I'm not sure what to think about this book, but I think overall I enjoyed it. Therefore, I am going to struggle to write a review for this!
I spent a lot of the book feeling a bit lost about what was happening. I'm not sure if this is because I read it in an audiobook format. Often throughout the book the POV would change in the middle of a chapter without warning. Perhaps the POV changes are more obvious in the physical book, but in the audiobook, you would only realise it had changed when the character you are now following does something differently to the previous one. I don't believe this is a downfall of the narrator as they did use a different voice when each character was speaking, but may be more of a problem with the editing of the audiobook itself.
I also felt like the plot was a bit all over the place. I liked the concept of the story, but too much happened for one book, and it felt like it should have been a series instead (as far as I'm aware, this is a standalone). I enjoyed the adventure aspect of the book, and learning a little bit about the world, but I think I wanted more world-building at the same time.
I liked the characters, Violet Everly was an interesting perspective to read from. I also enjoyed Alexander's point of view but also wished we could get a bit more of his backstory. Some elements of the story were predictable, particularly around these two characters but also the secret underlying the whole story was obvious to me.
Overall I think I enjoyed it, but it was lacking in quite a few areas.

I received both the eBook and audiobook version of this novel, therefore my reviews are the same.

The most whimsical, lyrical, magical dream of a book.
I really enjoyed learning about the two main characters and seeing the wonder of magic through their eyes.
The story was very reminiscent of the likes of Alix E. Harrow, V. E. Schwab and Erin Morgenstern (but make it YA).
I did get a bit lost in the middle but overall, a very enjoyable read.

Whoever said that this reminds them of The Night Circus was right. But not in a good way. The same as I can't recall an ounce of The Night Curcus story, the whole plot of this book flew out of my mind the minute my eyes left each page. And it's a shame, as the writer definitely has talent and a unique style. Also, there was a potential for a good story hiding behind tons of unnecessarily long descriptions. It promised a lot and delivered nothing. I would rank this one as a perfect example of style over substance, because I swear to god, if you threatened me with a gun and demanded a summary of this book, I would be dead. It was so dull and convoluted (just for the sake of being convoluted), that I seriously can't tell you what it was about.
Violet is a totally undistinguished, default-crossover-YA-character I have seen in dozens of similar books only last year. She has zero personality and the only thing driving her is a search for her lost mother. I have no idea what the girl looks like and what are the traits of her character. No idea what the love interest sees in her too - Alexander's affections seems to be generated purely by the narrative imperative. In the end the romance here is just like the plot - boring and makes me feel nothing.
I had some hopes for the magic system, but I feel that we are deliberately told so little about it, to take lack of structure for mysterious magic. After reading the whole book, I still don't know how the magic in this world works, and therefore I was not invested in the plot.
Probably the best part of the whole thing was Penelope, as she was terrifying. Some of her scenes were too gory for me, but she was the only character that made me feed things (namely: chills). Also, I liked the concept of the gods here, described as eerie, not-so-godly creatures. It reminded me of Asian legends of deities that descended to Earth. Generally, I have a feeling that the author read Ayashi No Ceres more than once.
The audiobook version was perfectly fine though, although because the POVs switch so rapidly and without a warning, it was often hard to catch up with who was the narrator. But that's the book fault, not the audiobook's.

The City of Stardust is the debut book by author Georgia Summers, offering a combination of magical fairytale vibes and dark twists. While there were aspects of the book that I personally enjoyed, there were also elements that didn't resonate with me as a reader.

The magic system in the book was particularly intriguing and captivating. It involved scholars, individuals with innate talent, who were trained to manipulate a god metal and use keys to travel between worlds. The mechanics of this magic system were surprisingly complex for a debut book, and I found it exciting to delve deeper and learn more about it.

The dark academia sub-tones surrounding the scholars added depth to the story beyond its fairytale vibes. As the story evolved, it became progressively darker and more twisted, which I did not expect going into it yet very much enjoyed. Fidelis, the magical town that can only be accessed through keys, had immaculate vibes that reminded me of being young and reading about the wardrobe to Narnia.

One of the main drawbacks for me was the constant shifting of points of view and time jumps. At certain points, a single chapter would contain 3 to 4 POVs, which made it difficult to follow and fully engage with the story, particularly in audiobook format. Additionally, I felt that the multiple POVs detracted from Violet, the main character, and for the first half of the book, I struggled to develop a connection with her as the hero of the story.

Another issue I had, which led me to give the book three stars, was the pacing. The book is divided into five parts, each with its own pacing and often beginning with a time jump. This made the overall story feel disjointed. In the beginning, Violet is portrayed as a passive and sheltered character, but later she magically transforms into a hero on a quest, travelling across the world. This sudden shift in her character and the pace of the story is where the book lost me a bit.

Overall, I see a lot of potential in this book, especially from a debut author. While I had some issues with the story, I did enjoy listening to the audiobook ARC in the background, and I am curious to pick up Georgia's next book in the future.

Outstanding.

I was hooked from the beginning - there are so many twists and turns in this plot that I don’t even know where to begin. We follow the Everlys from their beginning to their end: the story has gods and magic and romance (but not where you expect it). And even the horrible scenes are well written.

The narrator for this book has a great voice, no notes.

Bonus shout out for when Alexander pauses to notice Violet’s ugly wallpaper.

Violet Everly lives in a crumbling old house with her uncles - one of whom spends the majority of his time travelling around doing mysterious jobs. Her mother vanished when she was a child, also under mysterious circumstances. In the background of their daily lives of isolation in order to keep Violet safe from an unknown threat, a woman called Penelope and her young apprentice Aleksander visit the house to shatter the illusion of safety and confront the Everly brothers telling them that they have to hand over Violet or her mother who have "talent" an ability to manipulate an astral metal. They negotiate for 10 years to find Violet's mother or hand her over - in which time Violet works in a cafe and getting friendlier with Aleksander. I found this quite a confusing story to keep track of - there were a lot of external characters that appeared for short periods and then vanished again so it was sometimes hard to know which characters would become important later on. After reading this I felt like there was a lot more depth that the history could have gone into and still had quetions/was quite confused at the end - this could easily be the start of a series in my opinion as I felt like there was a lot more to say. I did enjoy it though and the audiobook narration was excellent, I just felt that even though I wanted to keep listening and find out what happened next the answer to that was sometimes a bit disappointing.

A dark and sorrowful story that might not appeal to everyone, but one I greatly enjoyed. It partially read like a grown-up fairy tale. One review I saw suggested a similarity with His Dark Materials series and I do think they have a similar vibe, although I wasn't a big fan of that series.

Violet Everly has been kept in ignorance her whole life, closed off from both the real world and the magical one. She is left with books and their stories, dreaming of one day embarking on some grand adventure. Then she meets Aleksandr, who shows her there is a whole different world out there to explore. Before she can even think of discovering it, she is told the truth and that she only has one year left to find her mother, or else she will pay the price of the family curse in her stead. Unbeknownst to her, Aleksandr is an assistant to Penelope. The very woman who is owed an Everly sacrifice. He has his own goal of one day becoming a scholar, a goal for which he might do anything.

I think the strongest point of this book for me was its atmosphere. There is quite a bit of tension as time is slowly ticking out. There is also a dread of what kind of fate awaits Violet if she fails. The setting is dark and sorrowful. Especially when it comes to the magical society. There is this feeling of potential for greatness that has been lost and corrupted in the chase for power. This atmosphere is in big part created by the beautiful prose and the narration's commentary.

The character work is also excellent. Violet is a strong heroine, fighting for her life and facing her fate rather than running away. Aleksandr is a lost soul, groomed by Penelope his whole life and only knowing one desire. Now his loyalties become divided as he starts feeling there might be something more to desire. The romance storyline is not really as pronounced as one might expect, yet it is also an integral part of the story. Penelope, as the villain, has a properly terrifying presence, which just grows as we learn more about her. Her backstory makes her more than just an evil villain.

There were primarily two things I didn't enjoy as much. First, I think keeping Violet in ignorance for so long, especially since we readers already knew the truth, just made the beginning too slow and tedious. Second, when Violet finally embarks on her one-year search, the narrative tells us what she did, but not really why or how she accomplished it. Throughout the entire search, we are only privy to a few key moments.

Lastly, I should mention the audiobook version. It had some volume issues in the beginning and sometimes the narrator failed to make proper pauses, but ultimately there was nothing that would have prevented me from enjoying the book. These issues might also actually be fixed before release. Otherwise, I enjoyed the narration. Kitty Parker's voice was a great fit for helping to build the right kind of atmosphere.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed this book. I felt that it was something different and original. I will look for something with this kind of vibe in the future and I hope the author will write more great stories like this one.

I received an ARC and ALC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I enjoyed the formal tone of narration, however that paired with the third person narrator, it did lead to me struggling to connect to some characters. The pacing is great though, and i definitely would recommend the audio book!

This is definitely for those who are fans of The Starless Sea. The writing is beautiful and the story sucks you in.
I struggled to connect to the characters fully however due to being written in third person- but this can be forgiven for the quick paced story.

The romance (not a huge part of the story) was a little lack lustre and could have been skipped all together for a friendship- again probably because of the lack of feeling and emotion i got from the characters due to the writing style.

All together i did enjoy it and would recommend.

3.5 stars

I’ve seen this compared to The Starless Sea and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in its marketing and honestly, I see it!

Georgia Summers debut comes in hot with a stunningly beautiful writing style that feels so elegant and matches the whimsical storyline. The main characters family has been cursed for years and in her journey to try and remove the curse we see Violet suffer trials and tribulations including a friends to enemies to lovers partnership that involves the assistant of the person who’s after her family.

Despite its comparisons, this was a uniquely magical fantasy!

This world and magic system was so interesting, however, the story itself has left me confused. I can handle confusion throughout reading, in the hopes of a pay off at the end of the book, but I've finished and I'm left bewildered. I don't understand what the scholars were doing, we don't get any resolution on Violet's mother or father, and what even was the point of the curse? I didn't understand the terms at all. Equally I didn't understand why Violet would want Alexander as he betrayed her multiple times. I understand he was being influenced by Penelope, but still, I was not rooting for him at all!

I was so hoping for this to be good, I enjoyed the atmosphere and the writing style. But the plot was confusing and left too many things unresolved. I'd recommend for the vibes, but don't go into it looking for a good story/plot.

The narrator of this audiobook I also found very dull, they sounded like they were bored and being forced to read aloud.

Beautiful writing and a confusing story. The prose kept me going - even though the narrator made me so very sleepy - but at 80% I felt frustrated: I don't understand the magic or the point of the parallel worlds, it's still not clear to me what the curse is that they want to break, or what scholars do. It's a pity because it could have been a great story.

The City of Stardust wasn't the book for me. The prose was well written but the story lacked substance. The main story wasn't set in the magical city I thought it would be. The City itself was barely there. It was very slow paced and the little romance subplot didn't manage to save this and keep my attention.

I'll give it a generous 3 stars for writing quality but in terms of enjoyment of the story, my rating would be 2 stars.

It didn't help that the narrator's voice was very one dimensional throughout. I would have preferred more emotion.

Violet Everly does not understand why she has been raised in the family home and not mixing with the outside world. That is until she discovers her family curse that threatens her life. She needs to find her mother and enter magical worlds where magic and monsters lurk. Can she break the curse?

Enjoyed this well written and very well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Violet is a great character who must stand up to those who wish her harm and her family. She will not always know who to trust but she must not give up hope as the deadline approaches.

Enjoy finding out what happens.

Thanks to Netgalley for a review of the audiobook version! I really loved the writing style, that's what carried the book for me I think. It started off with such a strong premise but I felt it fell by the wayside, the plot gave way to the characters and that didn't work out for me. I think if it was more focused on the world of Fidelis and the doorways and the magic system it would have stood out more to me

This is magic incarnate. The writing is beautiful. Lyrical even. The plot itself is addictive and the characters so well developed. As an audiobook, it is sometimes hard to keep track of the characters and what is going on. But I was so invested in it. So invested in each characters story. It's a story that shows the devastation one person's decision can thrust upon generations of their family to come. Yet our protagonist is brave and searches for a way to change her families predetermined fate and save her own life in the process. The actual story itself is so original that it was a total breath of fresh air compared to fantasies I am so used to reading. A brilliant, riveting read.

Every once in a while, I have the privlidge of picking up a book written so beautifully that it actually hurts that the world the author created isn't real.
The first time this happened, it was Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea. The second time, it was Alix E Harrow's The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and now I can say the same about Georgia Summer's The City of Stardust.

Summer's has managed to put a dark spin on the collective dream to be able to open a door to anywhere. A captivating novel.

I would also recommend the audiobook, which was wonderfully narrated.

A mysterious magical society.
A family curse.
Secret worlds.
Vengeful gods.
Untrustworthy friends and surprising allies.
A young, naive girl seeking her mother and answers.

This was a beautifully written novel which sucked you into a magical, mysterious world. Prepare for love, treachery, twists and turns.

Read if you enjoy books such as A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy and The Night Circus.

The audiobook narration was good however it was disjointed with obvious edits and re-recording throughout which did interrupt the listening experience

I enjoyed this YA fantasy novel, it reminded me of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials with similar world travelling vibes, not knowing who to trust or which side is good or evil, or just a combination of the two.

While this isn't my usual genre, as I tend to go for books with more of a romance element, I still enjoyed the storyline and the worldbuilding. I did get a little confused at times as the characters moved through doorways into other worlds, but I sometimes struggle to follow this kind of thing when I listen to audio so it may have just been the format!

I loved the pacing and the switching through time periods, I felt it was easy to understand which character you were following, while keeping enough mystery to keep you guessing as the plot unraveled.

There is no clear divide between good and evil, which I found very interesting. There are definitely people doing bad things, but not necessarily through a conscious choice to be evil. The story is more about balance, and the corruption of power.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes academic fantasy/mystery, with a hint of romance. Particularly if you enjoy stories involving god's/celestials and travelling between worlds.

I found the audiobook mostly easy to follow. There were few instances where the location and the POV changed that wasn't immediately obvious as a break in the story telling, which could have been highlighted better through a longer pause in the narration. It was obvious that the story had shifted to another place or character, but there was no noticeable break in the narration which jarred me slightly.

An immersive and enchanting deadly fairytale, a gorgeous dark fantasy about fickle gods, sinister scholars and about a young lady on a quest in search of her mother and to break a centuries old family curse.
A beautiful story full of intrigue, magical mystery and heartwarming/ heart wrenching family bonds.

The pace is quite slow but the prose, the narrative, the world is mesmerising that the story really does feel like an escape. Someone suggested it is has Starless Sea meets Addie LaRue vibes - and I can see why.

4.7 stars for this gorgeous debut.

"A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse"

A great fantasy story to start the year off. I thoroughly enjoyed The City of Stardust and really enjoyed the world building of both the Everlys home and Fidelis.

Once a generation an Everly walks into darkness, plagued by a curse and a story that no one really knows the truth of, Violet Everly goes in search for answers and her mother. Along the way, she see's sights she's never seen, learns more about the secretive scholars and fights her feelings for the handsome but tortured Aleksander.

I really enjoyed the narration of the audio book and felt that I was pulled into the story and lived Violet's success and failures personally. My only complaint would be that as an audiobook, it sometimes became confusing as to who was speaking as the characters switched very quickly between passages.

Overall, however I really enjoyed this book and hope to learn more about Fidelis and the scholars in future books.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC copy of this book.