A Letter to the Luminous Deep was certainly an experience.
A novel only containing letters is a bold choice and definitely not something you find every day. Since you don't have a real narrator you're left with havingh to piece together, both story and setting, by yourself which is quite fun actually.
It's said to be a nice read for fans of Fawcett's Emily Wilde books, tho I think that would be a bit misleading, as it's only vaguelly similar.
Listing to the audiobook might have been not the best choice with this book, as there are certain parts where the main cast has scribbled little things in their letters, such as fish and other lifeforms, to show them to another recipient - the descriptions are very detailed and accurate nevertheless and I am glad they included them. The pacing is slow and calm, very good for a nice afternoon read.
All in all I will give this book 3,7/5 stars. I did enjoy the book, but like I said comparing it to Fawcett is a bit far fetched.

As the audiobook started I wondered if it was going to be for me. It was various letters of correspondence over two years. As I listened, I was gripped and ended up wanting to listen more and more.
Sophie is exploring the deep while her sister E is living in the Deep House, under water, yet not venturing out. They keep in touch by writing. One day E sees a strange marine life form pass her window, nothing like this has been documented, so she writes to Henery, an esteemed scholar of the field. Not expecting a reply, imagine E’s delight when Henery does respond and so starts correspondence between them. Something happens and they disappear.
Sophie and Viron (Henery’s brother) start corresponding, investigating what may have happened. They use letters and Henery’s journal to try and piece together the mystery.
I felt drawn into the book, constantly wanting to know what happened next.
I loved it.

When I requested this book, I did not know that this book was made for me. I'm so glad I didn't miss out.
My heart warmed with all the scholarly aspects between socially awkward people that are all gooey at the core.
And I've always been fascinated of stories that unfold a plot, and even more characters, purely through correspondence.
So for a short recommendation I'd say if you vibed with Love Virtually ('Gut gegen Nordwind'), This Is How You Lose The Time War and Emily Wilde, this might be the book for you.
This book has multiple POV in different timelines, but the way it's structured makes it easy to follow. Even in the audiobook, as the POVs are narrated by very different and very fitting voices.
The world that unfolds is really fascinating, mostly sunken after an event called 'The Dive ', and with many secrets that are yet to be explored.
Even more fascinating than the world though are the characters that you get to know purely by letters. It might take a while to attach to them, but when you do, you're hooked - I promise.
I won't retell the plot, because you should not pick up this book for plot (let's say if Emily Wilde was too slow and not enough plot for you, you probably won't like A Letter to the Luminous Deep either).
However, what finally unfolds I did not see coming, and I can't wait for book 2 to fill this fish-shaped hole in my heart.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the eARC!

#ALetterToTheLuminousDeep #Netgalley #Bookstagram

E and Henerey, who correspond in letters only, go missing and then their siblings start to correspond using their letters and notes to see if they can solve the mystery of where they have gone.

So there's good bits and not so good bits for me here....let's start with the good bits!

~ Stunning cover
~ Unique format
~ Such a creative story
~ Writing is superb
~ Historical, underwater fantasy (love)
~ Gives you that cozy feeling
~ Romance was so cute

Now .....because of the few different points of view, I got lost at who was speaking. A lot. Then I had to go and relisten and also not much happens until the last quarter.

I did enjoy this and will read the next book but will slow my reading pace right down...and that's my advice.....take time reading this book and take it all in!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- I enjoyed this so much. It was such a fun and easy read.
🌶️- such a cute romance between pen pals.

Academic love
Underwater adventures
Cosy fantasy read
Pen pals
Mystery
Grief and loss

This book was so good to read. I enjoyed it so much…

The world building was amazing and the fantasy world created and depicted in my mind was beautiful. The world created was extensive and unique leaving me desperate to explore the luminous deep myself! The book is set in

I enjoyed the format of the book which was written in the form of letters, articles and research and thoroughly enjoyed the multiple POV giving the story more depth and allowing better insight into the characters. This book was very character driven which I really enjoyed as it allowed for growth of the characters to be seen in such a great way without taking away from the story itself.

Being able to watch the relationship between E and Henery develop in the form of letters was delightful. first watching them bond over their need to discover the truth about the missing siblings. The letters were so adorable and allowed for their relationship to blossom further. 🥹

Despite being slow burn and slow paced I was unable to put this down and devoured it so quickly!! I needed everything this book offered and am so excited for the future books in this wonderful series.

The mystery of this book kept me so engaged. I was desperate to find out what was going on and learn along with E and Henery about the mysterious disappearance.

The cover art is absolutely stunning and this book is a must buy for my shelves because it is beautiful!!!🤍

Headlines:
A fantasy world under the sea
Two awkward people
Connections through letters

There's so much uniqueness in this story, this world under the sea, coral reefs, sea creatures and of course the societies inhabiting. The world seemed futuristic possibly to our world and vague references were made to a previous civilisations and possible climatic issues. That said, the world of this story was visceral, colourful and kept my imagination busy visualising.

The story was told in epistolary format, with a somewhat formal tone. That was a little jarring initally but I did settle into the format and the letters got more informal as time went on. There was a mystery afoot in this story, some missing main character and siblings of the missing E and Henerey also conversed through letters in their grief and search for answers. I did have to concentrate quite hard initally to be certain if this was a letter between E and Henerey or a letter between their respective siblings.

The characterisation authentically wove in some mental health issues with a rather anxious E and a contrast in the support and understanding or lack of she got from her siblings. Siblings on both sides were queer characters. For me, Henerey and E were a delight and while the sibling brought key parts to the story, I was always eager to be back with those two MCs.

I'll definitely be reading on, I need to know the what next. Will the next book be epistolary, I wonder? I can't see that it would need to be but who knows!

I both read this and listened on audio for larger parts and the narration was very good, assisting with the POV changes through voice.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the review copy.

Vivid imagery, distinct characters and worldbuilding as deep as the ocean.

This book was very enjoyable, I think I'd best characterise it as light academia. I was surprised it was all written in letters and it took a while to get used to but I was surprised how much depth came from notes and missives between people.

The beginning was very slow and felt very drawn out, but that might also be me. If my sibling went missing I'd be inclined to skip ahead in reading their letters, not waiting for the person I was working with to catch up in the hopes of getting answers, so the longevity of this felt a little unrealistic. The ending felt upbrupt and the explanation felt a little anticlimactic after such a big build up. I think it was the length of time spent on this but I think listening to it in audio book form meant this seemed quite quickly glossed over and moved on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

E and Henerey Cel are pen pals and have suddenly gone missing. Sophie E’s Sister and Vyeti, Henerey Brother try to figure out what happened to their siblings through their letters.

This book just wasn’t for me. I can understand what the author was aiming for but personally I didn’t vibe with it. I really wasn’t the target audience.
It was written as letters detailing their adventures to each other (epistolary fantasy)
When I first saw the book I wanted to read it as it had been compared to Emily Wild series (it isn’t similar) however the poetic and flowery writing with very little happening made it hard book to enjoy and I found it difficult keep focus.

I think this would have been better to be condensed and a standalone rather than a series.

The audio narrators were clear and I enjoyed their narration.

Thank you Orbit Books & Netgallery for the eARC

This had a lot of ups and downs f0r me.
The first chapter completely hooked me in and for the first 25% or so I was really invested then the shortcomings of this book sadly became clearer. I think the story is solid but has a few problems - of which most are self imposed.

First the good:

I did find the love story and letters between Henerey and E AMAZING. I ate every single letter between them up. I thought their dialogue was cute and charming and they both were dorks with social as well as mental health issues I could relate to. They both felt complex and had such an amazing dynamic with each other and it reminded me of the feeling Divine Rivals gave me.

I also think the world was interesting and intriguing and wished there would have been more descriptions which were really good at times. I also liked the talk about scholarship and would have wished for it to be more of a focus.

The audiobook was also REALLY good from a technical stand point. The narrators are absolutely great and they really immersed myself into these characters. I loved the duett narration and think that it really enhanced my experience.




I think the biggest problems are 1) The self restricting format - which leads to 2) suspension of disbelief issues and 3) lampshading

1)The self restricting format
This book in it's entirety is compromised of physical documents in various formats. It's cool and fun in theory but sadly leads to a few issues.
Often times Character A will tell character B in a letter "hey attached you will find document X" but rather than instantly after finishing the letter from A showing us document X you'd multiple times get interludes from character B first and then reading document X. This was sometimes confusing but even if it wasn't it disrupted the flow immensely for me.

The format also lead to problem 2) suspension of disbelief issues
EVERYTHING is a physical piece of paper so you are supposed crack your suspension of disbelief to 100 for a lot of different things.
In my opinion the whole set up of the siblings piling together documents of E and Henerey to find out what happened to them is a really idea but who would do that by faxing letters with documents attached back and forth? They even meet in person once but cant compile the documents at that meeting because then there wouldnt be a document the book can show us to tell us what happened. They could just have met up a few times in person to figure everything out and it would have worked way better in my opinion. Would have also been an oppurtunity to get a bit more "show" and less "tell" in.
It also creates the issues of having to have some form of physical document in scenes where it makes no sense. Why would E and Henry have a whole, long conversation on the back of a gala program when meeting up in person for the first time. A few sentences? I could believe that but all that was written in that chapter? Nope.
Also "Hey we have highly advanced underwater and deep sea exploration technology but still rely on physical postal service/basically Fax technology to communicate"
Also Also "Oh no I don't read these documents before sending them to you I'd rather wait the X weeks we've been faxing back and forth to find out what happened to my brother that mysteriously vanished a year ago so that I can react to these revelations in my faxes to you"

1) and 2) come together in problem 3) lampshading.
It doesnt make sense for some things to be said in letters and the book knows this which is why the book tries to make fun of it - which I hate.
There were so many "Oh I don't even know why I'm writing this" and "Do you remember when X happened? Of course you know (but I still had to tell the reader what happened)" moments and the first time it was funny and self aware but it happens too many times that it really irritated me near the end.

I also had my problems with the pacing. I think this book could have been shorter with a heavier focus on E and Henry and would have been better for it.

Critique of the Ending:
What frustratres me the most is that Sophy and Vyerin werent even able to lift the mystery themselves. The reveals happen through other characters who had the answers all along but just didnt come forward with them. Also the "reveal" of the mystery isnt even a full on "reveal" but rather a "here are all the puzzle pieces please come back for book 2 to actually put them together"

I really don't know what my exact feelings about this book are. I am invested and I did have moments where I enjoyed myself a lot but sadly it has very obvious flaws that drag this down to a 3 star read to me.

DNF @39%.
It pains me to say that this was a DNF. I tried, I really tried to care enough about these characters and the action to continue reading it. But I don't find myself reaching towards this book anymore. I don't like the writing, I can't remember the previous character when I start the new chapter. I really wanted to love it, but unfortunately, I do not. I love the cover and the premise, but it bore me.

Wasn't for me. Too boring and the way the characters corresponded was too formal. They weren't relatable. The low-level plot just wasn't engaging. It would have worked better as a standalone.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this but when I realised that this book is essentially letters read out by full cast audio, I was very pleased. The story was interesting and mysterious. The romance, oh so barely there - so up my street and did I mention full cast audio... Absolutely wonderful and I couldn't put it down.

While the prose was nice and the cover absolutely stunning but for me, there honestly wasn't much else interested in this book otherwise. All 4 POVs felt extremely dry and very impersonal. For readers who enjoy piecing together the puzzle of a plot through letters that are written with an academic and Victorian style, this might be for you. Reminds me a lot of the Emily Wilde series **without** any of the humor, adventure, or fantastical world building.

(+) achillean MC

A Letter To The Luminous Deep
By Sylvie Cathrall

Narrated by: Claire Morgan; Joshua Riley; Justin Avoth; Kit Griffiths
Genre:
General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy

Format: audiobook 🎧
Publication date: 25th April 2024

🌟: 3/5


“A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.”

This story is about, grief, friendship and finding each other interspersed with a little mystery. The narration was really good and I think the decision to use 4 narrators really was essential, I am concerned though if reading this as a book it maybe difficult to keep track of who is speaking. Because the novel is written using letters and correspondence between characters I can see me having to keep checking who the author of each letter is and to whom they are speaking.

I thought the book was an ok read and I liked the relationships between characters and watching them grow but it was unnecessarily hard to follow with such a lot of personal writings from so many characters making up the narrative itself. It felt like quite a lot of filler.

The writings was pleasant and felt cozy but I found the pacing quite slow and it took me a good first third of the book to be particularly interested in continuing and I was quite bored for a good portion of the story. I think because of the letter format and the formal language used made it harder to distinguish between characters and I can really see this being a problem if you read rather than listen.

I liked the world that was created but just would have preferred to explore it in a more traditional story telling style with better explanation of the society they live in.

Ultimately it was an ok book for me I didn’t love it and probably won’t read any more in the series.

A LETTER TO THE LUMINOUS DEEP is a dual timeline tale of love - romantic and familial - and the mystery of an unusual object spanning both times.

There are three main strands to the book - E. and Henery getting acquainted and looking into the strange sphere, what happened at the same time on Sophy's deep sea mission, and one year later as Sophy and Vyerin try to uncover the truth of what happened to their siblings while also processing their grief.

I liked that, while E. and Henery are in some ways the focus of the book, the second most important relationship is one of friendship. Sophy and Vyerin come together to process their grief, gradually forming a fierce friendship. It's so nice to see friendships getting page time in SFF as romantasy takes over and it feels like it's pushing other relationships out.

The mystery of the sphere is engaging, particularly as it's seen from three different sides thanks to the strands. Because Sophy and Vyerin's timeline follows them swapping letters including their siblings', it meant the revelations stacked up about the same time, allowing for a lot of "oh" moments close together.

The book is told entirely through letters and document extracts. It is a deliberately stylistic choice that leads to a few contrived feeling moments of "the reader needs this info about the characters so let's find a semi-believable way to get them to write about their appearance" etc. On the whole, though, it works.

I listened to this and was glad there were four narrators; Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth, and Kit Griffiths. I liked that each of the four main characters had their own narrator as it made it much easier to keep them apart, given the book is largely in first person. There are other characters' letters and papers read, and the four narrators do read them so they were slightly harder to follow as if I missed the "letter from X to Y, year" at the start, I had to rely solely on context.

I thought this was a standalone novel but I was 5% from the end and certainly wasn't near a conclusion. It turns out it's a duology, for which I'm glad because it ends with a lot of questions unanswered, given the modern day cast are gearing up for an expedition of their own.

3.5 stars
E. is a recluse that lives in her family's underwater home called the Deephouse. After her mother died, her father left and her siblings went off to become scholars.
E. prefers the solitude until she sees something outside her home that is unusual. So begins her correspondence with Henerey Clel, a renowned scholar who might be able to help explain what she saw.
Henerey is excited and intrigued. After much correspondence, he goes to the Deephouse to see this discovery firsthand. Tragically, a seaquake occurs destroying the Deephouse and causing the disappearance of both E. and Henerey.
A year later, their siblings begin going through their letters to see if they can figure out what happened and if there's a chance that E. and Henerey could still be alive.

I really enjoyed the way this was written mostly in letter format. The story was intriguing and unique. I loved the characters. I just didn't love the ending. I'm still looking forward to the next one just because I need to know what happened to E. and Henerey.

I also loved the narrators. It was great listening to multiple narrators reading the letters. The characters personalities really came through.

I give this book 3.5 ⭐️

Firstly, the narrators did an excellent job. They brought the characters to life, reflected their personalities amazingly and they all just worked together. I fear that if I was reading the ebook or physical copy, I may have rated this less. The narrators really did keep me hooked to the story and thoroughly entertained.

Now, on to the plot and characters themselves. I found the story intriguing. It was a lot. That's my criticism. A lot of characters. A lot of academics. A lot of tests and turns. The first 30% or so, I struggled to remember who is who and what was going on. However, the characters. Oh I will remember these characters for a long time! Each character was uniquely interesting and memorable.

Finally, the writing. I will say, I am definitely going to continue with the series. The ending left me wanting so much more. The writing really was beautiful and it flowed so well. It kept me hooked.

Again, the only reason for my lower rating is I felt there was too much information at times. Too much detail. That is all. I cannot wait to continue with the series.

Oh wow. This book!! The vibes. THE VIBES. I loved it. It was spectacularly written - the world absolutely expertly crafted. And all communicated through letters, you slowly get the developing and unraveling of the world and mystery. You start to get to know the characters through their written correspondences which was such a novel way to read a book.

And the audiobook so did the book justice. Each character got their own actor and each was really well narrated and brought to life. It was the perfect way to consume this book and added to immersion.

If I was to choose one word to sum this book up it would be - stunning. The writing was stunning, almost lyrical and flowed beautifully. The characters were greatly written and the whole story really well written. I couldn’t have been more drawn in if I tried!

The ending was an interesting one and somewhat unforeseen! Not sure how I feel about the turn of events but it was an intriguing way to end the story.

I loved getting to know the characters through their letters and I loved the growing relationship between Vyerin and Sophy. I thought I’d get bored of the back and forth letters but I really didn’t! I even purposefully slowed this book down so I could enjoy it for longer. So enjoyable.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is the first book in The Sunken Archive fantasy series by Sylvie Cathrall. The book follows the letters between 4 main characters (and occasionally others) in two different time periods. In the recent past, a young woman named E. sends a letter to renowned scholar Henerey Clel after seeing a mysterious elongated fish from her underwater home. Henerey writes back to her, and they begin a correspondence that both uncovers a mystery and their feelings for each other. In the present, around a year after the presumed deaths of E. and Henerey, Henerey's brother Vyerin and E.'s sister Sophy swap their own letters and build their own relationship while they share and comment upon E. and Henerey's letters. Through this process, the two come to understand the mystery of what happened to their siblings.

The audiobook format is actually perfect for this book and I am so glad I applied for a ALC. The main reason is because the audiobook has 4 separate narrators, one for each main character writing letters. This completely distinguishes the characters and allows their personalities to shine. While they still share a similar formal style of talking, the different narrators worked amazingly to provide clarity to the story. I always knew whose letter was being read and not only did the performances convey the individual personalities so clearly, they also conveyed how the relationships change between the letter writer and recipient as the letters progress. Honestly I haven't seen such an effective use of the audiobook format before!

The author spent time really letting the reader see who these characters were. I felt like I really got to know these two families and their lives. I laughed out loud, I sighed as the characters fell in love and I hoped desperately for a happy ending.

By chance, I only read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries last week so that book is still fresh in my mind. As they share the epistolary style, and both are focused on scholars, the comparison is well-drawn in my opinion. I really liked the extra layer of mystery in this book though, since we were experiencing E. and Henerey's past letters in the current time frame, with the knowledge that they had both somehow died. I really enjoyed the dual timeline of the letters in the past and the letters in the present and it personally drew me into the story and created a lot of intrigue. I loved seeing the relationships develop between E. and Henerey, and Sophy and Vyerin and I really felt that emotional connection between E. and Henerey. Personally, all these extra levels really elevated it for me and I enjoyed it a lot more than I enjoyed Emily Wilde. I just found it really heartwarming, even with the tension of the central mystery of what had happened to E. and Henerey.

If you love a fantasy story in the epistolary format but have been put off by some early reviews about the characters blurring together because of a similar voice, I would definitely recommend the audiobook as this format counteracted all of those critiques for me. It was amazingly performed by 4 narrators who really embodied their characters. The mystery is so well plotted, and I imagine that I'll discover lots of hints I missed my first time around when I re-read/re-listen to this book! I absolutely loved the audiobook of A Letter to the Luminous Deep, and I will definitely go for the audiobook format for the sequel(s)!

Disclaimer: I received an ALC from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

An immersive and magical underwater world and a tender love story.
I saw this book promoted as academics falling in love over letters and it was exactly that. It’s wholesome and a delight to read. The burn is slow as is the pace of this book but that went well with the whole feel of the story. There is a multitude of mysteries to unearth and at the end there is clearly more to be learned. As the underwater setting is so vast and unexplored the story could develop any which way.
Each character had a distinct voice and mental health/quirks were present, which I liked as they felt more relatable. The narrators did a great job of bringing them to life.
Overall a nice read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.