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A review by novelshire
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
The Everly family is cursed, one from each generation is taken away, never seen again. Violet's mother left, determined to find a way to break the curse and stop herself and her daughter becoming the next victims.
The City of Stardust is a mix of fairytale, hidden worlds & secret societies. The story feels both whimsical & dark; Violet desperately traversing the world, looking for any clue to the location of her mother, a way to break the curse and for a hint of other worlds. In doing so, Violet gradually gains entry into the world of the scholars- it feels both magical & wondrous, clandestine & sinister.
I enjoyed a lot of the book - the writing was the perfect level of dark whimsy, I felt I could imagine the different places well. Violet was a decent main character, developing from a sheltered dreamy girl to an adventurous, tougher adult. The more interesting character, however, is Aleksander - Penelope's abused assistant who develops a complicated relationship with Violet. His struggles with undertaking the tasks set by Penelope, the woman who rescued and educated him, along with his increasing awareness of who she really is, are much more compelling.
Although this was a fairly quick read, there was something slightly off with the pacing - it seemed the ending was nearing and then it would continue. I'd have also liked a little more of Violet's year learning how to follow clues and getting into the scholar's world rather than timeskipping ahead to her being competent at it.
I don't know if there's another book planned, but there's certainly enough dangling threads left to allow it and I'd be interested in exploring more of the world.
Thanks to Hodderscape for providing a netgalley proof for review
The City of Stardust is a mix of fairytale, hidden worlds & secret societies. The story feels both whimsical & dark; Violet desperately traversing the world, looking for any clue to the location of her mother, a way to break the curse and for a hint of other worlds. In doing so, Violet gradually gains entry into the world of the scholars- it feels both magical & wondrous, clandestine & sinister.
I enjoyed a lot of the book - the writing was the perfect level of dark whimsy, I felt I could imagine the different places well. Violet was a decent main character, developing from a sheltered dreamy girl to an adventurous, tougher adult. The more interesting character, however, is Aleksander - Penelope's abused assistant who develops a complicated relationship with Violet. His struggles with undertaking the tasks set by Penelope, the woman who rescued and educated him, along with his increasing awareness of who she really is, are much more compelling.
Although this was a fairly quick read, there was something slightly off with the pacing - it seemed the ending was nearing and then it would continue. I'd have also liked a little more of Violet's year learning how to follow clues and getting into the scholar's world rather than timeskipping ahead to her being competent at it.
I don't know if there's another book planned, but there's certainly enough dangling threads left to allow it and I'd be interested in exploring more of the world.
Thanks to Hodderscape for providing a netgalley proof for review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Physical abuse