The Invention of the Darling's poems tackle similar subject matter to what Lee's poetry has been known for: "family, exile, intimacy, and the divine.

"[2] Through the figure of the beloved, Lee's poems consider spirituality, divinity, love, and mortality in relationship to the universe writ large.

"[3] Also in a starred review, BookPage said "Lee balances the grandest revelations of the universe with the gentle touch of personal memory.

The New Yorker, in a briefly noted review, saw themes of "dream, myth, and memory in unabashed pursuit of the sublime" and paid special attention to Lee's sense of devotion through his poems.

[5] Ed Simon, for the Poetry Foundation, offered a similar attention, stating "Lee evinces a venerable cosmology that sees the largest things as intrinsically related to the smallest, a kaleidoscopic Russian nesting doll model of reality".