The City of Stardust: the enchanting, escapist and bewitching dark fantasy (The City of Stardust, #1)

by Georgia Summers

Curses are made to be broken.
THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'A DARK DREAM . . . WELCOME TO THE CITY OF STARDUST. ENJOY - AND ALSO BEWARE. THIS FAIRY TALE IS DEADLY' LAINI TAYLOR

Filled with magic, stardust, and a shockingly dark heart, this is a stunning standalone fantasy perfect for fans of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Starless Sea and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

For centuries, Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor is a woman named Penelope, who never ages, never grows sick - and never forgives a debt.

Ten years ago, Violet Everly's mother left to break the curse, and never returned. Now Violet must find her mother, or she will be taken in her 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 she knows cannot be trusted - and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel to the edges of the world to find her mother and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began . . .

READERS LOVE THE CITY OF STARDUST

'Reminiscent of Laini Taylor and Erin Morgenstern. Knowing this is a debut work floored me as - for me - this is as near a perfect book as you can get' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I inhaled The City of Stardust in one day. Books, libraries, quests, strange worlds, a doomed love, betrayal, abandonment, courage, sacrifice - this book has it all' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Wow! I so loved this book, I resented having to put it down to go to sleep, it was so gripping' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Summers is a talent - her poetic, vivid prose wound through me and had me immediately rooting for Violet' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Wow what an absolutely wonderful surprise this book was . . . a gorgeously atmospheric fairytale, it fully immerses you, consumes you - I finished this book in a few hours I couldn't put it down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AUTHORS LOVE THE CITY OF STARDUST

'A starry tale of curses, gods and scholars that glitters with magic. Beautifully spellbinding' M.A. KUZNIAR

'A spellbinding and mesmerising tale intricately crafted with writing that glitters. The City of Stardust is like reading V. E. Schwab for the first time' BEA FITZGERALD

'A Gaiman-esque world of scheming scholars and soul-stealing gods . . . Memorable and accomplished ' LUCY HOLLAND

'A compelling story full of magic, curses, keys, and stories . . . Readers who loved The Starless Sea or The Ten Thousand Doors of January will also love this darkly magical book' KAT HOWARD

'A dark, gorgeous tale of curses, gods and monsters, with the love and loyalty of family at its heart' SANGU MANDANNA

• ISBN10: 1399714201
• ISBN13: 9781399714204
• Publish Date: 25 January 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Imprint: Hodderscape
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The City of Stardust is a very well written atmospheric fantasy adventure and the first book in a series by Georgia Summers. Released 30th Jan 2024 by Hachette on their Redhook imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.Paperback format due out in 1st quarter 2025 from the same publisher.

Told in alternate 3rd person PoV, the prose is the high point of the read. The main female protagonist is by turns extremely (annoyingly) naive and perpetually innocent which wears on the reader after a while. The book is light on world building as well, and it's not always clear when scenes/characters have shifted, yanking readers out of the story. There is also surprisingly little character depth or development, honestly. 

It -reads- like a book of twice the page length, surprisingly, and the pacing is uneven, but the prose is elegantly wrought throughout. It's also bleak, bloody, and violent in places. Not a cozy read. 

It's not derivative (at all), but fans of Laini Taylor and Leigh Bardugo will likely enjoy this one as well.

Three and a half stars (mostly for the odd/draggy pacing and superficial world building). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

[ccdensmore]

Violet Everly happened to be born into a family that owed a debt. A debt from long ago. Violet's mother, Marianne, vanishes without a trace. The debt now falls on Violet to pay, unless she can find her mom and break the curse. Violet's brother's have sheltered her, in the hope that she wouldn't be found. When Penelope comes to collect her debt, Violet is thrown into a world of magical keys, scholars, new worlds, monsters, and the unknown.
I was drawn into this book by the cover art and the title. I thought it sounded very interesting! I did like the idea behind the plot. I loved the concept of the keys and the new worlds they could open up. I loved Violet and her journey to understanding her past and present. The storyline with her mom left me feeling sad and I was rooting for her the whole time. I also fell in love with her brothers, especially Ambrose, because he seemed to really do his best he could with the predicament he was given.
I thought the beginning of the story was well written. A bit slow, but it did pull me in and made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I did feel like the end felt a bit rushed and that it was over much too quickly. I finished the book wanting more and asking a lot of questions.
I liked Aleksander. I could understand why he made the choices he made. It seemed he was going through a journey of self discovery as well. I thought their story, although rough at times, was sweet and made sense by the end.
The world building could of been better. I thought it started out strong, but as the story progressed I felt like I wanted more building of the worlds the keys could unlock.
Overall, I did enjoy this story and thought it was a nice read! There were some original ideas and I really did fall in love with Violet. The amount of growth she went through as a character was huge and I enjoyed reading about her journey!

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Definitely thing this book is a fit for fans of The Starless Sea. I did get pulled into this story rather quickly, but I felt similar to how I felt at the end of The Starless Sea…not sure I actually understood the plot of the story and what happened. The writing is beautiful. The world building is wonderful. But being comped to two of my favorite books - The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - I was expecting to be wowed a bit more.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.