This was just the magical, mysterious read I was needing to read. The City of Stardust is about the Everly family and a curse that has been passed down for centuries. Every generation an Everly is taken because of a curse that no one understands nor can stop. It follows Violet Everly- a girl born into a cursed family, left behind by her mother while her secretive uncles raised her, inheriting a dark burden she is unprepared for. But she is determined to either find her mother or break the curse, and that will draw her into a darkly magical world filled with those who care only for power.

I was surprised to know that this was a debut book, as the writing is just so beautiful. I will say, though, that I didn't think that Aleksander’s point of view added anything to the plot. I loved journeying with Violet through worlds of magical portals, scholars, secrets and fallen gods. I absolutely would have read this as a duology!

I am probably not the right reader for this book; I thought I'd be the great fit because "obsessed with fantasy" is an understatement to my personality. It read like upper YA/new adult, and the main female character was hard for me to vibe with. I found her to be bothersome. There wasn't a lot of world building/foundation laying for me as a reader either.

2.5 stars

It's so sad when a book oozes potential and fails to do anything with it. I'm so disappointed.

The cover and title are interesting and compelling, yeah? They make you think you'll get this complex fantasy of magic and generational curses and the young girl who works to change her life for the better. Unfortunately, the cover and title embody everything the story fails to deliver.

The first thing that started to fall apart for me was the pacing. The moment when the readers buy into the story -- I believe it's called the "inciting incident" -- is hard to identify and either comes too early or too late. And then it's weirdly slow (in a bad way), speeds up, and is resolved too easily. It's all just off and it makes it hard to read.

The world building is sparse and hard to follow. There isn't enough done to establish that parts of the story take place in the world as we know it and other parts take place <i>elsewhere</i>. The characters are flat and difficult to connect with. Violet isn't strong enough to carry this story. And her upbringing makes it very hard to believe she'd suddenly navigate the world so easily and fearlessly. Side characters are treated as convienient pawns, coming and going as the plot necessitates but never sticking around long enough to have a significant impact.

The only character who has a strong, clear desire is Penelope.

The thing that really makes me sad is that the prose is very well done! I rarely feel compelled to annotate books with ratings this low but there were multiple instances where the writing touched me. I have several highlights and bookmarked pages and I just wish the other elements matched up to it.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one.

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, Redhook, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The City of Stardust has all the makings of a compelling dark fantasy—an ancient family curse, an ageless villain, and a protagonist fighting to break free. But while the concept is intriguing, the execution left a lot to be desired.

Violet, our main character, struggles to carry the weight of the story. It’s one thing for a protagonist to be naïve, but her lack of growth makes the plot feel heavier than it should. The side characters feel flimsy, and while Penelope brings some much-needed menace, even she can’t quite hold everything together. The romance between Violet and Aleksander is predictable, and while he has potential, his arc never fully develops.

The world-building had moments of brilliance (the concept of keys was intriguing), but it lacked structure. The formatting in the ARC didn’t help either—scene and POV shifts felt abrupt, making the reading experience choppy. Add in an inconsistent pace and a climax that felt too simple for the buildup, and it’s hard not to feel let down.

There’s talent here, and I can see how some readers might enjoy the ethereal writing style, but for me, this one missed the mark. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodderscape) for the eARC!

City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is a captivating and magical journey that blends adventure, romance, and fantasy in an enchanting setting. The story follows a young woman who discovers a hidden world of wonder and danger beneath the surface of a city full of secrets. Summers' writing is lush and immersive, with vivid world-building that draws readers into a city where stardust holds power and mystery. The chemistry between the protagonist and her intriguing love interest adds an emotional depth to the plot, while the fast-paced action keeps things thrilling. City of Stardust is a beautifully crafted fantasy that will appeal to fans of magical realism and heart-pounding adventure.

City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is an atmospheric fantasy brimming with curses, magic, and an underworld of gods and scholars. Violet Everly’s quest to find her missing mother—and break her family’s generational curse—takes her through a lushly imagined world filled with intrigue and danger. Summers’ prose is rich and immersive, creating a beautifully whimsical backdrop for the adventure.

However, the novel struggles with pacing and narrative structure. Frequent point-of-view shifts dilute the suspense, and Violet’s journey often feels repetitive. The romance, while intriguing in concept, lacks depth, relying on fleeting moments rather than meaningful development. The magic system and worldbuilding, though creative, could have been more fleshed out.

Despite its flaws, City of Stardust is an engaging read with a captivating premise and a dreamlike quality that will appeal to fans of lyrical fantasy. While it doesn’t fully deliver on its potential, it’s an enjoyable, if occasionally uneven, adventure.

This was a lovely read and one I’ll be recommending to fantasy reader friends! Great fun. Loveable characters.

The plot and cover drew me into this story and I loved the premise of magical keys and generational curses and felt like the cover really embodied the story. The author has a beautiful way of writing prose and it gives the story an almost ethereal like quality.

The biggest takeaway I took from this story is it has potential.

What starts as such an intriguing premise quickly devolves into flat worldbuilding and one dimensional characters. I feel like there’s so much more about this world that could have been said to make things clearer and I’m unsure if this was a concious choice - like if the author plans to reveal more in another book - or if this was just the author choosing not to expand.

My favorite stories are character driven and I adore stories that make me invest and love the characters. Unfortunately I barely remember much about these. I feel like we barely scraped the surface of who Violet and Aleksander are and would have loved to see them fleshed out more (especially in regards to their relationship). I also felt like there wasn’t much character growth as we continue to see Violet make the same naive mistakes over and over again.

While it was an easy enough read, I feel like this needed more development before going out in the world.

Georgia Summers masterfully crafts a world as mesmerizing and boundless as it is poignant, reminiscent of the magical realms in ‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’ and ‘The Starless Sea,’ making ‘The City of Stardust’ an unputdownable, spellbinding debut.

"A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut."

This book was okay, but it was difficult to finish it. I almost dnf'd it. I didn't like the relationship between the main character and her brothers, or her relationship with Alex. I didn't like the manipulations and lies. It didn't feel like a romance at all to me. I kept reading hoping it would get better, but it didn't. The book has potential, but it needs a lot of work.

Review: The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

Based on the marketing, The City of Stardust seemed like a perfect fit for me, promising a blend of lyrical writing and a captivating plot. However, I found that the purple prose overshadowed the storytelling, making it difficult to fully engage with the narrative. While the world-building and premise had potential, the plot felt meandering and didn’t resonate with me as much as I’d hoped. Though beautifully written, it ultimately lacked the balance I look for in immersive fantasy. Fans of rich, poetic language might appreciate it more than I did.

This was an enjoyable read, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The world-building is beautifully detailed, and I loved the concept of a city filled with magic and mystery. However, I found the pacing a bit slow at times, and I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I hoped. There were moments where the story really shined, especially with the magical elements, but overall it felt like it could have gone a bit deeper. Still, if you’re into whimsical, slow-burn fantasy, it’s worth a read!

If you like Erin Morgenstern's works (Starless Sea, The Night Circus), I would recommend you check out The City of Stardust. The City of Stardust is perfect for readers who prefer atmospheric worlds and enchanting writing, but is slightly weaker when it comes to plot.

The prose is absolutely stunning and really sucks you right into the world of The City of Stardust. The setting is fairytale like, with elements of wonder and beauty, but also of darkness. Summers's writing is immersive, putting you right into the head of Violet, our main character. The pacing is smooth and flows continuously, never getting bogged down in details. Summers did a great job building out the world beyond what was needed just for the main plot line.

Violet is a great main character for the fairytale story, although I did feel somewhat like she was just getting pulled around by the plot. Her development isn't that strong, but she was fun to follow and I really enjoyed how strong the theme of family was. The entire book revolves around family and loyalty, and Summers absolutely nails these aspects. I fully believe that Violet and her uncles are family and that they care for each other incredibly deeply. It's really interesting watching them struggle between their inherent love for their sister/Violet's mother and the anger or sadness caused by her abandonment.

One of my favorite things about The City of Stardust is how it handles the idea of a story. Throughout the book, while searching for her mother, Violet is told the same story from different people, each with a new perspective of view. And by the end, there is no clear true answer. No singular story that is the truth, because they all both are and aren't. It leaves a somewhat open ending, but I really like that Violet was able to move past and into her own story.

Unfortunately, other parts of the story are also left unanswered and not in an interesting way. No spoilers, but a large part of the plot felt unsatisfying by the end, since there was no wrap up. I usually like open ended endings, but this one didn't leave me thinking, it just left me disappointed. There's also a few elements of the plot that just felt like Violet jumping from point A to point B with a time skip, and I wish that we had been shown more of what actually happens between those points.

Overall, this was a really atmospheric and enchanting read, but not super memorable because of the weaker character and plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this.
I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to see what other books the author does. I liked the plot, character interactions, and worldbuilding.

I loved the world building on this. The myth and lore around it was beautifully crafted. I would recommend this to fans of The Starless Sea; it's a bit less complex but just as beautiful.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this ARC.

2.5 stars

The City of Stardust is a magical dark fantasy that does lack a little bit of character development. In my opinion, the main character is a little naïve and underdeveloped. I also felt like the story was rushed and the world building a little flat,

I do think this story had potential to be great, but it just wasn't quite there.

This was a very long book where not a whole lot happened. The writing was very pretty, felt a little like the flowery descriptive tone from The Starless Sea by Morganstern, but with no real plot to find up until the end. The concept of the story was very cool, but the execution was dragged out and boring and by the end of the story I was not engaged with the book at all, it was just a task to finish. There were some very great ideas of magic and world building, but not a lot to connect to the reader. On the positive, I am pretty sure this is a standalone

“The City of Stardust” by Georgia Summers is a beautifully written novel with an engaging premise. A generational family curse and a hidden doorways leading to a magical world! The prose is whimsical, using beautifully descriptive phrases as the characters engaging in conversation or when describing the setting. However, the characters fell flat for me. They seemed one-dimensional and forgettable. Despite the beautiful writing, the pacing was choppy and many storylines felt unfinished or rushed. I was often left wanting more.

Despite not being fully satisfied with the story, it is still an enjoyable read and I look forward to more from this author as she explores and grows her craft.

Thank you NetGallery and the publisher for allowing me to read this wonderful ARC and providing an unbiased and honest review.

I really tried to like this story. I tried starting it several times but it felt like it was a book you had to pay attention to every word on the page. I also sometimes grew bored of the writing style and felt like the characters felt two dimensional. I didn't really get an emotional connection with Violet and I honestly hated the love interest. I love the premise but it just felt like it was trying to be an epic story without any build up. I also grew confused with why the villain was going after the main character the more they tried to explain the plot. I then grew bored of her issues because parts where just redundant and characters never showed any growth. I appreciate the chance to read the story but wish there was more dimension in the character development.

The City of Stardust is a dark fantasy set in a magical underworld full of curses, monsters, love and revenge.