Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Starless Sea

I was torn between whether or not to give this book 5 stars cause it's truly beautifully written, with all the appeal of the Night Circus but with far more charm and light-heartedness to break up the heavy tone.
Admittedly it's a somewhat challenging book to follow at times but I think that's on purpose. You're not meant to fully understand each part until it's brought together, particularly with the inconsistent chronology (that you may be familiar with from the Night Circus). Technically it's broken into 6 parts but in terms of tone and direction of the plot it has kind of 3 distinct parts that feel like somewhat separate narratives

Spoiler

as Zachary moves from the surface, to the harbor, to the starless sea. </ spoiler>
I'll share a quote from the book that feels very self-aware,

Spoiler

"Part spy movie, part fairy tale, part choose your own adventure. Epic branching story that doesn’t stick to a single genre or one set path and turns into different stories but it’s all the same story."

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corvicore's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this book fixed all the problems i had with the night circus. there are some bits im confused about, but given that this is my first read through it means that this book has reread value which is great.

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bebidocrimes's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Morgenstern's writing style really just feels like home. I read somewhere she writes things to be impossible to put on screen and that decision elevates all her choices. Her environmental description are pristine and just wraps me up into the story. (I also think she would throw the most kickass parties.) The story and the message and the interweaving of it all is so masterful, this story will never really end. It will always be constantly running in my mind.

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