LoveReading Says
This LoveReading Star Book is a richly imaginative and beautiful story of love, betrayal, gods and magic. Violet Everly attempts to break an age-old family curse and finds herself in mortal danger as she enters a realm set aside from our own. Georgia Summers has created the most wondrous world in which this novel is set. She sends words dancing, feather-light across the page yet each has the ability to pierce and punch and send emotions flying. I dropped so deeply into the story, I actually felt light-headed when I emerged. The magic within feels raw and real, while the gods are just as I would imagine, otherworldly, set-apart, and so dismissive of humanity. The characters became known and a part of me, they’re authentically complex and capable of wreaking havoc or acts of immense kindness. It ensured that I was kept teetering on the brink of understanding, with my heart in my mouth on more than one occasion. The smallest of notes sound and carry, while the plot writhes and slinks and powers towards the ending. I just had to choose this novel as one of my Liz Picks of the Month, and simply can’t wait to see what follows. The City of Stardust, a wonderfully provocative and spellbinding debut overflowing with heart and magic, comes as highly recommended by our team.
Liz Robinson
Find This Book In
| Primary Genre |
Fantasy
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The City of Stardust Synopsis
Curses are made to be broken.
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 . . .
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781399714204 |
| Publication date: |
25th January 2024 |
| Author: |
Georgia Summers |
| Publisher: |
Hodderscape an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
352 pages |
| Series: |
The City of Stardust |
| Primary Genre |
Fantasy
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| Other Genres: |
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Georgia Summers Press Reviews
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
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
Georgia Summers's fascinating debut, The City of Stardust, draws readers into a compelling story full of magic, curses, keys, and stories. It asks what we would do to break a curse, to close a door, or to open one. Readers who loved The Starless Sea or The Ten Thousand Doors of January will also love this darkly magical book - Kat Howard, author of the Unseen World duology
The City of Stardust opens with a haunting prologue that weaves as enchanting a spell as any of the terrible and wonderful magic in the book, and it just gets better from there. Summers' debut is a dark, gorgeous tale of curses, gods and monsters, with the love and loyalty of family at its heart - Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
A starry tale of curses, gods and scholars that glitters with magic. Beautifully spellbinding. I never wanted to leave the City of Stardust! - M. A. Kuzniar, author of Midnight in Everwood
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 - and it's a story that will stay with me for years to come - Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen
An intoxicating story redolent of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea - The Bookseller
In this darkly gorgeous tale of yearning and curses, Summers explores the terrible and wonderful power of love in its many forms - enduring, loyal, selfish, toxic, destructive - and what happens when betrayal and survival are but two sides of the same coin. Utterly mesmerising - A. Y. Chao, Number 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Shanghai Immortal
