This is a phenomenal book! Georgia's writing is fantastic, and you get so easily immersed inside the story. Violet and Aleksander are amazing protagonists, engaging but also achingly real. This is one of those books where you completely forget you're reading, it's magical and beautiful and amazing!

Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful arc. The Cuty of Stardust is a gorgeous book, beautiful world building, fantasy at its best.

This epic novel is filled with magic, stardust and the darkest secrets of our hearts. It takes our ability to daydreams about opening doors to new worlds onto the page, but twists it just so that it changes into a nightmare with every turn of the page. There is no escaping the choices characters must make between love and betrayal.

For centuries, the Everly Family have seen their brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers. Their tormentor is a women who never ages and never forgives a debt. Ten years ago, her mother lefts to break a curse but never returned. Now Violet must find her mother, or she must take her place. Her search leads her into a seductive magical world of power hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters being on revenge.

It leads her right onto the path of the apprentice scholar, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted. And yet, to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn. With time running out, Violet will travel to the edged of the world, and the one in between, to find her mother and the key to the City of Stardust. Which is where this story began.

This is an ode to story lovers. This is for those of us who have spent our entire lives wishing for a hidden war into another world, into some great adventure, into somewhere other than here. Books have always been an escape and this one takes you on an adventure to an epic world not unlike our own filled with magic, monsters and promise. If you only have the key, then you can step through the door into another world.

Thank you to Hodder Books for an advanced reader copy via NetGalley of The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

An incredibly fresh and lyrical fantasy debut. Strong world building, a unique magic system and beautiful writing - what more could you want. Summers is one to watch.

4.5/5 stars

Violet Everly’s family is small, fiercely loyal and cursed.

One family member of each generation is cursed to walked into the shadows due to a thousand year old curse. All that is left of these family members are portraits in a run down home where Violet grows up isolated from society but under the loving care of her uncle Ambrose and her other uncle Gabriel who flits in and out. Violet loves fairytales and craves adventures beyond her crumbling cottage. Ambrose and Gabriel begrudgingly adore Violet and manage to strike a bargain with our antagonist Penelope- in ten years either Violet will walk into the shadows or her mysterious missing Mother Marianne will go into the darkness, if the uncles can find their wayward sister.
Violet is raised not knowing there is a countdown on her life until she overhears her uncles talking then she’s pushed into action trying to find her mother and discovering some of the stories from her childhood fairytale book are real, magic exists and stars walk amongst mankind.

I loved the world building of this book which really painted a picture in your mind without being too prescriptive and making you feel bogged down in the details. Violet is a great lead character with a defiant personality. Her love interest Aleksander is gentle soul who craves affirmation.
I was annoyed at Violet when she kept trusting Aleksander but you could understand why she did, she was alone and he was a familiar (handsome) face!

The end of the book was satisfying however I do wish we would have found some tangible evidence of Marianne, not quite a reunion but it would have been nice to feel Marianne cared for her daughter Violet.
Overall a book I throughly enjoyed and would recommend! Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for proving an E-ARC!

This book reminded me of how I felt when stepping into a fantasy that was to become much-beloved. 'The Box of Delights', perhaps, or 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'. It's not a children's story at all, mind you, but that tone of a warm, cosy space where magic (or danger) might appear at any moment seems baked into the pages.

It is a YA novel, so as a Mature Adult, I suspect I'm not the target audience. Certainly I think younger folk will become more attached to it, but that's all to the good. I hope they remember this book as much as I do the above titles.

Sympathetic and likeable characters, relationships handled gently, a mystery that takes its time to unfold, an Otherworld full of secrets and tangled politics, beautiful and subtle writing - this story is a world in itself, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with.

Georgia summer’ storytelling is lyrical yet engaging enough to have one hooked to the story since the very beginning. It was touching and entertaining!

The blurb got me really interested in this book, and my gut feeling wasn't wrong - I loved the premise, the story, the pace and the characters. The magic system was interesting, and that is hard to achieve, given the vast amount of fantasy books - a big plus for me.

I love how the characters are described, their flaws, fears, emotions. I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you to Hodders & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Yea, no .. unfortunately this one didn't work for me. I just could not for the life of me get into this book at all. It took me 10 days to finish this, and this is not me reading for one day and then putting it down; no. I have picked this up religiously every day for the last 10 days and I could not bring myself to read more than 10/20 pages each time before being so bored that I had to put it back down. The only way I managed to finally get through this was by forcing myself to sit down and complete the last 50% of this book today. And even then, I fell asleep after 15 minutes or so and had to get back to it once I woke up 1.5 hours later....

The writing felt choppy and the world building was soo lackluster. The characters were ill introduced and often story-telling POV swapped even between paragraphs. I found this so hard to follow and it compeltely added to my confusion with this plotline.
The characters themselves felt like lifeless cardboard cut-outs, their background and motivations were barely explained and I just couldn't bring myself to care for any of them. The romance was lackluster and obsolete and there was no chemistry between the main characters.
The magic system was confusing, the villain had no personality whatsoever and the whole point about finding Marianne Everly felt so inconsequential and pointless. At the end that whole plotline was just an afterthought or what?

I appreciate that I am in the minority with not liking this book, but I have to admit that it was a real struggle for me to finish this and it's definitely one that won't stick with me.

I was really pulled into this book and the story was written so beautifully I found it hard to put down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

There is a mysterious curse that befalls the Everly family where one member from every generation must be taken to pay the debt that is owed. However, Violets mother has disappeared and now the debt has fallen to her.

Poor Violet is clueless to her mothers whereabouts and no-one can give her the answers she desperately craves. With time running out she must unravel the mystery and break the curse herself…but how?

With so many captivating twists and turns, this book had me hooked from the start. The whimsical world building was simply beautiful and I loved the mystery throughout the story. I love the element of intrigue and I enjoyed that the story wasn’t predictable.

The pace was slow in places but I enjoyed that as we worked up to the more action-packed parts. The character building and development was in-depth and I throughly enjoyed getting to know more about Violet, Gabriel, Ambrose, Aleksander & Penelope.

I highly recommend this book. It was a fabulous read & I would absolutely LOVE to see another story from this world, just magical. Please let there be a second instalment! ✨

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton & Georgia Summers for an Advanced Review Copy in return for an honest review!

Georgia Summers owns an artistic style and a fascinating world that captivates the reader in the life of Violet Everly, the last Everly trapped between her family's curse and her quest for her long gone mother.

Glad to have read an early copy. Thank to the publisher and the author.

The City of Stardust is not to be missed.

“Impossible is a much thinner slice of the world than she’d thought.”

The City of Stardust is a truly fantastic read and is one I implore everyone to get their hands on when it releases in early 2024. Magic and intrigue ooze from each and every page and the author gives little snippets of information that you have to piece together over the course of the book. You aren’t spoonfed the details of the inner workings of the world Georgia Summers has created and the journey of discovery is all the more satisfying for it!

Violet Everly’s mum disappears one night and Violet lives in hope that she will return from her “adventures” one day, however as the years slip by and Violet sees glimmers of a world not entirely ‘normal’, it becomes increasingly clear that if she wants answers she is going to have to get them for herself.

Marbles that contain galaxies, keys that open doors to untold destinations, and a secret society of scholars with the never aging Penelope at the head. The list of questions Violet has seems to be rapidly growing whilst her list of answers remains disappointingly dormant.

There are countless examples of the author constructing truly mesmerising passages of prose that make you sit back and take a deep breath. She also has a talent for depicting the more macabre and gruesome scenes in a way that leaves an impact on you. It is definitely more of a fantasy aimed at adults due to some of these occurrences! From what I can tell, this is her debut book and that genuinely surprises me. There is a clear talent for writing here and it feels like a talent honed over time rather than the raw ability of a debut author. She is definitely an author to add to my list to keep an eye on for future works!

The first 2/3rds of the book were absolutely 5 star material for me. I do feel the final third dropped off a little from the lofty standards of the rest of the book, however topping the standard set earlier in the book would have been a herculean task! It definitely still ends up closer to 5 stars than 4 though.

The Everly family are cursed. One member from each generation must be taken away to another world. That is the debt. But when Violet's mother disappears, the debt they owe falls to her. With time running out and no-one giving her the answers, Violet sets out to find the answers on her own. But is she prepared for what awaits her...

The mystery and magic, shrouded in darkness, I loved it!!! It was so beautifully written and I was thoroughly encapsulated the whole way through. Even afterwards, it still left me wondering. Now if someone wouldn't might getting me a key, I would rather like to go on an adventure myself.
4.5 stars

𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆: 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔.

𝐸𝑁/𝐹𝑅

| WARNING: This digital A.R.C was kindly sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own |

You have to trust me blindly, this book is perfect for the dampest days and the longest nights.

The City of Stardust is the impossible quest against time of a child, a girl, a woman, condemned by her mother and pursued by a curse.
Violet Everly is a fierce woman now but was a lonely child all the same when her mother, Marianne, left her in her own brothers' care to run we don't know where.
The clock is ticking and due must be paid, even on the verge of the beautiful Fidelis city's downfall.

The writing of this book was so good It made me forget the maybe-too-much present-for-myself element of romance BUT It is indeed an atmospherical read, both whimsical and fast-paced, dark and hopeful.

I did like Violet in her stubbornness but of course, with a name like that and a story like this, I could only prefer Aleksander, the tortured orphan about to become a scholar.

The worldbuilding was good if nothing new and for such a short fantasy stand-alone, well handled.

I just want to point out this quote :
"A dead world is never really dead. Even when the stars vanish in a great exodus, leaving an inky night that swallows the sky. Even when the sound of silence is a terrible thing to listen to in a city that once groaned with noise."

I loved this book.

It's beautifully written. The plot grabbed my attention and held it throughout and I really liked the world building. It worked well for me. The characters felt three-dimensional and overall. There was nothing I disliked about it.

It was actually the comparison to Addie LaRue that made me want to read this book and if I'm honest, I didn't really see the comparison despite the fact I really enjoyed both books. In any case, I definitely recommend this.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

While reading this book I really enjoyed the world building and writing style. Both drew me into the story and kept my attention. A solid 3,5 * because of this.

What I didn’t like were the characters, I don’t know if I just couldn’t feel a connection with them, if I was simply annoyed or just couldn’t care much what happened to them but there was something that lacked for me to feel a bond with them.

I saw that this is a debut and I didn’t expect that because of how the world building was made and the really good writing style that drew me into this story. Definitely recommend reading this book because of that!

City of Stardust is a beautifully written book about curses. The plot wasn't the best and felt a bit slow in places, but overall it felt like a rich and well developed story.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The City Of Stardust.

The Everly family is cursed.
Violet is determined to find her mother and break the seemingly endless curse.

A stunning and darkly wondrous story, full of intrigue and mystery.

Summers has given us a book rich with beautiful and luxuriant storytelling with outlandish skilled and truly beautiful world-building.

The plotline is full of intrigue, at times, quite slow-paced but unique and brilliantly done.

The character development is superb and delves deeply into the mind of Violet.

This book leaves you wanting more from these beautifully depicted characters and the lush and magical world.
I pray for a second instalment.

I just reviewed The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers. #TheCityofStardust #NetGalley

I wanted to love this book more than I actually did.

The writing style was lovely, and the concept of the story was really interesting, but something about the story felt lacking.

The mc, Violet, spent most of the time searching for her mother, but the plot was missing some more exciting events. It was just her travelling around, nothing happened, it was tiring.

There was a hint of romance between Violet and Aleksander, and while he was an interesting character, I didn't particularly like him. <spoiler>He kept betraying Violet, she kept falling for it.</spoiler>

Overall this was a solid read, especially for a debut, but the book could have been polished a little. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to future books by the author.