Thank you to @netgalley and @redhookbooks / @orbitbooks_us for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read this book early for my honest review.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that just did not work for me in this book, despite a very promising premise and comparisons to books I either REALLY liked or loved--The Starless Sea, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Ink Blood Sister Scribe. And this had elements that I usually really love--a family cursed, mysterious disappearances, angry gods, and a secret society guarding secrets to other worlds. I found the execution of these elements incredibly lacking. The execution can be boiled down to 3 things: poor character development, flimsy world-building, and inconsistent pacing.

We'll start with our main character, Violet Everly. Her family is cursed, and once a generation an Everly must die. Throughout the book, we see a few iterations of the fairy tale that winds up with the Everlys being cursed, but regardless of the originations, the Everlys are cursed. Despite following her for the entire book, I developed no emotional connection to Violet and her motivations as a character are really unclear. She goes from trying to find her mother, who has been missing since Violet was a child, to trying to break her family's curse and giving up on finding her mother altogether. Despite being introduced to Violet as a child, her personality really never changes as she grows up. She is overprotected by her uncles, whom she lives with since her mother is missing, and proceeds to go on a rambling adventure where she meanders from place to place with really no purpose or character growth along the way.

As for the world, I could literally not tell you how the magic system in this world works. The writing is really pretty, but it served no purpose in telling me how this secret society works or the importance of keys or doors or reveurite or anything works. I read the whole book and I don't understand it. I'm really not sure if that's because it was never explained or because my brain got so distracted by the flowery writing along the way that I glossed over it and miss the point. Either way, I'm dinging the book in execution on this one. If I can't understand the world that is the backdrop of a fantasy novel, we are straight up not having a good time. I admittedly really love world-building and having deep, intricate understanding of the world and politics that make up the work that I'm reading. I also think the lack of world-building contributed to my feelings on the character development and the pacing because there was no groundwork laid to establish the stakes.

Which leads us to the inconsistent pacing--I FLEW through the first 50% of this book, like I read it in one day, practically in a single sitting. At that point I thought to myself "damn, the vibes are vibing, this book is THAT GIRL" WRONG!! After that first half, the book fizzled out entirely. Violet wanders from place to place, and by the time I got to the last 10% of the book I was just skimming begging for it to be over and to be put out of my misery. Not to mention that the whole book is riddled with plot holes--the major one being that an Everly a generation must die and that Violet's mother is missing…..but that Violet's mother had 2 brothers who raised Violet who could have fulfilled that generation of the curse….I digress.

This was not my favorite book I've ever read. It's clear that the author has a lot of talent to put together really beautiful sentences and this cover is a banger…but that's really the only kudos I can give to this book. Off to read something else and scrub this one from my memory.

Thank You to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC copy of The City of Stardust in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, did I want to love this story. I had very high hopes going in and it just did not deliver. I almost gave this one a DNF.

The writing style of the story is wonderful; beautiful prose. But the use of flowing prose really just took away from the story for me. It felt like the meat of the story was left behind in favor of a flowy writing style that really left me disappointed when the story, in my opinion, wasn't explored as fully as it could have been.

I found the pace of the story to be somewhat off putting, with random flashbacks and additions to the story that seemed unnecessary to the overall plot. I also felt like there might have been some plot holes (why was she looking for a key when Gabriel had one all along?). There was also a glaring broadcast of what was going to happen at the end of the story during the portion where they were having their cards read. Just....*face palm*

And really, my greatest disappointment was Violet and Alexsander's story and their love, just kind of being skimmed over. I'm not even sure I know who they are as characters except that they are there to drive a wobby plot. I wanted to love them and there story. I just didn't.

Again, I wish I could have loved this story more than I did. I've given it 4 stars, but it's really more like 3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in advance of its release in trade for my honest review. I appreciate it.

Fast...slow...fast...slow. That’s how I felt reading this book. I wanted to love it, but in the end I felt like I didn’t get any overall satisfaction from the book. It takes place between fantastical worlds and the current world, but the world building of the fantastical worlds wasn’t gratifying. It’s like the details were place in the wrong places. Just when some action is about to take place, it fades to black and we only get a truncated version from someone’s recollection of the events. It just fell flat for me. The magic system could be unique but wasn’t explained well so I’m still not sure what all was going on there. Releases January 30th, but I’m not enamored enough with it to tell you to rush to get it.

I wanted The City of Stardust to be better than it was.

Stardust has been compared to The Night Circus and Addie LaRue, so I knew I had to pick it up. And while Stardust has many magical elements similar in feel to those two books, it has its own unique magic system that I'm not sure I completely understand, but I think that's okay. Summers does a fantastic job of creating an ordinary world where a magic doorway could lie just around the corner, but only if one has the talent to open the door. Likewise, the city of Fidelis sounds like a truly amazing place, although there is obviously much more to explore than we get to see.

However, and perhaps because the world building feels so thorough, the characters feel a bit lacking. Violet is our leading lady, but we get to see so little of her personality outside of loving fairy tales, wanting to go on adventures, and missing her mother. Our MMC, Aleksander, is the same; he's devoted to Penelope, but he's conflicted, although not enough to do much about it. There is certainly much more to both these characters, and while more development may not be absolutely necessary for the plot, I need more to really connect to either of them.

The other aspect of Stardust that I really like is that it's not all magic and fairy tales. There are some truly brutal and horrific moments, and although some of the worst of them occur off the page, there are plenty of skin-crawling descriptions included, and even the mention of the off-page events are awful. Summers really makes you feel the cost of the character's choices, especially when the main characters are playing against someone who isn't afraid to truly do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

So although I didn't love it, The City of Stardust is still a good book. I could certainly read it again and glean things I missed before and be happy about the experience, but as it is, the vibrant setting and unique magic system don't outweigh the lack of depth in the leading characters.

A stand-alone fantasy with a little romance along the way. I was so hyped up for this book and could not wait to start reading it. It started off so well but about half way through that changed for me. I think I was really expecting something else from this book based off of the synopsis. The world was very interesting to me but I found a few parts of the story towards the end to be confusing for me. I will say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Violet and her uncles and loved reading about them. Overall, the plot kept me invested in the book and I had to keep reading to see how everything ended!

Thank you to Redhook Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When they said this was perfect for fans of addie larue, they weren't lying. The prose in this novel is gorgeous, the voice is unique, and the plot captivating. If you're looking for magical realism with gorgeous writing and a side of suspense, The City of Stardust is absolutory the book for you.

My only complaint was that the characters didn't feel as personable as I would have liked. One of the primary reasons I love The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue so much was the way I felt so emotionally connected to each of the characters, and The City of Stardust didn't give me those same feelings.

----4.25/5

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I personally enjoy books that don’t start out slow and take time to build. I was intrigued straight out the gate with this! By page 28 my head was swimming with questions in the way that made it impossible to put down. The author put just enough information the the initial dialauge that it felt like I was missing something but it kept me reading to see if the next chapter would answer my burning questions. It was just enough mystery to keep me engaged but not so much missing information that I felt confused or lost. The pacing in Part One was incredible.

The split between Part One and Part Two could have used a better segway. It felt a little rushed and like I missed out on critical information that got specifically Violet from point A to point B. This part of the story could have been expanded on a little more, I would have loved to see how she was able to learn all that she did for her adventure!

Part Three and Four felt rushed, the pacing that was steady through Part One and Two seemed to be put on a fast tracked to fit everything in.

I wish there had been more character development for Violet specifically. I felt more drawn to Ambrose and Aleksander and was more intrigued by their story than hers as the story went.

Choosing to love yourself before you can choose to have a relationship, romantic or platonic is something I hardly see in a novel and I do think it was done SO well here.

Overall, the book is one I will recommend and the prose throughout are absolutely beautiful. The mystery was intriguing and the love story took unexpected turns that kept me hooked! This was one I had to sit with a while after I finished to really process, there was so much that happened but the ending was so poetic and beautiful.

This book is everything I love in a fantasy! Hidden magical societies is how I fell in love with fantasy books and this one does it so well! Learning the history of the star gods made me excited to keep picking this book up. My only wish is that it was longer because some parts seemed so fast to me.

This was so good. I loved the lush writing. I was completely consumed by the Everlys. I just couldn’t put the book down. I’m so excited to order a physical copy.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

I’m 25% into this book and it’s extremely engaging! I’ve not encountered the premis outside of maybe the lion witch and wardrobe but the mechanics of getting there is where the similarities end. What I have read I give 4 stars as without the ending I can’t fully rate this boon but what I’ve read I love!! DNF

What an incredibly original and unique story! The author’s prose is one of a kind, and the use of flashbacks and different perspectives truly helped to world build and develop the plot so well! I really enjoyed this read and learning more about this unique magical talent system. I would highly recommend this to those looking for a well written standalone fantasy read!

Perfect for fans of The Starless Sea, this whimsical, mysterious fantasy will have you intrigued and excited for exploring other worlds within this story with it's mystical creatures, curious characters and flowery writing style.

For me, this book started slow, slowly gained traction to the point where I was thinking about it every time I had to put it down, and then slowly turned into a disappointment for me. And here's why:

The setup for this book is great! Magical keys, a mother in search of a cure for the curse, a daughter dreaming of other worlds and a nightmare waiting for her time to collect. It truly gives me such The Starless Sea vibes but with less confusion. Unfortunately the delivery is what lacks for me.

There is so much time spent with the characters trying to figure stuff out that I thought the ending would have more of a grand reveal, and that all the build up would be worth it. There's searching and betrayal and mysterious creatures, and characters we meet along the way, but none of that helps in the end. At all. The plot just happens to the character's, so why did I spend so much time waiting for the characters to figure stuff out when it doesn't even matter?

Our love interest could be described as an enemies to lovers, but he flew a little to close to the enemy part of this relationship to the point where I wasn't even rooting for them in the end, I was so mad at all his decisions.

We are given lore sprinkled in throughout this story, a fairytale told different ways that we aren't sure which story really is true, which sets our premise up perfectly as we are trying to find a way to break the curse that this fairytale originates from. Our build-up to this climax starts strong and then just loses so much traction with the plot holes riddled in this book. To the point when during the epilogue I had to look up if this book was in a series because I was still confused and had so many questions.

I wouldn't recommend this book, unless this book somehow becomes one of a series, I think there is too much world-building for such a short story that leaves so many unanswered questions with an anti-climatic ending.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Violet Everly has spent her entire life at home with her brother. Her family is cursed, taking one person from each generation and her mother left to try and break the curse when Violet was a child. Her brothers have been searching for her, while keeping Violet hidden ever since. Violet finally discovers the curse and sets off on a quest to break it, and to find her missing mother. As Violet unravels secrets and searches for long lost keys to other worlds, she fights to understand who she can trust on her journey.

The City of Stardust has some of the most gorgeous writing that I’ve read. I was pulled in immediately from the prologue. The prose was absolutely stunning - magical, full of whimsy, and almost lyrical at points. The world building was immersive and the descriptions of Fidelis made it come alive right in front of me.

The plot was interesting, though lagging at some points. There was so much beautiful description occurring, that the plot was a little slow. There were plenty of twists and turns and I was interested the whole time, but I wasn’t necessarily invested throughout the book. I also wish the characters were developed a little bit more. I didn’t feel like I ever knew enough about Violet to truly root for her along the way. I found Aleksander to be more interesting and his story was explored more.

I really enjoyed this book and would love to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the eARC.

“The City of Stardust” is brimming with secrets and mysterious characters. I was intrigued with this story at the beginning. Beautiful prose, interesting family dynamics, and a looming antagonist all come together to draw the reader in. Despite all of that, it felt like not much happened for most of the book. The author dangles the hope for romance and hope for a journey through a mesmerizing new world right in front of the reader without giving it to them until the very end. The pacing of the story and third person narrative left me feeling unconnected with the main characters. Although, both of these attributes were intentional and inline with the writing style of this book.

For those who enjoy:
🗝️ Secrets to uncover
🗝️ Quest
🗝️ Good vs Evil themes
🗝️ Portal Magic

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful world to get swept into to start the year!

From the first page you get swept into the life of Violet Everly who is forced to confront her families curse and a mysterious woman named Penelope. The wonderlust I received from this book was everything I needed to start the new year. Adventure, Mystery, with a sprinkle of romance, the writing was captivating and it played in my head like a movie for most of the book. There are roughly 3 main POVs through the chapters so it might be harder for some to get fully immersed but for me it just added to the story in the best way. The only thing is I wished was that it didn't end and I could expect a 2nd book but for a stand alone it was wonderful. It is a little grim in parts but nothing too terrible.

As a fan of books like the ten thousand doors of January, the invisible life of Addie Larue and the Starless Sea this was easily a 5 star read.

Thank you to Netgalley for early access to this story.

2.5 Stars

This book had so much potential and some beautiful writing at times but I just could not get into it. I think my main issues were the structure, lack of world building and the 3rd person narrative. This is a story about a woman who is trying to end a curse on her family and there’s a magical world. Sounds super cool, like it would have lots of adventure and an exciting pace to end the curse by a timeline. But I found myself bored a lot of times and the pacing would speed up and slow down a lot when it should have been ramping up. The characters didn’t really feel fleshed out and would sometimes do something that didn’t make any sense or we would hear about something they did off page. I couldn’t get invested in any of the characters at all, the world was interesting but not explained in an understandable way. I think if the structure of the book had been tweaked a bit it could have made a difference. While this has beautiful descriptive writing and an interesting concept and magical world it didn’t quite succeed in creating the magic of The Night Circus or Addie LaRue which it has comparisons to. I’m sad because it did have some cool concepts that I haven’t seen in other fantasy books but it just didn’t deliver for me,

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for granting me access to the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

The The city of Stardust is about the family of Everly and the curse it carries. Being the last descendent it is Violet who must uncover the mysteries of her family’s past and the disappearance of her mother.

The book started strong but then lost itself in a series of weird interactions and cryptic hints. The characters were acting mostly illogical and also the plot didn’t make sense a lot of times. I couldn’t connect to the people and became pretty bored with the constant hinting. Unfortunately the “big reveal” at the end wasn’t as great or revealing either and didn’t unravel the the parts that didn’t make sense earlier.
Maybe it’s just a writing technique that’s not for me and others will enjoy it, but unfortunately I only finished it to be able to give an honest review in exchange for the earc, kindly provided by the publisher which I nevertheless (and Netgalley) would like to thank for it.

Pretty unique worldbuilding and character driven rather than plot driven, I felt. Did get more YA vibes than Adult but overall, a solid debut
3.75 Stars

Thanks to Redhook books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✨✨SMALL SPOILER REVIEW BELOW:✨✨ What would you sacrifice for your family? This is what I thought about throughout the story. There are many selfless sacrifices, but there are also also very selfish sacrifices that were made in The City of Stardust.
I really enjoyed this story, it is like a fairytale with many twists and turns, that take you on a wild journey. We follow our heroine Violet Everly, who has got to be one of my favourite main characters so far. She is thrust into an unwanted quest. She is given nothing but a deadline.
This book takes the “chosen one” trope and throws it on its head because Violet Everly does not want to pay the ultimate sacrifice. You love the characters you hate the characters you feel for the characters and this is what good storytelling does.
This book is five stars, from the first 20 pages i can tell this story was different than the usual runoff the mill young adult fantasy. The characters have depth, but they also are not black or white. You love the characters, but at the same time you want to shake their shoulders, and wonder about some of the decisions that they make which to me is what makes the story so impactful. People make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes hurt other people. And in similar situations, what would you do to help people or would you would you just run? Even though there are obvious faults within the story like, for example, Violet somehow manages the impossible, but that is why the story is so good. Sometimes goodness deserves to prevail over evil.
Georgia has such a magical way of telling a story and I feel sad only because I just learned about this author and I cannot wait to read more either in this world or anything else coming up for this author. Their writing was so beautiful that I will be thinking about the story and the characters for a very long time. The book is out Jan 30th!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, this book isn’t for me at this time. While the plot and world-building were unique and beautiful, the narration and characters felt too distant for my liking, and I had a hard time staying engaged in the story. The third-person POV felt choppy and mechanical, like watching a hyper-realistic movie, but it didn’t read well, in my opinion. Some might like that as it gives a fairytale vibe. I found myself having to put effort into adding personality and character to the narration. As an adult book, it felt more young adult, which conflicted with the monotonous tone in my head. I think I would’ve enjoyed this much more as an audiobook with a witty narrator. I would recommend this to those who liked "Addie LaRue."