Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I read about 15% of the book if even, and fell asleep as I couldn't keep interested in what they were saying. I loved the concept, but maybe an audiobook would work better. The language was so hard to follow, I know it is set in the past, but I had to keep re-reading a few sentences to understand what was happening. I was pretty confused at the start and continued to be confused until I stopped reading. I want to pick it up again sometime, maybe when I have more patience as it is very slow-paced.

I'm struggling to appropriately formulate the words to describe this book; I'm not even sure what I've just read.

This is such a unique book that it deserves to be showcased just for that reason. I have never read a book like this, and will probably never again also.

The first thing that we need to talk about is the format. While I've certainly read books that contain letters, usually scattered liberally throughout, I have never read one that is solely epistolary. And this, I really loved. The format allowed the reader to slowly garner more and more information about the world the characters live in, as well as the characters themselves. It adds a very slow build layer to the book. This, however, can also be considered as a slight negative. It did take me a very long to read this books, especially at the beginning. I did sometimes find my eyes glazing over some of the conversational aspects of the letters. However, it was definitely a creative way to write a book!

The characters were also very interesting; although arguably E. and Henerey were the main characters, we only learn about them from their letters to each other, and from descriptions from their siblings. They're both very lovable people, and I'm very happy that they found each other.

It's such a strange novel, in terms of the theming. It almost feels contradictory in nature. It's dystopian, while also feeling very Victorian/Regency in terms of the manners aspect; it feels both otherworldly and present/modern; science-fiction while also literary. It is wholly unique.

I think the biggest issue for me was that it took a very long time for me to get into the book. It kind of bordered on nonsensical at the beginning as we had no idea what was going on, no background or context, so, pardon the pun, we were thrown into the deep end. However, I persevered and once I was fully integrated into the book, I found myself turning pages quickly.

I think the style, language and format will make this a real marmite book for people. For me, once I was properly into the book, I really enjoyed it! It ended on a cliffhanger, so I can't wait for the next book!

I have to say this has kind of blown me away a little bit. And I think it’s because of the comparison in how I felt starting the book, to finishing it.

It took me more than a third of the book to really get into it. I just felt a little lost and wasn’t really sure where it was supposed to be going. Every letter was diving back and forth in the timeline and while I did ultimately love this, it took me a while to wrap my head around - but once I did, my gosh it was good.

Otherwise, there was so much technical language that they used and my mind was literally boggled, but it also didn’t really matter as I was much more invested in the character side of things and that was just mumbo jumbo from this apparent underwater world they’re living in, I don’t need to know!

But my goodness did this turn out to be one of the most wholesome and beautiful books I’ve ever read. You have Vyerin and Sophie who are finding out more about their siblings, while I’m loving their blossoming friendship. But then I’m also reading Henerey and E.’s letters too and just absolutely kicking my feet over how adorable they are with each other!

Letter writing is my big thing for a romance. If the love interests write letters to each other at all, I melt! I cry and giggle and have the biggest grin, and considering their entire relationship was them writing to each other, holy moly did I have a good time!

Just big heart react

I’m also very excited for the next book as there obviously is a big mystery and all, but damn the characters just got to me

I dnfed 20% in. The story sounds intriguing but the format is a bit annoying to me atm. I do want to read it again at some point but maybe I shall try an audiobook format.

I'm so sad to say that I didn't enjoy this as much I anticipated, the pacing was very slow and the story to drawn out, that for me it lacked any excitement until the very end. I did however love the benevolent nature of the books characters and how we got to know each of their stories (albeit rather slowly) intimately through their written letters. 🐚✨

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review!

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“In my expert opinion (as someone who has spent a record-breaking amount of time continuously underwater), anyone who does not fear the abyss is simply naïve to its perils. There is something philosophically crisis-inducing about the seemingly infinite.”

A year after the mysterious disappearance of the reclusive E. and the scholar Henerey, who corresponded with each other through letters about mysterious events outside of E.’s underwater home, their respective siblings follow in their written trails to revisit and find out what really happened. Letters, journals and scribbled notes detail an ever-growing mystery, as well as a budding love story.

“We would don our helmets and slip into the depths with an easy carelessness.”

There was no surprise I loved A Letter To The Luminous Deep, as I love stories that are epistolary and have a newfound love of whimsical light academia. If Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries was my perfectly magical light academia winter read, then this is its more science-y summer-y cousin.
Set in a world largely covered by water, in a society based around academia and scholarly pursuits above all else, I found myself incredibly intrigued the whole way through. Although the pace of the story is relatively slow, the vibes were amazing and I never felt bored or like it dragged on. I felt like I was truly discovering each new mystery and answer along with the main characters, both in the past and present, and it was hard to put the book down.
Although occasionally using more complicated language, sprinkled in with fun comments and intentionally over-dramatic prose from certain characters, I found the book relatively easy to read. The writing is at times messy (with a beloved overabundance of parentheses), which fits well with the theme of it all being a collection of letters and scribbled notes.

“How is your brother so effortlessly ebullient in his every word? He is like the sun to E.’s moon.”

As much as I loved the setting, the characters and their varied personalities and fun dynamics is what really stood out to me. More so than just the love story between E. and Henerey, the book focuses on the bonds between siblings and friendship. The different kinds of love shared by the characters felt heartwarming and inspiring.

“Know that you are sorely missed, and that I pray your existence under inconceivable amounts of water pressure has not weighed you down.”

Some of the things you can expect in this book include:
- A mostly queer cast
- Mental illness rep
- Fashionable mobility aids
- Sibling ribbing
- Introverts nerding out and being socially awkward together
- Research and infodumping as a love language

This book found its way right into my heart, and I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to this one, unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I found it hard to stay on track with the characters and their story, and the language used was heavy to follow along with. I still rate the concept, perhaps a slightly different execution would have worked.

I was so excited for this book. The description sounds amazing and I mean look at that gorgeous cover!
Unfortunately it didnt fully work for me. The book is fully epistolary, which is a cool concept but at the same time takes quite some getting used to.
The different characters all sounded very similar as they all used very formal and scholarly language, which often made it hard to distinguish/remember whose letter I was reading.
The plot also moves very slowly, I dare say at a snails pace. It did pick up in the last ~15% and I am going to pick up book number 2 when it releases, as I feel that one could become rather interesting.
3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC.

I regretfully DNF’d this at 17 %.

I was initially happily surprised that this was an epistolary novel, thinking this would suit the concept of the book well. Unfortunately, it was clear after only a few chapters that the writing in this book was not a good match for me.

All the letters felt like they were written by the same character, leading to a disconnect and indifference towards the characters and their struggles. There was also an overuse of exclamation points, quotation marks and parentheses to the point that I got annoyed multiple times per page. I could not force myself to read several hundred pages of this and therefore choose not to finish this ARC.

The letters, world building and mystery of this book really intrigued me. Hopefully the writing style works better for other readers.

2.5 stars

here are some good things that helped me through the book:
The little romance between E. and Henerey. Sure, it's not the best romance I've ever read and I've seen reviews where the reader didn't buy it, but two awkward people falling in love with each other? Sign me up.
The blossoming friendship between Vyerin and Sophy was very heartwarming.
The mental health representation. That part was really believable and treated with care.
The queer representation. There were lots of queer characters and I love that it was just a normal thing in this world that people of the same sex were married.
The overall oceanic theme. I love everything ocean-related to reading that in the book was very nice.

With that being sad, the book didn't work for me in general. The world-building was only explained a little bit towards the end, so I was confused about it most of the time.
The writing style was really exhausting. It was an old Victorian style with lots of descriptions and exclamations and whatnot and it did not work for me, especially since every character wrote that way.
I expected letters, lots of it, but I don't think having only letters, notes, journal entries, etc. works like the author wanted it to be. Because of that, the characters felt very flat and bland - again, especially since they all have the same tone -, the world was kind of boring (except the descriptions of the ocean and marine life) and the story in itself was very slow and even the tad bit of action towards the end wasn't that gripping.

I'd say read the first chapters and if the writing style is for you, then great! Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, so I probably won't continue this series.

This was such a gem of a book! An epistolary adventure that slowly uncovers the mysterious death/disappearance of two people by their siblings in the future.. I loved every letter between the characters. If I had to use one word to describe this book, it would be pure. Such a refreshing fantasy, and all the interactions between the characters so pure and honest that it made me wish the real world worked that way. One of the most refreshing reads I've picked up in a long time.

Special thanks to Little Brown UK and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Again, I picked a book based on its cover and it’s gotten me nowhere. The premise of the book seemed like it would hit all points with me. Undersea themes with academia. But it just didn’t hit the points I needed. I’ve read some other reviews where people have had to stop and try to get the gist of what is being said and I had the same issue. I wanted to love this, but found myself getting lost at points. This was a DNF for me at 45%.

Very much enjoyed this and it was right up my alley, really enjoyed the writing style. The characters were well written and the plot was thought out!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher/author for accepting my request to read and review one of my most anticipated reads of 2024!

I was beyond thrilled to be accepted to read this, I love academic books, I love books with underwater/ocean themes, and I love a good bit of romance. Also, let's be honest, the cover is absolutely breathtaking.

HOWEVER

This was the most tedious book I have ever tried to read in my life. Between the mix of very heavy Victorian English (which I was not expecting at all) and the highly academic style, I was spending minutes trying to read one page. It honestly was exhausting. This was so overdone, the writing could have been made far simpler, and it would not have taken away anything from the actual story.

Now, perhaps I should have done my research... or just, I dunno, READ the TITLE, but this was told ONLY in letters. I am not sure that it works for the content of this book.

I will admit that there were definitely elements of this that I did enjoy and I would be interested in reading from this author again, but this book felt like doing homework.

I would rate this book a 3.75 -but I cannot round it up to four. Below is my net gallery review and I will be releading my tiktok review of this book closer to the date

This is a 3.75 but I cannot round it up to 4.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion

This is a cozy fantasy pen pal romance set in a mystical underwater world – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries of vibes yet set in a Shark Tale type vibrant world. Our focal characters are the introverted E. and the sweet Henerey Cel, who have been presumed dead after a terrible underwater accident near E.’s childhood home. However, the two “narrative voices” are their respective siblings who strike up a friendship correspondence as they use E.’s and Henerey’s correspondence to try and unravel the mystery surrounding their sibling's budding courtship and subsequent disappearance.

While I did say at the beginning, this book has Emily Wilde Encyclopedia of Faeries vibes, this is because both our focal characters E. and Henerey are undertaking two different yet perhaps interconnected academic endeavors. However, while Emily Wilde and Wendell are Darcy and Elizabeth bantering in Pride and Prejudice then E. and Henerey are the mellow Marianne and colonel Brandon. So much like in Sense and Sensibilities, the book is quite slow-paced and the romance a quiet sort but it is quite beautiful to see how the book handles issues of mental health, anxiety, and neurodivergence and there are definite hints that the other books may touch further on topics of isolation and grief.

Another key thing to note is this novel is written in the epistolary format which means the whole story takes place through letters and it is written using 19th Century, Jane Austen-esque modern English. So you have to enjoy this format and this manner of characters communicating to enjoy this book. Luckily one of my favorite novels “Les Dangerous Liaisons is an 18th-century novel written in the epistolary form as well, so this was not an issue for me. However, because both E. and Henerey are quite introverted, it is hard to get to the root of their emotions unless we are explicitly told by their siblings. Remember the scene where Elizabeth had to explain to Darcy that her sister is in fact in love with Mr Darcy's best friend? That is this book

Also as this book is the first in a series, the book is mainly focused on the death of E. and Henerey. While I tried to understand that as grieving siblings they did not want the letters to end, the fact that Sophie and Vyerin even met but did not have any sense of urgency to read through the letters and Henerey’s diary, rubbed me the wrong way. If they didn’t have any sense of urgency- why should I be curious too? So when the final reveals were made, it felt very anti-climatic and a tad frustrating.

I do need to give this book great credit for how it tries to tackle mental illness and by presenting queer relationships as the norm. This book has strengths and I think if it finds its target audience it will be beloved. However, if you do not like the epistolary format and want witty banter, this is not the book for you. Calling it Emily Wilde but underwater, really doesn't do justice to the dynamics at play here.

Despite the intriguing concept, lovely cover, and rather distinctive writing, I DNFed at 15% because I couldn't get into it and didn't feel linked to the characters. ;;

Pitched as a light academia, underwater epistolary romance, A Letter to the Luminous Deep follows the romance between E and Henerey, told through their letters, and the correspondence between their siblings who are trying to piece together their sudden disappearance.

I’m not entirely sure how to review this book, if I’m honest! I enjoyed the academic and polite writing style, and the descriptions of the sea landscape and observations about the characters were really beautifully done. It’s rare to find such a unique format in a book, as it’s set entirely within letters, and I applaud the author for taking the chance and writing something out of the oftentimes confining box of fantasy novels!

Unfortunately, the format really didn’t work for me. I’m a character driven reader at my core and found the epistolary layout flattened any potential for character building, as we never got to see them interact in person, which erased any signifiers like body language, appearance, or emotional reactions. Any differentiations between the characters were smoothed out/ made homogeneous by the retrospective style of letter writing. Although I found the world to have so much potential (an underwater civilisation set in the future! A hierarchy of scholars! Cool fish!) the format kept the reader from having anything more than a base level understanding of the world. Even now after finishing the book, I don’t think I could sum up anything about the society, or much about the plot as a whole.

Overall, I loved the idea of an epistolary novel but perhaps if the letters had been interspersed with live action settings, it would’ve been easier to sink in to. I really dislike leaving “bad” reviews, so this has been rather difficult, but I do truly believe this story will find its audience, even if it isn’t me!

DNF @ 14%

I’d usually read much more further on than this to determine a DNF but the incredibly formal epistolary writing between four characters with no distinct voices and with no education to the readers of the world is making me lose the will to live. I’m a fast reader and it took me about 2 solid hours to even get this far in, maybe more.

I checked out some of the other reviews to see if it was worth me persisting but after reading many others say that it doesn’t come together until the 75% mark and then ends on a cliffhanger, I’m happy to give up on this book.

What an absolute shame because the cover is intricately beautiful and the premise itself sounds wonderful. I don’t think the writing is bad at all, I think that this book needs to undergo some serious editing to either simply make sense to readers or to encourage a reader to keep going with a better storyline hook.

As soon as I started A Letter to the Luminous Deep, I knew I was going to enjoy it. It’s an epistolary fantasy romance set under the sea, with a whole host of loveable characters and a mystery that unfolds as slowly and carefully as the relationship between E. and Henerey.

This story is told predominantly through letters between Sophy and Vyerin, E. and Henerey’s siblings who are piecing together their correspondence after their suspected deaths. It’s a fantastic way for this story to unfold, and the format and writing reminds me of both Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Divine Rivals. Sylvie Cathrall’s style and prose is addictive, and I can’t wait to read more from her.

This book is slowly paced but never boring. It pieces together a mystery bit by bit, and the reader ends up learning what’s going on right alongside Sophy and Vyerin. I found myself absolutely enthralled towards the end, and I’m so excited to see what happens next.

It’s quite difficult to write a review of this book without giving too much away, so I’ll just say that A Letter to the Luminous Deep is unusual, mysterious, and best read without knowing anything at all. The worldbuilding is interesting, the characters are memorable (I haven’t stopped thinking about them yet), and the writing style is so very clever. I really hope it finds a large audience among fantasy readers, because it deserves to!

4.5/5.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book UK for the ARC!

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is an ambitious epistolary novel that unfortunately did not captivate me as much as I'd hope. Given the Victorian-esque time period of the story, which is reflected by the conversational style of the letters, I struggled with the constant letters that were written with impressive vocabulary and a formal tone. Perhaps I could use a reprieve every other chapter with non-epistolary prose to further the story.

That said, despite my struggle, the characters were likeable enough and their relationships were the highlight of the story.