The City of Stardust
an enchanting, escapist and magical debut
by Georgia Summers
Narrated by Kitty Parker
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Pub Date 25 Jan 2024 | Archive Date 25 Jan 2024
Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape
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Description
When Violet Everly discovers that her family owes a blood debt to an immortal, she must venture into a hidden world of magic, gods and monsters to break the curse - no matter the cost.
Curses are made to be broken.
For centuries, generations of 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, determined to break their curse, and never returned. Now Violet must find her mother, or she will be taken in her place.
To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with 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 the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began . . .
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.
(P) 2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Advance Praise
A story as darkly wondrous as midnight. Summers brilliantly takes our yearning to open doors to magical new worlds, and twists it into a seductively vicious dream of darkness, blood, and winged horrors. When monsters must be satiated, there is no escaping the choices between love and betrayal; survival and sacrifice. Enthralling to the last page - Shelley Parker-Chan, Sunday Times bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun
In opening The City of Stardust, you enter a Gaiman-esque otherworld of scheming scholars and soul-stealing gods, where a daughter's quest to understand her mother's absence is as compelling as her fight against an ancient curse. The ghost of the city undone by pride and a broken promise haunts every page of this memorable and accomplished debut - Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
At a time when the science-fiction and fantasy genre is booming, Summers' début offers not a trope-filled romp through the fantastical, as glorious as those sorts of books are, but an intoxicating story redolent of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea - The Bookseller
Available Editions
| EDITION | Audiobook, Unabridged |
| ISBN | 9781399714242 |
| PRICE | £24.99 (GBP) |
| DURATION | 13 Hours, 1 Minutes |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Carina J, Reviewer
This standalone story is a true fairytale and is told like one. As a reader you feel like you are being pushed forward in someone else's dream, relentlessly.
I have finished this book in two days because I could not stop listening. In the end though, I was still left with questions. They were the good kind of questions, not the ones where you think the author could have tied everything up better. No, the ones where you wonder what has happened and what might still be happening, and what the meaning is in all this.
This debut book has been compared to Addie LaRue and other stories, but to me it has way more Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets Neil Gaiman vibes.
The audiobook narration puzzled me at first, because I had the feeling it was too matter-of-factly and with too little emotions. After a while though I realized it was completely fitting for the story, and added to this slightly detached fairytale vibe.
I liked the characters, but they are not this book's strongest suit. It's more their place in this wondrous world that makes them intriguing.
4,5/5 stars
Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks @hodderbooks for both the eARC and the ALC.
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