The City of Stardust
Ratings12
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings12
Average rating3.8
A curse can be many things. For the Everlys, it begins with stardust.
For centuries, the Everlys have seen their best and brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.
Violet Everly was a child when her mother, Marianne, left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take Marianne's place.
Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope's quiet assistant, Aleksander, who Violet knows cannot be trusted – and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.
With her time running out, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began.
Slip into a lush world of magic, stardust, and monsters in this spellbinding standalone fantasy from debut author Georgia Summers.
Reviews with the most likes.
Wat een complete en totale teleurstelling.
Ik heb mezelf geforceerd het ganse boek uit te lezen, maar ik had moeten stoppen toen ik het voor het eerst overwoog na de eerste veertig bladzijden.
Er zat zoveel potentieel in dit verhaal, zoveel geweldige ideeën, maar alles, van de wereld tot de personages, viel volledig plat. Er werd niets uitgewerkt en slechts vaag onthuld, en verwarring was een constante metgezel tijdens het lezen.
De schrijfstijl probeerde de dromerige lyrische stijl van boeken als “The Night Circus” of “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” na te bootsen, maar voelde uiteindelijk enorm overschreven en te vaag aan om charmant te zijn.
En wat is er aan de hand met de constante verandering van perspectief midden in een hoofdstuk? Vaak zelfs zonder scheiding van paragraaf? Dat is echt niet gewaagd of schattig, maar gewoon irritant en verwarrend, en dit bovenop al het andere verwarrende en verbijsterende in de schrijfstijl.
In zekere zin kan ik de enigszins vage wereldopbouw vergeven als ik karakters heb waar ik voor kan supporteren, maar helaas bleven ook deze te oppervlakkig om meer dan ergernis te voelen. Er zit iets serieus scheef, als je meer geïnteresseerd bent in nevenpersonages die af en toe eens voorbij fladderen, dan mee te volgen met onze hoofdpersonages.
Violet was gewoon een idioot en Aleksander een ruggengraatloze eikel. Er is nul-komma-nul chemie tussen hen en ik begrijp niet waarom de auteur een romantische relatie tussen hen wilde forceren.
Penelope kon een machtig personage zijn, maar ook hier weer bleef alles bijzonder flets en eendimensionaal.
Een heel jammerlijk geval van veel beloven, maar weinig meer dan gebakken lucht afleveren.
The Everlys are cursed. For centuries, someone in their family disappears. They are taken by a woman named Penelope that never ages, and never forgets. The Everlys have no idea what their ancestors did to get on her bad side, but that makes no difference to Penelope.
Violet Everlys mother disappeared on a rainy night when she was little. Now that she's older, Penelope will take her unless Violet's mother returns to her. Violet's uncles thought Penelope took her. Now they have to find her or lose Violet forever.
This was one of most anticipated reads. Sadly, I didn't love it. I didn't like the writing style, it felt like most of it was told in conversations. The middle of the book was a slog. And I didn't like any of the characters enough to care what happened to them. 3 stars is generous, it's maybe a 2.5.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.
Out now in UK!
City of Stardust is one of the best written books I have read in a while. The prose is absolutely stunning, which worked really well to enhance the beauty of the setting. It's a writing that demands attention and forces you to slow down to savour everything.
The plot was very interesting and fully captured my attention, to the point I was just going to read a chapter before sleeping and when I noticed the time, it was Monday 5.30 am and I haven't slept a bit.
While I did love the book, it took me a bit to warm up to the way the story was being told. We see everything unfold through different characters perspectives, but the story is always told in the 3rd person. This made City of Stardust a bit less immersive that what I tend to prefer and made me feel I knew more about what the characters were seeing than feeling. This is more relevant for Violet's POV than Aleksander, which despite being less lengthy, it is somewhat more fleshed out.
I have seen this book being compared a lot with The Invisilble Life of Addie Larue, and while I understand the comparison, I have found it much more reminiscent of His Dark Materials. If you enjoyed either one of them, do not hesitate to pick City of Stardust in January 2024.
I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape and Netgalley for the for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
