Another case of wanting to love but falling short.
I thought this would be very Night Circus-esque, but I felt bored half the time. I also didn't feel the romance much at all, and the big mystery of the book was never even resolved. Basically it was okay, but the execution wasn't there for me.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review **

In this story, we follow Violet Everly on her adventure to break her family's curse.

I feel like I first need to talk about how this is the first ARC I've found myself highlighting passages in, which is to say I did love the writing style. It was very reminiscent of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in that regard. I can definitely see how readers who enjoyed Addie would enjoy this one.

The plot was an interesting one filled with magic, gods, and fairytales. That's what drew me in initially and is part of the reason that I stayed until the end. It was all very interesting though bits and pieces still remain a mystery.

The characters I did enjoy overall (mostly the side characters which I wish we got to see more of), though I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance. It felt a bit forced by the end given the characters' history with each other.

There were times I got a bit lost with the POV changes and the timeline jumps. And there were also times when things felt repetitive like we were being given the same information over and over.

I was a little disappointed with the ending. It felt almost too neatly tied up and almost anticlimactic and predictable.

Overall, I thought this book was a fabulous debut from the author. Although it fell a bit flat for me, I would still definitely recommend it to those who enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. And I'm excited to see what she writes next!

I feel bad rating this so low, it had so much potential to be more. Unfortunately for me, I found it lacking. It started very promising, I was intrigued by the curse and the magic. T
They only character I found interesting was Penelope, the other ones seemed very dull. Our main character Violet grew up in a flop of a page but we don’t really see her character grow, and our MMC didn’t have a back bone…. Seems like we were missing a strong character (other than Penelope).
It was a bit hard to follow the story with all the jumps of characters and places and conversations. The way the author writes was very beautiful, but the plot didn’t flow for me. I don’t like to DNF books, so I stuck to it and finished it, I was hoping we would get more by the end.
Maybe I’m being unfair because I picked this up right after a 5 star read and had a book hangover, maybe I should give this another try some other time and hopefully have a different perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhood Books for allowing me to read this advance copy!

Immersed in a tapestry of magic and adventure, "The City of Stardust" unfolds a compelling narrative well crafted by Georgia Summers. The vivid descriptions seamlessly transport readers into Violet's world, the prose is quite lyrical. The storyline, marked by a commendable absence of slow points, maintains a medium-fast-paced rhythm, inviting readers to piece together the enigmatic narrative and unravel the truth behind the curse.While the climax promises surprises, the conclusion, though satisfying, leans towards simplicity, subtly tying the story's threads together. Awarding it a rating of 3.75 stars, the novel, albeit brimming with potential, falls slightly short of achieving brilliance. The narrative's pacing, occasionally lacking urgency, and the presence of certain plot holes contribute to a sense of missed opportunities. Despite these nuances, "The City of Stardust" stands as a recommendation, particularly for those immersed in contemporary and dark fantasy realms.

Beautifully written. The audiobook is also beautifully narrated. It's odd but something about this story reminds me of Pullman's His Dark Materials, perhaps Violet's courage, anger, and curiosity.

Lovely book! I was drawn by the first sentence and then by Violet's plight -- such an endearing character. Combined with the darkness of the magic and the horror of Penelope, The City of Stardust was a riveting adventure I could not put down. Very strong Neil Gaiman Neverwhere vibes. Already a pair of friends have picked it up on my recommendation and I know they're not going to be disappointed. My review in the literary journal, The Coachella Review, is linked below.

This book is just a great wholesome fantasy that keeps the reader engaged throughout all of Violet's life.

You are meeting Violet at a young age, and hearing about the Everly curse early on. This book is about the different worlds that surround us, and the different people you can choose to be if needed. All the places you can visit with just a bit of this magical ore called Revuirite and a scholar's key are infinite.

Alexander is a lost child who is taken by an elder Scholar named Penelope. She raises him as her apprentice or assistant for majority of his life, and convinces him to befriend Violet Everly, in hopes of either capturing her or her mother Marianne, who has been missing since Violet was extremely young.

This book crosses rivers and an ocean, doors to new worlds and old, to find yourself within and to discover what it actually takes being the person you're meant to become.

This book starts off really strong but I feel like it looses steam mid way. I think if I wasn’t in the mood for something that requires a bit more time and love that I would have loved every minute of this book

#TheCityOfStardust:⁣
⁣
Thank you so much @orbitbooks_us partner for my gifted copy. ⁣
⁣
‘I hear you singing, little dreamer. And I come to answer the call.’⁣
⁣
The Everlys are cursed. They disappear thanks to ole gal Penelope. Violet’s mom goes on a journey to break the curse, but is never found. Penelope is not happy and makes an ultimatum. Find your mom in ten years, or you take her place. Violet literally waits til like.. the last minute to get her butt into gear to find her mom and break this curse. Can she make it in time? ⁣
⁣
Oh Violet Everly. The City of Stardust was so beautiful and magical. It brought me back to when I was younger first exploring fantasy. It gave me a good glimpse into my daughter (ironically named Everly) as she now dives head first into fantasy and how it feels diving into magical worlds for the first time. This book was a magical hug to me, and I loved it. ⁣
⁣
The MC is named Violet Everly. The amount of times I called my child, “Violent Everly” is a little excessive. E was named for a last name, so it was great to see The Everlys is such a beautiful book. I was annoyed that she waited until like.. the 12th hour to start her journey, but I mean, I kind of blame her uncles for that. As we say, let the women do the work. I wasn’t a fan of Aleksander, but he honestly reminded me of Luke from Halloweentown. Like, he means well, but he’s got this lingering parental figure really effing him up.⁣
⁣
Overall, I felt like it was a big hug for me. I loved it so much 😭 I just got my Fairyloot edition, and look how beautiful these edges are!⁣
⁣
Out now ❤️

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had so much potential.
I requested this book because I loved the cover and the blurb intrigued me. But overall, the book fell flat.

I think the biggest issue is with the Main character, Violet. She's a bit naive and doesn't seem to learn from her past and has just no character growth.
The romance between Violet and Aleksander was predictable and there just wasn't much of a spark between them to keep my interest.
Penelope seemed to be the most interesting part of the story, but it wasn't enough to save the book.

Overall, it just seemed like it wasn't developed enough and needed a bit more work. But the idea was good and I think this author has potential to do a lot better in the future.

This is a tough book to talk about- or to decide how I feel about. You can really feel the time and effort that must have been put into this story and I think a lot of people will love this book, but there was just something missing for me. This book felt looong, and not really in a good way. I didn’t care a whole lot about Violet, although I did care about Penelope being stopped (so that’s something). If anyone goes into this book expecting it to be a romance, they’re probably going to be disappointed. The little bit of romance in the book was kind of interesting and complicated, but not particularly satisfying. The book was more enjoyable from maybe the 70% point onward, but if I hadn’t agreed to give feedback on this book- if I’d gotten it from the library- I very might have dnf’d it. The writing was very pretty, but not necessarily compelling or always immersive. I actually found myself falling asleep while reading many times (and not from lack of sleep). But…as I said before, I’m sure there are plenty of readers who will find this right up their alley.
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I tried for so long to finish this book but I just couldn’t get into it. I felt like I was just walking in circles and literally nothing exciting was happening. I ended up DNF’ing at 45%. Just my personal opinion but I shouldn’t have to get anywhere near that far for it to start getting good.

I feel like it had potential but it needed a faster pace to keep the audience interested and invested with the characters.

3/5 for the potential and because the cover is amazing.

A family curse and a missing mother is at the center of this atmospheric fantasy. Step through the door to a hidden world that holds magic, gods, and sacrifice. The fast-paced quest pushes an unconvincing romance and confidently skips over plot questions that may seed a sequel. For fans of Erin Morgenstern and "For the Wolf" by Hannah Whitten.

I would first like to thank NetGalley, Georgia Summers and Redhook Books for the advance reader’s copy of The City of Stardust.

Violet Everly, a curious child, dreamer, someone who carries a spark of something outside the realm of what we know as reality grows up with questions about everything. Where is her mother? She,who represents all things “magical” and “adventurous” and is forever etched as always leaving in Violet’s mind. Mystery and Magic seem to find Violet from her early years, especially when she comes across Aleksander, the mysterious teen who walks into her family hous and leaves her speechless and spellbound in more ways than one. Danger also seems to lurk right around the corner in the form the mysterious woman known as Penelope, who seems to hold the “key” to all of life’s questions that Violet carries.

As the story unfolds, we are seamlessly immersed in the various worlds of Violet and the Magic each world carries. A fallen star, a goddess and other magical entities are in constant search of their ultimate destination, and Violet Everly’s life seems to be the key to all of their plight. As our heroine attempts to understand the mysteries of her family and their “curse” in attempt at self-preservation, love, betrayal and agony fill her journey. Can she solve this crisis and get rid of her curse? Can she make it unscathed and without sacrifice? In the midst of life and death, can love and truth find a way?

Georgia Summers weaves the most spectacular world for her readers to immerse themselves in. This is for the readers who are passionate about great world building and fantastical realms and give us a main character whose emotions and vulnerability can be easily related to. 4.5 Stars for this astral work.

𝘈 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘈 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺. 𝘖𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘷𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰.

This book had everything going for it: aesthetic, on point. Title, magnificent. Premise, super cool! Everything about this book SCREAMED that I would love it.

And yet.

I’m disheartened to say this didn’t quote live up to my own high expectations. It wasn’t bad by any means, don’t get me wrong. Let’s take a peek inside.

The premise: a young girl’s mother vanishes. Runs away from home to solve a curse that’s been plaguing her family for generations. What is this curse you may ask? We don’t really know until over halfway through the book. Violet grows up with her uncles, mostly asked to remain inside their home and not able to make friends or go to school. For her safety. There is a woman you see, Penelope. She has her sights set on Violet. Wants her for information on her mother Marianne’s whereabouts. The problem is Violet hasn’t seen her mother in years and so has no answers to give this unnerving woman. Her uncles are given a deadline. Penelope will come for Violet in 10 years. If they don’t find Marianna by then, Violet goes to her.

Why is this, you ask? Again, it’s not fully explained till later. We just know it’s part of their “curse.” That the Everlys belong to Penelope. At least the ones with the Talent. The Talent to manipulate god metal.

The story really starts up with Violet in her early 20s, nearly 10 years passed. She reunites with Penelope’s assistant, Aleksander. They click, sparks fly. Little does she know, he’s here to spy for Penelope.

And so begins the long arduous journey on many conversations and lots of traveling and what feels like a lot of nothing really happening for half the book. Everytime I went to pick the book up, I found it too easy to put down after a chapter and difficult to want to pick back up. I am a fan of books like The Starless Sea, which I do think this emulates. There is a loose plot in Starless and where there is definitely MORE of a plot in City of Stardust, the prose doesn’t quite make up for the consistent slow pace.

I do think it picked up some in the background half. Once we started getting a few answers, I was a bit more invested. Even then, there were times where it felt like we were rehashing the same problems over and over and we kept getting the same betrayals over and over. By the time they finally got to the magical city that everyone was searching for their whole lives…I couldn’t help but wonder—what was so special about it? They spent all this trying to get to what was essentially en empty bubble.

The romance? Lackluster. Violet is your everyday innocent girl who wants adventure and Aleksander is a wannabe scholar who falls instantly for her despite her only interesting feature being that she can control the god metal. It felt very driven by the narrative and just there so we could say there is romance here.

I will say, the language, when it hits right is very pretty. There are occasions where they have a bouquet of feathers dipped in gold. There are magical keys you just stick into the air and turn, opening a door into another world. The aesthetics are good and sprinkled throughout. I just wish it all converged into a more enjoyable story. It definitely had potential, but maybe the next one will be a little more finessed!

“𝘈 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩.”

I absolutely ADORED this book! IT made my heart so happy .The prose was amazing, and the setting was set so vividly and gah! I am a sucker for a naive character, and it is just a fantastic YA book all the way around!

Violet lives secluded. All she knows are her uncles, her home and the fact that her mom is missing. Someday, a strange woman and a boy visit them and send her uncles into a frantic quest to find Violet’s mother. Now a young woman, Violet learns the truth: her family is cursed and she has about a year to find her mother. Otherwise, she will be taken in her place by that strange woman who visited almost a decade ago. Can Violet find her mom, break the curse and finally be free?

I didn’t know much or wasn’t expecting anything from this book, but I have to say that I was impressed: the prose was beautiful, the world-building was nicely done and interesting, the plot as well.

This little gem is Summers first book and is pretty good. Just the fact that it was written in British English was so refreshing, it is also well balanced.

Do not expect any spice. There is a tiny hint of kissing, a very closed door scene and that is it.

There were a few things that bothered me though: the jumps in the different POVs without real distinction between them. There were no chapters change or anything. but just a line break. The ending was a little flat, a little underwhelming.

The ending was disappointing: all I thought was "Is that it? Nothing more?" It really was underwhelming.

Also, we don't know much about the FMC, so I wasn't as invested as I could have been, but I still liked Violet and I really wanted her antagonist to fail and be defeated.

Also, I was surprised by the lack a triggers list. Some subjects were hard and gore.

This book was simultaneously too slow and too fast. Way too much would happen at once and then nothing. I also had a very hard time even understanding what was going on. The premise was good

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This book's magic and worldbuilding was super confusing for me, NGL. The POVs were confusing as well. I had higher hopes.

The City of Stardust was a gorgeous story about magic, family, abandonment, and betrayal. Violet Everly's family has been cursed, and the curse goes back so long that no one really knows how it came about. Now the curse is coming for Violet, and she has to find a way to beat it.

Violet is an interesting character but I wanted her a little more fleshed out. She's both very sheltered and very adventurous and brave, facing both external and internal struggles. Aleksander is a young scholar-in-training who serves with Penelope, and his character arc was more clearly drawn.

The world building in The City of Stardust is incredible. The concept of the keys for travel and everything about the stardust was fascinating.

The first half of the book sucked me in. The pacing slowed a little bit in the third quarter of the book. Interestingly, while the story is seen from the alternating perspectives of Violet and Aleksander, they are told in 3rd person, and it definitely put a little distance between me and the characters.

But the writing! The writing was simply lush and descriptive, and it was one of the reasons I kept turning the pages. Even though my brain wanted more from the characters, my heart cried MORE and kept me glued to the book. I finished this book on a long flight with my 17yo reading over my shoulder - it sucked them in immediately, and they hadn't read the beginning, so that's a pretty good testament to how much we both enjoyed the book.