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adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
Yes
From start to finish the goosebumps never left me! This book is so dreamy and has a lot of plot twists which can really suprise you in every nook and corners of it. Bees, keys, swords, crown, hearts, and feathers - these themes got me hooked. I love how the story building went throughout the reading process. The mini-tales are definitely my favorite! It captured the essence of love for books and connections (cats also) which is such a precious gift for readers and dreamers alike. Never thought Kat would play a big role for a new beginning. All loose ends weren't cut off, it had its own end tied to perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Stalking
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This whole book is a metaphor (but still a book). You are just trying to keep up with all these symbols until you give up and sink into it. That was a wonderful experience for me, the writing style is the best thing that can happen to anyone and the atmosphere of the book makes you never want to get back to the real life. The character dynamic was also just magical and I'm glad I went on this journey with them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
New favorite book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood
Minor: Toxic relationship
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
i really, very greatly enjoyed this book. the book is basically a set of artfully woven stories from the past, present, future, and fairy tales that all feed into each other and all connect in literally the most beautiful ways. the characters are fleshed out. the writing is easy to read and yet poigniant. it was a little slow getting into the book because every other chapter is a "random" fairy tale which made getting to know the characters a little difficult for me, but less than half-way in, i was hooked. the romance is also magnificent and while important to the book/story, doesn't take away from the world-building or characters. my only issue with this book is that the time spent in the under-world with the starless sea takes up a LOT of time and was very confusing for me to read. i didn't quite understand what was going on (although kat's interludes helped a decent bit and were a fantastic addition to this story), and since i didn't understand, i got bored for like 75 pages. to be fair i was also never super sure what dorian and zachary were doing in the under-world starless sea place. zachary was trying to find dorian and vice versa but there were so many strange side quests that happened, i started getting confused. i also wanted more on the Zachary/Dorian romance. i thought what was written was great, but i wanted more on where it came from. why were they so in love all of a sudden. i think that this book could have benefitted from additional scenes in which we got to see their relationship bloom a little more . all said and done, this book is an incredible display of the author's knowledge of craft, attention to detail, and incredible mind when writing stories. she literally killed it. like every character is so important and it was beautiful and incredible, which is why i gave this book such a high rating despite my two qualms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Gaslighting
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Stalking
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One day, Zachary Ezra Rawlins checks out a strange book from his university's library and finds himself reading about himself. When he tries to investigate the origins of the book, he finds himself caught up in a mysterious and magical world of stories and Fate.
This is definitely my favorite book of 2021 (so far)! Like The Night Circus (also by Morgenstern), The Starless Sea is slow-paced and beautifully atmospheric, and the setting is as much a character as the actual characters. It doesn't just follow one or even multiple characters, but jumps around between different times and points of view and stories-within-the-story. I loved the meta and how it's a book about books and storytelling and readers. The romance was very much a subplot, which I don't mind at all, but it did feel a bit underdeveloped (my only complaint with the whole book). Despite the slow pacing, I read this book pretty fast until about the last hundred pages, when I stopped for a while because I didn't want it to end!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me this before I read books):Happy! (It doesn't seem like it's going to be until right at the very end though!)
This is definitely my favorite book of 2021 (so far)! Like The Night Circus (also by Morgenstern), The Starless Sea is slow-paced and beautifully atmospheric, and the setting is as much a character as the actual characters. It doesn't just follow one or even multiple characters, but jumps around between different times and points of view and stories-within-the-story. I loved the meta and how it's a book about books and storytelling and readers. The romance was very much a subplot, which I don't mind at all, but it did feel a bit underdeveloped (my only complaint with the whole book). Despite the slow pacing, I read this book pretty fast until about the last hundred pages, when I stopped for a while because I didn't want it to end!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me this before I read books):
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Violence, Blood