Basic info: The City of Stardust
Author: Georgia Summers
Genres: Fantasy
Publication date: January 30, 2024
Edition I read: FairyLoot Hardcover
Pages: 343
My rating: 3/5
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205746105-the-city-of-stardust
This was my first ever FairlyLoot book as part of the adult book subscription, so I was really excited to read it. After finishing and sleeping on it, I still feel like it was only an okay book.
What I liked about The City of Stardust
There were things I liked: the world and world building, our main character Violet, and having a generally interesting plot that twist and turns a little as it unfolds. However, these were not enough to make up for all the things I missed or disliked.
While the book is written beautifully, it took a while to get into it in the beginning, probably because of the writing style. I didn't feel that the third-person POV made it harder to get immersed as others wrote though.
...and where it fell short: pacing and plotholes
I did feel that the pacing of the story wasn't ideal: we skipped almost a whole year of Violet's adventures, which could have been some of the most interesting bits. She went from now knowing anything about this world on one page to infiltrating this society and knowing everyone and their innermost secrets the next. It's understandable that the author wouldn't want to make the book too long but this was too big of a jump for me.
And then there are the plot holes or things we never get to find out. Like what the heck happened to Marianne? I know she went through that door but how can the author really base the whole book on Violet running after her mother to then not somehow confirm or reveal what happened and why she did it. I'd be totally okay with her simply not being a good person and wanting to run away but we should have gotten a confirmation of that.
The romance in The City of Stardust
The romance also felt a little bit disappointing to me, with their communication too sparse, their sparkle too dull, and the betrayal being forgiven too fast and easily. I'm trying not to hold it against the book, telling myself it's more of a fantasy mystery/adventure novel and not as much of a fantasy romance. But as the latter is my absolute favourite, I was still hoping for more.
Overall thoughts
I was also surprised that this book was categorised as an adult fantasy novel as it felt quite YA to me. The characters are very young, the things they're going through are also the typical first-adventure and discovering yourself kinds of things.
Overall, I thought it wasn't a bad book but I feel like it could have been much much better -it definitely had the potential. It was a 3/5 for me.