I really enjoyed this book and the world and characters the author was able to create! The main things I enjoyed were the writing style and the aesthetic the author created. The book is beautifully written with a strong focus on the details. The characters' backstories were well thought out and explained in detail. Violet's journey and growth along the way were executed very well, and I felt her mistakes were realistic, given her upbringing. The beginning of the book was slow; however, it helped to understand the characters' backstories and thought processes and the world for the rest of the book. I would have liked for Violet to interact more with the world of the scholars. The world was very interesting and could have been explored more in the book. Another area that could have been explored more was Marianne's story. As a reader, I felt we did not get any closure on this part of the story, and it could have been wrapped up a little better. If you are going into the book wanting a romance book, you will probably be disappointed as it is more of a fantasy book with a minor romance subplot. Overall, I look forward to seeing what this author does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book reminded me of a lot of really great books like "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" and "The Starless Sea." I loved the secret societies and the different worlds and the ancient mythology. Violet was a great main character, too. It seems like this is a standalone, but I would love more stories set in this world. I do think this book fell into the trap a lot of debuts fall into, where there end up being a couple of loose ends necessary for everything to make sense that aren't explained, but otherwise the writing was great and the story was so engaging that I read it in one sitting. 4.5/5 stars

A debt is owed in blood from an ancestor that could not keep his end of the bargain. As a result, an Everly sacrifices themselves as punishment for the crime. No one knows the true story, but Marianne Everly is determined to find the answer, only to disappear, leaving her daughter, Violet, behind. Violet is the last Everly and a debt is still owed. We join Violet on her journey to discover the whereabouts of her mother, what her mother discovered, and how she can end the cycle. Many obstacles stand in her way and there are those with ulterior motives, but Violet continues to discover the truth and find the key to stop her tormentor, Penelope, who has been making it difficult for Violet to gather information and sends her assistant to discover what Violet is up to. Violet's journey takes her many places, but will she sacrifice it all, if she cannot find the key to the city of stardust? I received this novel as an ARC from net galley and the publisher, Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the chance to read this original tale, full of magic, adventure, love, and mystery!
The story is about a curse following one family, the Everlys, and for generations, one member of the family is snatched in a dark place to pay a blood debt from a 1000 year old curse. The person of that generation should have been Marianne, but Marianne had escaped, running off for a better life free from the chains that bind her, and thus starts a mystery when a mysterious lady and her assistant approach the family in order to collect the debt. Marianne is gone, with no trace of her, and Penelope had found out about Violet, who had been previously hidden away from view. A bargain is made, ten years they would have to find Marianne, or Violet would be sacrificed to this mysterious star lady. What happens next is a quest for Violet to find her mother, and more importantly, dig up her history about her family and who she really is.
This story was very well written, reminiscent of the likes of Neil Gaiman, Erin Morgenstern, and V.E. Schwab, nevertheless had it own heart and style. I really enjoyed the fast pace and whimsical prose as we go through the mind of many characters. The plot was a little bit of a slow build, and layer by layer unravels, but trust me, it's worth the wait. I really loved Violet's relationship with her uncles, who go above and beyond to protect her from the curse. The world is a bit hard to understand at times, but you need to be patient as the puzzles come together.
For the most part, I feel like this story is about love, sacrifice, and finding what is important to you, as well as forgiveness and coming face to face with your own mortality. I enjoyed Violet as a main character and found myself sympathizing with her throughout the book. Even though Penelope was the villain, I found myself sympathizing with her too, and found that the ending was quite bittersweet as well as realistic and satisfying.
Thank you, Netgalley, and Georgia Summers, for the opportunity to review this ARC.

The prose alone will get you hooked, a beautifully written book. The vibes were immaculate and it is the Jan FL adult pick which means it has definitely piqued a lot of interest. Seeing the story unfold through various POVs sometimes is hard to get into but I found it relatively easy in this one. Definitely recommend!

I liked this debut book for the most part, there are some things that are really well done, but there are also things that didn’t quite work for me. The characters were all very morally grey, which I love, and the plot was interesting, but it is the writing that truly shines in this story of gods and curses

Violet starts out as a likable enough character. She is strong willed and has a strong moral compass, but she is very naive when it comes to other people and society as a whole. This isn’t her fault really, she was kept very isolated as a child. But she does manage to navigate her way through the world as she hunts for her mother. She becomes slightly less likable as the story unfolds, due to some of the choices she makes. She also never felt as fully fleshed out as Aleksander.

Aleksander was also likable to a point. Mostly you just feel sorry for him, as he has a well fleshed out and horrible backstory. But he too makes some bad choices, although his are a bit more understandable and he does get it right in the end. He has a very complex relationship with both Violet and Penelope. The romance between Violet and him, wasn’t really a romance. They have feelings for each other, but they are so busy with other issues that the romance part never really meshes, even when they do finally admit their feelings for each other.

Penelope was pretty evil, and was perhaps my favorite of the bunch. Her backstory was complex, and one I’m not sure I ever fully understood. There were a lot of stories told about who she was and why she needed the Everlys but none of them were ever related as the truth. I really hated how she used and manipulated Aleksander, but I’m pretty sure I was meant to. 

The author’s writing style was wonderful and it was this more than anything else that kept me going to the end of the book. There were wonderfully lush descriptions and turns of phrases that were perfect. The world building was also well done for the most part, except that there were times when I felt that things were not explained as well as they could be. The premise of the story, that there are worlds that can be accessed through doors and keys, never felt fully explored. The pacing was steady through out and sometimes lacked the excitement it needed during the few action sequences. The ending was satisfactory, but better closure for Violet and her mom would have been nice.

Overall, even with the issues, I thought this was a pretty good book. I would recommend looking at other reviews before deciding on whether to read this one or not. There are many people who really enjoyed the story and the characters, much more than I did. But I will say that I will be keeping an eye out for another book by this author. I really enjoyed her writing and her wonderful descriptions. I think this might be an author to watch as she develops her craft.

I would have given this book 3.5 stars if I could. I'm rounding up because I enjoyed it and because I think it's impressive for a debut novel.

The City of Stardust is not at all what I expected it to be. When I looked at the cover, I imagined I was being drawn into an atmospheric fantasy world filled with mystery and whimsical details. What I found is a story that explores the differences between living and surviving and the lengths to which people will go to avoid what they fear.

One of Violet Everly's earliest memories is of her mother leaving her. Marianne Everly packs what she can carry and disappears into a storm determined to break the curse that has plagued her family for generations. She leaves Violet in the care of her two brothers and with the promise that she will return when the curse is broken.

Violet grows up in the care of her doting uncle Ambrose, and while all of her basic needs are met, she longs to see and explore the world. She's raised on fairytales - stories of quests and adventures, villains and heros, magic and curses - and she wants to experience it all for herself. When she learns that the curse will demand her life unless her mother returns, Violet sets off to find her. Along the way, she experiences a series of disasters, failures, and betrayals that leave her questioning everything she believes about the world and herself.

The City of Starlight is populated with characters that are utterly and believably human. There are no heros. Outside of Violet and Ambrose, there aren't even many characters that I particularly liked, but I identified with so many of them. I see a lot more of myself in Alexander than I do in Violet, and I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed the book as much as I did. The characters are deeply flawed, and their flaws and their humanity shape the story as much as their hopes and aspirations.

I think this book will be a really strong bookclub pick because it provides fertile ground for discussions about life, family, and what lengths we'll go to to survive.

In some ways, I feel that world around Violet - this world of scholars and Astrals and revurite and magic - is underutilized. I finished the book hungry to explore more of it. I have so many unanswered questions, because this is not a book about the fantasy or the worldbuilding. It's about the characters, but the world still has so much unexplored potential.

If you enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue because you enjoy a female lead who is hungry for a life that is vibrant and full and who endures despite mounting adversity, you'll enjoy this book. If you like ambiguous endings, morally gray characters, and a story that will leave you with even more questions at the end than you had at the beginning, pick it up. And if you decide to read it, let's chat about it. There is so much to work through in these pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Orbit Books for providing a digital ARC of this book for me to review.

Magic keys, secret doors and stars. Fighting to find her mother and her sparse trail Violet leaves her sheltered life to break her family's curse. This was unique book, magic given to people by the stars. I loved it, it was so different.

The City Of Stardust follows Violet Everly, the youngest member of a family plagued by a curse. As her time draws near, Violet takes off on her own to find her mother in an effort to stop this from happening. Violet's journies take her to other worlds and in the path of otherworldly creatures as she fights to keep from having to repay her family's debt.

I really enjoyed the world building of this book, intertwining mortals with gods and seeing what happens when the worlds collide. I did find the pace to be quite slow and the ending to be a bit underwhelming and unfulfilled. Overall, I did enjoy the read, rating it 3.5 stars rounded down for the slow pace. If you enjoy mythology and the magic of other worlds, you may very well enjoy this book!

Thank you NetGalley, RedHook books, and author Georgia Summers for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The City of Stardust does so much right. With portals to different worlds, dangerous fallen gods, and elements of dark academia (emphasis on the dark), the novel contains so much that is currently big in fantasy. Violet Everly, with her stubbornness and curiosity, is an easy protagonist to sympathize with and root for as she tries to hunt down her mother and escape her family’s curse. And the prose is gorgeous, making the beauty and horror of magic feel almost tangible in a way that reminded me of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Still, it doesn’t quite come together: the plot, for example, is slow to develop, fully kicking into gear a third of the way through. Scenes often interrupt rather than seamlessly sliding together. The central romance, a compellingly twisty friends-to-enemies-to-lover’s journey (I won’t tell you where it eventually ends up) seems to slide away at times. More importantly, while the novel has a very solid emotional center in Violet, it frequently jumps to side characters and side plots (sometimes close to every other scene) that don’t always satisfyingly tie back to the central conflict.

All of that said, the novel is still very enjoyable. Many of the individual scenes are incredibly impressive. I feel shivers down my spine when I recall some with the fallen gods. And it does come together for a conclusion that is emotionally satisfying and meaningful. With so much of its wonderful and horrible magic still waiting to be tapped, I would welcome Georgia Summers to return to this world.

4.5 stars rounded down!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, as well as the author, for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW. I loved this book. The premise of it is so magical, intriguing and enchanting. Even a little dark and gruesome. It honestly just hit different. I felt some nostalgia reading this but I think every kid has dreamed of opening a door to another world haha. It gave me a Locke and Key sorta vibe which I loved. I found myself thinking about it often when I wasn't reading it. I just wanted to sit there and devour it!

I thought it was beautifully written and the world building was so good as well. There was not a whole lot of information dumping which was great. It kept me interested throughout the whole book. The writing was a medium pace but I found that it didn't make anything drag on.

There is a teeeeny tiny bit of romance, but not much. And honestly... didn't even care. I was so invested in all the other aspects of the book. The romance was just a nice little addition but it wasn't all I was thinking about. It's like a reward.

I personally liked all the different perspectives. It was easy to follow, however there were a few times where it switched and I didn't catch it so I was a tiny bit confused. But it only happened a couple times so it wasn't too bad. There are also a few time jumps, but I thought they were also fairly well done and didn't leave much confusion.

I did wish that there was more closure to Marianne's story though.

All in all, this was a fantastic read! I would def recommend this. I'm interested to see what the author writes next!

I really wanted to like this one - it has a lot of wonderful elements, but on the whole it just fell a bit flat for me. The writing is at times extraordinarily evocative and lovely - but at an equal number of times the dialogue felt somewhat stilted and unnatural. I don't know if it gets lost in its own cleverness or what, but it meanders a lot more then I wanted it to, making the story drag along in a lot of places. This pulled me out of the narrative in a way that required me to re-engage quite frequently, adding to the slow-moving feel.

I also didn't feel like the characters were very three-dimensional, I had a hard time connecting to anyone, or understanding why they were behaving as they were, which further complicated my connection to the novel overall. I think I just wasn't a good fit for this one...

special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced look at the book in exchange for an honest review.

In this novel we follow Violet Everly, curious and determined as ever, as she follows her mother’s path in order to break her family’s curse.

This book includes the following
- family generational curse
- traveling through worlds
- fickle gods
- scholars and rituals
- metal magic

The writing of this was beautiful, and almost dream-like. In the way the story unfolded and throughout the chapters, we received different characters stories and perspectives. We always got a little of the truth of the family curse but never all of it, we were along side Violet the whole time trying to uncover it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, especially the villain. The way Penelope was written was very three dimensional and we understood everything she was doing and why. It made it that much more exciting to keep reading, to learn the lore of the family curse and what it takes to break it.
I enjoyed this book so much and I cannot wait for more from this author!

Wow this was completely unexpected and I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. The writing is gorgeous, the story gripped me from the start, and the tension never let up. It definitely gave me Starless Sea vibes, but this was darker and much bloodier. For a while, I wasn’t sure how emotionally connected I was to the characters, but by the end I was absolutely crying through some of Violet’s scenes with both her brothers and Aleksander. Penelope was such an intriguing villain too; I loved the different versions of her story woven throughout.
The ending was bittersweet, but with enough hope to satisfy. I will say my main complaint is that I wasn’t satisfied with Marianne’s storyline and how it was left; I definitely wanted more resolution there.
But wow, I’d definitely recommend this book.

4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced look at the book to review. All opinions are my own.

The City of Starlight was a wonderful journey of a complex world and a really interesting magic system. It took me a little to get into, and I am very happy that I kept reading.
Readers are in the dark for much of the first half of the book, as we gradually learn about the incredible magic of reveurite (a god/star- metal, that gifted ones are able to wield) through the lens of protagonist Violet.
Violet is a member of the cursed Everly bloodline. Her mother disappeared twelve years ago on a supposed journey to break the curse and protect Violet. Violet (and the reader) know little about the truth of magic and her mother’s backstory particularly during the first half of the book.
Once we gained some knowledge of the curse and the magical realms accessible via key, I couldn’t put the book down! However, personally I felt, some of this info could have come much sooner. The book felt so short for such an intriguing world, and I wanted a bit more exposition. Particularly, I would have loved more scenes early on amidst Violet’s journey. She travels across the globe for a year, on what seems to be a very eventful quest, and yet we just get snippets. I would have loved so much more!!
Similarly, I was dying for more backstory on Aleksander and scenes of the two of them. This is definitely a fantasy story first and a romance second. But since the romance does contribute to the plot, I would have loved more dialogue between Violet and Aleksander, to be a bit more engaged in their “romance.”
The last two parts of the book were my favorite, and I thought the ending provided a neat enough resolution. Overall, it was a quick paced Romantasy, and I would recommend!
Notes: I was able to review an ARC of City of Starlight, thanks to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton!

The book is beautifully written and the descriptions will take you on an adventure. I loved the fairy tale aspect, the difference between legend and fact and how after a while the truth is lost and surviving is not living.

But there's a lot of missed potential. What is talent? Why were the astrals banished? What was Marianne actually seeking? No parents or aunts/uncles? There was just a lot missing for me to raise this book up a level. But I know some fantasy readers will absolutely love it.

4.5

“To be nothing is to be remade, after all.”

This book gave me suchhhh Invisible Life of Addie LaRue vibes in the atmosphere and writing style !! (though that’s where the comparison ends—this book is much more plot and fantasy heavy than Addie). It was whimsical yet dark with a side of employee-of-the-enemy to lovers (though the romance isn't a huge aspect).

Towards the last 20%, it did start to feel like too much was happening too close to the end. Fair warning, the conclusion is a little open-ended. But, I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience and had trouble putting it down! Definitely my type of book.

CW: This book gets surprisingly bloody and violent. Blood, violence, sacrificial self harm, child death, child abuse.

The writing in this book is second to none. The author’s command of prose and imagery transported me into the complex and sometimes confusing universe of Gods and Everlys in a way that left me tearing through this book in almost one sitting.

I highly recommend this book for lovers of parallel tales like The Night Circus. Though I found the many changing perspectives difficult to follow at times (this might have been a formatting issue on my Kindle), the story telling in The City of Stardust is unlike anything I’ve read in a long time.

This book is beautifully written, sprinkled with insight and magic. I loved each of the characters, who, much like the world(s) this book is set in, were incredibly layered. Georgia Summers has woven a fantasy tapestry with The City of Stardust, with glimpses at world building that hold promise of much bigger things to come - and I hope they do. Much like the protagonist, I wanted to see through every door and round every corner. Meet every character. But we don’t get everything we asked for here, just a taste. It’s rare that I say that I wish a book could be longer, but here that is indeed the case. I wanted to see more of some of side characters, maybe their backstory, maybe more of the city itself. Ultimately though, the book was a joy to read, and there was payoff. I definitely recommend diving into this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for sharing this ARC with me for my honest opinion.

This is a book about a generational curse, and the woman who is shouldering that burden. Instead of facing it, or fleeing from it, Violet Everly follows her mother's footsteps to figure out how to end it.

This book felt like being in a dream. There was a world that slowly unfolded around you, with prose that makes you slow down and meander through it. There were also so many questions, with the answers seeming just out of reach. Lending itself to the dreamlike quality were the questions driving the novel. Until the last 25% or so, it didn't feel like the main character made very many decisions, things just happened to her, often leading to more questions and few answers. It worked well, but it wasn't my favorite technique I've seen an author work.

The book seemed to change around the 2/3 mark. Gone was the dreamlike state, replaced by determination and action. The novel picked up in a way I didn't expect, but appreciated nonetheless.

This book is perfect for anyone who relates to this line: "But that peculiar time when magic fades and cynicism sets in never happens, so there's always a part of her waiting for something."