I was initially intrigued by this book because of the fact that it’s told entirely through letters which tickles my brain juuuusst right, and I was also curious about how the mystery and world building would play out in this format.

Wonderfully, as it turns out! The story may be told through correspondence, but it doesn’t lose any of the world building in the process. Both it and the characters are given so much depth and you can really get a feel for the world and how it came to be etc without any info dumping, just naturally included in the course of conversation and a few academic article extracts here and there.

There are so many little tidbits and clues both to the world and what happened to E and Henery scattered throughout which you can use to try and start piecing things together, but honestly I was still surprised by the twists! I was thoroughly intrigued and hooked into the story, even if I did initially struggle with keeping who was who and who was writing to who straight in my head!

Though I found this to largely be a problem with the audiobook that was more than likely just specific to me and my ADHD brain, because after going back and looking at it on the page when I was lucky enough to be sent a finished copy, it was much easier for me to keep up with everyone! I did really enjoy the narrator for the audiobook, however, and they kept the story engaging enough to help me through the slower parts when my attention might have otherwise wandered! I also think that I wasn't quite anticipating just how much attention I would need to pay to this when I first dived into the book, and I do tend to listen to an audiobook when doing housework etc!

ANYWAY! The thing I really appreciated about this book was not only the cosiness of it all but anxiety and mental health rep. I find it very rare to come across the former in books and I was delighted to come across it in this one and I personally think it was very well done! I also really loved not only seeing E and Henery’s romance blossom on the page, but also seeing Sophie’s with her wife as well as her friendship with Henery’s brother! It was heartwarming, especially as they were both still coming to terms with their grief, but they both made me chuckle too!

I did, however, want to throttle E’s brother more than once courtesy of how much I empathised with E and the fact that he really is a thoughtless dolt! I’m not entirely sure the ending makes up for it either, but we’ll see!

Either way, the mix of heartwarming bonds and mystery kept me hooked into the story despite the rather sedate pacing here and there! It’s not necessarily a bad thing, the scene needed to be set for their discoveries and the story and relationships needed to be built up, but it can be quite slow paced here and there. It’s a story that you really need to savour and pay attention to, or at least that’s how I feel considering all of the little details here and there!

Overall, I really enjoyed both trying to solve the mystery and watching both romances and friendships blossom amongst the characters! I loved the representation present throughout the book and the world was an intriguing one that I was always eager to find out more about! Luminous deep remained engaging until the end, with certain letters really managing to make you feel the giddiness of those first feelings of love between E and Henery as well as building tension here or there with a well placed word or thought from a character!

If you enjoyed Emily Wilde, then this is definitely one for you! It’s cosy, heartwarming and filled with wonderful characters and an abundance of mystery!

This is one of my favourite books I've read this year. Cathrall creates an immersive, expansive water-based world, seen through the eyes of many academics with wildly different approaches to life. Prepare to laugh at the oblivious nature of one character, laugh over the tongue in cheek academia references and jokes, while simultaneously crying about the effusive, beautiful relationship of the main characters as they bond over their shared loves and hardships. With queer, neurodivergent & disabled rep, told through an epistolary format, all tied up with an overarching mystery, I simply adored this book.

The narrators do an incredible job, really bringing to life their multitude of characters and making them feel distinct and fully realised. They put so much emotion into their voices, which especially with the lack of tone tags due to the epistolary nature of the writing helps to convey the humour and grief of the characters!

5/5, desperately curious to see how this series continues.

Sylvie Cathrall's charming fantasy transports readers to a magical underwater setting, complete with captivating academia and a heartwarming pen pal connection.

The characters are delightfully eccentric, and the novel is rich in atmospheric oceanic world-building and themes of found family. Cathrall's debut is a captivating read that will leave readers eagerly anticipating her future work.

Although, difficult at first to grasp, the epistolary format adds a fascinating dimension, allowing us to unravel the mysteries surrounding the protagonists' sudden disappearance as we delve into their scholarly correspondence.

4 stars

I listened to the audiobook of this enchanting underwater academic tale told through a set of letters between two different sets of characters.
I think the audiobook really enhanced my enjoyment as it so clearly differentiated between the different narrators. Each was excellent.
The book combines scientific exploration, light romance and a bit of mystery. The pace is rather gentle thanks to the nature of its letter based telling.

I loved this, slow-paced unfurling of a mystery and connections between two people who vanished and the family trying to piece together what happened.

Maybe it's the archivist in me,but the idea of close relations only really learning to understand their family, their thoughts and feelings, through what they left behind, the letters really spoke to me. I experienced this story both through an e-arc, and an audio arc, listening to the audio first before switching to the written version, and I hadn't read any spoilers about the book before, so didn't actually expect the epistolary format and kept waiting for the straight narrative to kick in, by the time I realised the plot and characters were going to reveal themselves entirely through letters, I was already in love. The narrators did such a good job (though my least favourite was the narrator for Henerey, he seemed to be playing it for the stage, a bit over the top and too many instances of placing emphasis on odd words in a sentence for me, like he was reading the words without having the full context of the sentence), Sophy was vibrant and clever and a great foil for her sister, the introverted E, and

The theme of discovery and exploration was really well done, and not just the exploration of The Deep, or the discoveries made there, but how the characters were explored and discovered through their correspondence, and how E and Henerey discovered each other and aspects about themselves that they didn't realise were there through their connection to each other.

Again, for those of you preferring quick romance, resolutions, or plot, this isn't it, it is a slow unfurling imagine gradually emerging sea creatures from a dark abyss, for a long while it doesn't look like there's anything to see, and then things start to happen, until the end when suddenly a lot is shown to us all at once. That is my one drawback, the reveals at the end came very quickly and conveniently, or maybe I should say inconveniently, because certain characters had inconveniently kept the answers to themselves this whole time, and annoyingly with the 'because you had to discover it for yourselves' excuse. (Oh and the fact that the e-arc at least had some mistakes in the dating of the letters, which didn't really help when the timeline jumped between two main time periods). But the style and the two mysterious main characters, E and Henerey, were so suited to my reading personality then, that I didn't really care.

A beautiful story in a watery world. Told through a series of letters, we hear of the story of E and Henery as their siblings try and understand their disappearance.
Its so easy to get close to these characters, I loved the rep of OCD and anxiety, its so nice that the point of this story wasn’t E overcoming anything - rather it was just a fact that she had it and the world, or rather her world, can adapt to that along with her. I was absolutely incensed at Artist, like I started to hate his character more than villains in like Malazan, which is honestly probably unfair but I stand by my feelings. These letters made me want to live underwater, set in this almost hopeful post apocalypse where land isn’t really a thing, here is a world fully on or below the water.

Covering two storylines, one covering the meeting of E and Henery and their investigation of the ‘mystery’ and the other is Sophy and Vyerin and their wish to understand their siblings that days and closest relationship. It starts out as a character driven fantasy/scifi but soon evolves into a mystery of the past and the future set in the luminous deep 🪼

Let's start with what I loved which is the fact this was written through letters. I loved how personal and intimate it felt.

I also enjoyed the writing style it was poetic and whimsical.

Now I know I said I loved the letters and I do but I don't think this was the right world for this style of book. This is set underwater but there is no world building and no sense of being underwater. I would of really like to experience that and as much as I love the letters I don't think it was the right setting. It's very easy to forget we are underwater.

I liked the characters and I especially loved the way Sophy's mental health was woven into the story. However I feel like all the characters sounded the same. There writing style within letters wasn't distinguishable from one another. I would have liked to have seen more individuality within there letters such as grammar quirks or catchphrases.

I also think this book is too long. The mystery is intriguing but the middle went at a glacial pace with no real development or anything happening... then to only be left on a cliffhanger which I felt wasn't needed.

There is an audience for this book but it sadly isn't me.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep was certainly an experience.
A novel only containing letters is a bold choice and definitely not something you find every day. Since you don't have a real narrator you're left with havingh to piece together, both story and setting, by yourself which is quite fun actually.
It's said to be a nice read for fans of Fawcett's Emily Wilde books, tho I think that would be a bit misleading, as it's only vaguelly similar.
Listing to the audiobook might have been not the best choice with this book, as there are certain parts where the main cast has scribbled little things in their letters, such as fish and other lifeforms, to show them to another recipient - the descriptions are very detailed and accurate nevertheless and I am glad they included them. The pacing is slow and calm, very good for a nice afternoon read.
All in all I will give this book 3,7/5 stars. I did enjoy the book, but like I said comparing it to Fawcett is a bit far fetched.

As the audiobook started I wondered if it was going to be for me. It was various letters of correspondence over two years. As I listened, I was gripped and ended up wanting to listen more and more.
Sophie is exploring the deep while her sister E is living in the Deep House, under water, yet not venturing out. They keep in touch by writing. One day E sees a strange marine life form pass her window, nothing like this has been documented, so she writes to Henery, an esteemed scholar of the field. Not expecting a reply, imagine E’s delight when Henery does respond and so starts correspondence between them. Something happens and they disappear.
Sophie and Viron (Henery’s brother) start corresponding, investigating what may have happened. They use letters and Henery’s journal to try and piece together the mystery.
I felt drawn into the book, constantly wanting to know what happened next.
I loved it.

When I requested this book, I did not know that this book was made for me. I'm so glad I didn't miss out.
My heart warmed with all the scholarly aspects between socially awkward people that are all gooey at the core.
And I've always been fascinated of stories that unfold a plot, and even more characters, purely through correspondence.
So for a short recommendation I'd say if you vibed with Love Virtually ('Gut gegen Nordwind'), This Is How You Lose The Time War and Emily Wilde, this might be the book for you.
This book has multiple POV in different timelines, but the way it's structured makes it easy to follow. Even in the audiobook, as the POVs are narrated by very different and very fitting voices.
The world that unfolds is really fascinating, mostly sunken after an event called 'The Dive ', and with many secrets that are yet to be explored.
Even more fascinating than the world though are the characters that you get to know purely by letters. It might take a while to attach to them, but when you do, you're hooked - I promise.
I won't retell the plot, because you should not pick up this book for plot (let's say if Emily Wilde was too slow and not enough plot for you, you probably won't like A Letter to the Luminous Deep either).
However, what finally unfolds I did not see coming, and I can't wait for book 2 to fill this fish-shaped hole in my heart.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the eARC!

#ALetterToTheLuminousDeep #Netgalley #Bookstagram

E and Henerey, who correspond in letters only, go missing and then their siblings start to correspond using their letters and notes to see if they can solve the mystery of where they have gone.

So there's good bits and not so good bits for me here....let's start with the good bits!

~ Stunning cover
~ Unique format
~ Such a creative story
~ Writing is superb
~ Historical, underwater fantasy (love)
~ Gives you that cozy feeling
~ Romance was so cute

Now .....because of the few different points of view, I got lost at who was speaking. A lot. Then I had to go and relisten and also not much happens until the last quarter.

I did enjoy this and will read the next book but will slow my reading pace right down...and that's my advice.....take time reading this book and take it all in!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- I enjoyed this so much. It was such a fun and easy read.
🌶️- such a cute romance between pen pals.

Academic love
Underwater adventures
Cosy fantasy read
Pen pals
Mystery
Grief and loss

This book was so good to read. I enjoyed it so much…

The world building was amazing and the fantasy world created and depicted in my mind was beautiful. The world created was extensive and unique leaving me desperate to explore the luminous deep myself! The book is set in

I enjoyed the format of the book which was written in the form of letters, articles and research and thoroughly enjoyed the multiple POV giving the story more depth and allowing better insight into the characters. This book was very character driven which I really enjoyed as it allowed for growth of the characters to be seen in such a great way without taking away from the story itself.

Being able to watch the relationship between E and Henery develop in the form of letters was delightful. first watching them bond over their need to discover the truth about the missing siblings. The letters were so adorable and allowed for their relationship to blossom further. 🥹

Despite being slow burn and slow paced I was unable to put this down and devoured it so quickly!! I needed everything this book offered and am so excited for the future books in this wonderful series.

The mystery of this book kept me so engaged. I was desperate to find out what was going on and learn along with E and Henery about the mysterious disappearance.

The cover art is absolutely stunning and this book is a must buy for my shelves because it is beautiful!!!🤍

Headlines:
A fantasy world under the sea
Two awkward people
Connections through letters

There's so much uniqueness in this story, this world under the sea, coral reefs, sea creatures and of course the societies inhabiting. The world seemed futuristic possibly to our world and vague references were made to a previous civilisations and possible climatic issues. That said, the world of this story was visceral, colourful and kept my imagination busy visualising.

The story was told in epistolary format, with a somewhat formal tone. That was a little jarring initally but I did settle into the format and the letters got more informal as time went on. There was a mystery afoot in this story, some missing main character and siblings of the missing E and Henerey also conversed through letters in their grief and search for answers. I did have to concentrate quite hard initally to be certain if this was a letter between E and Henerey or a letter between their respective siblings.

The characterisation authentically wove in some mental health issues with a rather anxious E and a contrast in the support and understanding or lack of she got from her siblings. Siblings on both sides were queer characters. For me, Henerey and E were a delight and while the sibling brought key parts to the story, I was always eager to be back with those two MCs.

I'll definitely be reading on, I need to know the what next. Will the next book be epistolary, I wonder? I can't see that it would need to be but who knows!

I both read this and listened on audio for larger parts and the narration was very good, assisting with the POV changes through voice.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the review copy.

Vivid imagery, distinct characters and worldbuilding as deep as the ocean.

This book was very enjoyable, I think I'd best characterise it as light academia. I was surprised it was all written in letters and it took a while to get used to but I was surprised how much depth came from notes and missives between people.

The beginning was very slow and felt very drawn out, but that might also be me. If my sibling went missing I'd be inclined to skip ahead in reading their letters, not waiting for the person I was working with to catch up in the hopes of getting answers, so the longevity of this felt a little unrealistic. The ending felt upbrupt and the explanation felt a little anticlimactic after such a big build up. I think it was the length of time spent on this but I think listening to it in audio book form meant this seemed quite quickly glossed over and moved on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

E and Henerey Cel are pen pals and have suddenly gone missing. Sophie E’s Sister and Vyeti, Henerey Brother try to figure out what happened to their siblings through their letters.

This book just wasn’t for me. I can understand what the author was aiming for but personally I didn’t vibe with it. I really wasn’t the target audience.
It was written as letters detailing their adventures to each other (epistolary fantasy)
When I first saw the book I wanted to read it as it had been compared to Emily Wild series (it isn’t similar) however the poetic and flowery writing with very little happening made it hard book to enjoy and I found it difficult keep focus.

I think this would have been better to be condensed and a standalone rather than a series.

The audio narrators were clear and I enjoyed their narration.

Thank you Orbit Books & Netgallery for the eARC

This had a lot of ups and downs f0r me.
The first chapter completely hooked me in and for the first 25% or so I was really invested then the shortcomings of this book sadly became clearer. I think the story is solid but has a few problems - of which most are self imposed.

First the good:

I did find the love story and letters between Henerey and E AMAZING. I ate every single letter between them up. I thought their dialogue was cute and charming and they both were dorks with social as well as mental health issues I could relate to. They both felt complex and had such an amazing dynamic with each other and it reminded me of the feeling Divine Rivals gave me.

I also think the world was interesting and intriguing and wished there would have been more descriptions which were really good at times. I also liked the talk about scholarship and would have wished for it to be more of a focus.

The audiobook was also REALLY good from a technical stand point. The narrators are absolutely great and they really immersed myself into these characters. I loved the duett narration and think that it really enhanced my experience.




I think the biggest problems are 1) The self restricting format - which leads to 2) suspension of disbelief issues and 3) lampshading

1)The self restricting format
This book in it's entirety is compromised of physical documents in various formats. It's cool and fun in theory but sadly leads to a few issues.
Often times Character A will tell character B in a letter "hey attached you will find document X" but rather than instantly after finishing the letter from A showing us document X you'd multiple times get interludes from character B first and then reading document X. This was sometimes confusing but even if it wasn't it disrupted the flow immensely for me.

The format also lead to problem 2) suspension of disbelief issues
EVERYTHING is a physical piece of paper so you are supposed crack your suspension of disbelief to 100 for a lot of different things.
In my opinion the whole set up of the siblings piling together documents of E and Henerey to find out what happened to them is a really idea but who would do that by faxing letters with documents attached back and forth? They even meet in person once but cant compile the documents at that meeting because then there wouldnt be a document the book can show us to tell us what happened. They could just have met up a few times in person to figure everything out and it would have worked way better in my opinion. Would have also been an oppurtunity to get a bit more "show" and less "tell" in.
It also creates the issues of having to have some form of physical document in scenes where it makes no sense. Why would E and Henry have a whole, long conversation on the back of a gala program when meeting up in person for the first time. A few sentences? I could believe that but all that was written in that chapter? Nope.
Also "Hey we have highly advanced underwater and deep sea exploration technology but still rely on physical postal service/basically Fax technology to communicate"
Also Also "Oh no I don't read these documents before sending them to you I'd rather wait the X weeks we've been faxing back and forth to find out what happened to my brother that mysteriously vanished a year ago so that I can react to these revelations in my faxes to you"

1) and 2) come together in problem 3) lampshading.
It doesnt make sense for some things to be said in letters and the book knows this which is why the book tries to make fun of it - which I hate.
There were so many "Oh I don't even know why I'm writing this" and "Do you remember when X happened? Of course you know (but I still had to tell the reader what happened)" moments and the first time it was funny and self aware but it happens too many times that it really irritated me near the end.

I also had my problems with the pacing. I think this book could have been shorter with a heavier focus on E and Henry and would have been better for it.

Critique of the Ending:
What frustratres me the most is that Sophy and Vyerin werent even able to lift the mystery themselves. The reveals happen through other characters who had the answers all along but just didnt come forward with them. Also the "reveal" of the mystery isnt even a full on "reveal" but rather a "here are all the puzzle pieces please come back for book 2 to actually put them together"

I really don't know what my exact feelings about this book are. I am invested and I did have moments where I enjoyed myself a lot but sadly it has very obvious flaws that drag this down to a 3 star read to me.

DNF @39%.
It pains me to say that this was a DNF. I tried, I really tried to care enough about these characters and the action to continue reading it. But I don't find myself reaching towards this book anymore. I don't like the writing, I can't remember the previous character when I start the new chapter. I really wanted to love it, but unfortunately, I do not. I love the cover and the premise, but it bore me.

Wasn't for me. Too boring and the way the characters corresponded was too formal. They weren't relatable. The low-level plot just wasn't engaging. It would have worked better as a standalone.

The audiobook performances really helped with the individual character voices over the letters, with each narrator giving a fantastic and unique performance.
The story is told through letters and records, it's an epistolary tale set in a mystical underwater fantasy world. The romance and the friendships were the absolute highlight for me, and I can't wait for the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this but when I realised that this book is essentially letters read out by full cast audio, I was very pleased. The story was interesting and mysterious. The romance, oh so barely there - so up my street and did I mention full cast audio... Absolutely wonderful and I couldn't put it down.