3.5/5

For fans of: Laini Taylor, Erin Morgenstern, complicated families, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, lyrical prose, VIBES, globetrotting, stand-alone

The Big Questions:

• What genre is this in? Urban fantasy

• Are there any swoon-worthy characters? No.

• Is it spicy? Fade to black

• Is it violent or gory? Gory

• Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? Borrow!

Synopsis: For centuries, the Everlys have seen their best and brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick - and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was a child when her mother left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer. Unless she can break the curse first.

Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope's quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted - and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

With her time running out, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began.

Review: Thank you Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Traveling to different worlds, family curses, and monstrous gods, oh my. Kicking off 2024 with an urban fantasy debut novel and I had a blast despite some of the issues.

Let’s start with what I loved: The world building is definitely something fun and new, the plot was evenly paced, and I had so much fun with the dual POV adventures of Violet and Alexander.

What I liked: The globe-trotting aspect was really fun and added to the pacing to keep things fresh and moving. Violet is young, naive, and is willing to do what it takes to claim her life. Her quirky uncles were fun and loving supportive characters. The history of the Everlys and Penelope was very interesting and I wish there was more.

Now on to what I didn’t like: Alexander, poor kid, had a rough life and boy did he have quite the conflict on his hands. His journey, I feel, should have been more of the forefront than Violet. He had the more interesting, more complicated, and richer story. There are also quite a few plot holes that I just cannot ignore as well as a resolution that I wasn’t 100% satisfied with.

But overall, if you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, stand-alone urban fantasy, I suggest checking out The City of Stardust.