The writing style was definitely not for me but overall good plot and decent characters. I probably would have DNF if I wasn’t reviewing it for NetGalley honestly

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

There were parts of this novel I enjoyed and parts that I didn't, but overall I had a good time with it. I enjoyed the world and the fairytale vibe it had. If you like plot-driven as opposed to character-driven stories, I think you'll enjoy this one! The intrigue is the real pull of this story. I feel like I have the same feelings about this as I did about the second "Shades of Magic" series book - I wish it was either split in two or 100 pages less. Other than that, I'd rent this one from your local library!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book is beautifully written but the story ultimately fell flat for me. Though the mythology had potential, I never felt immersed in these alternate worlds, never really understood the structure of its societies or how they blended with the “real world,” and therefore had a hard time investing in Violet’s journey. She is a perfectly serviceable FMC, but several times I found myself wishing we had gotten a book about her mother, Marianne, instead. The romance was completely unnecessary and really only highlighted Violet’s naivety. I think a sequel would be even better, but I couldn’t say I’d be clamoring to read it.

I believe this to be a me thing and not the books fault. However I did not enjoy this story liked I had hoped. It wasn't easy to get into and the layout of the story didn't help. I found myself not wanting to pick it up after putting it down.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy.

This book...did not do what it was supposed to do.

The conversations was telling more of the story than the story itself...and there wasn't much to the story at all.

DNF - I was so so excited to read this, but unfortunately I just could not get into it.

The vibes were amazing and I loved the writing. The overall premise sounded really intriguing too and this would have been the ideal book for me if the characters didn't feel so flat and two-dimensional. I just didn't know what the characters motivations were or why they were attracted to each other. I just wish this book gave more.

Really sad about this one, but hoping to see some more releases from this author in the future.

Violet Everly is next up in a long line of Everly's to disappear due to the Everly curse. Violet's mother left when Violet was a baby in an attempt to find a cure when she doesn't return Violet and her uncles are left with 10 years to find her or Violet will be taken in her place. Her uncles try to keep her in the dark, but that doesn't stop Violet from picking up on things throughout her childhood. Things like magical worlds and keys that can take you anywhere. Can Violet find her mother and break the curse or will she be the last of the Everly's?

Plot:3/5
Characters: 2/5
Romance: 1/5

Plot:
The plot was fun in the beginning when Violet was a child and as she was growing up. She meets Aleksander for the first time and he shows her that "magic" is real. She learns about scholars who live in the "City of Stardust", Fidelis, the city where her mom grew up.
My favorite parts of the book are the different stories about the man and the god who fall in love and how no one remembers the true story of what happened between the two of them.
However, once Violet sets off on her own the plot drags. It took me almost a month to get through just the middle section. Violet's just spending her last free year going to parties and traveling around the world like her life isn't on the line. Meanwhile we get random POVS from Penelope and Aleksander to let us know that they're both doing a whole lot of nothing.
The ending is very unsatisfying in my opinion and I think there could have been more world building. Everything is wrapped up a little too nicely and there's never any punishment or recognition of all the children that the scholars were stealing throughout the years.

Characters:
Violet: Violet is an okay FMC if not a bit weak in that she just forgives everyone for everything they do to her. She lets Aleksander back in over and over, even though she knows he works for Penelope. She has no urgency when it comes to saving her own life.

Aleksander: Aleksander suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. He gets stolen by Penelope from an orphanage when he's a child and does everything she tells him to do with the promise of one day becoming a scholar. Even though he hates the scholars he's so desperate to become one that he betrays Violet constantly. He's so boring and whiny. He gas lights Violet by telling her she's causing him pain and asking for too much like he hasn't been ruining her life. I wish he wasn't the love interest, but I guess everyone picks a red flag at least once.

Penelope: Penelope cursed the Everly family and in doing so lost access to her home world. Now she has to feed on people in order to live, and Everly's with magic make her the strongest. Her villain motivation is revenge on the Everly's, even though they're her descendants, and to try to get back to her home world. I think her character would be better if there was something more to her than someone hurt me, so now I'm going to hurt his ancestors for hundreds of years.

Caspian: My favorite character even though he's barely in the book.

As a debut this was fine and I'll probably read her next book.

I wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous and the writing is so beautiful but I found that the world building was too much and the story was not paced in a way that I enjoyed.

I did love the writing. It reminded me of The Night Circus and I found myself very drawn in by the beginning of the story. By around the halfway mark, I found myself a bit bored of the story and wanted more action.

The romance was SUPER slow burn and while it was nice, it was also somewhat forgettable.

I didn’t dislike this book but I struggled to finish it and I wouldn’t read it again. However, I would read more from this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Perhaps this is just a me thing, but The City of Stardust gives me very strong Night Circus or Starless Sea vibes, and that is a massive compliment to this book.) Violet Everly wants nothing more than to break a centuries-long curse that claims one of her family members per generation and to find her mother in the process. There were a lot of cool ideas in this book, and most of them were extremely well-executed. I just somehow wanted more from the story as a whole.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but ultimately felt the plot was just too slow. I had a hard time connecting to the characters. The overall plot is definitely more character driven as opposed to plot which is not usually my ideal flow. I also had a hard time feeling like the relationship and feelings between to the two main characters and love interest was genuine. Given everything that happens it didn't seem likely they would end up together. The Georgia Summer has a a beautiful writing style and I loved all her prose. I was easily able to picture the world and felt immersed into the story. I would definitely pick up a future book by the author.

Quick Synopsis

Violet Everly must insert herself into a world of magic and power hungry scholars in order to break a generations long curse before she is taken to pay the debt her family must pay.

My Review

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. The story was okay but it took me a while to get into, which is not normal for me. I liked the plot, but I feel like there could have been more done with it. The characters were likeable. There was a big time skip where the main character didn’t do anything. The villain origin story was the best part for me. This book was not bad, I just didn’t find it interesting. It was well written however I would not recommend it to others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The City of Stardust follows a young lady by the name of Violet Everly. Violet carries a curse. Her whole family is actually cursed. What Violet doesn’t know is, she may be the last Everly in her family to carry it. At a young age Violet meets a very beautiful and studious woman named Penelope and her boy assistant Aleksander when they are invited into her home by her uncle. Penelope is looking for Violet’s missing mother, Marianne. Ambrose and Gabriel, Violet’s uncles, have been searching for her also but to no avail. Penelope delivers an ultimatum: find Marianne in ten years or Violet will owe the debt on the family curse. Ten years is a long time, so it seems. But as the clock starts ticking, Violet learns it’s truly no time at all. Will Marianne show up or be found or will the debt be paid with Violet’s blood?

How is this book going unnoticed?! This story is captivating and beautifully written. The world building is great! It’s giving The Magician by Lev Grossman. Violet and Aleksander’s dynamic throughout the book was great. Caspian reminds me greatly of Eliot from The Magicians. I’m VERY curious if this was Summers inspiration. The only qualm I have with the book is the ending. I felt the pacing was a bit off compared to the rest of the book but that’s truly my only complaint! Overall, I gave this book a 4/5 stars. This was an AMAZING debut from Summers and I hope to see more of her work in the future!!

A beautifully written story by a new author. This story grabbed my attention and drew me in, it has love, mystery, curses, family drama, loss, and heartache all wrapped into the telling of Violets who having been born into the Everly family and their curse and her adventures in trying to find a cure. The author has built an exquisite land for the reader to explore.

A wondrous blend of fantasy and adventure; set in a vividly imagined world filled with magic and intrigue. Faced with the necessity to appease monsters, one is compelled to navigate between the realms of love and deceit, survival and selflessness. The story is quite lengthy as it starts out when Violet is pretty young and unravels into a journey to find her mother. There were parts where I felt like it was a bit repetitive when we kept cycling around to find her mother with no leads; and her relationship with Alexander. However, the characters are richly developed and the plot spans a few generations. All in all, I thought it had a gripping narrative that holds sway until the very end, and I enjoyed the interlacing of all the tales within the story.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! A City of Stardust is a well written novel for a debut author.
It initially took me a little while to get invested in this story- maybe it’s the many different POVs Georgie Summer’s writes from. Once I was though, it was an easy read. It’s a nice sci-fi magical story that gave me a nice break from the Romantasy genre I have been stuck in lately.

It was an interesting world that reminded me of the Invisible life of Addie La Rue ~ but different? You’ll have to read it to understand. The last 20% of the book is where it all comes together and really picks up. If you’re reading it and wondering if you should keep going, the answer is, yes. Keep going you’ll be happy you did!

THE CITY OF STARDUST is a darkly magical tale filled with family curses, gods, monsters, and other worlds. Summers’ writing is lyrical and the atmosphere developed through the carefully constructed landscape is completely enthralling.

Within these pages, the author gifted her readers with a layered and inventive story about a young woman set on the path to save herself and her family. Violet becomes the center point of the novel and as the reader, I loved seeing her grow and become a much different woman than when we first met her. Each person—Violet, Ambrose, Gabriel, Aleksander, and Penelope—came to life through the author’s well-crafted words. Pain, loss, and love all bubble to the surface with the interactions between this cast causing a range of emotions. And I must say, Penelope did know how to steal a scene. Beyond the characters, there is action, duplicity from the gods and humans alike, and magical worlds having their doors thrust open for us all to enter.

Honestly, THE CITY OF STARDUST was a stunning read. I enjoyed every moment of the quest to break the Everly’s curse. I cannot wait to see what Summers has for us all next.

I wanted more from The City of Stardust. Dreamers, Scholars, Gods, Curses and it all seemed like it would be great if we could dig deeper into it all. I’m not sure why but I feel like there is more to this world and these characters than I am finding in the pages.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. I also received a finished copy from Redhook as well.

This story was just confusing in so many ways. It might have been the point of having the reader feel as lost and confused about this world as the FMC, but it just was done in a way that also made me feel like I was not getting it. I explained that this book made me feel like I was expected to know something or pick up on something that was vague at or said unsaid, and very much the Autistic experience of just feeling confused at no context.

I still do my quite know what exactly I read, in all honesty. I feel like I missed so much context for what the ending is, where this whole world comes from and just know only gossip basics of it all. I think the story would have been better fleshed out and explained a bit more. I feel the author knew the information but the reader who doesn’t is left out.

This books was a lot of vibes. I enjoyed it but it was not particularly memorable. I struggled with the frequent time jumps, and there was a lot of telling and not showing. I was also disappointed by the character arc for the FMC's mother. It felt out of character based on the little information that we had about her.