Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Letter to the Luminous Deep

The format is refreshing, as nearly entry is written as a letter or some sort of hand written note by the characters. Everyone speaks very formally, so it makes the pace of the book go by slower.

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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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ninjamuse's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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srivalli's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

3.5 stars (rounding up coz I want the ARC for the sequel when it’s available)

One Liner: Ultra-slow-motion; but beautiful!

E. sends a letter to renowned scholar Henerey Clel after she spies an intriguing aquatic animal outside her window. Soon, they correspond regularly and fall in love. However, life in the underwater world has its risks. When the duo uncovered a mystery, they didn’t know it could destroy E.’s home. E. and Henerey vanish, presumed dead.

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy begins to archive her articles. She contacts Henerey’s brother Vyerin, and they begin to go through the letters and notes to discover more about their siblings and the mystery.

What happened and why? How does the truth change their lives?

The story comes in the form of letters, news reports, and other snippets shared by different characters.

My Thoughts:

Firstly, a huge thanks to Sarah Grace for her early review. It helped me go into the book with the right expectations (ultra-slow pacing, almost non-existent plot, and a cliffhanger). I’m sure I enjoyed the book more because I knew what it was going to be.

The beginning is intriguing but soon dissolves into a lengthy character-building exercise. While the idea of showing character development only through letters and journal entries is a great idea, it cannot come at the cost of the plot.

I continued to read and read and read and finally, after 70%, saw a ray of hope. Maybe if the letters were shuffled to provide two tracks – one to get to know the characters and another to follow the mystery, we might feel better involved in the book.

The underwater setting is ambitious. It takes time to understand the whole thing, so wing it until you get a hang of it. There are enough details to picture the setting, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Moreover, the technology and stuff used can be compared to what we have, making it even easier to create parallels.

There’s no denying E.’s arc. It is indeed beautifully done. Sophy and others are well done, too, but E. shines just as she should. Henerey is equally adorable. My only grouse is that the plot and pacing needed to be sacrificed for this.

The letters are formal, with many post scripts, dashes, and parentheses. Do I mind it? Nope! That’s how they are supposed to write. It aligns with their professions and backstories. However, I wish the voices were a little more distinct. Giving them each a quirky trait might have helped. On a side note, I have no idea how this would work on audio.

The last section is truly where things start to come together. But it shouldn’t have been left until that point. Strengthening the threads from the midpoint would have worked even better.

Also, sorry, but E. Cidnosin sounds a bit too close to e coli (at least to my brain). It’s a me thing, but I had to mention it. Her full name, though! Poor girl. I understand why she preferred E.

To summarize, A Letter to the Luminous Deep is a character-driven book that sets the stage for the next book while providing snippets of information. Whatever is revealed is my kinda stuff, so I would love to read the next book and see where it goes.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Group (Orbit), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley #ALettertotheLuminousDeep

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kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

What a cool book! I don't read many books in epistolary format, and when I do, I always love the experience.

I took notes while reading at the start, then promptly forgot about them as I was too engrossed in the story to remember to jot down any thoughts for a review. Oops. I did manage to mention that I loved the writing. The prose is excellent and the diction is lovely; it all flows nicely.

After that, I was hooked! I very much enjoyed reading all of the letters between E. and Henery, and between Sophy and Vyerin. Their characters were well developed, which I Imagine is not an easy task solely through letters. E. and Henery's romance was so wholesome and it made my heart swell reading their nerdy and adorable correspondence.

The concept of the Deep House was so cool and unique. It would be fascinating to be able to visit such an underwater dwelling. I relished in imagining this one-of-a-kind home, picturing the incredible views of the captivating and enigmatic ocean and its creatures. Even Sophy's missions sounded interesting, even though I would probably never join them out of fear.

I also appreciated the anxiety and agoraphobia representation in E. As a recovered panic disorder sufferer and agoraphobic, I could empathize with E. and her struggles.

And I loved that many characters were queer and it was just known and accepted. <3

The pacing can feel a bit slow, as there is a lot of world building and set up and attempting to figure out what happened to E. and Henery, but it's worth it to continue on and read to the end. I'm very much looking forward to book two!

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Science-fantasy academia with a little bit of hope punk? I understand the comparisons to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies, but don't be drawn in by the House in the Cerulean Sea comparison (or A Marvelous Light, really). This is a quiet, scholarly-toned epistolary that lets small measures of mystery and taut adventure seep in around the margins before finally being awash with other worldly mystique.

It's a little slow for my tastes (and I wish I would have realized that it wasn't a standalone before I started it) but I'm glad I stuck with it. The writing is excellent and the characters finally won me over (despite my annoyance at the excessive self-deprecation in the majority of the letters!).

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective tense 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

4.25

My dear E., I have thought of nothing else but you and your letter over the past day or so, and I do not intend to start thinking of anything else anytime soon.

rating: 4.25

this was a beautifully written story about discovery, family, and the unknown.

agoraphobic (and i believe has ocd?) and brilliantly curious "e." has suddenly vanished along w her penpal, scholar henerey clel. their siblings begin corresponding first in condolence and mourning, then in earnest exploration as they start to uncover the mysterious disappearance (and what may have preluded it...).

To think that a person’s entire life could be summed up in the jumbled, incomplete assortment of ephemera they leave behind.

personally, while it took a moment for me to adjust to the epistolary style that is first primarily following siblings sophy and vyerin, the more i got to know e and henery the more i became invested - especially as the mystery of the "luminous circumference" developed. sylvia cathrall has created a fantastical world where many of the inhabitants live under or on water. there is lots of creatively playful reimagining of marine life that is reminiscent of the life aquatic with steve zissou.

mental health was a strong theme, with e being agoraphobic and having anxiety & (i think from author's note?) ocd. various characters including henery and his brother vyerin both discuss depression as well as other characters. almost all of the characters are also queer, with much bi/pan representation. science, academia, and exploration are a central theme as well (chancellor rawsel, it's on sight).

if you have thalassophobia or fear of the deep ocean, this might make you feel claustrophobic haha. i think some things to be aware of is that this is only the first book in a series (so sorry, a bit of a cliffhanger!) and the slower-paced writing & challenge for the reader to slowly "uncover" and piece together info along w our new penpals may put some off, but if you have the patience for it you'll be rewarded with many heartfelt moments, charming humor, fun uncoverings, and even romance.

i'm very excited for this to release and even more excited for its follow-up!

If we happen to make a slight detour into that luminescent world – well, then, I will consider myself lucky to do so in your company.

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cassidy_rain's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

A sweet story, but unfortunately not my cup of tea.

I was drawn to this book by the gorgeous cover and whimsy description. Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for the eArc for review consideration! All opinions are my own.

This story takes place in a sort of whimsical, magical underwater reality. It’s a mix of magical realism, academia, mystery, and a dash of romance. It follows E. and Henerey who are scholars/adventurers. Both are a bit shy and feel like outsiders amongst their peers; they strike up a quick friendship as penpals. When they disappear unexpectedly, E’s sister and Henery’s brother work together to piece together the mystery.

This novel is put together entirely of letters back and forth between characters (and the occasional diary entry). I was worried about this and losing out on descriptions and understanding, but I do think it was done really well. It was easy to follow, despite keeping track of different timelines and characters between each correspondence. The letters were extremely detailed so I didn’t have trouble grasping what was going on. That said, I wish there was more world building because I am left a bit confused about this underwater world (how it came to be, what exactly the magical elements are, etc). I don’t dislike the characters, but don’t feel myself particularly invested either.

I found myself quite bored and thought the pace was really slow. It started to pick up for me only at about 75% of the way, when we finally started to get a few answers. That said, I’m excited about the direction of the story. I may or may not pick up Book 2 to see where it leads, since it was finally beginning to get interesting.

If you enjoyed Divine Rivals you may want to give this one a try!

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