This book is difficult to review because I feel very differently about the first hundred pages compared to what follows.

Part 1 of the book is painfully slow. Almost nothing happens in the main plot, and even the nothing that is happening feels disjointed and unimportant, constantly glossed over with time skips or interjected with short chapters of (for now) completely unrelated snapshots of things happening elsewhere. Rather than break up the tedium they just made the nothing drag on. This author desperately needs to learn better pacing.

Parts 2-5 I thoroughly enjoyed. All those unrelated snapshots finally pulled together, the pacing picked up, and I happily read the last 200 pages in a single sitting. I am a sucker for good world building, and this was excellent, though darker than I expected. That said, it wasn't the book I thought it was when I picked it up. I was expecting a sort of Theseus-descending-into-Hades adventure which it very much was not.

[Spoiler-light thoughts on the conclusion]

There were a couple unanswered questions throughout the story that I kept feeling would be ruined by almost any answer we were given, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were left as questions. Similarly, I was pleasantly surprised the will-they-won't-they romantic subplot didn't magically end up with a happily-ever-after that would have strained my suspension of disbelief.

In the end, I really enjoyed the 240-page story that started at Part 2. Do I think reading the first 100 pages to get there is worth it? I don't know.

Also on Snow White Hates Apples.

I’ve been incredibly excited to read this standalone fantasy since many of the Hodder & Stoughton titles I read have been utter delights. Sadly, this streak is now broken by The City of Stardust .

Although it has a very intriguing premise and a fascinating magic system where special keys can open doors to anywhere in any world, the execution is lacking. For a standalone, too many aspects of the world-building are left unexplained. Sure, I got the gist of how the world works but it could’ve been more lush, more alive. There were moments when the imagery did this, only to retreat and let the too-detailed actions or conversations of the characters take centre stage instead.

Moreover, it really doesn’t help that there’s a strong lack of urgency despite the literal deadline. The first part of the book is set during the time Violet was kept in the dark regarding the Everly curse — which is practically her entire childhood and a part of her young adulthood. Truthfully, I don’t see the necessity of this first part because much of the information could’ve been interwoven elsewhere.

The second part is where the pace picks up, but it isn’t ideal either because there are only three months left before the deadline and that’s a big difference from the first part’s meandering 10 years. Even worse? As the story progresses, the pacing gets clumsier and the plot convenience gets more and more obvious. Violet wastes a lot of precious time doing unnecessary things like being with a boy she clearly shouldn’t be falling for. Like, hello? For someone who wants to break the curse, the legit deadline for when you get disappeared like the other Everly’s doesn’t seem much of a priority for you??

Staying interested in the story whenever the focus was on Violet was a struggle, largely because she’s no more than a plot device. I love that she’s a bibliophile and I found her inner and outer struggles well expanded. However, she’s just so dull, so painfully naive and fragile despite receiving the all-powerful Main Character Buff that I irrevocably felt that Penelope and Aleksander hard carried the book. Both of them created much-needed tension and moved the plot forward whereas Violet’s simply being led by the plot.

Furthermore, the romance between Violet and Aleksander felt too tryhard at convincing that it isn’t underdeveloped, particularly when shown through Violet’s perspective. It was also difficult to root for them because their characterisations weren’t strong… In fact, all of the characters suffer from weak characterisation at varying extents. The many side characters weren’t even memorable and it was hard to keep track of them.

Other than that, while I normally appreciate things coming to a full circle, the last two parts of the book make everything that came before it feel convoluted. I liked all the different iterations of the fable between the astral and the mortal. I liked the thin line between gods and monsters as well. But, all that isn’t enough to make up for everything else.

All in all, The City of Stardust has so much promise that it’s such a shame that it fell short.