After enjoying Morgenstern's first book, this was disappointing. I found it highly confusing and some parts downright boring. The romance threaded through was thinly developed and not convincing. It just felt like a relief to get done with it.

I was so excited that Erin Morgenstern was writing a second book. This one was just not on the same caliber as The Night Circus. I abandoned the book while reading it and decided to give it a second try by listening to it. Only to make it 20% in the book where I was completely lost and abandoned it again.

definitely have mixed feelings about this book and can't wait to talk about it with people once it comes out in November. Much like the book itself, the thoughts in this review are very scattered.

This book is definitely a love letter to stories and storytelling. It took me a bit to get into, with all of the overlapping stories and broken threads of plot. Once I got used to the format, I actually really liked the "stories within the story" and "books within the book." The fairy tales were very enjoyable and added to the story themed world very well.

It is definitely an intricate fantasy world, and at times it was difficult to recall connections from the tales to the main plot. Other times I thought the connections were very clever and I really enjoyed them. I wish there had been one more section from Kat's perspective at the end just to sum things up a tiny bit more, but I think that choice was intentional based on the quote listed below.

"Endings are what give stories meaning. I don't know if I believe that. I think the whole story has meaning but I also think to have a whole story-shaped story it needs some sort of resolution. Not even a resolution, some appropriate place to leave it. A goodbye. I think the best stories feel like they are still going, somewhere, out in story space." (Kat)

I really liked Kat's character and found her voice and curiosity very natural. Mirabel was another favorite character. I didn't find the relationship between Zachary and Dorian super believable (it was more told than shown I felt), other than the explanation that they were brought together by Fate.

Of course, it was beautifully written (as expected from Morgenstern) and had some fabulous quotes. There are so many more, but these are the ones I bookmarked:

"We are all stardust and stories." (Simon)

"A book is made of paper but a story is a tree" (Kat)

“Everyone wants the stars. Everyone wishes to grasp that which exists out of reach. To hold the extraordinary in their hands and keep the remarkable in their pockets.” (the star merchant)

This book took me a very, very long time to finish. It was very good - the prose was intricate and expansive, the plot built in a beautiful lace scaffolding, the characters were nuanced and compelling... but it didn't grab me. I enjoyed the process of reading it and appreciated so much of what Morgenstern does with her writing, yet it just didn't quick click with me. I'm a little sad about that, honestly, and I recognize that this may be one of the books that I come back to in ten years and just adore. I look forward to that being the case.

Such a different book from The Night Circus, but one that is so good in that difference. A bit hard to get started but once the story takes you, you can't put it down! The characters are unique and intriguing and the plot keeps you guessing until the very end of the book.

Fantastic follow up to The Night Circus! Atmospheric and enthralling. Definitely will be recommending to my library customers.

I really wanted to love this book, but it was perplexing. I'm not sure what I actually felt about this book. It was a struggle to really get into and stay invested in the world. It was beautifully written, but something held me back from loving it entirely. I hope that I'll come back to it one day and enjoy it even more.

In The Starless Sea, we are introduced to one main character and his story, with many metaphorical and allegorical stories interjected within the main story. While the concept should be applauded for this writing style, the execution of it seemed very convoluted and to a point confusing. The world building was a character in itself, at which Ms. Morgenstern does an amazing job, but with the plethora of things going on, the reader is jarred from one story to the next as though on a rollercoaster.

Erin Morgenstern's long awaited second novel did not disappoint, although it doesn't quite reach the high level storytelling and magnetic characters from her debut, The Night Circus.
The Starless Sea can only be described as a journey into another world beneath our own, a place in which a magical library containing endless stories resides, a harbor among many of The Starless Sea, a place that is revealed to be in danger of disappearing for good.
Witn an unsuspecting main character who falls into this magical word and other interesting characters in between, much like in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere Morgenstern's book is an entryway into an alternate reality where some dreams come true and others, like paper on fire, wither and fade.

The son of a fortune teller, Zachary Ezra Rawlins, finds a book. The book leads him into a very, very strange world, of intrigue, mystery in the olden sense, stories that twist, turn, and intertwine with Fate and Time. The tale is multi-faceted, and slowly culminates in an end and a beginning. The reader needs to build up the picture of the whole tale out of scattered parts that only later makes sense. So if you do not like slow books, read something else. But if you enjoy immersing yourself in a very strange world, pick up The Starless Sea and dive in.

An imaginative fantasy book about books and stories within stories. I liked how the audio used the different readers and how various sections informed the others. My guess is the author would be an excellent Dungeon Master.

I don’t really know how to rate this. Parts of this book are a solid four stars, but parts of this book are also definitely two stars. For the first half or so I almost gave up on this. The second half I enjoyed a lot and could see the point of the first part. I still think, after reaching the end successfully, that the beginning is kind of a mess. There’s just too much jumping around and descriptions and stuff that things are just one big useless muddle. The descriptions were just too much for me after a point and it went from magical to overwhelmingly cluttered. And yes it does get tied together (mostly), but I shouldn’t have to spend half the book hating it before things pull together. Still way better than The Night Circus though. Kind of Shadow of the Wind meets Neverwhere meets Alice in Wonderland.

Beautiful ode to the power of story and finding your own way, set in prose where sound, smell, and taste come alive thanks to Morgenstern’s magic.

The Starless Sea is a worthy successor to The Night Circus, with a similarly dreamy feel. I loved finding connections from the story sections within the narrative chapters. This is a book to be savored!

Erin Morgenstern never fails to impress. I first fell in love with her storytelling with the Night Circus & the starless sea was just as breathtaking. Her storytelling ability is unparalleled. She still remains one of my favorites, and I would definitely reccomend this book as a must feed.

I really enjoyed the characters of this story, but the story itself lost me at times. That may have been due to reading right before bedtime, though. Morgenstern builds a fantastical world in the Harbor and the Starless Sea, definitely a place I'd like to visit.

Zachary finds a book in his college library -- no author, no barcode, and the story does not end. This story sends him on a quest to find out more about the mysterious book, the mysterious woman, the intriguing man, and the strange underground world filled with stories and books he has stumbled upon.

I loved this book!! Zachary's story is interspersed with the stories of others and every other chapter takes us to a different location and different story, but they are all connected somehow. I couldn't wait until I could see how all the pieces across the "real" world, across the mysterious underground world, and across time would intersect. I rooted for Zachary to have his "happily ever after" with Dorian.

Clearly this is not a book for everyone, and many of the published reviews (in note-worthy publications) were not kind. Yes, it did drag a bit in the middle and the story does move randomly among the various stories, but I just let myself go with the story and trust the author to tie it all together. I think she did that very well. I was in awe that she was able to keep track of all the characters, settings, and storylines. Well done.

Beautiful imagery is what kept me reading despite my struggle to follow the storyline. Loved The Night Circus but this was quite different and only a select audience will find it appealing.

Perfect, magical, delightful. Top 10 books of the year already. Will re-read and have a full review to come.

Morgenstern has a very poetic and lyrical form of writing. This story was beautifully told but almost too obtuse to figure out.