Despite an awesome prologue and a plot thread that has you itching to reach the conclusion, it's hard not to notice the characters' lack of urgency and a story that is mostly told through conversations.
Full review to come on YouTube.

The premise of a city filled with stardust and a curse to be broken was incredibly intriguing. The author begins this story with prose that made me gasp out of reverence and awe. The vivid descriptions of this world played like a masterful symphony that lure you in. I was wholly unprepared for the depths of darkness the antagonist would take us into. There were a few moments where the events on the page caused a visceral reaction, but I will not post any spoilers. Overall, I believe Georgia Summers can lead a masterclass on writing enchanting prose and thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in her words. I recommend this book if you are in the mood for a magical and twisted tale with flawed characters that will make decidedly human decisions which might be cowardly or self-serving.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the chance to read this book! I found it to be atmospheric, lush in prose, and imaginative. Some of the pacing felt quick, but I overall enjoyed the journey.

A gothic, dark mystery, woven in a strange, magical fairytale world.

This compelling story is told to us in short, beautifully written chapters, through multiple characters’ point of view, but in third person narrative, and that might be the reason that I couldn’t connect with the main characters as much. This threatened my interest in the book especially with the slow pacing in the first half of the story, but the amazing writing and the desire to unravel the mystery kept me going, and I’m glad I did as this ended up being one of the most interesting debut novels I’ve read in a while. The author’s talented description is so vivid it feels like I’m standing there with the characters, looking through their eyes, feeling with them, dreaming with them. I will definitely be looking forward to reading this authors’ future work.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for the E-ARC.

Please check the trigger warnings before reading as the story has some dark parts dealing with the abduction and violence against children.

I’m really mad about this, not because it was a bad book, but because it had SO much potential to be absolutely amazing.

The writing is STUNNING. Literally so good. It absolutely carried this book. The prose is amazing and detailed, and I loved the way everything was described.

The bad part? That’s the only good thing I can say about this. Everything else was just very mediocre.

The plot had great potential, with portal fantasy elements, a family curse, an elusive secret magic society largely based on academics, and its own made up mythology. These are all tropes I love, but it didn’t really go anywhere or do much. I still feel like I don’t know much about the magic system or worldbuilding or.. anything. I wasn’t invested in the story.

The characters were also very flat and boring. They still feel like strangers (both to me, and to eachother) after a whole 350-something pages. We don’t really have much of their internal monologue, so we don’t get a good idea of their personalities and thoughts.

I really wish it either leaned further into the vibes-only, whimsical vibe like The Night Circus did, or went the opposite direction and elaborated on the plot and worked on developing the characters more.

(thanks to Netgalley for the arc!)

Thank you Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Traveling to different worlds, family curses, and monstrous gods, oh my. Kicking off 2024 with an urban fantasy debut novel and I had a blast despite some of the issues.

Let’s start with what I loved: The world building is definitely something fun and new, the plot was evenly paced, and I had so much fun with the dual POV adventures of Violet and Alexander.

What I liked: The globe-trotting aspect was really fun and added to the pacing to keep things fresh and moving. Violet is young, naive, and is willing to do what it takes to claim her life. Her quirky uncles were fun and loving supportive characters. The history of the Everlys and Penelope was very interesting and I wish there was more.

Now on to what I didn’t like: Alexander, poor kid, had a rough life and boy did he have quite the conflict on his hands. His journey, I feel, should have been more of the forefront than Violet. He had the more interesting, more complicated, and richer story. There are also quite a few plot holes that I just cannot ignore as well as a resolution that I wasn’t 100% satisfied with.

But overall, if you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, stand-alone urban fantasy, I suggest checking out The City of Stardust.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was unique and had likable characters. I wish there would have been a little more at the end. It felt like it was a lot of buildup to a little bit of a un-climactic ending

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Generations of the Everly family have been cursed and Violet Everly is doomed to the same fate. Except she’s not going down without a fight. Stepping into a realm filled with whimsy and horror, Violet must uncover the truth before her time runs out.

This book was written so beautifully and the opening gripped me within a few sentences. The prose flowed wondrously and wove a spellbinding tale of love, loss, adventure and betrayal. It explored the complexities of emotions and decisions- nothing is entirely as it seems at first glance. The characters were multifaceted and raw, which I loved. Summers’ takes you across the world (this one and others) with her scene description and I feel like I traveled to so many places inside these pages.

This was a slower read for me. While I felt invested in the protagonist and her journey, there were a couple of things that didn’t quite click with me. The POV changed mid chapter with no delineation of the change. I found myself frequently rereading a paragraph or even a whole page to find when it changed and who it changed to. It would often take me out of my rhythm and I struggled to get back in sometimes. There were a few side character plot points that felt unfinished to me. I kept waiting for them to come back into the story and was disappointed when they didn’t.

Overall, this book was a lovely mix of whimsical and dark. It’s richly textured and remains in your mind long after you finish. I can’t say enough about how fantastic the writing is and I can’t wait for more by Georgia Summers!

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook and Orbit Books, and the immensely talented Georgia Summers for an ARC of this book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading and giving my honest feedback!

2/5 Stars

I DNF'D this book at 35% I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounds great and the cover is beautiful. This being said I couldn't not get into the book, I didn't care for the characters or even the plot. I felt bored most of the time that I read this book. I'm still very intrigued by the idea of this book. This may just be a case of it's me and not the book, and or reading at the wrong time. Again for whatever reason I just couldn't connect and hopefully I will pick this up in the future and love it but right now it just not working.

This book was beautifully written, giving lines that will speak to your heart and paint such a vivid image of what's happening. However, the POV changes mid-chapter made things a little confusing at times. The ending felt a little rushed and slightly incomplete. Overall I found the book to be interesting but overall just left me feeling confused and like I didn't get the whole story.

I was so excited to be able to read this and had such high hopes for it but unfortunately I didn’t like it. The writing style I loved and it was almost lyrical and whimsical but the story was just missing so much for me. This had the potential to be something great but it just didn’t deliver.

I was hoping this would be better but it felt far too familiar to other comps and the characters and story itself lacked luster and anything to compel me to want to finish this. It felt like a slog and I definitely felt like this needed more creativity and uniqueness in a saturated genre.

The City of Stardust is a MUST READ debut for 2024 that is overflowing with the longing to fit in & the need to fight for love.

Violet Everly's mom went on an adventure, never to return. Having been left to the care of her uncle, Violet is raised in the Everly home and not allowed to leave, so she finds her own escape in books and fairytales.

When Violet is 12, a strange woman and a boy visit the house. The boy shows Violet magic, before promptly being taken from the home once again by the woman. Such is the start of Violet's world being turned upside down. With her mother being hunted to fulfill a debt ten years later, Violet struggles to find her mother first in a world full of magic.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I adored this book. Violet and Aleksander have my whole heart. My only complaint is that I want MORE!

I would recommend this for fans of Furyborn, A Darker Shade of Magic, and Starling House! I really enjoyed how seamlessly the story transitioned between characters and time.

Please do not start this book expecting it to be ~romance~, you will be disappointed.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was so interesting and promising but it ultimately fell flat for me. I really like how whimsical and magic the whole concept was but I feel like it never panned out and it could have used a lot more world building. I think part of this was the third person narration, which gave the story a really fairytale feel, but also distanced the reader from it and never allowed me to feel really invested in the story or its characters.

The writing also suffered from some pacing issues. Some parts of the story moved very quickly and jumped perspectives so I often felt lost and like I was missing so much. It really could have used some time to immerse the reader in the world and the characters to give the story some stakes. I was never invested in the outcome of the plot or the characters and especially the relationship. I never understood why they even liked each other or how much they knew each other because we don’t see any of the buildup.

Ultimately the ending was unsatisfying and I was still left with a lot of questions that I felt were never really explained/explored. It wasn’t a terrible book, but it could have used a lot more development and just didn’t work for me. It has a lot of promise and someone else might enjoy it more.

2.5

"To be nothing is to be remade, after all"
I really wanted to love this book. The descriptions throughout were beautiful, but the story and characters fell flat for me. The author tends to jump from perspective to perspective and sometimes it just didn't flow well. Violet is sheltered her entire life and on her last year of the bargain for her life, she decides to travel the world to try to find her mother who left her behind to try and break the Everyly curse. Explain to me how a sheltered girl who never left her home is able to travel the world on her own? Also, it never explains her mother and what happened to her, there are times where Violet just "missed" her. I felt that the pacing was also so slow. I think this book had an interesting premise, but execution was off.





Thank you Netgalley for the arc from Orbitbooks

3.5/5 ⭐️

I thought this book had a great story and concept. It was challenging to gather what was happening in the beginning as the reader is figuring things out at the same time as the main character. This story was told through multiple POV’s which I usually enjoy although there were quite a few different characters who were narrating which took some time to get used to. Overall I enjoyed the book. I think if people love fantasy, they will enjoy this book.

Thank you to Redhook & Orbit and Netgalley for the chance to read this book!

Entering the enchanting world of 'The City of Stardust' by Georgia Summers, I found myself captivated by a tapestry of magic, stardust, and enigmatic creatures. The Everlys, burdened by an ancient curse, witnessed their best vanish without a trace. In the midst of this, Violet Everly, the last of her line, embarks on a quest to find her missing mother with a very tight deadline while facing the ominous presence of the mysterious Penelope. The narrative unfolds in a magical underworld, weaving together power-hungry scholars, capricious gods, and vengeful monsters, creating an intricate dance of mystery and allure.

The prose employed by Georgia Summers is undeniably masterful, effectively drawing readers into the intricate tapestry of her creation. However, the utilization of a third-person narrative, while offering a panoramic view of events, introduces a subtle detachment from the emotional depth of the characters. The deliberate shroud of mystery enveloping the storyline, while contributing to its allure, left me with unanswered questions, adding an element of perpetual curiosity.

The character arc of Violet Everly is a testament to the author's adeptness in crafting a compelling journey of growth. Simultaneously, Aleksander, the assistant to the ominous Penelope, grapples with the nuanced exploration of truth and deception. The pacing of the narrative, regrettably, exhibits moments of hastiness, making it challenging to seamlessly navigate between characters and perspectives. Nevertheless, the overarching sorrowful undertones resonate, elevating the narrative's depth. 'The City of Stardust' merits a commendable four-star rating for its literary prowess, character development, and the enduring enigma that leaves readers captivated and desiring more.

Thank you Redhook Books, Redhook for providing this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and freely given.

The City of Stardust is about a magical, dark world with power-hungry scholars, desperate gods, and monsters bent on revenge. This is the story of a cursed family who generations ago made a deal with a strange and mysterious woman to give up a persons life from each generation which keeps the woman alive forever. It is a deeply alluring story that grasps your imagination from the first chapter. The magic system allows travel to worlds apart from the current world. It’s an incredibly interesting system. There are keys that give privileges to the few who earn them. Violet and Aleksander explore the magic, the dark underworld in gory detail as they try to remove this curse. Violet and Aleksander are so far removed from each other in every way as the story is developing, but are dependent upon each other throughout for survival. So we are challenged to understand the relationship and it’s hard to decide if they should be together romantically or not. They must depend on each other for survival.

I did feel the pacing was a bit slow and found myself around 200 pages wishing for something significant to happen, but it’s a compelling dilemma, the writing is good, so it kept me reading to the conclusion.

This book is Georgia Summers debut fantasy novel and she gave us a great story. I believe it’s worth your time to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and RedHook Books for the early ARC access for an honest review.

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is Summers debut fantasy novel. Full of magic, monsters, vengeful gods and a family curse.

Violet Everlys mother disappeared when she was child; to try and break a curse. The Everlys are cursed. One of them from each generation walks into the dark compelled by a shadow. It’s been ten years and still the curse is calling. Violet sets out into a world she doesn’t understand. Full of “wolves” who backstab and sabotage each other, magic keys with doorways to magic land and vengeful gods. Her journey will lead her to answers she needs and ones she will hate.

This contemporary fantasy harkens to me similarly to The Starless Sea, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. With true world building and beautiful prose I was immersed and struggled to put the book down. I rarely annotate my books but there are many quotes that called to me.

“She believes in curses like she believes in stories. For a curse is just another kind of story, dark and toothy and razor-edged. It’s the unspoken tale singing its way through her family history: once a generation, an Everly walks into the dark, compelled by the shadow beside them.”

“Life, persistent and predictably stubborn, goes on. Close your eyes and the stars might not sing in this hushed city of dust and dreams, but there’s still singing nonetheless. Even if there’s just one voice left.”

I felt called to with this story. Broken and pieced back together. It was a beautiful 5star read for me.

It was written very well with the variety of short bits of description and action to full scenes. The theme and motifs were weaved through this book making it enjoyable to read and make connections. The story explores the difference choices we make about how we live life. Is life about surviving or living.