The City of Stardust

The City of Stardust

2024 • 352 pages

Ratings12

Average rating3.8

15

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.

November 27, 2023Report this review