her's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Death, Injury/injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
ye_li's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Confinement, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Suicidal thoughts
aeonic's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
hillarym's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Blood
frankiejo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? No
5.0
"This is the rabbit hole. Do you want to know the secret to surviving once you've gone down the rabbit hole?"
Zachary nods and Mirabel leans forward. Her eyes are ringed with gold.
"Be a rabbit," she whispers.
GOD. god i loved this. i think i found my new favourite book.
I'm never going to be able to put all my feelings about this incredible story down, at least not in any meaningful way, all I can do is encourage you to read it.
The prose was breathtaking. I don't think I've ever written down that many quotes (yes I take notes when I'm reading! It's fun) The world that Morgenstern so artfully constructed was beautiful and it hurts my soul that I can't live in it. I have very, very few complaints about this book. As in two. And one of those complaints is just that I think some bits could have used a comma or two to make things clearer, but I;m very overzealous with commas in my own writing so that might just be me. And the other one is that the middle is endless but frankly I don't really care because I loved every minute of it.
Man, I'm always going on to my friends about how much I hate feedback thats just "I loved it" but. Oh my god. I truly cannot think of anything else to say. I've seen this book described as a love letter to stories and the art of storytelling and I wholeheartedly agree. On that note, I do feel I have to say that this is not a casual read. I don't mean that in a derisive way! If you would identify yourself as a casual reader, that is completely fine. All I mean is that this book, in addition to being a love letter to the art of storytelling, is a nonlinear narrative with a lot of moving parts. A lot of different stories are told at once, and not all of them seem especially related to one another until the end. You have to be patient. If nonlinear narratives are a no-go for you, or if you prefer to shut your brain off a little and read to relax, this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, if I was making a list of books you should at least try to read before you die, this would be number one. That's very specific. Anyway, what I'm saying is that while I do suggest giving this a shot, know that it's not a casual fantasy romp. Not that casual fantasy romps are bad, I love them, just that this isn't that. I saw some people saying that they were confused or thrown off by the nature of the narrative, which I found odd at first. I suspect that the people who were confused were unaware of the nonlinear narrative/overlapping stories and so got confused when the story jumped around so much in time, location, and character, which is understandable! Just a heads-up there: 'tis complicated.
I have no idea if any of that made any sense. I feel a little high right now.
A book is made of paper but a story is a tree.
rep; main character of colour (presumably afro-latino, as his mother is described as Haitan), gay main character, various other characters of colour ranging in narrative importance from "very" to "not at all", fairly important character who "hates labels" and is attracted (at least) to men and women, mlm major character
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Grief, Stalking, Violence, and Death
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
That schizophrenia/psychosis is discussed, none of the characters have schizophrenia or experience psychosis, although Zachary does repeatedly question his reality.krys_kilz's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
5.0
I am in awe of this book. The way Morgenstern wove layer upon layer of story and world building was truly impressive. I felt fully immersed in the world she created. And I loved how everything came together in the end yet still left an air of mystery / open endedness.
I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.
I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
andreathrs_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Erin Morgenstern's "The Starless Sea" beautifully illustrates the wonders of stories and storytelling. One thing I loved most about the prose and the writing, how everything was perfectly descriptive, allowing you to truly imagine yourself in this world of fantasies and stories.
Personally, I would rate it a 3.5 stars at first read because the pacing was a bit off at times. The first and last third of the book (specifically Book I, II, and VI) had a lot more plot compared to the other books. I also didn't feel the urgency of the antagonist because it was hardly mentioned directly to the reader. I also wished there was more of a plot in Books III, IV, and V since many of Zachary's perspective in the plot was him wandering around.
Along with this, there was no strong character development for any of the characters. All of them more or less stayed the same, making the driving force behind the plot the story set in stone and not the characters making decisions for themselves.
All in all, I strongly believe that this book is better understood through more reads due to the intricate interconnectedness of all the stories and characters. I can see my rating changing once I do read it again, though!
Personally, I would rate it a 3.5 stars at first read because the pacing was a bit off at times. The first and last third of the book (specifically Book I, II, and VI) had a lot more plot compared to the other books. I also didn't feel the urgency of the antagonist because it was hardly mentioned directly to the reader. I also wished there was more of a plot in Books III, IV, and V since many of Zachary's perspective in the plot was him wandering around.
Along with this, there was no strong character development for any of the characters. All of them more or less stayed the same, making the driving force behind the plot the story set in stone and not the characters making decisions for themselves.
All in all, I strongly believe that this book is better understood through more reads due to the intricate interconnectedness of all the stories and characters. I can see my rating changing once I do read it again, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
astoryofpages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
First thing first, after finishing this book, I immediately search on Google "the starless sea ending explained". Because yeah, this book is one of them which make you feel dumb after finishing them.
Don’t get me wrong, the writing is beautiful, the characters loveable, the whole thing incredibly well constructed and imagined. But the thing is, I was clueless during the whole story, I understood very little and because of that, I’m mad.
And because I was completely lost sometimes and found some passages a bit boring, I put aside this book for days a few times, and I ended up even more clueless. So yeah, it was a ride, I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book. Maybe it wasn’t the right moment for me to read this book 😅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, and Blood
mandkips's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Stalking
solouncapitulomas's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
5.0
“Not all stories speak to all listeners, but all listeners can find a story that does, somewhere, sometime. In one form or another.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Stalking
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, and Violence