I want to love this book. On paper it has everything I could want in a story, but I just cannot seem to get into it. So unfortunately for now I believe I have to DNF this book. It’s a soft DNF I think I might come back to it as an audiobook at some point because a part of me still thinks I can love it.

Dear friends and Goodreads readers,

I am writing to draw your attention to the lovely cover of the debut novel by Sylvie Cathrall, "A Letter to the Luminous Deep," which is the first book in The Sunken Archive series. I also want to sincerely apologize for not give a damn what will happen to the letters, I mean this book—letters from a few characters that I am not even sure if they are people or perhaps mermaids.
I’ve started to think that I don’t have any idea what’s going on. The cozy romance, academia, and love of letters didn’t pique my interest. I wish the author the best of luck; I’m sure this is just me, and others will find it more interesting and unique in their own way.

Sincerely,
Shirin

P.S. I want to express my thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for DRC. I didn’t rate it here on Goodreads because I didn’t finish the book, but I felt I needed to give a star rating for feedback.

I was so excited to read this book. The synopsis was so interesting, the premise of a mystery at sea and the way it was described with the 2 sets of characters and wrote through letters left me really curious.
Sadly as the letters kept going I started getting confused with the many letter POVs and also the scholar language that was used. I pushed through it a little while but, unfortunately I had to DNF the book. I just wasn't for me😔
I'm so sorry. You gave me the chance to read and I just couldn't get with the writing and the language.

If you love academia and fantasy books, then you will love this one! I adored that it was so unique and set in an underwater world, and somehow it was so cozy too. The timeline changing was a little hard to follow at times, but nevertheless it was a fantastic debut. It was heartwarming and wholesome, and I loved the characters.

“Reading your letter was an experience like no other. Have you ever considered, E., that someone ought to write a Fantasy about you?” :’)

A Letter to the Luminous Deep was an enchanting and unique read. It was the first epistolary novel I have come across, and after getting the hang of it, I really enjoyed it and found the style enhanced the story. The characters were exceedingly well written, and the mental health aspect was portrayed so thoughtfully I found it helped negate the distance I was worried I would feel from the writing style. The prose was whimsical and romantic (my FAVOURITE part). Overall, I had a great time reading this book and recommend it to fans of Emily Wilde, A Feather so Black, and cozy, otherworldly fantasy. Sylvie Cathrall succeeded in creating a vivid underwater world that I cannot wait to return to in the sequel.

Thank you so much to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me an early copy to review.

This cover is gorgeous and I was drawn in because of that and because it is written as letters between two people. Letter writing is a wonderful thing though sadly it is falling by the wayside nowadays. I have read a few books written this way and I find it enjoyable. And I did enjoy this story with its setting on some mystical water world set in the future, but also a bit of past, due to lost technology and reinvented items so that these people could survive in the depths of the oceans after a long ago great fall from the sky.

With letters and communications between Sophy and Vyerin as they search to find out what happened to their siblings E. and Henerey, uncovering letters sent and received hinting at a long held secret relating to the Deep House where E. resided. Excitement but also comfy because of the letter format making it a meandering uncovering of the truth by grief ridden siblings and I enjoyed how the chance letter that E. sent to Henerey led to a sweet little friendship and then romance between two people so well suited to each other and how it will change the future, even after their disappearance.

Really looking forward to seeing what the next book holds, after all that was found out by Sophy and Vyerin and I really hope that they can find E. and Henerey!

I had high hopes for this one, especially since I love epistolary romances, but unfortunately, I ended up DNFing it. That’s not a reflection of the book itself, just a case of it not being the right fit for me. It reminded me a lot of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies, which I enjoyed, but this one felt a bit too stiff for my taste. Maybe I simply wasn’t in the mood for it. That said, if you enjoy stories told through letters and are drawn to fantasy and folklore, this might be a book worth picking up!

This book was like slipping into a warm, enchanted tide pool - gentle, immersive, and brimming with hidden wonders. The underwater world-building was stunning, with its magical academia and delicate social intrigue, creating an atmosphere that felt both whimsical and grounded. The epistolary romance added such a tender charm, slowly unfolding through letters that were equal parts intellectual curiosity and heartfelt longing. It’s the kind of slow burn that sneaks up on you, leaving you completely invested in these anxious, kind-hearted scholars.

I adored how the story balanced its cozy, introspective tone with moments of mystery and discovery, and the nosy, loving families added a lovely warmth to the narrative. If you’re a fan of thoughtful, atmospheric fantasy with a dash of romance and a lot of heart, this book delivers beautifully. I already want to dive back into this world.

DNF.

The last thing I want to do after a long day of work is sit down and read this book that feels like I need a masters degree to understand.

The first ten minutes of reading is a huge information dump, it feels like someone threw a thesaurus at it and as you continue it doesn’t get better!!

Like all books it takes time to set the scene and explain the story but this felt like hard work!!

I hate DNF and I rarely do it but I just can’t continue, I’ve never put a book down so fast.

I have no idea what’s going on, who anyone is and absolutely nothing about this book made me want to keep trying. Very disappointing because the description sounded great and the cover is beautiful…. But my time is worth more than struggling through a book I don’t enjoy and I will not be attempting to continue this.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.

So, I’ve read this before but totally forgot and requested it a second time in preparation for book 2’s release.
My original review: “An epistolary romance set in an underwater world with magical academia? I was so ready to dive right into this. However, this light academia romance isn't quite for me, but I am giving extra stars for the cover alone. I really wanted to like this book but I could not get into this style of writing. I found myself quite bored and thought the pace was really slow.”
My updated review: I’m a moron — okay not actually, clearly my tastes have changed. I really enjoyed this. The multiple timelines being told across these letters was super fun and I think it was done really well. I’m still in love with the cover and I finally managed to get a copy of the Fairyloot edition which will be here TODAY (so excited!!)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of A Letter to the Luminous Deep!

It is the story of Sophy who lost her sister E. and has a look at letters that E. kept. She sees that most of her correspondence was with Henerey who was with E. and suffered the same fate. She then contacts his brother Vyerin to have a broader picture of her sister and their relationship.

I LOVE epistolary novels, so this book was made for me! It was such a cozy, sweet, and intriguing novel, I adored it. I was EATING E. and Henerey’s letters, their first “encounter” and how they would talk to each other was so so sweet.

I started to feel like it was getting long towards the end, but I think it’s only because by then I realised that there would be another book (which I’m quite excited about and plan on reading!)

It was also nice to learn more about the lives of E. and Henerey’s friends and family.

I would highly recommend it!

“A letter to the luminous deep” is a mystery-romance with light academia tones. The peculiarity and absolute strong point of this novel is its epistolary narrative, which although at the beginning it is a little difficult to get along with many characters and unusual terms, the reading quickly becomes very fluent and interesting, while remaining too vague towards the underwater world where the protagonists live, whose nature and characteristics remain highly nebulous, and the whole story is extremely difficult to visualize in the mind, with the risk of losing the reader's attention and the grip on his imagination. This factor did not allow me to fully enjoy the book, also thanks to a mystery that was perhaps stretched out a little too much.