A review by lisibee815
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

Really good!  :)  There was plenty I enjoyed, which I'll get to. But first, while I enjoy epistolary novels, this one was a bit of a slog for me. I think using this format for a fantasy novel was a daunting task and slightly hindered the world-building. But I'm not a true fantasy reader and I'm not great with following world-bulding anyway, so your mileage may vary. I also struggled with the archaic-sounding way of speaking/writing this society has, which also caused me to feel like I was wading through the book (very unintended water pun there, sorry!) I really enjoyed E. and Henerey (and, by extension,  Sophy and Vyerin) as they all struggle to solve the mystery in the under-garden and, of course, what really happened to E. and Henerey. Loved the blossoming relationship between E. and Henerey, and the mental illness representation in multiple characters really added a nice depth to the story. The first 60% of the book was dry and fairly academic, but this fits for a fantasy book about a deeply academic society. The last 40% of the book really picked up the pace and I'm glad I kept with it. I'm going to have a hard time waiting for the second book. :)
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