3.75 stars
I think you will adore this book if you enjoy Erin Morgenstern, Stephanie Garber, Laini Taylor and M.A. Kuzniar.
Georgia Summers has created a beautifully whimsical world filled with secret societies, other worlds, magic keys, gods and curses.

The Everly’s are cursed- every generation, one of them is taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Up until Violet’s mother, Marianne. Instead, Marianne runs away, leaving her young daughter to be raised by her brothers as she searches for a way to break the curse, never to be seen by her family again.
‘City of Stardust’ is Violet’s story, a girl who was raised on stories and mysteries in an isolated rundown manor until her uncles were unable to shield her from the world of scholars and magic. She sets off on a quest, determined to retrace her mother’s steps and finally break the Everly curse before it is too late.

<I>‘She grew up on a feast of fairy tales and myths; there is always blood.
and she is so very tired of curses.’</I>

Summers has created a really rich and beautiful world, filled with whimsical prose and engaging characters. Unfortunately, I felt she has tried a bit too hard to write the story from too many sides, meaning many characters storylines are started before being abruptly dropped and left unfinished. The romance in this felt a bit forced and by the end it all felt a bit wishy washy- even though this was probably the detached fairy tale vibes the author was going for it felt a bit frustrating so have all this side stories started. I did however enjoy how the same tale was told from different perspectives throughout this book, showing how a story can change depending on who is telling it. I also loved the Everly brothers and would love to see a book following them, as I think their stories would be great.
I really didn’t enjoy the child kidnapping and sacrificing- I understood the impact the author was possibly trying to make, but I personally felt this was enforced heavily, considering the rest of the story had such a distanced and hazy quality to it, with it still being unclear on whether the ‘villain’ of the story was justified in their actions- it just really didn't sit right with me.

From the very beginning, the author skillfully immerses readers in a richly detailed magical realm, where Violet's quest to break the curse unfolds against a backdrop of intrigue and mystery. The stakes are high, and Violet's journey becomes a race against time, her every step fraught with uncertainty and magic. Personally, I loved Violet Everly and Aleksander, Penelope's quiet assistant, who adds an extra layer of intrigue to the story! Their chemistry and just their interactions were so well done that I felt like their characters were excellently fleshed out, an element which authors often struggle to implement adeptly and thus also becomes an element which standalone novels struggle to uphold, but in this case I felt that Georgia Summers mastered it.

The pacing of the story is well-executed, albeit perhaps a little slow in the beginning, but it never got to a point where I found myself getting bored or overloaded with information dumping. Summers' lyrical and beautiful story-telling is captivating and she has managed to find the perfect balance in her world-building, which I feel really adds to the strength of this exquisite standalone. Not to mention, the desire to delve into the universe crafted by the author is strong!! I just wanted to dive into Violet's world because there is such a lush and vivid world-building which brought to life the magical tapestry of the realms where Violet must venture.

Overall, I absolutely adored this and I can't wait to get my physical copy once it's published!!! Seamlessly amalgamating elements of fantasy, familial dynamics, and magic, this book blew me away with its spellbinding narrative, exploring the lengths one is willing to traverse to break free from the chains of an ancestral curse. This debut is poised to resonate with aficionados of the fantastical and those captivated by narratives of resilience, family, and the enduring potency of hope. Like me, this book will leave you anxiously awaiting the forthcoming future works of this promising author.

Imagine my shock when I realized this is a stand-alone! I need more of it, please!

I am speechless. This book was incredible! The writing is exquisite, the characters are well crafted, the plot is fantastic. I really don't know what else to say, except that I hope you preordered this book already!

I do feel like it was too short, and it gets confusing at times because two paragraphs describe what's going on at the same time but in different places or with different characters, but there's no separator between them to indicate that (maybe this has to do with the ARC's formatting). Either way, it's one of the best books I've read and the prose is, in my opinion, comparable to Rebecca Ross's Letters of Enchantment duology.

I enjoyed this book, and I think there is a lot of opportunity for this author to develop.
As a fan of both Laini Taylor and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the writing style felt very comforting and familiar to me. It's a lyrical style which some readers might not vibe with, although fortunately City of Stardust is backed up with more of a plot than some of the ethereal books it's being compared to.
It did take me a little while to feel immersed in the narrative, particularly in terms of world-building, and I think expanded character development could have really filled out this book into something great.
Rounding up to 4 stars from 3.5 as I would love to see more from this author.

I was excited to read The City of Stardust as the idea of a new fantasy tale sounded like a great start to my January reading list. The story focuses on Violet Everly whose family have been cursed - once a generation a family member is taken by a mysterious woman, never to return. Can Violet break the curse and find her missing mother?

Although The City of Stardust is quite a short read for a fantasy story, I actually found it really hard to get into and felt like I had to force my way through to the end which wasn’t ideal. Part of this is the fact that I don’t think as a reader you really truly get to know, or empathise with Violet as the main character. She very much is a person that things just happen to, and she changes motives and trusts people who have betrayed her so often that it was really hard to sympathise with her. The story also jumps perspectives and timelines quite often which led me to become very confused with what was happening.

The plot itself is very jumbled and I must admit I had no idea what was going on at various points. I didn’t understand why Penelope had given an arbitrary deadline to find Violet’s mother, or Violet would be taken, I also didn’t understand why she couldn’t have just taken Violet’s uncles, as they had the same bloodline. I really didn’t understand what Penelope wanted with Violet anyway, it was portrayed as a world ending event they were trying to fight, but then at the beginning of the book they say she’s taken one person from each generation so I was confused as to why this particular year was so special.

Violet and Aleksander are the love interests in the book, but I didn’t really feel any chemistry for them being together. Aleksander does some terrible things so I didn’t really understand why they got on well at all. There’s a lot of side characters introduced but other than Yury, I didn’t really feel like we got to properly know any of them and when they are briefly described by their appearances in the epilogue, I realised that I couldn’t actually recall who any of them were. The magic system and the idea of the keys and the scholars and the magic metal also made very little sense – they all just seemed jammed together for the sake of it.

Overall, The City of Stardust was not the fantasy epic I had hoped it to be, with confusing plotlines, jumbled backstory and characters I didn’t feel like I got to know. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton – Hodderscape for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book had a fantastic plot foundation, and the two main characters had amazing potential. I think the story would have really benefited from being spread across 2/3 books, rather than one, to really give the characters the detail of development they deserved.

I initially found it hard to get into the story because of the third person, present tense format. Within a few chapters it was easier to read and absorb, but not quite as comfortable as I would have liked.

However despite this, I thought overall it was a great book, and I especially loved the epilogue!

1.5

i would rather walk on burning coals barefoot than read another page of this book ever again.
this book had a promising start and many potentials but sadly none of them were executed well, i could literally not tell you how the magic system in this book works. there were many plot holes and i didn't like how the pov would constantly change in the middle of the chapter, it would just confuse the hell out of me on who we were following and throw me of. i couldn't for the life of me feel connected to any of the characters, violet is utterly dumb and aleksander is such a pathetic loser im sorry but i wont be giving him any sort of sympathy that man was so manipulative and then tried to justify his actions by bringing up his past. his and violet's relationship was so random.. it had no chemistry and felt so forced and made no sense whatsoever, considering they barely know each other, i hate HATED how violet took him back even tho he betrayed her, i literally could not tell you how many times this man had betrayed her and she'd always welcome him back with open arms.. she was merely naive and too trusting. now im not really sure why the author decided to add their romance but it literally didnt change a thing imo. i was extremely disappointed, was definitely NOT having the best time reading this book and i was on my knees and hands begging for it to be over and to put me out of my misery. also the plot doesn't develop until the last 15% ish of the the book but even then i felt lost and had many questions.

overall this book wasn't for me and i wont really be recommending it to anyone honestly
thank you netgalley for providing me with this arc.

A curse, a lost city and adventure. This book was a pleasure to read very well written and atmospheric. It had a similar vain to The Starless sea so if you loved that book you will love this one.

Thank you for allowing me to read this NetGalley and the publisher.

3.5 stars
Thank you Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for the e-arc of this book. This book started off strong with an interesting premise. Our main character Violet Everly must find her mother who disappeared 9 years ago to break the family curse. The details have been kept from Violet and in her search for her mother she discovers the origins of the debt owed that she will have to pay in her mother's sted if Marianne can't be found within the year.

I really like the writing style of Georgia Summers and got the feels of the Night Circus and at times Philip Pullman from his Dark Materials. However, it felt in the middle section to get slightly lost in terms of plot and the use of side characters. In parts they felt well developed but in others like they existed purely to move the plot along.

Perhaps the story could have benefited from more editing to work on the flow of the narrative to achieve better emotional pay off. There were elements that lent themselves to pulling at the heart strings but didn't get the time to be really felt.

In terms of characters, Violet could have been developed more with the relationship with her uncles, especially Ambrose and the doomed attraction to Aleksander. Aleksander was done exceptionally well and definitely crossed over the morally grey line. His journey was richer to follow despite not being the main antagonist. Penelope was an exquisite villain and took the story to some dark places. I enjoyed her progression to the final scenes.

There are some trigger warnings to take note of with themes of torture, kidnapping, murder, disfigurement/maiming and child abuse.

To conclude, the world building was the highlight for me, the plot although not 100 percent achieved was good and the majority of the characters had good dimension. Some further fleshing out would have made a huge difference. I could almost imagine this as a duology if the search for Violet's mother was given more detail for the first book and linked into Marianne's story. Then the second book could have really delve into the City of Stardust and who Penelope really is.

The cover of this book is what grabbed me straight away and then the premise had me intrigued. Georgia Summers writing is lyrical and beautifully descriptive. She has created a world that one can envisage easily. The added fairy tales between the main story were a nice touch too. Unfortunately for me I didn't connect with the main characters as much as I had hoped and I wanted to have more action. The story was moving at a very slow pace and I often found my attention wondering.

This will probably be a knock out book for some people, particularly if you are a fan of Paris by Starlight by Robert Dinsdale. On this occasion is just wasn't meant to be for me.

Okay so eh as y'all can see, I am not a fan of this book. A lot of things put me off and it got so bad I had to take a break from this or I would've ended up in a reading slump🥲

I am so so sad because I was so excited for this book! The synopsis sounded SO good and interesting and the cover is so pretty😍 But the story, the characters, the writing.. all of it didn't work for me.. I really tried to love it, I really did but no, I'm glad it's over.

The story itself, it was a great concept, one that peaked my interest. I was expecting a lot of world building as there were a lot of different 'worlds' you could enter through 'keys' but I felt like it was barely explained. Like others also have said I had a problem with the whole curse and Violet's journey through it. We as readers knew a lot more than the main character which was very annoying to me because 1. It was hard to follow because I kept thinking why doesn't she know that? And 2. the plottwists were barely plottwists because you already knew they were coming...
I also couldn't keep up with all the different aspects and tbh if you'd ask me what happened in this book I couldn't even explain it lol. The world, the rules, the magic, it was so complex which made it very hard to understand everything that was going on.

Then the characters.. unlikable, especially the main characters Violet and Aleksander. I felt like they both didn't get any development and Violet was just too naive and forgiving. Their chemistry was off so I also hated the romance part in this book. There were some side characters I did like though, Ambrose, Gabriel, Caspian.. but they got barely any dialogue.

The writing? I'm in the minority on this but this writing style is not for me. When I first started reading, something felt off for me and it wasn't until I started reading reviews I knew why. People were comparing this writing style to the night circus, another book I absolutely despise. I HATE this kind of writing which caused a snowball effect of me not understanding some stuff and hating all the dialogue and the way the story flowed. It was just overly descriptive but not descriptive enough in other aspects..
I also have to note that I really didn't like the switching POV's mid chapter without a proper indication. Like, you could be reading about Violet going on about her day and the next sentence will say something like " 'I'm not sure if I should do this' Aleksander thought", y'all know how much I love multiple POV's but this one wasn't executed very well in my opinion.

So yeah this was definitely not my cup of tea although the prose sounded amazing and definitely up my alley! I do think (and know because of the reviews) that a lot of people would like and even love this book so take my review with a pinch of salt. If you like descriptive writing this book will suit you!

The City of Stardust
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“Books have always been her escape. When she couldn’t leave the house, when no one would answer her questions, when she felt so very alone in the world. They have given her a way out before - maybe they can do it again”
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Writing a review for this book is really difficult, on the other hand even the book itself is very complex, layered and full of questions but with enigmatic and universal answers that make you think a lot! If you love these types of books then it’s definitely for you! If you loved Addie LaRue, The Starless Sea or Strange The Dreamer then you might like it!! I personally loved it!
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Violet’s mother disappears one stormy night, never to be seen again. Unbeknownst to the child, her mother is leaving to try and break their family curse. Violet is left in the care of her uncles who do their best to hide her from the world, because if Penelope ever finds her, she’ll take her. When Violet can no longer be hidden from the world she must set out on adventure to break the curse herself and discover where her mother has vanished to. To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted but his charm can’t but attract her.
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I don’t say anything else because in my opinion this is the kind of book that you have to start completely blind !! The reading experience will be amazing!!
I loved the characters so much! Violet was characterised very well in her being young and stubborn! Aleksander is a boy with a tormented past and often makes difficult and questionable choices. Penelope instead is the villain of the story but while reading we can understand and get to know her better!
Speaking of writing I really have no words because as a debut novel it is divinely written! A dreamlike writing!!
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Thanks to netgalley hodderscape/Hodder and Stoughton and Georgia Summers for providing me with this e-ARC!!
The city of stardust comes out everywhere on January 25th !!

The City of Stardust is full of mystery, betrayal, magic and adventure. I had to read it for the cursed family plot alone. It’s beautifully written throughout with gorgeous settings and pure vibes. For this reason I would compare it to The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue or The Starless Sea. The book is in 3rd person and this meant I didn’t connect to the characters as much as I would have liked, it just wasn’t as immersive and I feel this was why. But I do think it was a beautiful piece of fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

The City of Stardust is a story of magic, of curses and adventures. We follow the tale in the footsteps of Violet Everly, whose family is the victim of a long standing curse. One member per each generation of the Everly household must be taken to pay the debt that is owed. After Violet’s mother disappears when searching for a way to end the curse, it falls to her to pay instead.

The world building crafted by the uber talented Georgia is beautifully constructed and the mystery unfolds as the protagonist travels both our world and others that Co-exist alongside it. I loved delving into the wonders of the world Violet and her companions occupied and felt that it was reminiscent of those crafted by Philip Pullman in the His Dark Materials series. The intrigue of what would happen next kept me reading despite the lag in pacing in some areas.

In some ways I feel as though this book really caters to those who grew up reading the likes of Pullman, and series like The Chronicles of Narnia (I was SO hoping that the wardrobe in Violet’s house was going to lead somewhere!) because of the wonder and enchantment of the new world we are introduced to and also the lens by which Georgia explores cities we might already be familiar with.

This book was a highly anticipated release for me and I’m extremely disappointed. I went back and forth on whether to rate this book 2 or 3. The book wasn’t offensive to me, I just simply did not care. It was a slog to get through and I sadly cannot recommend.

Just a super boring/ middling fantasy read. Not at all high stakes and I didn’t care or like any of the characters. This book is categorised as adult but I’d say it’s definitely YA. This book has been tagged with romance but I don’t agree with. There’s barely buds of a romance. Certainly not strong enough to deserve the tag

There was so much about this book which fired my imagination - from the fantastical world found through locked doors, the scholars manipulating star-metal for magic and the vengeful gods to Violet's uncles and the mysterious curse afflicting the Everly family. I was totally swept up in the world and enjoyed the story more and more as it progressed. I loved Violet as a main character and Penelope as a female villain. I also loved the gentle romance between Violet and Aleksander. It has the best combination of love, family, heartache and betrayal and it blended dark academia with fantasy and threw in some gothic fairy tale vibes for good measure. I finished it no time and was left full of wonder. It's billed as a standalone novel but there were enough loose ends and interesting characters I would love to know better to leave me hoping for more from this world which I feel is a recommendation in itself

3.5 Stars

I feel torn on this one, because on one hand the descriptions were gorgeous and the vibes were off the charts, but it missed the mark on too many things to really have me hooked.

I couldn't really feel connected to the characters - Violet is almost a compelling protagonist, but there's just something missing from her personality. We meet her when she's a child and she feels completely different to her adult self, it's hard to make her out. She was so naive as an adult, especially with her relationship with Aleksander, it made me want to tear my hair out.

The plot was also a little wobbly - although my favourite book is the Starless Sea and slightly insane vibes plots are something I like, I was asking myself too many questions while reading for it to feel complete. If the light was tinted purple in the last few chapters, why was Violet describing colours as if she could see them in plain sunlight? (and so on...)
I didn't love the pacing either, the last chunk of the book was super fast, slow then over all of a sudden, and I didn't find the ending that satisifying because it was over so quickly.

The worldbuilding is definitely what kept me going here. It's an incredible premise and the descriptions are just stunning! I will definitely be picking up more from this author because I love her writing, hopefully the characters will be stronger in future books.

I also love the legend that's woven throughout the story and how there are different versions. This is one of my absolute favourite plot devices and I loved it in this book, it was one of the best bits in my opinion!

4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this arc!

The writing in this book was beautiful and I loved the start of the book so much. The worldbuilding & descriptions were vivid and creative, and I would happily read several more books set in this world. For the first and last thirds of the book, the plot was very engaging, but it felt slow in the middle - the story could have been more enjoyable if some of this had been cut out. I enjoyed the way it flitted between characters, but despite being one of the main characters, Violet felt a little underdeveloped. I also would have loved to find out a bit more about Marianne by the end.

Overall an enjoyable read, which I would recommend for people who enjoyed Addie LaRue, His Dark Materials & Starling House - I look forward to reading more of Georgia Summers’ work in future as I really loved her writing style ❤️

3 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
When I first started this book, I genuinely believed it would be a 5-star read because the opening was intriguing and promised something truly special. I anticipated embarking on an exciting journey and was initially thrilled and prepared for the adventure. However, my enthusiasm dwindled after the first 100 to 150 pages, and I found myself losing interest. Each attempt to resume reading became more challenging than the last.

The writing, while beautiful and captivating initially, eventually became bothersome. The primary issue was the lack of significant events in the plot. While there was extensive and well-executed description, it became excessively prolonged. This resulted in the actual plot getting lost along the way, and the characters suffered as a consequence. They felt one-dimensional and uninteresting, as each character seemed to have only one defining trait.

The main protagonist was burdened with a curse, and the male protagonist struggled with the dilemma of choosing sides, and that was essentially all there was to their characters. In summary, this book would have been more enjoyable if it were shorter and if there had been more restraint in the descriptive elements.

Wow what an absolutely wonderful surprise this book was, Georgia Summers has created a gorgeously atmospheric fairytale esque tale, it fully immerses you, consumes you- I finished this book in a few hours I couldn't put it down.

The Everly's are a cursed family, a curse that calls for one from in each generation to be sacrificed! Violet Everly is a dreamer who has been kept safe by her scholarly uncles but as she starts to find her way in the world she is plunged in to a fairy tale and a quest reliant on unpicking her familial history.

I adored the way that we discovered the world along with Violet we were right there with her as she unpicked the clues and peeled back her family history, the world was so complicated and sprawling however Georgia Summers makes it so uncomplicated. The writing is so poetic and yet so accessible it read beautifully.

The villain in this book is truly exceptional, I though the exploration and development of this character was so good. One of the other aspects that I really enjoyed was the exploration of the mother-daughter relationship and this set against the truly heartwarming relationship Violet had with her uncles felt quite different.

This book has dark elements and as the story develops there are some violent and gory scenes so please check content warnings,

I am not a massive fan of standalone books mainly because if I love them I miss the characters but also because there's sometimes that feeling like the story is wrapped up very quickly at the end but this book is well paced and wraps up in I think the most perfect way, it was the ending I needed.

I've seen this described as perfect for readers who loved The Starless Sea and Ten Thousand Doors of January and I would definitely agree it has that whimsical and at times almost Ethereal style, for me I also had a lot of the feelings I got when I read Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe,