Lies We Sing to the Sea
#11893.40 adjusted 3.44 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2023 Reading commitment Low Sarah Underwood Last reviewed 2026-11-01
Overview
Lies We Sing to the Sea is a young adult fantasy novel by Sarah Underwood, published by HarperTeen in 2023. It is a reimagining of the twelve maids hanged in Homer's Odyssey. In the cursed kingdom of Ithaca, twelve young women are hanged each spring as an offering to Poseidon. Leto, the daughter of a murdered Oracle, is sentenced to die, but wakes on the island of Pandou beside Melantho, a girl sacrificed earlier who now controls the tides. To lift the curse, Leto is told she must kill Prince Mathias. The story alternates between the three. It is a single novel with no announced sequel; the author's second novel is a separate book.
Fairy-tale retelling, Romantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Lies We Sing to the Sea Sarah Underwood
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lies We Sing to the Sea | 2023 | 1 | core | 3.40 (12,185 ratings) |
A standalone retelling of the Odyssey's hanged maids set in a cursed Ithaca.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Lies We Sing to the Sea? Lies We Sing to the Sea's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Lies We Sing to the Sea finished? Complete (2023).
- How much reading does Lies We Sing to the Sea take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Lies We Sing to the Sea ranked? #1189 in this site's official ranking, based on 12,185 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #1189?
Ranked #1189 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.40 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (12,185 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.07 behind #1188, The Atlas Six.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 12k ratings · Ranks #1189 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Lies We Sing to the Sea and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Os Dragões Originais Romantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.44
- Six Crimson Cranes Fairy-tale retelling / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- Where the Dark Stands Still Dark fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.04
- The Wrath and the Dawn Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.04
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.40 across 12,185 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 27 universes from the candidate register; 3 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-01
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Farshore - Lies We Sing to the Sea Tier 2
- Publishers Weekly review Tier 2
- HarperReach - author introduction Tier 2
- Better Reading - Sarah Underwood Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-01
Rule: Core Canon = Lies We Sing to the Sea (2023).