A review by egkaetzel
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

A letter to the luminous deep plays out entirely in letters, capturing an epistolary romance, a mysterious investigation, and an academic adventure into the oceans depths. It’s hard to characterize this book because while it certainly turns into a sci-fi/fantasy book and definitely centers a mystery, the first half of the book doesn’t include much of either. The result is a bit of an uneven pace as you read through the budding romance of two ocean-loving introverts before being thrust into the details of an amazing mystery involving secret societies, poetry, sci-fi crafts, and unexplained disappearances. All that to say while it takes a bit to get going, readers who stick with it will be rewarded with a fantastic mystery that leaves you itching to read the inevitable sequel. Bonus- great representation of someone with OCD, autism, or social anxiety in the main characters!

I received a copy of A Letter to the Luminous Deep as an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Orbit books