I admit, I expected something more!
The story itself is pleasant to follow, the characters are captivating, the worldbuilding intriguing and the epistolary structure a nice narrative gimmick.

The problem is that everything happens extremely slowly and practically nothing happens.
Furthermore, and this for me was the thing that ruined the reading the most is that the characters whose point of view we follow through the letters are absolutely indistinguishable from each other!

Cute but has, in my opinion, a lot of flaws!

4.5⭐️ A stunner of a book, this has all the magic and whimsy of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries but is a truly unique book with an unusual style that may not be for everyone but is certainly for me! I absolutely adored that this was an epistolary book- there’s just something so intimate and cosy about unraveling a story through personal correspondence and it makes for a book with personality. While this book explores themes of loss it remains low stakes, a soothing, cosy read to get lost in as you escape to the underwater world.

Exploring the light side of academia, I enjoyed piecing together the acquaintance turned friendship turned romance between E and Henery as well as the mystery surrounding what they discovered and what happened to them. The world the book was set in was crafted wonderfully, the society E inhabited feeling like a pseudo/alternate 19th Century due to the style of writing, the way the characters speak and the discussion of societal expectations that align with our Victorian/Edwardian time period.

I found the characters to be likeable, I could relate to E’s anxiety and the way she didn’t quite fit in and I found Henery to be just dreamy- a poetic, swoonworthy gentleman worthy of a place on among the pages of a historical romance!

I’m keeping everything crossed for a sequel because I simply MUST read more about Henery, E and their underwater adventures.

3.5 stars. I'm having a hard time writing a review about this one. On the one hand, this was really enjoyable with a decent plot, lovable characters and a very unique way of telling the story. On the other hand, I found this to be very slow with little to nothing happening. I didn't always mind the lack of pacing, but at times it was very hard for me to continue and to be concentrated. Still, in the end I found myself rating it 3.5 stars as I did enjoy it overall. I would recommend it!

𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭, 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷, 𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓪 𝓯𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓶𝔂 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓽 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮?

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Thank you to Orbit UK and Netgalley for this e-arc. All thoughts are my own.

This is truly an original and ambitious book. It’s an epistolary fantasy, which was something very different and interesting for me. Cathrall successfully manages to balance the mystery, romance and timeline, to create a beautiful and tense story.

This is a dense and slow book, and I believe that you’re meant to savour it. Personally, it felt familiar to me, as I’ve spent a lot of time reading old letters and correspondence for my degree, and I enjoyed these little pieces that made up these mesmerising word. It was beautiful see the story unfold like this, and I genuinely felt like I was apart of the story, reading the letters alongside Sophy and Vyerin.

What I loved most about this book, was that the information is slowly teased out from the material, which includes the world building and history. I felt like the Cidnosin siblings whenever their mother forced them to pieces together a mystery, but I absolutely loved that. It kept my brain engaged and turning.

All of the characters are incredibly well written, with so much life breathed into them. My favourite was definitely E. of course. She was so relatable, in both the good and bad. E’s journey in these letters was so powerful, and her humour was brilliant. Her and Henerey’s relationship was absolutely adorable, and it’s my favourite type of romance; slow and full of emotional connection.

I had no idea that this was part of a series, and I now eagerly await book two so I can dive (pun intended) into this world again.

Title: A Letter To The Luminous Deep By Sylvie Cathrall

Release Date: April,25th 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars


Dive into the enchanting tale of "A Letter to the Luminous Deep," where reclusive E. and scholar Henerey Clel embark on a captivating correspondence after a mesmerizing discovery beneath the waves. As their letters blossom into something more, they delve into the mysteries of the underwater world together. But when disaster strikes and both vanish without a trace, it's left to E.'s sister Sophy and Henerey's brother Vyerin to piece together their story.

With letters, sketches, and field notes as their guide, they uncover a love story beyond imagination and unlock the secrets of their disappearance, changing life as they know it forever.

In "A Letter to the Luminous Deep" by Sylvie Cathrall, the unique narration style initially posed a challenge for me, as the story unfolds through exchanged letters by various characters. However, once I adjusted to this concept, I found it incredibly immersive and personal, allowing me to connect deeply with the characters' thoughts and emotions.

What struck me the most was the unexpected twist at the end, which left me hanging on the edge of my seat and eager for more. It came as a surprise to discover that this book is part of a series, but now I can't wait to dive into the next installment to uncover more mysteries and continue following the captivating journey of the characters.


Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit and Sylvie Cathrall for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is a slow-paced story that handle some real-life issues such as mental health, anxiety and even grief. I never read an epistolary novel before and both the title and the blurb made me curious to try, especially because it has a focus on the romance.

This is kind of a cozy fantasy with a romance set in a mythical underwater world that has Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries vibes since they touch academic endeavors. The epistolary format was not for me so I couldn’t enjoy this story fully which was a shame since I do love Victorian English vibes.

Overall, the concept is good, and it felt like a refreshing fantasy story, however I cannot say I’m a fan of the way it was written since I felt distracted at some points. The concept of the book is amazing and for fans of the writing style I’m sure it’ll be a delight, but it just didn’t work for me. I still enjoyed the story and I recommend it to those who want to explore different ways of diving into fantasy.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

Oh I love love loved this one! Told entirely in letters, we follow Sophy and Vy as they try to uncover the mystery of their respective siblings (E. and Henery) disappearance. Through these letters we see how shy Henery, and E. - a girl suffering from fairly intense OCD and anxiety, formed a friendship which later developed into a love.

I will say that this book is very slow paced and overly wordy in the way it's written. Everything is very heavily described and formal so I can see why some people wouldn't enjoy it but I would recommend persevering until at least the halfway mark as I found the latter part of this book was vastly better than the former.

Overall I liked the format (epistolary) but I would have liked to see the characters have more distinct voices in their letters because they all felt very interchangeable with one another which was a shame.

For me the two things that made me adore this book were firstly, the development of E and Henery's relationship and secondly, the mystery at the heart of the book. As someone who finds the sea terrifying, I felt like there was an almost creepy undertone which i really enjoyed.

Overall I look forward to seeing where this series goes and I will be posting a full review on my TikTok in the coming days.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is unlike any other book I've read. I thought, with it being an epistolary novel, that I would feel some sort of detachment to the characters. After all, how much emotion can you truly get through letters... the answer, it seems, is a whole roller coaster ride's worth.

I suppose you could say there were 4 MC's in this book. We have E and Henerey, who start up a correspondence after E spots a marine animal she has never seen and writes to Henerey for his advice. And we also have Sophy and Vyerin, E & Henerey's siblings respectively, who start their own correspondence in the wake of their siblings disappearance. Cathrall does a truly amazing job of letting these characters shine through their letters, each having their own unique voice and ensuring that we love all of them equally. There's a risk to this though, a risk in keeping your characters interactions to letters, to even having their few meetings told through that lens, but it just works with this book and these characters. It allows the author to build a suspense, especially in how she layers the different letters through the book, and it absolutely adds to the emotional impact, rather than taking away from it.

I've read multi-media books before, but I have never read a book told solely through letters, poetry, academic papers etc. Cathrall uses all of these, not only to make us fall in love with her characters, but to build on her incredible world. It's so well built, and so unique, a world set in a place nearly completely covered by water, where the world used to float in the sky until it all came collapsing down and the societies we know today were created in the wake of it. The world is extensive, but thanks to the use of the letters it gets introduced to us naturally, through E and Henerey investigating her discovery and through Sophy and Vyerin trying to determine what happened to their siblings. It's a real mix of genre's; fantasy, romance, even dystopian in a way

The writing style definitely gave off some academic vibes. Sophy and Henerey were academics, E might as well have been one and Vyerin wasn't only because he found his own passion, but the way they write to each other carries an academic undertone, even when their letters shifted towards the more personal, there was still that academic vibe and that thirst for knowledge. I really enjoyed the mystery element to this story and how it was woven through. We start the book after E and Henerey's disappearance, which again was a unique way to tell the story, and the author uses them, and their investigation, to tell us the story of E and Henerey through letters and documents they sent to each other. This added another emotional element because, not only are we learning about them through their correspondence, but through the eyes of the two people who love them the most, Sophy and Vyerin.

Talking about love, A Letter to the Luminous Deep is set in a Queer norm world. In fact both Sophy and Vyerin are in F/F & M/M relationships. Though they may not be the shining stars of the book, at least romance wise, I enjoyed the insights we go into their relationships, especially Sophy because that it one we get to see blossom through the letters she writes to E. But now onto E and Henerey, who truly are the cutest two people ever. Their respect for each other starts almost immediately, with their feelings gradually progress through the book, showing in how their letters to each other change. E is someone who has struggled with a malady of the mind since she was a young girl, something that makes her overthink every action, decision, conversation. She feels she is nothing more than a hindrance to those she loves, so when she meets Henerey and he values her, her thoughts, her feelings, she starts to slowly but surely venture out of her shell. It truly was remarkable to, well read if not see, but you can almost feel E growing bolder letter by letter thanks to Henerey's validation of her feelings. It's such a heartwarming romance, no spice at all, but it wasn't needed because these two manage to fall in love over letters and one in person meeting.

If you can't tell already, I loved this book. Cathrall got the perfect balance between the fantasy and romantic aspects, and also gives us a mystery we are desperate to solve. It's a sweet story, but also one that feels a little malicious in parts, a teeny tiny bit scary and I loved how the author manages to keep us on our toes with nothing but letters and academic papers to whet our appetite. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to get my hands on book two.

I loves the premise of the book but the style just wasnt for me.

The language is vedu poetic and flowery - at points this was beautiful but at other times far too much.

The story is ENTIRELY written in letters. Whilst a fan of the odd letter - I could not get into a book which eas entirely epistolary. I would not have requested had I known as this style of book just wasnt for me.

I have seen that other reviewers have said that the book picks up pace and that the last 25% of the book made it worth it but I couldnt get that far through. I would like to pick it up and try it again another time as the premise was really interesting.

Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I read about 15% of the book if even, and fell asleep as I couldn't keep interested in what they were saying. I loved the concept, but maybe an audiobook would work better. The language was so hard to follow, I know it is set in the past, but I had to keep re-reading a few sentences to understand what was happening. I was pretty confused at the start and continued to be confused until I stopped reading. I want to pick it up again sometime, maybe when I have more patience as it is very slow-paced.

I'm struggling to appropriately formulate the words to describe this book; I'm not even sure what I've just read.

This is such a unique book that it deserves to be showcased just for that reason. I have never read a book like this, and will probably never again also.

The first thing that we need to talk about is the format. While I've certainly read books that contain letters, usually scattered liberally throughout, I have never read one that is solely epistolary. And this, I really loved. The format allowed the reader to slowly garner more and more information about the world the characters live in, as well as the characters themselves. It adds a very slow build layer to the book. This, however, can also be considered as a slight negative. It did take me a very long to read this books, especially at the beginning. I did sometimes find my eyes glazing over some of the conversational aspects of the letters. However, it was definitely a creative way to write a book!

The characters were also very interesting; although arguably E. and Henerey were the main characters, we only learn about them from their letters to each other, and from descriptions from their siblings. They're both very lovable people, and I'm very happy that they found each other.

It's such a strange novel, in terms of the theming. It almost feels contradictory in nature. It's dystopian, while also feeling very Victorian/Regency in terms of the manners aspect; it feels both otherworldly and present/modern; science-fiction while also literary. It is wholly unique.

I think the biggest issue for me was that it took a very long time for me to get into the book. It kind of bordered on nonsensical at the beginning as we had no idea what was going on, no background or context, so, pardon the pun, we were thrown into the deep end. However, I persevered and once I was fully integrated into the book, I found myself turning pages quickly.

I think the style, language and format will make this a real marmite book for people. For me, once I was properly into the book, I really enjoyed it! It ended on a cliffhanger, so I can't wait for the next book!

I have to say this has kind of blown me away a little bit. And I think it’s because of the comparison in how I felt starting the book, to finishing it.

It took me more than a third of the book to really get into it. I just felt a little lost and wasn’t really sure where it was supposed to be going. Every letter was diving back and forth in the timeline and while I did ultimately love this, it took me a while to wrap my head around - but once I did, my gosh it was good.

Otherwise, there was so much technical language that they used and my mind was literally boggled, but it also didn’t really matter as I was much more invested in the character side of things and that was just mumbo jumbo from this apparent underwater world they’re living in, I don’t need to know!

But my goodness did this turn out to be one of the most wholesome and beautiful books I’ve ever read. You have Vyerin and Sophie who are finding out more about their siblings, while I’m loving their blossoming friendship. But then I’m also reading Henerey and E.’s letters too and just absolutely kicking my feet over how adorable they are with each other!

Letter writing is my big thing for a romance. If the love interests write letters to each other at all, I melt! I cry and giggle and have the biggest grin, and considering their entire relationship was them writing to each other, holy moly did I have a good time!

Just big heart react

I’m also very excited for the next book as there obviously is a big mystery and all, but damn the characters just got to me

I dnfed 20% in. The story sounds intriguing but the format is a bit annoying to me atm. I do want to read it again at some point but maybe I shall try an audiobook format.

I'm so sad to say that I didn't enjoy this as much I anticipated, the pacing was very slow and the story to drawn out, that for me it lacked any excitement until the very end. I did however love the benevolent nature of the books characters and how we got to know each of their stories (albeit rather slowly) intimately through their written letters. 🐚✨

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review!

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“In my expert opinion (as someone who has spent a record-breaking amount of time continuously underwater), anyone who does not fear the abyss is simply naïve to its perils. There is something philosophically crisis-inducing about the seemingly infinite.”

A year after the mysterious disappearance of the reclusive E. and the scholar Henerey, who corresponded with each other through letters about mysterious events outside of E.’s underwater home, their respective siblings follow in their written trails to revisit and find out what really happened. Letters, journals and scribbled notes detail an ever-growing mystery, as well as a budding love story.

“We would don our helmets and slip into the depths with an easy carelessness.”

There was no surprise I loved A Letter To The Luminous Deep, as I love stories that are epistolary and have a newfound love of whimsical light academia. If Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries was my perfectly magical light academia winter read, then this is its more science-y summer-y cousin.
Set in a world largely covered by water, in a society based around academia and scholarly pursuits above all else, I found myself incredibly intrigued the whole way through. Although the pace of the story is relatively slow, the vibes were amazing and I never felt bored or like it dragged on. I felt like I was truly discovering each new mystery and answer along with the main characters, both in the past and present, and it was hard to put the book down.
Although occasionally using more complicated language, sprinkled in with fun comments and intentionally over-dramatic prose from certain characters, I found the book relatively easy to read. The writing is at times messy (with a beloved overabundance of parentheses), which fits well with the theme of it all being a collection of letters and scribbled notes.

“How is your brother so effortlessly ebullient in his every word? He is like the sun to E.’s moon.”

As much as I loved the setting, the characters and their varied personalities and fun dynamics is what really stood out to me. More so than just the love story between E. and Henerey, the book focuses on the bonds between siblings and friendship. The different kinds of love shared by the characters felt heartwarming and inspiring.

“Know that you are sorely missed, and that I pray your existence under inconceivable amounts of water pressure has not weighed you down.”

Some of the things you can expect in this book include:
- A mostly queer cast
- Mental illness rep
- Fashionable mobility aids
- Sibling ribbing
- Introverts nerding out and being socially awkward together
- Research and infodumping as a love language

This book found its way right into my heart, and I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to this one, unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I found it hard to stay on track with the characters and their story, and the language used was heavy to follow along with. I still rate the concept, perhaps a slightly different execution would have worked.

I was so excited for this book. The description sounds amazing and I mean look at that gorgeous cover!
Unfortunately it didnt fully work for me. The book is fully epistolary, which is a cool concept but at the same time takes quite some getting used to.
The different characters all sounded very similar as they all used very formal and scholarly language, which often made it hard to distinguish/remember whose letter I was reading.
The plot also moves very slowly, I dare say at a snails pace. It did pick up in the last ~15% and I am going to pick up book number 2 when it releases, as I feel that one could become rather interesting.
3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC.

I regretfully DNF’d this at 17 %.

I was initially happily surprised that this was an epistolary novel, thinking this would suit the concept of the book well. Unfortunately, it was clear after only a few chapters that the writing in this book was not a good match for me.

All the letters felt like they were written by the same character, leading to a disconnect and indifference towards the characters and their struggles. There was also an overuse of exclamation points, quotation marks and parentheses to the point that I got annoyed multiple times per page. I could not force myself to read several hundred pages of this and therefore choose not to finish this ARC.

The letters, world building and mystery of this book really intrigued me. Hopefully the writing style works better for other readers.

2.5 stars

here are some good things that helped me through the book:
The little romance between E. and Henerey. Sure, it's not the best romance I've ever read and I've seen reviews where the reader didn't buy it, but two awkward people falling in love with each other? Sign me up.
The blossoming friendship between Vyerin and Sophy was very heartwarming.
The mental health representation. That part was really believable and treated with care.
The queer representation. There were lots of queer characters and I love that it was just a normal thing in this world that people of the same sex were married.
The overall oceanic theme. I love everything ocean-related to reading that in the book was very nice.

With that being sad, the book didn't work for me in general. The world-building was only explained a little bit towards the end, so I was confused about it most of the time.
The writing style was really exhausting. It was an old Victorian style with lots of descriptions and exclamations and whatnot and it did not work for me, especially since every character wrote that way.
I expected letters, lots of it, but I don't think having only letters, notes, journal entries, etc. works like the author wanted it to be. Because of that, the characters felt very flat and bland - again, especially since they all have the same tone -, the world was kind of boring (except the descriptions of the ocean and marine life) and the story in itself was very slow and even the tad bit of action towards the end wasn't that gripping.

I'd say read the first chapters and if the writing style is for you, then great! Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, so I probably won't continue this series.

This was such a gem of a book! An epistolary adventure that slowly uncovers the mysterious death/disappearance of two people by their siblings in the future.. I loved every letter between the characters. If I had to use one word to describe this book, it would be pure. Such a refreshing fantasy, and all the interactions between the characters so pure and honest that it made me wish the real world worked that way. One of the most refreshing reads I've picked up in a long time.

Special thanks to Little Brown UK and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!