1.5 ⭐️

Let's start with what I liked. The author certainly knows how to write a bloodbath. the death scenes and their aftermath were definitely strong emotional points.

I liked the premise of keys to a hidden world with gods and magic. Unfortunately, I spent most of the book very confused. The magic usage is minimal, and I'm still not entirely sure how they did it other than the keys are a special metal.

It felt a little like nothing was happening, and we made essentially no progress in the where is marianne mystery. It made the story difficult to connect with because despite its high stakes, not much happens thanks to the time limit aspect on the curse. Which might I add is not really a curse on the everlys when you think about it.

Sadly, I just don't think this book was for me. It reminded me of the starless sea that I also struggled with. This genre of slow fantasies with scholars just doesn't seem to work for me.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Cover:
The design is STUNNING it literally feeds my book dragon soul! I have both the standard edition and the Fairyloot edition and they are both gorgeous.

Writing:
Multiple POV, almost elegant writing style. Almost reminds me of how Erin Morgenstern writes. I didn't really feel like the narrative flowed well for me and I felt like the story and characters were not at the forefront.

Plot:
I feel like I was chasing something that was more magical and less mystery-filled. The pacing wasn't exactly there for me and the story suffered because of it.

Characters:
Had Violet been more memorable and compelling she would be JUST what a reader is looking for, a dreamer, searching for an adventure away form the every day mundane normalcy. I didn't really feel like the characters were that developed and I love a side character arc and I didn't feel like I got that here.

Romance:
Although underdeveloped, I rooted for them! This was the aspect that I did enjoy. Friendship, hard times and betrayal - but they come full circle. This is the type of Friends-to-Lovers that I seek.

Audio & Narration:
The book is narrated and paced well, it was clear and suited the story, but the emotion wasn't there.

sad to say this didn't do anything for me, despite the lofty, erin morgenstern esq ambitions. i simply didn't care

In a Nutshell: A dark portal fantasy with a magical but dangerous underworld. Amazing potential, average execution. The first half was still okay but the second half went haywire.

Plot Preview:
All young Violet Everly knows is that her mother Marianne left when she was two, and her maternal uncles Ambrose and Gabriel have taken care of her ever since. Only fourteen years later does she learn the truth. The Everly family has been cursed since centuries, and in every generation, the best and brightest Everly is taken away by a woman named Penelope, about whom no one knows anything except that she doesn’t seem to age. Marianne left on a personal mission to break the curse, but hasn’t been heard of since. Violet is the last of the Everly line. So she will be the last to suffer, unless she can break the curse herself. Thus begins her quest that takes her across the globe, encountering many new people and facts. Along the way, she must deal with Penelope’s assistant Aleksander, though she isn’t sure if he can be trusted.
The story comes to us from the third-person perspectives of several characters.

Bookish Yays:
🔑 Penelope – one fascinating character who almost single-handedly holds the plot on her shoulders. Rare for an antagonist to steal the thunder so convincingly! Violet’s uncle Ambrose came a close second in the best characters list, but he doesn’t get the page space he deserves.
🔑 The writing is quite lyrical. Though this isn't strictly a yay for me because I prefer plot over prose, it still has its charm, especially when nothing much in the book is working better. I appreciate that the lyrical prose didn’t turn into purple prose any time.
🔑 The cover – stunning!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🔐 Aleksander and the other characters, most of whom appear when convenient and disappear when convenient, and some even die when convenient. Hardly any character sounds sensible, and hardly any character arc reaches its full potential. This is especially disappointing because some of those characters, especially the unworldly ones, had fabulous potential.
🔐 The idea of the portal fantasy with its use of doors and keys is quite good but the actual penning of the thoughts needed much work. This concept was much better handled in books such as Alix E. Harrow’s ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’ and the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett.
🔐 The connection between Violet and Aleksander is never at the forefront and doesn’t turn into a typical “romance”, which I appreciate. However, their chemistry is almost zero. I couldn’t figure out how the two came together when there was no proper foundation to their relationship.
🔐 The worldbuilding is somewhat half-baked. We get plenty of fancy names but hardly any visuals. What use is a fantasy world if we cannot picture it properly in our mind?
🔐 The story is character-oriented, so we get third-person perspectives from many characters. TOO MANY CHARACTERS! The frequent character hopping gives us information from all sides, but also makes the flow jumpy.

Bookish Nays:
🚪 Violet didn’t appeal much to me. I get that she was quite young and hence impulsive and headstrong. However, her success at travelling the world and discovering various clues on the first attempt almost every time feels too unconvincing, especially considering how she lived a sheltered life even until her late teens. Moreover, her character doesn’t show much growth over the course of the book. It would have been nice to see some deeper failures on her journey leading to maturity.
🚪 Officially, this is a dark fantasy, and it does get very dark. However, the flattish character development and the impulsive nature of the protagonist generates YA/NA feels. (And as you might know, I am not a fan of YA/NA writing.)
🚪 The ending is utterly disappointing! There are blatant hints almost throughout the book about what the key factor at the climax might be, but I hoped that the execution would be more satisfying. What a lacklustre resolution of the major conflict!
🚪 There are too many important things left unexplained. But the most annoying is Marianne’s track. After all that buildup about Violet’s mom and her long solo quest to break the curse, the book doesn’t offer any closure about her fate. So annoying!
🚪 There are some gruesome scenes, which might be okay for some readers but not my cup of tea. I never enjoy cannibalistic depictions.
🚪 As the book was character-oriented, I was prepared for the slower pace in the first half, but the second half was just tedious and repetitive.
🚪 I hate it when I know more than characters because my impatience then gets the better of me and I keep waiting for them to catch up to ‘current events.’ The reader awareness is a result of the ubiquitous third person perspective from a whole load of characters instead of sticking to a core 2-3 viewpoints. Everyone except the reader has just limited information. It should be the other way around – sheesh!

All in all, this debut fantasy novel had some positives, but the overall execution was a dampener. Many readers keep comparing this (not in a good way) with ‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’, but I’ve not read it yet, so no idea and no comparison.

To be fair, I did like the first half to a great extent. If the entire book had matched that level, I might have even given this a rating between 3.5 and 4. But the slow second half and the hazy finale just messed everything up.

If you value good writing over a good plot or character building or world building in a dark fantasy setting , this might work better with you.

2 stars.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Hodderscape for providing the DRC of “The City of Stardust” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

'Violet Everly was a child when her mother, Marianne, left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take Marianne's place.'

They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but that is what initially drew me in, the gorgeous cover artwork for this book. Followed up by an interesting plot idea, I was sold on giving this book a go.

The main character, Violet, is a young naïve girl who has been literally kept sheltered by her uncles whilst they use their ten years up trying to find her mother. I have seen other readers have issues with just how naïve Violet is but honestly, people don't just snap out of naivety it takes time to learn from experiences etc. Not to mention she is young, and young people are dumb (common sense wise), that is why you 'grow up' or 'mature' because it takes years to learn how adults think and behave. So, I do not have an issue with that aspect of the character as we aren't with her for an extended amount of time. That said, maybe a small amount of learning from the experience she has had in the book we have read would have helped.

But I think she was written as a love letter to us readers, to what we grew up doing reading our books; wishing we were going through that door to that secret world, falling in love with worlds we have never seen, finding that mysterious clue that leads to an amazing adventure.

Honestly, the most interesting characters to me were the uncles and I would have loved for them to be fleshed out just a little bit more. The first part of the book could have been about their hunt for their sister or how it was trying to keep Violet safe, or even flashbacks.

For me, the plot was a little lacking and the pacing slightly off, the first half was a whizz through but then the second half slowed down. I did enjoy the Penelope POV and I appreciate the gore from a villain but I definitely felt that ths could have been a YA book rather than being classed as an adult book.

I think some people will enjoy this book but for me it fell a little flat unfortunately.

This book is exactly what it says on the tin - dark, magical, and seductive.

Violet is - through no fault of her own, swept into the dark world of magic, dark scholars, and gods who wish her no good. Can Violet break the curse on her family.

This is a very dark book, it’s bloody, difficult, and emotional. I really enjoyed this - the world holding was very good and I was able to imagine my surroundings quite easily. Excellent book with excellently written.

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to write this as sadly it was a DNF - for now anyway. I was vaguely interested in the brothers and their family history along with the mystery, however I just wasn’t gripped by the story enough to continue. I love the title and the cover though!

The City of Stardust follows the Everly family and the curse that is ruling their lives, historically assigned to their family. When Marianne Everly vanishes, it is left to her daughter to pay the debt of sacrificing herself to the menacing, immortal Penelope – until Violet also vanishes to try and break the curse. And I’m keeping that vague because the curse isn’t explained for a long while in the book so just nod and agree with me here.

Violet is an idiot, which is my main issue with this book. If she met a lion, she would put her head in it’s mouth, she doesn’t listen, she is naïve, reckless and impulsive and she rejects people who want to help her at the sacrifice of themselves. Her story isn’t a particularly convincing one either, she’s first incredibly protected (so therefore unprepared for the world), and the next she’s literally travelling across the world, with no real direction, with the clock ticking down on her curse. However throw in a cute boy who also identifies as a walking red flag, and even with a limited window of time at her disposal, she is drawn to him, giving her phone number, going for walks and having deep chats with someone literally associated with the person she is running from, all while shunning her family. I’m sorry, I don’t understand it.

Yes Aleksander is a victim in his own way, but suffering doesn’t excuse making others suffer or enabling it to happen, I’m tired of this narrative of tortured boys doing bad things. Likewise when you experience his POV, you also experience how selfish he can be, knowing right and wrong but choosing to betray people for his personal gain, or ignorantly/naively missing the truth or his role in the destruction around him. Yes he changes and his life is all very tragic but that’s just it, he changes, he doesn’t develop, he just changes, there isn’t some character arc for him and he gets let off way too lightly. But then Violet doesn’t grow by the end of the book either so I suppose they’re well matched. You’d mind less but there isn’t any particular chemistry, they’re flat on the page.

When you can’t stand the protagonist and her toxic, broken cute boy, you’re left with little motivation to care what happens in the story, although I did want her uncle to at least survive after he was so unappreciated. I will say the world building was vague but potentially interesting (although not original), with keys opening doors to other locations (like Monsters Inc but without the fun of an abominable snowman wielding snow cones). Penelope, the villain in this story, is also the most interesting part of this story – there is a real menace to her on the page. However a story about curses and magic and stepping into worlds, a book with Stardust in the title, it just didn’t follow through with the expectation it created, the stardust did not sparkle for me, and plot-holes just don’t make sense (you need an Everly family member and you ignore 2 stood in front of you??)

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review of „City of Stardust“ by Georgia Summers – 2 Stars

When I picked up City of Stardust by Georgia Summers, I was drawn in by the intriguing premise. The blurb promised a story steeped in mystery and suspense, with a cursed family, an ageless antagonist, and a ticking clock that demanded a desperate race against time. Unfortunately, what I found was a far cry from the suspenseful and fast-paced adventure I had hoped for.

City of Stardust ♦ Georgia Summers
Opinion
The plot centers around Violet Everly, who is thrust into a dangerous quest to find her mother and break the centuries-old curse that has plagued her family. The setup has all the ingredients for a compelling narrative—fickle gods, monstrous beings, and a seductive magical underworld. However, the execution leaves much to be desired.

One of the major issues I had with City of Stardust is its pacing. For a book that hinges on the urgency of breaking a curse before Violet is claimed as the next victim, the plot moves at a frustratingly slow pace. There are entire sections that feel like filler, contributing little to the progression of the story or the development of the characters. Instead of building tension, these segments bog down the narrative, making it difficult to stay engaged. What should have been a suspenseful journey filled with twists and turns often felt like a tedious slog through unnecessary details.

The world-building, while imaginative, often felt disjointed. The magical underworld that Violet descends into is described in lush, vivid detail, but these descriptions sometimes overwhelm the story itself. Rather than adding to the atmosphere, they often feel like distractions, pulling attention away from the central plot. This, combined with the slow pacing, makes it hard to maintain interest as Violet’s journey unfolds.

Character development is another area where the book falters. Violet, as the protagonist, is somewhat relatable, but she never truly comes into her own. Her motivations are clear, but her actions often feel repetitive and uninspired. The dynamic between Violet and Aleksander, who is described as untrustworthy yet alluring, had the potential to be one of the book’s strengths. Unfortunately, their relationship lacks the depth and complexity needed to make it truly compelling. Their interactions, much like the plot, suffer from the same slow pacing and lack of urgency.

Moreover, the antagonist, Penelope, who is supposed to be the driving force behind the Everly family’s curse, feels underutilized. Her presence is more of a looming shadow than an active threat, which further diminishes the sense of danger that the book desperately needs. Instead of being a powerful and terrifying figure, Penelope comes across as distant and abstract, which weakens the overall impact of the story.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Georgia Summers‚ City of Stardust is a book that promises much but delivers little. The concept is intriguing, and the potential for a gripping, suspenseful tale is there, but the execution falls flat. With its slow pacing, overabundance of filler, and underdeveloped characters, it’s hard to stay invested in Violet’s quest. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, suspense-filled fantasy, this might not be the book for you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was completely enthralled with Georgia Summers' darkly enthralling tale, The City of Stardust. I couldn't help but get a hardcover copy of Violet Everly's journey through a dangerous and enthralling magical realm to add to my collection because it was such an engaging story. I can't help but think of The Starless Sea and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue when reading this novel because of its exquisite blending of magic, mystery, and romance. I was captivated by Summers' beautiful writing and the complex world-building right away on the first page. This novel is a must-read if you enjoy gloomy fairy tales with a tempting twist.

This book had really high potential, but I was ultimately let down. I didn't correct with the characters and felt there were too many plot holes and parts left unexplained. It lacked character development. It just wasn't for me.

This book is so frustrating! It starts with a brilliant prologue and a twisty engaging plot line, but it just falls flat. The characters are unmotivated and 2 dimensional and the plot just... flounders around.

DNF at 45%.

The worldbuilding was a standout, a fantastic and intriguing world where scholars act as almost a secret society and hold the keys between our world and one much more magical.

This book wasn’t for me, but it wasn’t bad so I am sure a lot of people are gonna enjoy it!

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC to review.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable debut which had me hooked from the start. The magic of the world Georgia Summers created really sang through this book but the mystery attached to the world really helped to create a feeling of intrigue throughout. It had me wanting to continue reading out of desperation to know what I was dealing with.

Summers introduced an interesting cast of characters and created a real feeling of uncertainty around how you should feel about some of the characters which always adds a new dimension to the character building.

Also for me, you can just never go wrong with a secret society type set up focussed around knowledge and scholarly pursuits.

Overall really enjoyable and I will definitely read more of Summers’ work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc.

I really wanted to love this book. I had such high hopes but in the end I had to DNF due to the fact I didn’t connect with any of the characters and the little bits we did get piece by piece to put the plot holes together felt like it took such a long time to connect.

I wish I could’ve finished it as I thought it would be a book I loved but I didn’t enjoy the writing style.

Enjoyable fantasy tale which ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I hope there’s more from this wonderful author!

This book has an interesting setting and story. I loved the atmosphere in here - it is perfect for the cold weather. None of the characters impressed me much, but they were ok. I will try other books by this author in the future.

The City of Stardust is a great new fantasy that is equally intriguing, magic filled and adventurous. I would recommend to others who enjoy Fantasy with a bit of mystery and darkness. The characters were all unique, with varying motives and actions that eventually all link together in the story as it leads towards the climax. It's hard to know who to trust in the story as each character has the potential to reveal something completely new that could change the perspective of the reader. It kept me on my toes throughout. Penelope's character is complex, a beacon of beauty with a sinister heart, that makes her terrifying in her unpredictable nature and her cruelty/disregard for human life. There are some pretty dark moments in the book, but they weave into the story and are explained later. All up it was an intriguing tale of magic, scholars, and travelling between worlds that will keep you guessing right up until the end.

Thank you for my eARC of this book. I love the satisfaction of a stand-alone fantasy book. This did take me a bit to get into, but I really enjoyed my time with this book!

I honestly had high expectations for this book. In all defense for the book, I think I overhyped it in my mind and therefor it fell short on my expectations. It had a really good plot, I just don't think it was executed well to hook me well enough. I might give this book a second read in the future, to see if my opinions change, but until then, this will be it for me.