Scan barcode
amayaembrill86's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book felt cozy to me, and I loved that you can see almost as much change in the supporting characters as the main characters. This was a sweet, non-spicy read that kept me giggling almost all the way through.
So if you're interested in a book about two people falling in love through letters and mutual social awkwardness, definitely give this book a try!
So if you're interested in a book about two people falling in love through letters and mutual social awkwardness, definitely give this book a try!
deana_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I went into this fairly excited about epistolary novels and I come out the other side not a fan.
The good: the vibes of this book are immaculate for a marine science nerd like myself. Ocean academia?? Fantasy ocean academia??? Sign me the fuck upppp. This would be an excellent candidate for an illustrated version, the descriptions were both really great and woefully insufficient. I reveled in the talks of research projects, delighting in new discoveries, and being absolutely pissed at the intricacies of academic overheads.
The less than good: the epistolary format, ESPECIALLY with overly flowery, formal, and polite language is utterly unconducive to properly telling a story. I get that it’s meant to demonstrate some form of character voice, but about halfway through it was dragging on and on. The lack of any super real plot until the last 30-35% of the book didn’t help. I find the idea of writing all these letters with the level of detail that they have really unbelievable (the world building needed some more work), especially with E. and Henerey’s first meeting (scribbling on a pamphlet????)
I’m sorry to say that I feel nothing for the characters as a result. The letters are really convenient for info dumping though.
I’m really intrigued nonetheless, the cliffhanger is promising if not infuriating. I just hope we can abandon the epistolary format, or at least its current choice of voice.
freedo8quigly's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
sarrie's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Full review to come
rainkatzanddogs's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.5
magicshoes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mandatoryreads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
A R C R E V I E W 🫶🏼 📚 A Letter to the Luminous Deep 📝 Sylvie Cathrall 𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4) 𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚁𝙴: Epistolary Fantasy 𝚂𝙿𝙸𝙲𝙴: N/A
✨ This was an ARC gifted to me by Orbit Books via Netgalley. The following review is my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions. ✨
𝙼𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 💭 wow, what a delightfully whimsical and beautifully written novel! Comprised entirely of written correspondence between characters in both a present and past timeline, a brother and a sister of a missing couple work together to make sense of what happened. This may sound like a mystery - and while there are certainly mysterious elements to this tale, Cathrall has created a superb mix of cozy fantasy, underwater academia, good humor, clean romance and capped it off with a little cliffhanger. Here’s a breakdown of what I loved about this read and also a thing or two about why it didn’t make the 5-star cut (in my opinion).
𝙸 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝙳:
- Fun, smooth and witty writing
- Epistolary aspect
- Unique world & magic system
- Extremely likable characters
- Lovely imagery
𝙸 𝙳𝙸𝙳𝙽’𝚃 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴:
- Slightly slow placing
𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 ⤵️
letter correspondence ✉️, unique magic ✨, underwater dwellings 🐙, witty writing 📝, whimsical fantasy 🌀, academia settings 📓, cozy mysteries 🤔
✨ This was an ARC gifted to me by Orbit Books via Netgalley. The following review is my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions. ✨
𝙼𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 💭 wow, what a delightfully whimsical and beautifully written novel! Comprised entirely of written correspondence between characters in both a present and past timeline, a brother and a sister of a missing couple work together to make sense of what happened. This may sound like a mystery - and while there are certainly mysterious elements to this tale, Cathrall has created a superb mix of cozy fantasy, underwater academia, good humor, clean romance and capped it off with a little cliffhanger. Here’s a breakdown of what I loved about this read and also a thing or two about why it didn’t make the 5-star cut (in my opinion).
𝙸 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝙳:
- Fun, smooth and witty writing
- Epistolary aspect
- Unique world & magic system
- Extremely likable characters
- Lovely imagery
𝙸 𝙳𝙸𝙳𝙽’𝚃 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴:
- Slightly slow placing
𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 ⤵️
letter correspondence ✉️, unique magic ✨, underwater dwellings 🐙, witty writing 📝, whimsical fantasy 🌀, academia settings 📓, cozy mysteries 🤔