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krys_kilz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I am in awe of this book. The way Morgenstern wove layer upon layer of story and world building was truly impressive. I felt fully immersed in the world she created. And I loved how everything came together in the end yet still left an air of mystery / open endedness.
I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.
I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
andreathrs_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Erin Morgenstern's "The Starless Sea" beautifully illustrates the wonders of stories and storytelling. One thing I loved most about the prose and the writing, how everything was perfectly descriptive, allowing you to truly imagine yourself in this world of fantasies and stories.
Personally, I would rate it a 3.5 stars at first read because the pacing was a bit off at times. The first and last third of the book (specifically Book I, II, and VI) had a lot more plot compared to the other books. I also didn't feel the urgency of the antagonist because it was hardly mentioned directly to the reader. I also wished there was more of a plot in Books III, IV, and V since many of Zachary's perspective in the plot was him wandering around.
Along with this, there was no strong character development for any of the characters. All of them more or less stayed the same, making the driving force behind the plot the story set in stone and not the characters making decisions for themselves.
All in all, I strongly believe that this book is better understood through more reads due to the intricate interconnectedness of all the stories and characters. I can see my rating changing once I do read it again, though!
Personally, I would rate it a 3.5 stars at first read because the pacing was a bit off at times. The first and last third of the book (specifically Book I, II, and VI) had a lot more plot compared to the other books. I also didn't feel the urgency of the antagonist because it was hardly mentioned directly to the reader. I also wished there was more of a plot in Books III, IV, and V since many of Zachary's perspective in the plot was him wandering around.
Along with this, there was no strong character development for any of the characters. All of them more or less stayed the same, making the driving force behind the plot the story set in stone and not the characters making decisions for themselves.
All in all, I strongly believe that this book is better understood through more reads due to the intricate interconnectedness of all the stories and characters. I can see my rating changing once I do read it again, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
hazychapters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
First thing first, after finishing this book, I immediately search on Google "the starless sea ending explained". Because yeah, this book is one of them which make you feel dumb after finishing them.
Don’t get me wrong, the writing is beautiful, the characters loveable, the whole thing incredibly well constructed and imagined. But the thing is, I was clueless during the whole story, I understood very little and because of that, I’m mad.
And because I was completely lost sometimes and found some passages a bit boring, I put aside this book for days a few times, and I ended up even more clueless. So yeah, it was a ride, I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book. Maybe it wasn’t the right moment for me to read this book 😅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mandkips's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Stalking
solouncapitulomas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“Not all stories speak to all listeners, but all listeners can find a story that does, somewhere, sometime. In one form or another.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
gisblanketfort's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I knew this book deserved five stars before I even finished. The writing was so beautiful and whimsical and ethereal and poetic! The stories within the story were so interested and it was SO cool that they contributed something to the plot and were not just random stories (I would not mind if it was the latter tho). Zachary was really relatable and funny and it was nice to see him being more independent from Sweet Sorrows as the story goes, following his own path. I wish his relationship with Dorian was more developed but, again, I don't mind at all they were still cute and ofc they made me cry! I was so happy to see a specific side character(iykyk) have the spotlight towards the end I love them so much!! ALSO the aesthetic of this book!!! It's not exactly dark academia but kinda close I don't know really xD But what I kniw is that I want to go there SO BADLY!! An underground library, full of ballrooms mysteries and CATS?? SIGN ME UP RIGHT NOW!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury
ashleyreads88's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
The Starless Sea is a beautiful book. At times, I found it confusing due to the multiple storylines. The storylines did all come together nicely. Another thing that was confusing at times was all the different characters and their stories. I did enjoy this book, and how much of a dark, mysterious adventure it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Kidnapping and Alcohol
fallandfox's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The plot of the book is not linear in the course of it, we have stories that involve folk tales, biographies, etc. In the end, all the stories come together to create the context and finish everything not in a perfect way in the way that it needs to end.
I read together with the Wilted Rose Book Clube (Instagram → @wiltedrosebookclub) for the January book pick.
The book had an interesting plot and execution, it beguine to be a fun reading when you start to get used to the strange way the author decided to structure it.
I’m used to reading fantasy with magic, this was in my ally and the author was capable to make me feel like I haven't read magic before.
I liked the writing, with the parts where the author described food and the use of doors being my favourite parts.
The writing was easy to read and consistent with the structure of the story.
The main protagonist's of the story were Zachary (or the fortune teller son) who is a grad student specialized in games that finds the book Sweet Sorrows that guides him into the fantastic, Mirabel a mysterious woman that Zachary meets at a party and helps him in his quest to understand the book and Dorian a former guardian that meets Zachary and has his journey entwined in the party and he is also Zachary soulmate.
The relationship between Zachary and Dorian is good and very raw to a point in that you just feel like it was always there.
The book is set in New England and a magical hotel in some parts with world-building being an important part of the construction of the book. I liked the way that the starless sea was described and was interesting to see when it was used.
I read together with the Wilted Rose Book Clube (Instagram → @wiltedrosebookclub) for the January book pick.
The book had an interesting plot and execution, it beguine to be a fun reading when you start to get used to the strange way the author decided to structure it.
I’m used to reading fantasy with magic, this was in my ally and the author was capable to make me feel like I haven't read magic before.
I liked the writing, with the parts where the author described food and the use of doors being my favourite parts.
The writing was easy to read and consistent with the structure of the story.
The main protagonist's of the story were Zachary (or the fortune teller son) who is a grad student specialized in games that finds the book Sweet Sorrows that guides him into the fantastic, Mirabel a mysterious woman that Zachary meets at a party and helps him in his quest to understand the book and Dorian a former guardian that meets Zachary and has his journey entwined in the party and he is also Zachary soulmate.
The relationship between Zachary and Dorian is good and very raw to a point in that you just feel like it was always there.
The book is set in New England and a magical hotel in some parts with world-building being an important part of the construction of the book. I liked the way that the starless sea was described and was interesting to see when it was used.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
falltumn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
actual story content is solidly a 5 star, but the way the book is structed is 4.25/4.5 out of personal preference. i highly recommend reading book 1-3 in the order of the short, abstract stories first in Whole, and then reading the rest of the book. i found the constant interrupting of events grating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
spookily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, and Lesbophobia