Sweet Bitter Song

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Limited
Publish date: 26 February 2026
Pages: 496
Language: English

Subjects: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Historical, Romance, Ancient World, LGBTQ+, Lesbian, Women, Religion, Ancient

'This is Rosie Hewlett's masterpiece' JENNIFER SAINT

'As dazzling as Madeline Miller's reimagining of the Iliad in The Song of Achilles' ELODIE HARPER

'This book does everything I deeply desire from a sapphic myth retelling, it is elegantly tender and brutally beautiful to the point where the prose is lyrical [...] The fury, the power, the cadence of this story will stay with me for years to come -- this book does what Song of Achilles did with stunning language and I applaud Hewlett for adding such a crucial and powerful book to the reclamation of women's stories in myth. Sappho herself would be proud.' NIKITA GILL

'A stunning tale of defiance, integrity and enduring love. Crafted with complexity and woven with reverent yearning' KIKA HATZOPOULOU

'What The Song of Achilles did for The Iliad, Sweetbitter Song does for The Odyssey. A masterclass in mythic retelling' KIM CURRAN

'Visceral and haunting [...] Outstanding' HAZEL McBRIDE

'Will tear you to pieces and mend you again [...] a gorgeous, scintillating re-imagining.' EMILY HAUSER

One fateful night in Sparta, a young slave girl encounters a mysterious, grey-eyed princess. Melantho and Penelope, though from different worlds, are instantly connected. But betrayal soon tears them apart.

Years later, on Ithaca's rocky shores, Melantho is sent to serve Princess Penelope and her new husband, Prince Odysseus. Hardened by slavery, Melantho vows to stay distant from Penelope. Yet, the undeniable pull between them proves stronger than ever.

As war ignites Greece, Odysseus and Ithaca's men are called away and, in their absence, Melantho finds a new world opening up before her - one where women rule, where family can be found, and where love is finally given the space to bloom.

But all wars eventually end and as Troy falls, Penelope and Melantho must face the King's return and decide how far they will go to protect what matters most to them.