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."

This book had such an amazing premise, and I loved the idea of what the author was trying to do... but it 100% fell flat for me. The characters were fine, the worldbuilding was okay, and the writing was a bit up and down for me. I really found that the time jumps killed most of the character development, and the relationship between Aleksander and Violet had no tension. They kept saying they were into each other, she kept getting betrayed by him, but there was no urgency. Because this was a debut, I will likely wait and try the author's next book, but for now, this was a no. Also there was no reason for this to be marketed as adult except for the age of the FMC (early 20s) and the sacrificing of babies/children.

Wow, wow, wow.
Utterly loved and enjoyed this fantasy. It pulls you in with the atmospheric and beautiful writing. Brings to mind echoes of Strange the Dreamer and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, two books I absolutely loved. It may take a while for some readers to get into this because of the world building, but I did not mind the slow beginning and thought it was near perfect!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Redhook Books for the e-ARC!
Expected publication: January 30, 2024

Readers who are new to the fantasy genre may enjoy this book since it is a contemporary fantasy with a simple magic system. My favorite aspect of this book is the writing style—the prose is elegant and ethereal and helps you paint a picture in your head of what Fidelis is like. Overall you can tell that the author put a lot of effort into writing this! The premise of the book is really interesting but sadly the execution fell short for me. This book leans towards “no plot just vibes” in my opinion and I found myself struggling towards the middle when reading about Violet’s travels. I didn’t feel strongly about Violet (our fmc) or Aleksander and by the end of the book, I still felt like I didn’t know the characters at all. I also had a lot of unanswered questions when I was finished with the book and the ending felt sort of unsatisfying :’) I can see why others would enjoy this but sadly it just wasn’t for me.

A young woman, raised in isolation by her uncles, yearns for her absent mother and magical worlds. But when her family is revealed to be tragically cursed, she sets off on a journey towards the fantastical in hopes of finding out the truth about who she is and the other, strange world that has beckoned her her whole life.

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful, clearly written with a lot of thought. It's emotional and desperate, much like the main character, Violet. But where it falls short is the pacing and the overall plot. There were many glossed over aspects of the story and a few conveniences.

I would still recommend it to fantasy readers but more for the setting and ambience then storyline.

3.5 🌟This is a whimsical, lyrical story that's definitely an ode to the book lover. If you were drawn to the premise of The Starless Sea this is the kind of story for you. The story is a bit hard to fully immerse into because it's told in 3rd person but the prose makes up for that!

While I really enjoyed the premise behind this book and the almost mythological aspects, I found this book to be a bit disappointing. I simply couldn't get behind any of the characters, although the characters were very fleshed out. I definitely couldn't find myself liking Aleksander, as he was simply a coward. While Aleksander was clearly abused and had a right to be a coward, I was hoping he would step out of line a little bit sooner and stand up to Penelope.

I also thought this book may have went on a little too long. While the premise was nice, it was slightly repetitive as Violet was constantly trying to escape Penelope's grasp. I did enjoy the parts where she was piecing together where her mom went.

While this book wasn't for me, this book could be for fantasy lovers. I just won't be reading it again.

I am giving this a 3 star rating mostly because I felt the story was hard to follow. I felt like I needed more story building of Fidelis and the “elsewhere”. I was captivated within each chapter and it made me want to read more, but then I felt like the next chapter was either confusing or it switched completely. For me as a reader, I needed more to be explained outright or at least to have more world building. I also felt like there was too much back and forth between characters views within the same chapter. It took me a second to realize I was now Aleksanders point of view instead of Violet or Penelope.

With that said, I loved Violet as a character. I felt like the author was able to portray her emotions perfectly so I could feel them as well. That is what kept me coming back to the book.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The City of Stardust is so beautifully written. It was a pleasure to read the words.

I heard comparisons to Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Starless Sea. These comparisons are very much in line with my experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

There is always a mess, or a curse when a mortal and a god make a deal. Is it a weakness if the mortal reneges? Or viciousness when the god (in this case an astral) tries to complete the deal so that they can find their way home? Both of those are answered in this story full of stardust that can be molded by mysterious scholars and doorways with keys that can take you almost everywhere. Plus there is a girl, named Violet, out searching for the truth, her mother, and a way to break the terrible curse that will cost her her soul. While I did like the journey that Violet took, I wish there had been more time spent on the history of Fidelis, the astrals (why were certain ones chained up? little questions like that) and the forging of the items of stardust (more details about what Ever Everly made). Still, it was a fun book to read, lots of magic and adventure and of course stardust to make it all run. I would not mind reading more about this world/worlds and I hope Aleksander can rebuild those doors! This would make an excellent sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book for me to read an review.

Magical and lyrical, I heartily enjoyed The City of Stardust. I gladly took my Christmas break to take my time and enjoy the book, though I wanted to stay up all night and finish it in one go.

I will not say this is a perfect book—the pacing in particular is very uneven throughout the book and the author suffers from that writerly trait particular to fantasy authors where they feel as though they must confusingly drop you in media res and then not explain anything for several chapters— but it was an excellent pick to begin 2024 with. Summers’ writing was fluid and lush and very engrossing.

With shades of Erin Morgenstern and VE Schwab, I look forward to more of this author’s future efforts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

THE CITY OF STARDUST by Georgia Summers is a contemporary adult fantasy debut with city-hopping, a cursed family, a greedy cosmic power, and a magic system that involves the manipulation of star metal to make keys. I loved the unconventional narrative style that makes the read atmospheric, and the first half showcases the author's way with words well. I did enjoy the way the Everly family history is almost mythologized.

Unfortunately, the elements didn't tie together, the book has pacing issues, the romance is unconvincing, and the resolution feels extremely anticlimactic. If this was edited better, or even made into two books, it wouldn't have been an underwhelming read.

Full review to come on the blog.

🔑 The City of Starlight by Georgia Summers 🔑

Do you not hear the stars sing, little dreamer?

*Netgalley ARC review*
Wow. I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. What an absolute treasure of a debut for Georgia Summers.
This book had it all and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It’s got magic, mystery, adventure, love, betrayal, family, a curse, keys and doors to new worlds, and a really good (bad) villain. This book is dark. Definitely evokes a very Grimm’s fairytale vibe at its heart, very dark with myths and lore and stories passed down of gods and truly dark monsters. Violet Everly was such a compelling main character and I loved watching her finally get the adventure she’d always dreamed of, even if it was more dark and twisty than she’d imagined. The side characters that pop in and out of the story are perfect and add so much flavor. This is a gorgeously written and beautifully crafted story that weaves its own fairytale among the different threads within its pages. An excellent standalone novel that grabbed my attention from the very start and never let go.



Thank you so much to @netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!