mxbluet18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
Trigger warnings for The Starless Sea include: Anxiety, panic attacks; multiple deaths; themes of death; Suicidal ideation mentioned; Forced drug use; Removal of a tongue mentioned; Branding, Kidnapping, Drowning and Animal death mentioned.
☆
☆
It's safe to say that was one of the wildest rides I've ever had with a book. Usually I'm not a fan of multiple points of view in the books I read because I find it easy to get things mixed up. But with this one each story within a story was individual and easy to distinguish from one another.
~
I loved the simple gay representation you find in the main character Zachary, as well as Dorian, and in Kat (though in passing mention). The fact that there are queer characters doesn't have any bearing on the story, which I find is actually quite nice. Having a story that doesn't revolve around one or more of the characters being some flavour or LGBTQ+.
~
Reading some other reviews online when I'm writing this I have found some useful explanations as to how the characters fit into the fairytale being woven from the beginning. Who each character is, whether that's the Pirate, Fate, the acolyte, Allegra and the Guardian. Characters are mentioned and talked about in different books within the books. It has multiple stories within it, and eventually they all fit together and interweave, but I appreciate it might be a little more challenging for some to piece together who's who.
☆
☆
It's safe to say that was one of the wildest rides I've ever had with a book. Usually I'm not a fan of multiple points of view in the books I read because I find it easy to get things mixed up. But with this one each story within a story was individual and easy to distinguish from one another.
~
I loved the simple gay representation you find in the main character Zachary, as well as Dorian, and in Kat (though in passing mention). The fact that there are queer characters doesn't have any bearing on the story, which I find is actually quite nice. Having a story that doesn't revolve around one or more of the characters being some flavour or LGBTQ+.
~
Reading some other reviews online when I'm writing this I have found some useful explanations as to how the characters fit into the fairytale being woven from the beginning. Who each character is, whether that's the Pirate, Fate, the acolyte, Allegra and the Guardian. Characters are mentioned and talked about in different books within the books. It has multiple stories within it, and eventually they all fit together and interweave, but I appreciate it might be a little more challenging for some to piece together who's who.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Drug use
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
blairextraordinaire's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence
jelliestars's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, and Injury/injury detail
decklededgess's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
trigger warnings: missing person, murder attempt, torture, death, stalking
I didn't particularly like Nigh Circus but my experience reading this has given me a better understanding of what I missed in my reading of NC. Erin Morgenstern's books require that you put in effort to carve out the plot for yourself from the layers and layers of stories that she frontloads. And after you put in the effort to map out your understanding of the book she rewards you with incredibly gratifying reveals that knit the book together into one seamless plot. As someone who has like 2% understanding of symbolism, I was rather proud of myself for understanding this book but I'm sure rereads will reveal dozens more layers.
This is a book for your whimsical dark academia aesthetic book lovers. It's a book about books for the bookish folk who long to disappear into the story itself.
Incredibly immersive and easy to get lost in.
I didn't particularly like Nigh Circus but my experience reading this has given me a better understanding of what I missed in my reading of NC. Erin Morgenstern's books require that you put in effort to carve out the plot for yourself from the layers and layers of stories that she frontloads. And after you put in the effort to map out your understanding of the book she rewards you with incredibly gratifying reveals that knit the book together into one seamless plot. As someone who has like 2% understanding of symbolism, I was rather proud of myself for understanding this book but I'm sure rereads will reveal dozens more layers.
This is a book for your whimsical dark academia aesthetic book lovers. It's a book about books for the bookish folk who long to disappear into the story itself.
Incredibly immersive and easy to get lost in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Gore
ashleyreads88's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
The Starless Sea is a beautiful book. At times, I found it confusing due to the multiple storylines. The storylines did all come together nicely. Another thing that was confusing at times was all the different characters and their stories. I did enjoy this book, and how much of a dark, mysterious adventure it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping and Alcohol
hiphillbert's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Violence
Minor: Torture
dannythestreet's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This whole book is a metaphor (but still a book). You are just trying to keep up with all these symbols until you give up and sink into it. That was a wonderful experience for me, the writing style is the best thing that can happen to anyone and the atmosphere of the book makes you never want to get back to the real life. The character dynamic was also just magical and I'm glad I went on this journey with them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Stalking
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
oliverreeds's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-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? It's complicated
4.75
i really, very greatly enjoyed this book. the book is basically a set of artfully woven stories from the past, present, future, and fairy tales that all feed into each other and all connect in literally the most beautiful ways. the characters are fleshed out. the writing is easy to read and yet poigniant. it was a little slow getting into the book because every other chapter is a "random" fairy tale which made getting to know the characters a little difficult for me, but less than half-way in, i was hooked. the romance is also magnificent and while important to the book/story, doesn't take away from the world-building or characters. my only issue with this book is that the time spent in the under-world with the starless sea takes up a LOT of time and was very confusing for me to read. i didn't quite understand what was going on (although kat's interludes helped a decent bit and were a fantastic addition to this story), and since i didn't understand, i got bored for like 75 pages. to be fair i was also never super sure what
Spoiler
dorian and zachary were doing in the under-world starless sea place. zachary was trying to find dorian and vice versa but there were so many strange side quests that happened, i started getting confused. i also wanted more on the Zachary/Dorian romance. i thought what was written was great, but i wanted more on where it came from. why were they so in love all of a sudden. i think that this book could have benefitted from additional scenes in which we got to see their relationship bloom a little moreSpoiler
. all said and done, this book is an incredible display of the author's knowledge of craft, attention to detail, and incredible mind when writing stories. she literally killed it. like every character is so important and it was beautiful and incredible, which is why i gave this book such a high rating despite my two qualms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
corvicore's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
allisoncc's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Suicide, Torture, and Violence