The City of Stardust

This standalone story is a true fairytale and is told like one. As a reader you feel like you are being pushed forward in someone else's dream, relentlessly.
I have finished this book in two days because I could not stop listening. In the end though, I was still left with questions. They were the good kind of questions, not the ones where you think the author could have tied everything up better. No, the ones where you wonder what has happened and what might still be happening, and what the meaning is in all this.
This debut book has been compared to Addie LaRue and other stories, but to me it has way more Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets Neil Gaiman vibes.
The audiobook narration puzzled me at first, because I had the feeling it was too matter-of-factly and with too little emotions. After a while though I realized it was completely fitting for the story, and added to this slightly detached fairytale vibe.
I liked the characters, but they are not this book's strongest suit. It's more their place in this wondrous world that makes them intriguing.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks @hodderbooks for both the eARC and the ALC.

#CityOfStardust #netgalley #bookstagram

I received an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book took my breath away. The writing is stunning, the characters complex, the plot interesting. There is angst, betrayal, magic and a smattering of romance. What's not to like?!

I understand other reviews saying it was too descriptive, but for me it was so immersive I just couldn't stop listening. If you don't like the more dark, descriptive, beautiful type of fantasy (you will know what I mean if this is you!) this might not be the book for you, but I LOVED it!

The audiobook experience was so good - the narration was 10/10 for me, it suited the vibes of the book and the characters perfectly. I will honestly be thinking about this book for weeks to come and I will be picking up a physical copy so I can also have the experience of reading it in book format.

I think this book would suit fans of strange the dreamer, uprooted, the night circus and the bear and the nightingale.

This was an absolutely fantastic tale all about familial curses, doors to other worlds and betrayal among friends and family! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job bringing these worlds to life. Perfect for fans of The Starless Sea and Ten Thousand Doors of January!

THE CITY OF STARDUST is an ethereal fantasy about crossing worlds and a curse that must be unravelled.

There is a whimsical, ethereal, haunting feel to this book. I spent a lot of time trying to decide if it was the writing style (and the third person, present tense narration) or Kitty Parker's way of reading it. Either way, I really liked it. It was a bit like floating on clouds, watching this story that was not quite in our world unfurl.

Violet is the main narrator but Aleksander and Penelope also narrate. I really enjoyed getting to see what Penelope was up to, see the lengths she'd go to and just how chillingly impersonal she was. The third person really came into its own here, allowing for a distant POV in Penelope's chapters so her thoughts didn't come through. Instead, the focus was all on her actions, letting that coldness really come through. Without her motivations (at least in the opening acts before Violet uncovers them), it comes across as very chilling because it's hard to understand the rationale behind these actions.

I enjoyed the exploration of the absent mother-child relationship, Violet's yearning but also frustration. It is a journey of acceptance and letting go, even while not really being able to because of that gap left by abandonment at a young age. I liked the way it ended up, the way Marianne breaks some of the (limiting, patriarchal) expectations of motherhood we have this society.

It is a very strong debut and I look forward to more books by the author.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and was highly impressed by the story itself and the fairytale style of wording that was used to craft together this story.

The City of Stardust is an intricate world that lies away from our own world, separate and known but only a select few. We watch Violet Emerly grow up and suffer at the hands of fate and with a deep despair that follows her. Something unrelated to any of her own actions, an ancient curse which she seeks to free herself from.

It is a wonderful tale of a dreamer who has a strange relationship with her family, has been hidden away from the world for reasons that had been kept from her and as she starts to dip her toes into the wider world, discovers more about herself and her familial line, dating back so many generations, she is left with nothing but terrible choices before her.

I won’t spoil anything so I’ll try to be as vague as possible but the story starts slowly, almost a bit too slowly for me but it does pick up speed in a graceful way, building tension and despair well as the story unfolds. There is one character who I am still annoyed at even after the book has ended. There is a romance that blossoms with Violet and a male character which could almost be enemies to lovers except, I don’t think she ever really had any negative feelings towards him despite *things that happen*. That character was beginning to make me angry by their choices and actions, although, from their POV I can understand why they did what they did but there is a scene towards the end that had me in tears, grateful for what they decide and say.

That ending also had me in tears! Partly from relief, and in a strange way, from the romance of it. You should probably check out the trigger warnings because as much as it starts off free of violence, despite the psychological terror inflicted, there are some violent scenes further into the story that are gory and will cause some distress. Overall, I felt like this was a wonderful story and I really enjoyed it.

The City of Stardust is out on 25/01/2024
#TheCityOfStardust #NetGalley

I absolutely loved listening to this book.

Both the writing and narration were gripping and set an incredible overall tone and pace.

Part of this novel gave me the same feeling as the part of the Harry Potter novels where they are looking for horcruxes but instead of a trio, imagine it's just Hermione as the chosen one and she's gone looking on her own. An intelligent heroine with a steadfast determination to complete her goal, whom still possesses a somewhat childlike (said with affection) desire to trust despite history telling a different story.

It's ultimately a story about family, self-discovery, and trust.

What I loved most about this book is that it's complex without being complicated. The magic system is not overly complicated meaning the reader does not get bogged down in the details and pulled out of the story to try make sense of what they are reading. It's blended quite seamlessly into the writing and truly helps set the dark academia tone of secrecy and impending danger.

This is 4.5 read for me, rate up to 5

I absolutely adored the premise of this story! I thought it was so original compared to others I’ve picked up recently - I loved the dark element to it and was compelled to keep listening to find out where the story was headed.

The audio narrative was great, it was engaging and easy to digest and the fantasy elements were all easy to follow.

I really enjoyed the complexity in the dynamic between Violet and Aleksander. I thought Penelope was an exceptional villain - I loved the exploration of her character.

Overall this was a compelling story, filled with magic, intrigue and I just loved the mystery of it all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my audio copy of this book.

I'm loving the audio book very much .
highly captivating and atmospheric , love the narrator really helps you feel like you're in the story .
i would even read along with the book gives you a better sense of what is happening and will make you feel like your one of the characters

as i had read the book i knew what was coming but this made it 100 times more amazing .

I'm giving this amazing spellbinding 5 stars

The City of Stardust is a beautifully written dark tale and the high stakes of Violet’s life had me gripped until the very end. The prose is lyrical, reminiscent of The Night Circus and the world-building was filled with a soft magic system. Georgia wrote a captivating antagonist who was rationally violent and immoveable that makes it so easy to feel terrified of. I adored the relationship Violet had with her uncles, a relationship seen infrequently in fantasy books.

Kitty Parker gave a solid and straight performance of the book. However I hope the final edit of the audiobook will shorten the silence between the end of a chapter and the beginning of the next. These silent pauses are too long and many times I have found myself checking the app to see if I had accidentally paused the audiobook.

Overall, I had adored The City of Stardust and look forward to reading it again.

This book was the perfect standalone. It sucked me right in to a world of keys, stars and gods. I was engulfed into a world of keys and stars, and the push and pull between the main character and a mysterious enemy. Her quest to save her family and herself made for the perfect voyage and fantasy story. I can’t wait to for what Georgia Summers writes next!

Kitty Parker narrated the audiobook exceptionally well. She brings the characters to life, is clear, expressive. Her delivery enhances the story, making the audiobook a captivating experience.

All in all a great book with a great audiobook.

Summary: Violet Everly, facing a family curse, searches for her vanished mother in a magical realm, confronting gods, scholars, and a mysterious assistant.

Written like a dark, academia fairytale this trancing book will take you into a world of stars, cities, and a family that have a dark mystery to solve. This spellbinding will take you on a journey to discover watch each key holds. For those who love a mystery and academia novel this is definitely one of the 2024 books. You need to add to your pre-order list immediately.

It didn’t grip me as much as I hoped it would, I think I was expecting a bit more fantasy and magic (hence still 5 star as that is a personal preference not anything from the book) but it turned out to be more mystery and academia which, to be honest, if you do like that kind of book 100%, this is definitely a book you need to read.

Marianne Everly is walks away from her cottage in a torrential thunderstorm, some ancient magic is calling to her. She leaves behind her daughter Violet and brothers, Gabriel and Ambrose who raise Violet, but from time to time a strange woman visits bringing a boy in tow and Violet is sure there is something about her family that is being kept from her.

An epic fantasy novel, this is a truly incredible debut from Georgia Summers. Incredible world building and magical systems, I seriously hope there are more books to be set in this universe. Penelope is a fantastic antagonist, truly loathsome, whilst also elegant. Each character is well rounded with a decent backstory and just the right amount of intrigue left to keep you enthralled. I listened to this over 2 days and loved every minute of it.

My only gripe is the pacing, the first 40-50% was quite slow paced and then there was quite a lot of action in the last 30%, so I feel it could have been spread out a little more.

The narrator is also excellent, her great character voicing and expression really elevates the book making it immersive.

This story is so beautiful and lyrical. Not like anything I’ve read before.
The magic system is really interesting, and the world building is vivid.
The audiobook was great.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the audio arc of The city of stardust by Georgia Summers.
Such a beautiful dark fantasy story. Highly recommend! Narrator was amazing, and gelled with the story perfectly.

A Deliciously Dark Fantasy

I loved this debut novel by Georgia Summers. She has created a wonderful dark and magical tale with characters dripped in mystical intrigue in a dark and magical atmosphere.

This is a beautiful story of a young girl and her quest for knowledge about her family and her journey to find the truth. It has a flavour of dark academia and a sprinkling of romance.

The audiobook was exceptionally narrated by Kitty Parker. Her diction was delightful and her rich toned voice drew me straight into the story wanting more.

Overall a beautifully written magical fantasy and I can't wait for more books from Georgia Summers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley @hodderbooks @ge_summers for the this Audiobook ARC

Wow what an absolutely wonderful surprise this book was, Georgia Summers has created a gorgeously atmospheric fairytale esque tale, it fully immerses you, consumes you- I finished this book in a few hours I couldn't put it down.

The Everly's are a cursed family, a curse that calls for one from in each generation to be sacrificed! Violet Everly is a dreamer who has been kept safe by her scholarly uncles but as she starts to find her way in the world she is plunged in to a fairy tale and a quest reliant on unpicking her familial history.

I adored the way that we discovered the world along with Violet we were right there with her as she unpicked the clues and peeled back her family history, the world was so complicated and sprawling however Georgia Summers makes it so uncomplicated. The writing is so poetic and yet so accessible it read beautifully.

The villain in this book is truly exceptional, I though the exploration and development of this character was so good. One of the other aspects that I really enjoyed was the exploration of the mother-daughter relationship and this set against the truly heartwarming relationship Violet had with her uncles felt quite different.

This book has dark elements and as the story develops there are some violent and gory scenes so please check content warnings,

I thought that the audio narration was wonderful Kitty Parker was fantastic- I listened along as I read the book which is probably my favourite reading experience and it was great- I listen at 2 x speed and there was no loss of clarity at all! I do feel that the pauses between chapters was slightly too long and I think that will probably be picked up in the final edits and obviously took nothing away from the performance.

I am not a massive fan of standalone books mainly because if I love them I miss the characters but also because there's sometimes that feeling like the story is wrapped up very quickly at the end but this book is well paced and wraps up in I think the most perfect way, it was the ending I needed.

I've seen this described as perfect for readers who loved The Starless Sea and Ten Thousand Doors of January and I would definitely agree it has that whimsical and at times almost Ethereal style, for me I also had a lot of the feelings I got when I read Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe,

I'd first like to thank Netgalley, the publishers, and of course the author Georgia Summers for early access to the audiobook. 

This book drew me in almost instantly, the way Summers writes is lyrical and dark - half the time I felt like I was listening to an epic poem rather than narrative prose and I think that suits the story perfectly. 

With deeply complex characters who make engaging choices that are undeniably exactly what that person would do and a storyline that requires real attention I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone looking for an engaging and deep story. 

The narrator did a phenomenal job, Kitty Parker's voice is mesmerising and ill definitely be listening to more by her. Bonus points for being speedup-able for my fellow ADHD girlies, she's measured and well paced with enough emotion to feel connected but not so much that it overwhelms.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let me get started on how beautifully narrated this book is. Kitty Parker does an incredible job of bringing this magical story to life. The narration made for incredibly easy listening and easily kept my attention throughout the whole novel.

This book was truly stunning. The prose alone is a work of art and an absolute joy to listen to. It perfectly suits the pacing of the story, allowing you to savour the brilliance of this story and its settings.

It is a beautifully crafted standalone novel, perfect for anyone who enjoyed The Starless Sea. It is full of magic and whimsy. An absolute joy to read!

Secret societies, magical cities, angels and demons and a search for meaning and home in the darkest and most desperate of times.

This book is a beautiful love letter to storytelling, to myths and dark academia and magical worlds and the people we cling to to survive. Following our main character from her lonely childhood to her fierce questing adulthood, and the way her life intertwines with the kindest and most tortured scholar you'll ever meet, I felt just so many things reading this book.

I've seen this book compared a lot to The Starless Sea, and while the aesthetics and structure are certainly similar, I think this somewhat misleads the reader as to the overall plot. I would compare it additionally to things such as Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, Alix E Harrow's Starling House, and VE Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic. The portal fantasy of it all is fairly undersold in all the reviews I've seen so far!

Also weirdly specific things I loved: Violet's cafe job felt so real! The author must be a barista or have barista friends (not to mention any other cafe based books that clearly looked at baristas through a customer-tinted perspective, but...). Also, the book being written in 3rd person present! I grew up reading this tense all the time in fan fiction, but it rarely gets any spotlight in traditional publishing. It really makes the story feel so much more intimate in each perspective and I really loved returning to that!

The narrator is super engaging and has a great sense of pace and grandeur, their voice is dynamic and gives depth and differentiation to both the characters and the narrative voice. Would definitely listen to them again!

4.5 stars

Published 25th January 2024.

I think we might be looking at the next huge fantasy book that is going to be talked about for years to come!

With comparisons to The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, I knew this would be a truly special and magical read, but I did not expect to be blown away by it as much as I was.

Firstly, the fact that this is a debut is astonishing. The craft that Georgia Summers shows here isn't present in many established writers who I regularly read from - it is a phenomenal standard that other authors should be aspiring to. Alongside her world building and character development, Summers' writing had such a cinematic quality that I could totally see this story being adapted (and equally adored) for the big screen.

In Violet, we have the best kind of main character that everyone can relate to. I mean, who can say they never dreamt of adventure and magical worlds when they were younger? To see her growth throughout the novel was an absolute joy and her strength and commitment to her quest is something to be admired. In her adversary - Penelope - we have a VERY Mrs Coulter (His Dark Materials)-esque villain who stoops to the lowest of lows to get what she wants (Actually there's low, and then there's Penelope's definition of low!!)

Just the most astonishingly enchanting and magical book that I hope gets all the praise it deserves.

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.

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.

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.

The hype is real. I've heard a lot about this so I was delighted to be able to get both audio and ebook arcs on @netgalley. It's difficult to believe that this is a debut novel, it's so good. Reminiscent of Erin Morgenstern and Laini Taylor, this lush ethereal fairytale for grown ups consumed me.
I listened to most of it driving to and from work, reluctant to leave the car at either end and leave the characters behind before swallowing the ending in one frenzied reading chunk on Saturday.
This story is fraught with tension as the Violet races to end the curse that has taken one member of her family every generation for centuries, racing against a deadline to save her own life whilst battling her feelings for Alexander the boy beholden to the very person that cursed her family. All of the characters are rich and complex and the world is so lush. Even the villain evokes sympathy even as you want to throttle the life out of her for the trail of destruction she wreaks across the story.
I long to spend more time with these characters to see Fidelis and the other worlds.
@ge_summers style is literary but yet not pretentious, and Kitty Parker narrates it so beautifully like a softly gripping bedtime story so even in Penelope's bloodiest most vicious moments it feels like some kind of lucid dream one, the terror and the horror are real but yet it feels like it did as a child reading fairytales at bed time, the witch might be wicked but you're safe in your bed, wrapped in a warm duvet. (Even if in reality I was attempting to drive down the M62 whilst cursing it's endless traffic jams and supposedly 'smart' motorway)
This is an instant modern classic and I intend to throw it at all my friends with ferocity.

City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is an enchanting journey into a world brimming with magic, stardust, and mysteries. The author's debut captivates with a tale of the Everlys, haunted by a forgotten crime and an enigmatic tormentor, Penelope, who defies time. Violet Everly, the last in her line, embarks on a compelling quest to break the curse before she becomes its victim. Summers weaves a spellbinding narrative filled with power-hungry scholars, capricious gods, and vengeful monsters. The hunt for Violet's missing mother unfolds in a seductive magical underworld, where trust is elusive. The chemistry between Violet and the enigmatic Aleksander adds layers of intrigue. As time ticks away, the story takes readers on a mesmerizing journey to unlock the secrets of the city of stardust. A five-star read that combines suspense, magic, and a dash of romance, leaving you eagerly anticipating more from this talented debut author.