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A review by hello_lovely13
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This felt like a combination of Piranesi, because of its dream-like writing style; The Cartographers, because of the magic system, vibe, and somewhat the plot; and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, because of how the main character, Zachary, is written. It is most comparable to Piranesi, but I would recommend this over it due to the homophobia expressed in the writing of Piranesi’s main antagonist, which is certainly not present in this book. This book is very LGBTQ+ friendly, which is part of why I enjoyed it. I will admit that the plot is stronger in Piranesi, but I am ultimately more likely to recommend this book instead. 
 
I like how all of the different stories are interwoven as the book goes on. Details become recognized, and this adds to the story and the intrigue of the book. The pacing is slow, but I enjoyed that about this book. I definitely spent more time reading this than I typically spend reading a book, but it never felt like the book was dragging on. The individual stories had a more fairytale, timeless writing style that I enjoyed, but each were short enough, or spaced out enough, so that they never overstayed their welcome. These chapters had very flowery, enchanting writing that I enjoyed. It did make it feel more dense, so the chapters in Zachary’s perspective (
and eventually Kat’s
) felt fresher, which made it easier to continue reading. I was surprised, but happy, when we got Kat’s perspective towards the end of the book. It helped flesh out the story outside of the the Harbors, as well as bring more to Allegra’s character (
whose death felt very sudden and anti-climactic that it initially felt like her character didn’t really have a point; without more involvement in Kat’s perspective, just having the context added about how the guardians’ actions have shifted would have been sufficient and let Allegra’s character be omitted entirely, but I’m glad that she was given more of a role because Allegra’s kind of an icon, and her role as “the painter” (which did surprise me because I always thought, though with some confusion, that it referred to Mirabel) was interesting
). I also liked that Kat’s ending involved her
entering into the Harbors/the Starless Sea, hopefully reuniting with Zachary
. I honestly would go back to read some of the stories by themselves. I must admit, though, that the significance of the story regarding the
dollhouse
did not stand out to me, so its return surprised me, and I had to go back and read it in order to fully understand what was going on. This could have been a series, but I enjoyed it as a single book nonetheless. 
 
I liked each character individually, but I wasn’t always sold on the romantic relationships between the characters. I always thought that the intrigue for each relationship was established well and was effective, but I wasn’t necessarily invested in them. For example, Zachary and Dorian’s dynamic had a very solid beginning. I was intrigued in the direction it was going, and I was okay with how it was slowly paced. It was clear that Zachary was attracted to Dorian, but Dorian’s feelings and intentions were unclear, though each conversation they had was always an interesting one that increased my investment in the development of their relationship. However, the shift in their relationship was far too sudden, so
when Dorian fell down to the Starless Sea
, I wasn’t as invested in them as a
couple
. Also, the set up for the Keeper and Mirabel
actually being Time and Fate, respectively,
wasn’t executed well enough, lacking proper foreshadowing (
with the exception, perhaps, of the Keeper being Time
), for me to be fully invested in this plot twist. The reveal just left me thinking: “Huh?” However, I will admit that I was happy with the ending of both of these pairs (though more so with Zachary and Dorian than with the Keeper and Mirabel, due to time being spent more with the former than the latter). Simon and Eleanor’s ending (mostly implied) was very satisfactory, and I enjoyed their story, and I think we were given just enough of them to be invested, enjoy it, but also not have them take over the story, but rather complement it (which it did). 
 
I was surprised and unhappy when
Zachary died (I am still mad at Mirabel for it)
, and I don’t think I would have liked this book as much, or been likely to reread it, if
he didn’t come back from the dead to be with Dorian
. I think the way this was executed was passable, and I liked that I could see its foreshadowing from the painting he found
in the Keeper’s room before descending toward the Starless Sea, so the development of Fate’s heart was well-planned and I liked this ending
. This was a solid book, and I think I would reread this. It was a bit confusing at times, and I did enjoy the first half more than the second due to particular setups and plot twist reveals, though I am satisfied with the ending. There is not a particularly strong plot, which I didn’t mind. Reading this was like being transported into an interesting concept and world, including books within books (I liked this aspect, and it felt unique and added to the intrigue), and it is like you are solving its puzzle while reading. If you don’t like being confused or knowing why things are happening, then I don’t think you’d like this book. It’s the type of book that you are there to vibe with, though remembering all the different details of the separate stories helps a lot with feeling satisfied about how everything plays out. I think I am more likely to recommend The Night Circus by the same author over this, but I still enjoyed it.
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