A secret world lies under the world where storytellers, story keepers and story lovers convene to love and protect stories. Secret doors, scattered throughout, open to a cryptic, mesmerizing world: a booklover’s fever dream. As a fan of The Night Circus, I was relieved to find a new universe equally as compelling.

First line: There is a pirate in the basement.

Summary: I honestly don't know how to summarize this book. It's stories within stories. Main character is Zachary Ezra Rawlins, the son of the fortune-teller. He finds a book in his college library (not unusual as he is an avid reader) that isn't in the catalog system. The books appears to have sections that are about him. This leads him on an adventure that takes him to locations known and unknown, and maybe even through time.

My thoughts: I love The Night Circus so much that I was a little hesitant to pick this book up, but at the same time, was itching to get to reading it. I don't know how Erin Morgenstern comes up with such incredible, imaginative settings, characters, and story lines, but she has done it again. This book is a twisty, turny adventure that has you at times wondering how you got here, then thinking you might have figured it out, only to have the rug pulled out from you again, all in a good way.

Character development is stellar, and mysterious, and unexpected. The setting for which the book is named almost plays a character role as well, and at times had me, well, speechless? There are times in the book that I had to remember to breathe, and when I put the book down (my Kindle actually because I read an e-galley), it would take me a minute or two to come back to reality.

There is immense beauty in this book, anguish, heartache, adventure and love. It's a winner!

I don't know if I can put in words how much I loved this book. Erin Morgenstern is a master storyteller and one of the most talented writers I've read, and this book proves both of those points. The best way I can describe this book is by saying that it is Narnia for adults, but that doesn't begin to skim the surface. I don't think this book will be for everybody, because it's a very non-linear story line without a clearly defined plot. But if you love stories, love books, and love a good mysterious adventure, then give this a try.

Multiple stories which ultimately converge into one, this fantastic book warrants reading more than once. Part fairy tale, part fantasy, the author totally brings you into this alternate world she has created that celebrates the importance of books and stories. Absolutely fantastic. (Sorry, I did a Goodreads review too, but this one is probably better.)

I was really, really excited about this book, so maybe that precipitated my eventual letdown. While it was a reasonably enjoyable read, the prose was so purple it was nearly black and I just didn't feel like the story gelled quite as well as Night Circus--too many times jumping perspectives, perhaps, or time periods? But those don't often bother me in other novels, as I grew up on a steady diet of fantasy, sci-fi, and other speculative fiction, so I'm not sure that's the problem, either.

Not bad, but not great, and I'm disappointed about that.

This book took me a little while to get through. Not because I didn't like it, but because I wanted to properly appreciate it. It deserves proper appreciation. When I finally did close the cover, I just sat there for a minute, looking at it. Yeah, it's <i>that</i> sort of book.

<i>The Starless Sea</i> is a tangible demonstration of what a story can be: magical and ever-changing, surreal and personal, dangerous and beautiful. It can travel in a straight line, meander like a stream, or weave and branch like a tapestry. And Morgenstern does it all.

This book is a love song to readers, to story-tellers, to stories themselves.

And I love knowing that Zachary, Dorian, Maribel, and the Keeper are out there somewhere curating our stories.

This is a must-read for fans of Morgenstern's other magical and haunting novel <i>The Night Circus</i>, <i>The Thirteenth Tale</i> by Diane Setterfield, or <i>The Book of Speculation</i> by Erica Swyler.

Well it was worth the wait! This novel is phenomenal. It’s a magical adventure weaving through time, while reading small parts of “stories” . Who is in these stories? Are they true? Follow Zachary as he stumbles through, trying to open a door he closed in the past. Dorian, Mirabel, the Keeper, the Moon, Fate, he Owl King are all part of the Starless Sea. Moving us through magical time , this is a novel best read in short snatches and stretched out as long as it can- you’ll be sad when it’s over !

A moving labyrinth of a story, every changing and evolving within a story of stories, this book is a beautiful experience in immersive fantasy. What begins as a mysterious thread of a story, an opportunity taken or missed and the consequences of the choice evolves into a story similar to a choose-your-own adventure tale or a mystical video game experience similar to Mist that makes for a fascinating book. Don't start, you won't be able to put it down or do start and you won't want it to end. This is truly an enigma wrapped in a conundrum encased in a labyrinth; a brilliant Fiction.

I loved it, but I struggled with it. It’s hard not to compare the writing in this book to the writing in The Night Circus. And while the world-building is very much on par, I felt like some of the character connections left a little to be desired. Still, this book made my heart ache (in a way only good books can). There’s something so gut-wrenching about entering a story at its end. And this novel had a LOT of stories. There were bits of plot woven in there that just seemed to serve no purpose. Maybe they went over my head, but I’ll be curious to talk to more people about it when this book is out.

Love this book! Having read The Night Circus I fell in love with Erin Morgenstern’s writing. I was ecstatic to find a new book available as an eARC through NetGalley.

The Starless Sea is a beautiful story of love and adventure. To me, it had a mythical dream-like quality that made me want to read very slowly so I could stay in the story as long as possible. And that is exactly what Morgenstern does, pulls me into stories that surround and cocoon for a delightfully delicious read.

I really loved this book and I didn’t want it to end. There were stories within stories and you could smell, feel, and taste everything the characters were going through.

Lots and lots of literary references, so fans of naming just a few, Harry Potter, the Goldfinch, Where the wild things are, Alice and wonderland, the list goes on.

I was intrigued by the author’s writing she had really pretty way of making words flow together that didn’t always make sense but somehow it fit perfectly. The only criticism is that I would love for there to be a sequel or even a prequel! There seems to be much more to explore in this particular world and I’m not sure if I want this to be the ending.

I am still speechless. I don’t know how Morgenstern does it, but just like in The Night Circus, The Starless Sea reads like a painting, a symphony, a perfect cocktail. And I DON’T GET HOW SHE DOES IT. It’s such an immersive experience in her work, I have yet to find another author who transports you in such a luscious way.

The story was entrancing, the characters were believable while fully being metaphors, fairytales, heroes. The sheer notion of an underground library doesn’t even TOUCH what you’re about to read. I cannot wait to read this again, as I am confident I will find a beautiful new nugget I missed in prior readings, over and over and over.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Doubleday for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a 2019 highlight.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a grad student studying video games at a perpetually snow-bound university somewhere in Vermont. (Since it’s in Vermont, I figure it’s OK to imagine everyone there has a Bernie Sanders accent). One day during the bleak January term, Zachary is in the library searching for something good to read. He comes across an odd, authorless book in the stacks called Sweet Sorrows.

Sweet Sorrows is a bit of a library mystery: a it’s only ever been scanned into the system once, when it was added to the collection. It has never been checked out. For some reason, the librarians haven’t noticed this and weeded it out of the collection. Anyway, Zachary is drawn to it so he checks it out. Once back in his dorm he starts to read it and is shocked to find that, among some disjointed fairy tales about pirates and tongueless acolytes, is a story recounting, in great detail, like, even down to details concerning his shoelaces, an incident from his own childhood. Something he’s never told anyone about, and had kind of half-forgotten. All laid out in a book that is clearly much, much older than he is.

When Zachary was a kid he found a painted door in an alleyway near his mom’s house. The door was so detailed it almost seemed real. In fact, when he reached out to touch it, the painted door had an actual doorknob. Zachary almost, but ultimately didn’t, open the door. All this is recounted in Sweet Sorrows. Zachary, of course, is freaked out and wants some answers, but the book has no copyright page or publication information in it. However, when Zachary peels off the bar code sticker (my inner librarian winced at that) he finds a clue: three symbols, a bee, a key and a sword.

One Google image search later, Zachary finds a photo of a woman at an annual, literary-themed masquerade party thrown by the Algonquin Hotel. She’s wearing a necklace with, you guessed it, a bee, a key, and a sword. It’s all Zachary has to go with, so he snags a ticket to the upcoming masquerade.

Then things get weird, but in a good way. Zachary is brought into this weird underground library/world/place that is full of stories. It sounds like an introvert’s paradise, full of books and cats and a kitchen that make anything you ask if you just send a note down on the dumbwaiter...but this place isn’t entirely safe. There are people intent on keeping others away from it. In fact, those people have a whole secret society with a headquarters and everything where they hang doorknobs everywhere.

Plus, there’s an ocean made of honey, which sounds super sticky.

I told you, things get weird.

Anyway, Zachary finds himself teaming up with a pink-haired woman called Mirabel, who was born in this underground introvert’s paradise and is determined to protect it. Then there’s the guy whose name may-or-may-not-be Dorian - a gorgeous storyteller to whom Zachary is immediately drawn, but who knows what Dorian’s actual agenda (or name) truly is?

Reading The Starless Sea is like reading a transcript of a memory of a dream you had once that may or may not have been a hallucination from that time you had a 103 degree fever from pneumonia or it could’ve been a memory of a thing you actually did, you have no idea...but all in a good way. Plus a book of strange/relevant fairy tales and myths sprinkled in between. It is definitely a bit confusing at first, but if you stick to it, all the weirdness does eventually coalesce into a cohesive story. It does make sense! Eventually.The Starless Sea is definitely one of those books that would make more sense when read twice, and probably all at once. Not over the course of like, two weeks the way I did.

The whole novel does have a dreamy, video-game-esque quality to it - there’s a lot of wandering around, acquiring objects, going on quests, that sort of thing. The imagery Morgenstern features throughout the book would certainly make a gorgeous, kickass video game, definitely something I’d stand over one of my gamer friend’s shoulders and watch them play. Morgenstern is quite good at giving us a whole picture of what the world of the underground library/introvert’s paradise is like - utilizing not just descriptions of what’s there, but descriptions of all the different smells, textures and tastes - plus she manages to do it without making the writing sound clunky or interrupting the flow of the story itself. You can almost feel the stickiness that underground honey sea.

Anyway, if you were a fan of Ms. Morgenstern’s previous novel, The Night Circus, it goes without saying that you’ll definitely love The Starless Sea as well.

I absolutely loved The Night Circus, so when I heard that another book was coming out by Erin Morgenstern I was elated. I am happy to say that The Starless Sea not only met but exceeded my expectations. Morgenstern once again proves to be an amazing writer in this beautiful story. Similar to the Night Circus, this story isn't told in chronological order, and is told from the pov of a range of colorful characters. As the mystery of the story unravels, the reader will find themselves itching to learn more about the secrets of the Starless Sea. 5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I loved the "Night Circus"! When people ask me what my favorite book is, that is my answer. I have reread it multiple times, so I was definitely excited when I heard Morgenstern was releasing a new book!
"The Starless Sea" is full of beautiful descriptions, and is twisting and turning with magical imagery. This novel keeps you guessing with changing chapters and snippets of each story as the momentum builds. I liked following Zachary through these enchanted tales and finding where it all leads him, and us. Morgenstern's detail and imagery craft another amazing story.
Hard to put into words all the emotions that I felt while reading this.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins remembers a door painted into a brick wall a long time ago. A door that looked so real, as if he could turn the knob and walk right through it. He never turned the knob, but often wondered what would happen if he had. Years later as a graduate student, Zachary finds a strange book in the university library, one that has no author, no copyright information, and no dates. When checking out, the book scans improperly, further perplexing Zachary. He finds the strange book, titled Sweet Sorrows, interesting. Zachary becomes alarmed when he reads the third story in the book—about a young boy who doesn’t open a door painted on a brick wall.

Zachary follows the mystery presented by Sweet Sorrows, meeting a variety of characters during his quest. He finds himself in the midst of a war between opposing factions who are somehow involved in the mystery of Sweet Sorrows and The Starless Sea.

Morgenstern paints such a vivid portrait of the Harbor near the Starless Sea. I could imagine every part of it and felt as if it was my ultimate book heaven. To recreate even parts of it would be magical and fantastical.

The Starless Sea is about stories inside of stories inside of stories. The characters are intriguing and full of dimension. Each story relates to another story. Full of adventure, folklore, magic, and mystery, The Starless Sea is a must-read for everyone, but especially for any book lover!

DNF - This one's not for me, as I don't really like the story-in-a-story device. Plus I never read Night Circus so I didn't know what to expect with the writing style, and I think it's a little flowery for my tastes.

"The Starless Sea" is full of beautiful descriptions, twisting and turning with magical imagery and glimpses of the story. Like Morgenstern's first novel, "The Night Circus," this novel keeps you guessing and moving through the story with changing chapters and snippets of story. Morgenstern's detail and imagery craft an amazing story.

Brilliant and exciting. Be prepared to dive into a world that only books can take you. Erin Morgenstern is a master of taking you down a rabbit that you never want to leave.

Morgenstern can do no wrong! I am not just saying that because I loved Night Circus. If anything, I was probably harsher with this one because of how much I loved Night Circus. Her world building is masterful and her characters are so well developed! I will be pre-ordering this and adding it to our purchasing list at the library.