review. )

Okay, look. I went into this book not knowing about the whole controversy around its author; how she apparently hadn't even read The Odyssey and how the book has a LOT of inaccuracies. I went into it thinking, “Yeah, this sounds like a solid re-telling. Plus, sapphic mermaids, so, score!”. And don't get me wrong, it IS good. And it starts strong. I liked the author's voice and I liked Leto. Melantho, too. I liked Mathias, the tragic prince, and I liked the premise of it all.

I have to give kudos to the performance of the voice actors. They really made this audiobook shine! I think, in the end, it was them who kept me listening. The emotions they expressed as they read were PHENOMENAL. I could feel it through my headphones. ( And I'm very picky about my audiobooks. )

It's not perfect, no doubt about that. It has some trouble with pacing, and the love triangle felt awfully forced at times. I understand how it could work for some, but personally, it wasn't for me. That said, I am impressed that they didn't have me violently hating on Mathias. ( Lol ) When it comes to love triangles between two women and one man, I usually end up DESPISING the man. But Mathias was a good character. There were no inconsistencies in his kindness. I actually ended up loving him. And I DID actually like the romance aspect of the book. I'm a sucker for doomed lovers, and the stakes excited me.

But the ending? God. The ending. Phew. Let me breathe. No spoilers, still, but the ending was so— Well, I had to sit and think about it. It felt rushed, yes. Maybe even unfitting. Anticlimactic. But it hurt all the same. And I genuinely didn't expect it. Even if it's not a perfect book, I'd grown attached to the characters, and their stories were still compelling. I think I got used to the inaccuracies at some point. And I liked the characters so much that I was able to turn a blind eye to the book's flaws.

A lot of things could have been better, but I don't regret getting into the story.

Do I still recommend it? Yes. Greek mythology. Gay mermaids. Pretty princes. Go get your heart ripped out and eaten in front of you. ( If you can manage to ignore its faults. )

My final rating of the book is 3.8 stars. ❤️