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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
I feel as this book could have been way better, the writing was beautiful. It was an easy and quick read but I feel like we did nothing in this book. First part no Violet can't leave the house and then all of a sudden she is working at a cafe like what!!! Then we travel a lot in this book but I feel like nothing gets done and then at the end people die in a non-climatic way and Alex and he go their separate ways. She was chasing her mother down where they had 10 years to find her and they don't other than just missing her multiple times and then at the end we get two small paragraphs of ooh there's a women who looks like Marianne but it might not be her. Anyways great debut novel but something I wouldn't read again.
I really wanted to love The City of Stardust, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. The pacing was painfully slow, and the first half of the book felt like it dragged on without much happening plot-wise. I kept waiting for things to pick up, but by the time they did, I wasn’t fully invested anymore.
My biggest issue was with the protagonist—I never felt truly connected to her, and her journey didn’t pull me in the way I had hoped. The story glosses over an entire year of her searching for her mother, which could have been an opportunity to show more of her research and travels. Instead, we skip ahead, losing what could have been a compelling part of the narrative.
The ending, unfortunately, was just as underwhelming. After slogging through the slow buildup, I was hoping for a more satisfying conclusion, but it left me feeling unfulfilled. By the time I turned the final page, I was just relieved it was over.
My biggest issue was with the protagonist—I never felt truly connected to her, and her journey didn’t pull me in the way I had hoped. The story glosses over an entire year of her searching for her mother, which could have been an opportunity to show more of her research and travels. Instead, we skip ahead, losing what could have been a compelling part of the narrative.
The ending, unfortunately, was just as underwhelming. After slogging through the slow buildup, I was hoping for a more satisfying conclusion, but it left me feeling unfulfilled. By the time I turned the final page, I was just relieved it was over.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There's a certain niche of story like this--the girl, the locked-in-a-house-with-a-guardian upbringing, the mysterious and absent parents, the blossoming of magic, the wonder and adventure behind the world--that seems to have a very ardent audience, of which I am very much not a member. I am not sure why this sort of story absolutely does not resonate with me at all, though in struggling with this (the second or possibly third iteration of the story I've tried this year) I've been trying to pin it down. Perhaps it's the "specialness" of the protagonist? (I don't like Chosen One stories much in any guise.) Perhaps it's that I really chafe against the "normal" elements, or the slow unfurling of the fantastical when I prefer to be plunged in and wallow around? Perhaps it's the conflict between maturing child and guardian that often gives me the irrits?
Anyway, this seems like a perfectly good, possibly even very good, rendition of the story. There are a lot of interesting elements in the magical backstage. The witch is deliciously wicked. But I am not the audience for it.
Anyway, this seems like a perfectly good, possibly even very good, rendition of the story. There are a lot of interesting elements in the magical backstage. The witch is deliciously wicked. But I am not the audience for it.
While this is a pretty dark story, there's plenty of whimsy to balance everything out. This book has such a strong premisse and at first I thought it might be a 5 star read. It didn't end up living up to its potential completely, but I still think this is a very strong debut. I definitely want to read more from this author!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went into this book with no expectations whatsoever, expecting just a quick entertaining read to past the time and that's exactly what I got. However I fear the book had more bad than good. It had a beautiful writing, without getting into purple prose, which is something I was glad about. It does help to get you into the magical environment. But It's not enough to distract from what little substance the book has and the worldbuilding itself.
The magic systems and worldbuilding are vague, nothing is explained properly or goes into depth. The cities are mentioned in passing, and for the book to be called the City of Stardust, we never actually go to the City of Stardust, nor get a real description of it. While the concept of the keys to open another world was interesting, there just wasn't enough of it, is not explained how the system works. Nor the scholars system. Some things about the Everly family to me, likeEver and Astridae's daughter. How did she continue the Everly lineage. Maybe I did not pay enough attention, but It wasn't quite clear to me why weren't Gabriel and Ambrose candidates for the curse.
There were a lot of questions that went unanswered.
I felt the characters to be flat, I did understand Violet's motivations but either way she did not feel like a real character to me and I couldn't connect with her. I did not understand why she fell in love with Aleksander, as they didn't really have that much chemistry to begin with. The stand out to me was Penelope, who stole every scene she was in.
Overall its a 2/5, I think the author has potential, the premise is interesting I'd just like it if there was... Well, more.
The magic systems and worldbuilding are vague, nothing is explained properly or goes into depth. The cities are mentioned in passing, and for the book to be called the City of Stardust, we never actually go to the City of Stardust, nor get a real description of it. While the concept of the keys to open another world was interesting, there just wasn't enough of it, is not explained how the system works. Nor the scholars system. Some things about the Everly family to me, like
There were a lot of questions that went unanswered.
I felt the characters to be flat, I did understand Violet's motivations but either way she did not feel like a real character to me and I couldn't connect with her. I did not understand why she fell in love with Aleksander, as they didn't really have that much chemistry to begin with. The stand out to me was Penelope, who stole every scene she was in.
Overall its a 2/5, I think the author has potential, the premise is interesting I'd just like it if there was... Well, more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes