A review by shoni
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

 

This ended up being the last book I read in 2023 and it truly was such a great way to end the year. The book from the very first page, I felt like I was being called out, most beautifully and lovingly. I truly understand why this book has had such a following like it does. It was written for the readers who found a home in the stories they read, and as someone like that, it was so easy to just dive into the story and fall in love with it. 

Zachary was truly such a loveable and relatable character. After finding out that he was modeled after an RPG video game protagonist made the entire story so much better and changed the story's perspective. You understand his actions so much more. You see him have that free willness of a video game character but also at the same time him not having a choice to do anything else as every story needs an ending after all. 

 I think one thing I truly enjoyed was how poetic the story itself was. Whether it was Zachary's own story or the ones you were reading from the stories.

I especially loved the idea of the starless sea being honey because honey is associated with sweet and comforting things and that's exactly what stories make people feel, and this book made me feel like that.

While I love the way it ended but also wish we had more. I want more of their stories and discovery of the world just below ours.