🌊  "Lies We Sing to the Sea" offers a fresh take on Greek mythology, with a focus on the curse that plagues the Kingdom of Ithaca. The story follows Leto, a sacrificial maiden who awakens in a strange place and discovers she must assassinate the prince, Mathias, to end the suffering of the young women in the kingdom.

🎙️ The novel's strengths lie in its atmospheric world-building and the compelling performances of its narrators: Saffron Coomber, Ioanna Kimbook, and Sebastian Humphreys. The audiobook format enhances the emotional impact of the story, allowing listeners to fully immerse themselves in the characters' experiences with every step of the story. Themes such as sacrifice, love, and the power of destiny are all well-executed by the narrators who bring the story to life.

📖 At times, the anticipation to find out what happens next and the pacing of the narrative can be uneven, with some sections feeling drawn-out and repetitive. Story-wise, the character development of some supporting characters can seem to be slightly down-played in order to favour the main characters. Even more, while the central love triangle is intriguing, it can seem to lack the necessary chemistry and depth to truly resonate with love triangles of the genre.

⭐ Despite these shortcomings, "Lies We Sing to the Sea" remains an enjoyable novel for fans of Greek mythology and fantasy. The novel's unique premise and the strong performances of the narrators make it a worthwhile listen.

HarperCollins UK Audio | Electric Monkey, NetGalley, and the editorial team - thanks for giving me the opportunity to review an audiobook ARC of this publication!

For more reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads! #LiesWeSingtotheSea #NetGalley #LifeLongLearning

Absolutely stunning!
A beautiful and, at times, heartbreaking tale based on mythology and the power and cruelty of the Gods.

Thanks to the audio, I could sit back and just fall into this beautifully imagined world. With 3 distinctive narrators for the main characters, we saw the world through their eyes, felt their pain and understood their desires.
Usually you expect there to be a villain but not with Lies We Sing and that’s what makes this such a bittersweet tragedy.

The narrators really encapsulated the characters and the emotions in their voice really makes you feel every emotion.

From chapter 60 my heart truly ached. ♥️💔

If you’re just getting into mythology this would be a perfect book to start. It’s wonderful written and easy to follow.
With other mythological retellings it can be easy to get lost with all the Gods, their relationships, Offspring’s etc but with LESttS it’s centred around 3 main characters with references to the Gods Poseidon & Apollo.

Thank you, Harper Collins UK Audio & Electric Monkey and NetGalley, for the gorgeous audiobook.

This fantasy novel explores the fate of the 12 maids hanged by Odysseus, and the continuing sacrifice ritual of 12 young women in the Kingdom of Ithaca in an attempt to placate the wrath of the God Poseidon, whose grudge against Odysseus led him to curse the kingdom in the first place.

The current prince of Ithaca, Mathias, hates the role he has to play in the ritual, and is still grieving the loss of his sister Selene. He is desperate to end the practice, and is searching for a way to do so.

But Mathias is not aware that when Leto - one of the sacrificial maidens awakens to find herself in a strange place with its guardian, the mysterious Melantho - she discovers she is to be trained to end the suffering of Ithaca's young women. The problem is, this can only be done by assassinating Mathias...

I liked the idea of this book, and the earlier part of it was very interesting indeed. Unfortunately, at a certain point, the story became somewhat long winded and repetitive. Some judicious editing would have made the book more interesting and done the concept greater justice. Nevertheless, it was an interesting story.

I really enjoyed this book. I know that there is a lot of drama around how the book has been marketed and, by the author’s own admission, the source material having not been read in full. However, the book really wasn’t a retelling of The Odyssey - it was the imagined story of one of the hanged maids. Inspired by The Odyssey is probably more accurate. At the end of the day, this is a fictional piece of work for the purposes of entertainment. I was entertained. I enjoyed the three POVs, I believed in Melantho’s rage, Matthias’ heartbreak, and Leto was a messy and flawed character that felt fully fleshed out. The side characters were less believable and often just felt like plot drivers, however, it was still a very enjoyable book and I will absolutely read the author’s other works.

The narration was wonderful. There were peaks and valleys in the dialogue and listening to the audiobook definitely lent to feeling the full spectrum of emotions the MCs were going though.

2.5 stars

I don’t tend to read Greek Myth retellings because I got my fill of those myths during a period of childhood obsession, but I thought I would give this a try. I found it quite a muddled book. It’s an interesting concept and the first chapters had potential but I quickly lost track of the stakes and characters’ goals. By the halfway point I was losing interest. There is a love triangle that lacked much chemistry (and certain romantic decisions didn’t feel like they had the necessary character work to back them up). The prose was really good. The ending well done. I think it could be an engaging read if you turn your brain off to do it.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in return for an honest review. The narrators Saffron Coomber, Ioanna Kimbook and Sebastian Humphreys did a good job.

Yikes! I just read the Imperial College student newspaper interview with Underwood where she happily flouts not having read Homer’s Odyssey [archived here: An Interview with Sarah Underwood - Bioengineering Graduate and Soon-To-Be-Published Author | Books | Felix Online (archive.org)].

I’ll confess that had I known this before requesting the audiobook from HarperCollins UK Audio, I wouldn’t have gone near ‘Lies We Sing to the Sea’, because I’m a Classicist to Ph.D level. Selections of Homer were used as undergraduate teaching as I learned Ancient Greek language; I’ve translated parts of ‘The Odyssey’ from Homer’s original Greek myself; I taught some of Homer's Odyssey to Masters-level postgraduate students and taught the epic in its entirety to school pupils at A-Level standard. So, you could say that I know Homer’s Odyssey a bit like the back of my hand.

Sarah Underwood’s slackness makes sense of a lot of issues I had when listening to the book, though. For instance, I spent the longest time trying to place the names given to Underwood’s characters within Greek mythology. Now it’s clear that she just plucked them out of the air. I also waded through much perplexity over this narrative of sacrifices to Poseidon in remembrance of the twelve hung slaves of the house of Odysseus. Again, she’s fabricated it herself!

So, coloured by the information divulged and the author’s tone in the 2021 interview, I have no qualms enumerating the snags and quandaries I encountered with this debut novel.

‘Lies We Sing to the Sea’ is so slow to get going, and there was much too long a stretch for me during which it failed to grab my attention at the start. Characterisation is woeful; Alexius and Olympia need much work to make them less cartoonish cardboard cut-outs of Amycus and Alecto Carrow.

And the love triangle? Oh wow, is it stagnant! Half-hearted, unconvincing, and heavy-handed. In fact, the character of Matthias is badly drawn overall. On the audiobook, Matthias's narrator is as lacklustre as his character.

Then there's just no defence given for Leto loving Matthias. It's casually tossed in, and we're expected to be invested in it without the author producing necessary motivations. In fact, Leto appears motivated solely by beauty; her nature eventually resolves as a truly despicable type. Yet, I don't think she is meant to be, her characterisation by Underwood is just that bad. The voice narrator for Leto's parts on the audiobook is so overly earnest too; she reads almost every chapter of Leto’s as though it's a battle scene or a final farewell - unbearably angsty (if I were to be brutally honest, I’d confess I just wanted to slap her).

Further still, as far as is told to us, no one in this love triangle is interested in a polyamorous relationship! So, Leto's infidelity - to me - makes a fool of both the other characters. It’s especially damaging to the portrayal of Melantho, given that no justification is given for why she tolerates Leto's cheating with Matthias. Given this, the parting scene is especially vacuous. In fact, it’s downright interminable. Any tension or emotion in the scene on the beach is erased by Underwood's failure to justify Leto and Matthias's involvement.

There are serious plot holes too - like, who is really to blame for the curse: Melantho blames herself entirely; all the blame is put on Matthias; but surely it is Poseidon who decides Ithaca’s fate?

As for the audiobook narration, the voice performers evidently suffer from the same malady as the author. I.e., neglecting to read ‘The Odyssey’! All it would have taken was to lift up a copy of Homer's Odyssey and flick to the back for the phonetic spelling-out of names and words to avoid the infuriating mispronunciations of Ancient Greek. I honestly just straight-up hated the errors in the audiobook, I’ll not mince my words. Both author and vocal talent have come to this endeavour under-resourced and unprepared.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio for the chance to listen to the audiobook through NetGalley.

The narrator of the audiobook was perfect for the story and I enjoyed the experience. I think one of the things that lowered my enjoyment of the story overall was Leto's relationships with both Melantho and the prince. She's fickle.

Overall it was an interesting enough read with a fresh take on mythology but sadly not one of my favourites.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for my ARC Audio copy of this book.

Although I had already read the physical copy of this book I decided to request the Audiobook and I'm so glad I did, I enjoyed this even more as an audiobook then I did as a physical book. The Narrators had very easy to listen to voices and I feel did an amazing performance which kept me engaged throughout. I would 100% recommend this as an Audiobook.

This was a powerful feminist story of Greek mythology. I liked that our FMC is strong, and vulnerable, and powerfully determined and that the MMC is not created in contrast to this but is instead kind and brave, and grows through the story. We're not set up to dislike him, even though he is flawed, and in fact he complements Leto's character. As you'd expect with Greek mythology, the story has dark themes, plenty of danger, and meddling Gods. The narrator of the audiobook was a good fit for the story and I enjoyed the listening experience. I think one of the things that lowered my enjoyment of the story overall was Leto's relationships with both Melantho and the prince. She's fickle, and unfair to them both in her actions, which isn't something I enjoy in a story. Overall it was an interesting enough read with a fresh take on mythology but sadly not one of my favourites.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I’ve been eager to dive into this book for ages, but like with all my limited editions, I was hesitant to open it for fear of damaging its pristine condition. Thankfully, NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio came to my rescue by sending me an ALC, allowing me to tandem read and listen without worry. 🎧📖

As a huge fan of Greek mythology, I’m always cautious when it comes to books inspired by these ancient tales—I crave accuracy and respect for the source material. There are plenty of examples where mythology has been beautifully reimagined while staying true to its roots, like Percy Jackson or Circe.

However, Lies We Sing to the Sea offers a completely different experience. While it draws inspiration from the 12 maids of Penelope in the Odyssey, it’s not a direct retelling. Instead, the story introduces new characters and a fresh curse that plagues Ithaca, with our protagonists caught in the web of the Gods' whims and pettiness, just as you'd expect from any true Greek myth.

The narrative felt authentic, capturing the essence of a true Greek myth. The pacing was deliberate, and while the plot twists were subtle, the story hit all the right notes for a tale steeped in mythology—love, divine interference, curses, and, most importantly, tragedy.

If you’re a fan of Greek myths or just love a story where tragedy, fate and the Gods play a crucial role, this book is a must-read!

The audiobook was splendidly narrated with 3 different voice actors! It was a truly immersive experience!

Lies We Sing To The Sea is a story loosely inspired by Greek myth. Some of the prose is wonderful and gives that mythology feeling when being read. But I found it hard to picture the setting as the focus is very much on the characters and their interactions, thoughts and emotions. I would have liked more world-building and felt this could have been beautiful. Throughout is definitely some use of magic that allowed for some of the more unbelievable parts of the plot (mainly crossing seas basically singlehanded). I didn’t mind this and it didn’t take from the story for me.
Overall I loved the sapphic romance, this was sweet. But the introduction of an enemies to lovers where our FMC becomes a cheat did not make much sense, possibly its down to her impulsive nature, but it took from the main romance for me. Whilst this may generally sound critical I did enjoy the book and think it’s a fun YA introduction read into some amazing Greek myth.
The audiobook is great, we have different narrators for the characters, this brings them to life much more and I think I would definitely recommend listening rather than reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Overall a fun novel. Some interesting characters and a clear overall plot line. However, this wasn't quite what I thought this story was. Rather than a retelling this is more of a reimagining with a lot of creative liberties. Not necessarily a bad thing but did cause some confusion while reading it! Some lack of clarity as well e.g. it is said that our main character 'transforms' but it is never quite clear exactly WHAT she is even with the wide range of creatures in legend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the ARC

I think I might have a new favorite greek myth inspired book. I really enjoyed this book and all the characters! I liked the relationship between Melantho and Leto, but also Leto and the prince's relationship. I honestly don't know which of them I enjoyed the most. The tension between the three of them was epic. Melantho and Leto are on a mission to kill the prince so the yearly offering of twelve girls to Poseidon can stop. Leto, who was one of the girls sacrifised to the sea for Ithica has returned to get her revenge, but what happens when she gets to know the man she's meant to kill? What happens if she falls in love with him? And what then about her relationship to Melantho?

This wasn't a retelling, but vaugly inspired my greek myths. It was however exceptional and I'll definitely read more from the author!