Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of a daughter searching for a long lost mother, doors to different worlds, and astral gods in disguise amongst us hooked me right away, but the execution left me wanting.

The author’s prose is elegant and whimsical, which made for an enchanting reading experience. And the pacing is just right. The story’s setting, however, is always changing to a different part of the world. Yet, it is limited to cafes, museums, back alleys and undergrounds. Though we are told much about Fidelis (the city of scholars) we spend hardly any time there and I didn’t feel enmeshed in the magic and mysticism like I should have.

The characters are varied but bland, with the exception of Penelope and the ever elusive Marianne who are both seeking other worlds. And I wonder why the story isn’t mainly from these complementary perspectives? A missed opportunity, perhaps.

Instead, we follow Violet who is Marianne’s daughter. She is traumatized by her mother’s disappearance, fascinated by the scholars of Fidelis, and somehow special although she never seems like it. She is naive and gullible, yet sharp when it is convenient for the plot, which makes her a frustrating character to root for.

And Aleksander, who is Penelope’s apprentice. He is desperate to be a scholar and is harboring feelings for Violet (and she for him), but finds every excuse to betray her trust. And as he is constantly kowtowing to Penelope, he becomes all too easy to dislike.

Somehow, there’s a romance growing between them that we’re supposed to take serisouly, but I couldn’t. The chemistry was forced between two characters completely wrong for each other.

Some reviewers found the ending abrupt, but not me. It was, however, anticipated. So there were no surprises, and if you prefer an easy out to a conflict, you’ll be satisfied.

Overall, this story has potential. I didn’t love it or hate it exactly. I admit I was entertained. I look forward to reading the author’s next work.

Final rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Violet Everly’s family is cursed. Ever since her mother left her and her uncles to break it, it’s all she’s ever been sure of. But too many years have passed — her mother has yet to return, and a pact and blood debt has to be paid. What will Violet discover as she meets someone greater than her sheltered world? Someone who exposes her to the dark secrets of a mysterious magical existence?

This novel has a unique magical world that is both dark and mysterious. The author does a great job of slowly exposing you to the fantastical through the eyes of Violet. She has lived most of her life in the dark just hearing the edges of conversations in her home. Violet’s naivety and cunning balance each other and really keep the reader turning pages to see what unfolds next. Her counter part, Alexander, adds a different perspective that also drives the story.

There is much that I’m still eager to know about this place that the author created. A few times the story thread fell flat, however for the most part, I really enjoyed this read. 4 stars.

Thank you Redhook Books/Orbit and NetGalley for sending a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I loved all the adventure feels of this book! I appreciated that all the characters were imperfect, had flaws, and didn’t always make the choices you might want them too. It made some of the twists and turns harder to predict and made the characters feel more like real people. From magic cities, doorways, secret societies, underground groups, epic scenery, and distinctive choices to grow and be better than those before you this book has it all!! It’s incredibly well written!

I was given this book by the publisher in return for an honest review.

****There are spoilers in this review****

I really liked the premise of this story. Individuals that can travel between worlds, with a magic element. Yes, I'm in.

However, I felt like there were a lot of inconsistencies. Like if all she needed was Everly blood and she'd been taking the most powerful individual every generation for thousands of years how had Penelope not gotten home? Why not take her Uncle and allow Violet to continue on the Everly line? Why does the main character take blame for things like Yuri, when that was definitely not her fault?

Also, being a mother I can't imagine ever leaving my daughter to the fate I knew was coming to save my own skin. I would burn the world down for her.

The MC is too gullible and trusting falling for lies again and again. But questioning weird inconsistencies in her life. I just felt like there could've been more. More character development, more world exploration and development. Just more.

I give it 3.75 ⭐

If Rebecca Ross and Erin Morgenstern had a child and they wrote a debut portal romantasy with a dark edge, I think The City of Stardust would be the result.

I had coffee with a lit professor (who was also an author) once and he said, in his opinion, every story told was essentially just The Odyssey retold in an infinite number of ways. The City of Stardust definitely has that flavor: From character names to a protagonist that sets off on a long journey from home only to return and find it changed from what she once knew, this novel had me captivated from the start.

Georgia Summers has a lovely way with prose. The sentence structure is very reminiscent of Morgenstern, while the imagery feels closer to Ross. While the book definitely lacks the experience of both of those writers it doesn’t suffer overmuch for it. I loved the world building for how it felt both Gaiman-esque and for how it reminded me of my favorite novel, The Starless Sea. The plotting felt impeccable and the pacing was steady.

The whole cast of characters was great. An antagonist worth despising and understanding, protagonists you can both identify with and love, and a large supporting cast that feels distinct and contributes considerably to the entire story without feeling extraneous.

The underlying themes of parental neglect, abandonment, family, secrets, cages, debts, adventure, stories, and the pursuit of knowledge are all well-explored and layered in myriad ways throughout the book and it makes for an excellent tapestry when all is said and done. I loved how the book wrapped up too. Not too neat, not too messy. It was wonderful.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/LGBTQ Fantasy/Standalone/Urban Fantasy

Characters: 5/5
I loved Violet Everly and her inquisitive nature. I was rooting for her the entire book, as she was an extremely likable character. Aleksander is also such a complicated character. His actions, while easy to understand the motivation behind them, made me want better for Violet.

Penelope was one of the best villains I have read in a minute. She was ruthless and had a steadfast goal, and she did not let anyone get in her way. I also loved Yury’s interludes as his character had a terribly sad backstory.


Story/Plot: 4/5
I loved the mystery of this book, from page one I wanted more details about the world and the magic. It was hard to acquire morsels of the world as Violet’s questions in her early years are dodged constantly. I felt her frustration! Then as an adult she learns things, but we as the reader still do not. I thought the pacing was good, and I was given just enough to keep me wondering and engaged until the end.


Writing: 5/5
The writing was really easy to follow, while also having gorgeous prose. The different perspectives really added different things to the book and each character felt distinct. It was highly atmospheric and the world building was some of the most unique I have read in a while. Some things about it did read a little YA or maybe New Adult, but that did not detract from my enjoyment.


Final Verdict: 5/5
I loved this story and will absolutely read future books by Georgia Summers in the future!!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Redhook for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers. The plot was intriguing and the writing was beautiful. The reason I am not giving five stars is that there was just something about it that wasn't quite complete. While the world-building was thorough and interesting, the events of the story didn't quite flow together. I always felt like there was something the author didn't fully convey that would have made the story feel more complete. However, I think that Summers has huge potential and I'm looking forward to future novels!

This book is a grown up fairy tale with overabundant and lush writing that reminds me of The Night Circus.Truly a magical read.

I felt that the romance was not quite as well done as I'd hoped, as I could not understand Violet's feelings. And I do wish we would have had more closure around her mother than we recieved.

But honestly none of these things make it a bad read, and this strong (and a bit dark) fantasy will draw in book lovers of all kinds. The writing itself is well crafted and will draw you right in.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for advanced access.

I really liked this book, it was a little choppy and disjointed at times but I feel like this was due to 1 an intentional decision to reflect Violets journey and 2 weird formating in the digital ARC

That being said I got over it and I really liked the book. I just have one complaint and I wanted to know for sure who violets father was, I assume Tamriel but
I feel like there could be a sequel about rebuilding the world's but it's also complete without it.

First of all, I just have to share that I love the cover! It made me dream.
Now, I gave this novel 3.75 stars (rounded to 4 thanks to the cover). The writing is beautiful, and some images are just mesmerizing. But, the style took me a little time to get used to it.
*
I love the world Georgia Summers created, and I liked getting immersed in it. The characters are complex, and I must say I loved the two uncles, Ambrose and Gabriel.
*
However: there are too many unanswered questions for me. And even the answered question were not straight away answered. I don't mind mystery here and there. I even love when I have to think to guess the reasons and some elements of the plot before the characters figure it out. Then at some point, I want to know if I got it right or wrong. But not having definite conclusion about what's going on is frustrating. Unfortunately, the feeling lasted until the end. I still want answers, although it doesn't look like there is a sequel. And even if there was, I still would have preferred to have more hints in this one.

Thank you, Georgia Summers, NetGalley, and Redhook Books for the e-ARC.

I loved this book! It’s dark and whimsical. The story is very well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This was a delightful whimsical story. I am impressed by this debut. The writing makes you slowdown and savor the words. I found myself reading some sentences twice because they were that intriguing. Overall, a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I greatly enjoyed the lore and world building that Summers built. Summers' writing was wonderfully descriptive and added to the fairytale quality of the world building. I would love to know more of the history that gets threaded through the entire work. That's where I think the book really shines.

As for the characters, I wish that they were a little more flushed out. I always felt that their depth and potential was just offscreen. I still enjoyed them but they needed just a bit more, a little more oomph. I would have loved to see Violet really dig into the world that she was searching for a little more. I think this is the reason that it took me a little bit to actually get into the overall plot.

Overall, I liked it and enjoyed the read.

There was so much about this book that I loved. The slow lore building and the feeling of intensity growing as the story went on. I really enjoyed the main character, she reminded me a little bit of who I think Maggie from Inkheart would be older. The book is broken up into 5 parts, and normally that's a lot, but it worked very well here. The entire ending was incredible. I loved the way that there were so many seemingly random POVs throughout.

While I loved a lot of this book, at times I felt it struggled with what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a lore heavy fantasy or a love story? I'm not saying it couldn't be both, but the love itself felt a little shallow at times when the world building was strongest, and the love felt the deepest when the world building was weak. I'm not sure if that makes sense and it really isn't bad, it's just something that I feel like was a bit of a struggle at times.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the ARC. I was excited to read this book, based on the cover and the description. However, I think I got a different impression from the description compared to what the book is actually about. While the author has quite lovely prose, the parts I managed to read had nothing really happen in them, so it was kind of boring for me.

This plot had a lot of potential, but I just don’t think it was executed well. I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary details during the very slow beginning and then as soon as it started to pick up, all the high intensity scenes were just kind of rushed though and glazed over. (every conflict was resolved very easy and quickly.) This led to the plot getting really muddy and hard to follow.

The majority of the plot revolves around the FMCs mother and finding her but this never goes anywhere in the story and has nothing to do with the resolution. There were a lot of loose ends that just left me wanting way more than what we got.

This entire book was very meh and was just not for me.

Violet Everly happened to be born into a family that owed a debt. A debt from long ago. Violet's mother, Marianne, vanishes without a trace. The debt now falls on Violet to pay, unless she can find her mom and break the curse. Violet's brother's have sheltered her, in the hope that she wouldn't be found. When Penelope comes to collect her debt, Violet is thrown into a world of magical keys, scholars, new worlds, monsters, and the unknown.
I was drawn into this book by the cover art and the title. I thought it sounded very interesting! I did like the idea behind the plot. I loved the concept of the keys and the new worlds they could open up. I loved Violet and her journey to understanding her past and present. The storyline with her mom left me feeling sad and I was rooting for her the whole time. I also fell in love with her brothers, especially Ambrose, because he seemed to really do his best he could with the predicament he was given.
I thought the beginning of the story was well written. A bit slow, but it did pull me in and made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I did feel like the end felt a bit rushed and that it was over much too quickly. I finished the book wanting more and asking a lot of questions.
I liked Aleksander. I could understand why he made the choices he made. It seemed he was going through a journey of self discovery as well. I thought their story, although rough at times, was sweet and made sense by the end.
The world building could of been better. I thought it started out strong, but as the story progressed I felt like I wanted more building of the worlds the keys could unlock.
Overall, I did enjoy this story and thought it was a nice read! There were some original ideas and I really did fall in love with Violet. The amount of growth she went through as a character was huge and I enjoyed reading about her journey!

I appreciate the beauty of this story and the prose found within, however, I was so sad about being disappointed by the overall product.

The story starts off so promising with luscious prose and aesthetics that I felt immediately enthralled by the fairytale-esque nature of the prologue. It is a love letter to stories and to those who read to seek adventure and the premise is stunning and promising. However, I quickly found that the story being told was not really the one I thought it'd be and was left wanting.

I love the idea of a quest to a lost city, scholars and blood-thirsty academia, fickle gods and monsters, and yet I was rather bored during most the the book. I was also confused because some of the plot holes were still not answered by 75% of the book and I'm still not sure I have answers to the crucial questions. I still don't quite understand the generational curse, nor do I still know what really happened to Marianne. This confusion added to the lack of overall understanding of the plot since finding answers to these questions is all our FMC, Violet, sets off to do. Maybe there were just too many POVs because it removed me from connecting with Violet. She wasn't as fleshed out as Alexsander and I found that to be unfortunate as she was the true hero of the story, the quest her purpose. There just wasn't enough tension or conflict/action driving the plot forward, with many of the chapters simply Violet going from one city to another, and this left the story feeling slightly hilted.

I was also not convinced by Violet and Aleksander's relationship and I believe this is because both of them on their own are flimsy, their motivations not fleshed out enough, and so when brought together, they don't hold true to themselves, and thus each other. I particularly didn't like Aleksander's character arc, I found him to be a weak "morally grey" character and though I wished to sympathize with him and his lack of choices, I only grew frustrated with how he was treating Violet. Violet, on the other hand, lacked dimension and honestly even a personality outside of her longing for adventure. When they were together, I did not know why they liked each other at all and so their development from a platonic relationship to that of a romantic one seemed to spring out of nowhere.

Still, there were some great passages of the aesthetic of this novel and I did appreciate the structure and ode to storytelling. Overall, this was a promising debut and I will be reading Summer's next novel.

Thank you to the Publishers and Net Galley for this free arc in turn for an honest review.

I was sure when I picked this book that I would enjoy it and I'm so glad I was right. The worldbuilding was amazing; it was dark and mysterious and the real reason I was pulled into the story. I’m not the biggest fan of stories being told in the third person but didn’t mind it in this case.

I felt like the pacing of the book could have been a bit quicker and I wasn’t thrilled about how long Violet was kept in the dark when we the reader’s knew the truth. I would have preferred to
learn when she did or vice versa. I enjoyed Alekander’s storyline and seeing him unlearn everything he’d been told his whole life. The romance aspect of this story isnt as prominent as I thought it would be so keep that in mind if you’re looking for something rooted heavily in romance!

Overall, this was a lovely read and I would definitely recommend it. I saw reviews comparing this to the His Dark Materials series and I totally agree; if that was something you enjoyed 100% read this!

Rating 2.5

I loved thw beginning, but at around forty percent it got boring and never really got any better from there. The chapters are short though, so it made it easier to get through the rest of the book.