A review by sonygaystation
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

This was honestly a very disappointing read for me. I was so looking forward to what this had to offer and I'm sad it didn't live up to my expectations. It was hard to follow at certain points and I think it was quite slow with very little happening overall. I was hoping for it to be a lot more tense and/or spookier. I think the extent of tension for me really was maybe one underwater scene and another scene with

Gyre thinking she might be being followed

. It's a unique setting and I loved that at the very least but I wish much more had been done with it. The pacing needs a lot of work, much of the climax is rather anti-climactic, and I found the romance to be alright but not a ton of chemistry (might be because Gyre was actually kind of frustrating!).