This book was enchanting, but a little hard to follow at times.

Violet Everly was hidden away as a child. Her mom walked out, and her uncles did their best to keep her cared for, but isolated. She had questions, but no answers. The Everlys had long been cursed, and when she's discovered, Violet is next in line to meet their dark fate.

When Violet starts to learn some of the secrets that have been kept from her - a whole society of revered Scholars, in a world away known as Fidelis - she sets out on her own to find her mother. To find answers, and to break the curse and save her life.

Aleksander, the chosen assistant to Penelope, the woman who's in charge of the Scholars and the most feared and respected in Fidelis, should have an honored position. But it comes with a price - as does not meeting Penelope's exacting standards. When he meets Violet, he's torn between helping her, or carrying out his orders.

The world building is good - Fidelis is a dream land that you want to explore even more. There's a lot of history, myths and legends that have distorted over time, so no one knows the true story anymore. While this storyline definitely reaches it's conclusion, I'm left with a lot of questions - I want to know more of the history, to find out what really happened in the past, and how Fidelis was developed into what it became. I want to know more about Marianne, will we ever actually get to meet her? To understand her reasoning, and what she found in her research and travels?

I hope there's another book set in this universe, there's definitely the potential for one! I'm sure if a second book does come out, it will make this one such a pleasurable re-read - to get to see all the hints here and there that have been left!

Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for this ARC!

I absolutely loved this book! Georgia Summers' debut novel "The City of Stardust" is a mesmerizing foray into dark academia, blending a rich tapestry of magic, curses, and family legacy. Set against a backdrop of cutthroat scholars and a secret society of magicians, the story follows Violet Everly’s desperate quest to break a centuries-old family curse and save her mother. While the book garners praise for its lush world-building and haunting narrative, reminiscent of "The Atlas Six" and R.F. Kuang’s "Babel." Summers’ enchanting prose and the novel's exploration of themes like sacrifice, love, and betrayal make it a compelling read for fans of contemporary fantasy and dark academia.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the opportunity to read rate and review this Arc which is available January 30,2024!!!

I have never read a book like this before. The premise is intriguing. It’s a contemporary fantasy that has portal fantasy, a magical world on top of a “real” world with hints of academia vibes, a familial curse or rather a debt a family has to pay and no one knows why and a romantic sub plot.

The writing style though I had an issue with. It was too lyrical. I was wholly invested in Violet Everly and Aleksander, especially Aleksander he was really interesting to me. But the prose and writing style felt like it pulled me in then spun me out like a weird dance.

Honestly I am glad I read it but I don’t know how I feel about it. It was such a weird ride but not in a bad way.

I think others need to read it though. It really is a unique tale.

The City of Stardust is a perfect read for fans of Erin Morgenstern, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, and Lore by Alexandra Bracken. It’s great for readers who half hope some door will open into a fantasy world. I found myself enchanted by this world, though it was sometimes hampered by character development and poor pacing.

There is a sense of urgency instilled when Violet is told that she is running out of time. When she’s a kid, Penelope promises to take Violet as compensation for a curse as a stand-in for her mom, who has disappeared. That urgency quickly falls away because years pass and nothing happens. We don’t even get insight into Violet’s growth and change. Then it’s a year until the curse is due to complete and still nothing seems to happen. Violet is exploring the world and talking to scholars, learning more about Fidelis and her mother, sure. But she’s not achieving anything with regards to the curse and the time flies by, with the reader getting little insight. Had the story gone into further depth, described what Violet was seeing even in the less important moments, I feel it would have felt deeper and more immersive. Also, it seems that Penelope won’t collect on the curse until Violet is older and yet Violet doesn’t get to leave the house all the same? Penelope knows about Violet and knows who she is, yet Violet’s uncles keep her in the house. She could have gone to school, had a life outside of the house, and Penelope would have ignored her. It was never said that if Penelope saw Violet again, she would just take her away. Why did she have to live such an insular life? And then Violet doesn’t resent her uncles for this isolation, at least not in any proper kind of way.

I loved Aleksander the most and very much enjoyed his point of view. I feel they added much needed depth to Violet and the worldbuilding, as told through the eyes of someone who is quite used to the magic and yet still finds it astounding. He latched onto Penelope like she was a mother, though she was anything but, and he suffered for it. And yet he still kept coming back. He didn’t know better and turned a blind eye to her evil doings, preferring to seek the title of a scholar and all the respect that title would gain. His story and motivations were much easier to understand and empathize with that Violet’s.

We are thrown into this world of magic and gods, but given little explanation for how they exist or who they are. I feel the layout of the universe needed more explanation early on in the book, rather than at the end, when it felt like things began to actually come together and make sense, but in an almost too little, too late kind of way.

I will be keeping an eye out for more books by Georgia Summers. I feel with time, her writing can only improve.

This book will surely sweep people off their feet! The whimsical writing, the mysterious fantasy world, traveling through doorways to new places, it has everything you could want in a fantasy book. All wrapped up into a standalone.
After reading, I would say that this is a good introduction to the fantasy or magical realism genre. It’s fast-paced, the writing is nice but also simple, the plot interesting. For new readers, I would recommend.
For me however, I lost the love for this book very quickly. When I started, I was sucked into the plot and very pretty writing. It sounded so intriguing and I was already so exited to keep reading. But then I noticed some storylines being forgotten, time and money are irrelevant (which really threw me off), the main characters lacked chemistry, and things becoming so clear and obvious that it was more annoying when the main character didn’t solve the issues sooner.
All of the whimsical disappeared and was replaced by annoyance in the end.
I wish I could say that I loved this book, it definitely had promise! But it fell flat and I was only left with disappointment.

I really liked the premise of the book, however, I felt that it was a bit too slow at times and I had a hard time finishing the book because of this. I liked Violet as a character but she sometimes felt a little too flat. On the other hand, I feel like Summers did a wonderful job at displaying the toxic relationship between Aleksander and Penelope: the power imbalance, the grooming, the trauma. It was all very well done.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Violet Everly has been under a curse she doesn't understand her whole life. Her mother disappeared when she was ten, and she never knew her father. Her uncles have been raising her, but they aren't very forthcoming about the bits of strangeness she's seen at the edges of the world. She's scrambling for clues not just about where her mother might be but why--and what else might be going on.

There's a young man about her own age she's only met a few times, Aleksander, who has a different set of clues than she does, but he's still fumbling around the edges of a greater truth, in the face of older, more powerful people keeping him on the periphery. Violet and Aleksander have to determine whether they can be friends--allies--even more--or whether they will be forever at cross-purposes.

The title is, alas, only slightly apropos. This book has a lot in common with the subgenre known as dark academia, although the existence of people known as scholars doesn't mean that the academy is playing a significant part. There is a dark glittering vividness to it, and yet the periphery is very vague, this is not a deeply worldbuilt book. There's a lot of our own world, and only as much fantasy as the plot requires. It was a fast and entertaining read but didn't leave me thinking of it much after.

This was lovely!! Beautifully written with a fascinating mythology, very reminiscent of The Starless Sea if a little more disjointed at the beginning, but I enjoyed it nonetheless

4 stars. The City of Stardust is one of the most unique fantasy reads I've read in a while. This is a story of gods and monsters and curses, and a magic system that allows its wielders to travel between words. As much as I appreciated the plot and magic system, the best part about The City of Stardust was the writing itself. It was lyrical and poetic and kind of reminded me of Erin Morgenstern's writing style a bit (which is meant to be a huge compliment). In addition to the magic, there is a bit of a romance, but my favorite scenes were actually the scenes between Violet and her uncles. Even though the family scenes were heartwarming, I would definitely qualify this as dark fantasy, with the caveat that some parts of this were actually quite gory or macabre. I would say that The City of Stardust is pretty fast paced, but also a little bit confusing. I still don't know 100% what happened, and I also still have a ton of questions. Needless to say, although there is an ending, parts of it felt a little open ended. All in all, I really enjoyed this and absolutely recommend, especially for readers that enjoy the prose as much as plot.

Thank you so much to Summers, Orbit/Redhook, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoyed The Starless Sea, or you like secret societies, scholars and twisted mysteries and magic!

What an absolute magical and mind-blowing read! I went into reading this book knowing nothing and how wise it was for me! I enjoyed everything in it, devoured the story in 2 days (which is huge for my busy mama life).

We are introduced to a world where talented people are able to manipulate star-metal to their benefit and create keys to travel with. There is a city they call home,a remnant of the once known world to magic, where scholars live and gather: that has everything to do with young Violet’s mother and her disappearance. A debt is due to paid and we follow Violet and her uncles competing against time and against powerful people, while also following Violet chasing her mother’s steps across the globe and her promise.

There are so many wonderful characters and essential pathways crossing in the wrong or the exact perfect time, which makes this story even more compelling! The magic of the stars is absolutely incredible, the inclusion of celestial gods and their stories adds that unique unknown feeling to the world.

It is hauntingly beautiful, grabs so many emotions from different perspectives: grief, hope, desperation, vengeance and new beginnings.

Are you ready to unlock a world of scholars and monsters, mysteries and star-magic? If yes, grab your travel key and turn to page 1 in the new year!

Thank you so much for the publisher the author, and now the galley for the advanced reading copy my thoughts are my own.

Did I like this? Not like this? I'm not sure.

The City of Stardust read almost like a cross between Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy for its gods and fairy tales, which most characters aside from the protagonist no longer believe in. And Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea for its dreamy, somewhat plotless vibe and obsessive scholar searching for a lost city. And Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer, which also has lost gods, obsessive scholars searching for a lost city, and a dreaminess — but unlike Starless Sea, shares sharper edges with City of Stardust.

As with so many of my recent reads, our protagonist acted too much like a teenager for me, fiercely rebelling against she felt were unreasonable strictures and feeling she knew best, though she's 21/22 for much of the story and this is marketed as an adult book.

I wish more of the back story / mythology of the astrals, Fidelis, reveurite, Elandriel had been explained, too. This book is a standalone, which I appreciate — we need more non-series books to get published! — but that and the dreamy vibe meant that we don't get answers to many questions. The secondary characters aren't fully realized: Ambrose is the overprotective scholarly uncle, Gabriel the cool mystery uncle, etc. We keep reading that "Everlys stick together" but see little evidence of this historically or, in some cases, in the present day. Many question marks remain for me.

Well-written, sometimes
slow, still fun. Some people have
Imaginations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



(I write haiku reviews on Instagram but am happy to provide more feedback, if desired.)

This book is enchanting, intricate, emotional and absolutely incredible. The main character, Violet, is amazing and fits perfectly into the role of a young adult narrator who is both naive and brilliant. She is relatable and keeps you on the edge of your seat while you root for her throughout the story. The magical worlds created in the book are truly mesmerizing with gods and of course, Penelope. Watching Violet and Alexander go through their own terrible situations adds another layer of complexity to the story that keeps you engaged. I could talk about this book all day and I am eagerly looking forward to reading more from Georgia Summers.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an early copy to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

First I’d like to say that this cover is stunning!

Although the writing was pretty and the plot had potential; I found it very hard to get into this book. It was super slow and difficult to follow at times. I typically don’t mind multiple POV’s but only when they are divided by chapters. This book has multiple random POV’s in the middle of the chapters and it was hard to follow thus having me not really connecting to any of the characters.

I also felt like there were plot holes and that the story just sort of went in circles for me. The romance was lacking. To be honestly; I don’t feel like the main characters had any chemistry. Nothing romantic like happened between them until the end and it was just out of nowhere. I really would have loved for there to have been more of romantic build up for them because the romance at the end just didn’t make sense, since there was none throughout the book.

The plot had potential and I loved the concept of the book but I feel like it should have been executed differently. I know I read a book but I just don’t feel like I’ve really read a story if that makes sense.

All in all, it was good and I don’t regret reading it; I just simply wanted more from it.

3 stars!

Wonderfull. Amazing. Speechless. Great fantasy . So different and uniquely . I enjoyed the different points of vies and how nicely was written , can wait for more .

I am so happy to end this year with a 5-star read.

This is one of the best books I have read in a while. It completely captivated my attention, and I didn't want the book to end. The writing was beautiful and almost had a poetic feel to it. It kept giving me similar vibes to when I read The Starless Sea. I loved the magic system and the mystery of how the Everly curse was created. Although there are some romantic elements to this story, it didn't take away from the fantasy aspect of this book and made you want Victoria to succeed in her adventure even more. This is the type of book that makes you still think about the ending days later.

The City of Stardust comes out January 30th, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and Redhook Books for the opportunity to read The City of Stardust. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is beautifully written and quite lyrical. Reminded me some of Addie LaRue. I felt it focused a little too much on character emotions and feelings which slowed the story down for me. With this being the author’s debut novel, I am curious about her future works as there is immense potential.

This is such a promising debut, and I'm excited to see where this author's journey takes her.

This feels so similar to Starless Sea, Addie LaRue, Strange the Dreamer. It's introspective, and more of a study of how our characters interact with the impact of forgotten magic on their lives.

That said, while Starless Sea, Addie LaRue, and Strange the Dreamer are some of my favorite books, there was something missing from this for me.

The writing itself is beautiful and lyrical, but after a while we're so focused on how the characters are feeling, and there's no great changes throughout the book that warrant revisiting the same inner thoughts SO much. It felt like these character's inner monologues took time and space away from dipping more into the magic of the world. There was so much lore hinted at, but never really explored.

I also wanted more from Violet's character. She is goal focused (and for good reason!) but I couldn't get a feel for who she is as a person. Maybe that's on purpose?

So yeah. Beautifully written. Interesting premise. Got lost in the weeds a bit. But looking forward to what this author does next.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an advanced ereader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

THE CITY OF STARDUST follows Violet as she sets off to find her mother, or risk being sacrificed to the family curse. I wasn't exactly sure what I expected from this book, but it was both more and less than my expectations, mostly in a good way! The writing is lyrical and tells an incredible story, but the pacing was a bit lackluster; it was a fast-moving book, but I felt like I was reading a lot of nothing at times. The timelines as well got to be confusing, especially because there's a year's gap where we have no intuition on what's going on with Violet. If you're looking for an adventure fantasy, spanning multiple worlds, a curse, a missing mother and a vengeful god, I recommend picking this one up. Be prepared for some loose ends, though!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
if i had to describe this book in one word, it would be flat.the book follows a young girl trying to escape the curse her family has been under for a thousand years. the following bullet points are my thoughts in a nutshell:
-this is trying way too hard to be the starless sea by erin morgenstern, but it has none of what makes that book so great.
-the world building is flimsy at best and none of it makes sense. i’m a seasoned fantasy reader and couldn’t understand this world.
-the characters are all 2D and i felt absolutely nothing for them.
-the plot line is simple yet convoluted at the same time??
-the ending is anticlimactic.
basically, don’t waste your time on this if you want something similar to the starless sea.