Review: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

Quotes: "I must confess that tragedy has equipped me with a new propensity for selfishness."

"..She is graceful where I am brusque, optimistic where I am cynical, and wears such diaphanous and pastel-hued finery that I feel like a barnacle in the company of a pearl."

"I cannot stop thinking about our time together. As someone who has spent much of his social life getting acquainted with books and specimens, I am often flummoxed by the notion of speaking to a stranger."

Review: An epistolary story, one that is told through letters. I thought I would've enjoyed this one more. It's not bad by any means. I liked the writing about the aquatic life and their personal experiences and the bit of seeming romance in the story. The different time periods and povs made things feel a little confusing at times for me.
The letters were from different characters, I felt their voices started blending with each other as I read on. It was hard to differentiate for me. And that might just be me.

I will say the prose and writing were excellent and felt like I was reading a classic novel. The words were verbose and delightful to read. I didn't quite feel invested in the story, unfortunately.
I may try this another time, and this is the first in a series.
Overall, I would give this 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was given an arc for my unbiased review, and I thank Netgalley, Orbit, and the author for the opportunity.

A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.

I liked this but not as much as I wanted to. I felt a little let down by the ending. But it was still well-written and a good story.

This was a refreshing take on the romantasy genre. I've rarely seen a novel published after 1900 that uses the epistolary form as well as Sylvie Cathrall. Despite only knowing the characters through their letters, they are vibrant and full-rounded.

Okay I’m officially a huge fan of this correspondence romance between two scholars as they work together to solve a mystery in the deep!!

A Letter to the Luminous Deep blends mystery and a light academic romance between two scholars as their correspondence uncovers a secret long buried about their world. Like dense fronds of seaweed unfurling, Sylvie Cathrall untangles a beautiful epistolary academic romance between shy but inquisitive "E" and esteemed scholar Henerey Clel who find a connection deeper than the boundless depths in which they reside. Split between their initial correspondence and the two siblings left behind to unravel the mystery through the letters they penned, A Letter to the Luminous Deep instills a quest for the truth, while providing insight into both the past and the present. Including discussions around mental health, academia, and scientific exploration, this magical underwater adventure leaves plenty to investigate. A wonderfully curious debut that completely enraptured me!

Thank you for the DRC NetGalley!

This book was okay .
Pros:
It’s written as letters which I adored
It’s about scientist and researchers
An academic romance
Cons:
All the characters sounded the same I couldn’t tell who was writing and had to keep going back because they all sounded the same (seemed almost emotionless and bland at times)

Sylvie Cathrall’s debut novel, A Letter to the Luminous Deep, is a romantic book, and not just because of the burgeoning relationship unveiled between the two central characters. The story, told entirely in epistolary form, takes place over two timelines. The first centers on E. Cidnosin and the scholar, Henerey Clel. E. lives in an underwater abode called the Deep House, a home created by her now-deceased mother, who was a renowned architect. Unlike her two siblings, her scholar sister Sophy and her self-centered artistic brother Arvist, E. has not left the Deep House in years because of a “Malady of the Mind” that makes venturing outside of her home difficult. She is a reader of Henerey’s scholarly work, however, and sends him a letter about some unusual underwater creatures she observes outside the window one day. The two strike up a Victorian-esque correspondence that unfurls into love.

The second timeline centers on E. and Henerey’s siblings, Sophy and Vyerin, who strike up their own correspondence when E. and Henerey are presumed dead after a mysterious seaquake destroys the Deep House. The premise of their correspondence is to create an archive of their deceased siblings’ writings in order to commemorate them, and the two uncover—and partially solve—a mystery while doing so.

Both of these timelines occur on a planet almost completely devoid of land. The worldbuilding trickles out slowly, but we eventually find out that a thousand years ago, their vastly more advanced ancestors lived in “Islands in the Sky.” A cataclysmic event caused that civilization to crash on a world covered by water, leaving a handful of survivors to build anew. By definition, this makes A Letter to the Luminous Deep a post-apocalyptic story, but the book is far from the grim fare one expects from that subgenre. Life for Henerey, E., Sophy, and Vyerin is comfortable, with technology that roughly matches that of our early twentieth century. (Amenities like telephone communication, for example, have been newly implemented, as has a version of sending messages via telegraph or an antiquated form of email.)

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The writing in this is lush and beautiful. Epistolary novels are a big thing right now and I think this stands out among the sea of other novels trying to mimic that success. I wish it had been a tad shorter, though.

I absolutely fell in love with this super cozy, genre bending epistolary novel. Whimsical and charming, each and every character introduced in this watery romantasy/mystery put a huge smile on my face.

The story is a collection of letters and other correspondance that E. And Henery's siblings have collated in an attempt to understand the circumstances leading up to the couple's disappearance. Set in a futuristic scholarsly waterworld, Cathrall's story takes the reader on a fantastic journey with characters that are both incredibly real and human, but also completely adorable. I truly appreciated having the main character be riddled with social anxiety and the topics of mental healthcare being brought to the forefront.

I am thrilled to see that this book is the first in a series and cannot wait to see what Sophy and Vyerin uncover next in their mission to find their siblings.

Zero spice, but full of heart. For fans of TJ Klune and unique romantasies that blur the lines between genres.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sylvie Cathrall, and Orbit for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love this book! The letter story telling was so unique. The premise and storyline were sweet and interesting:

4.5 stars, I think I read the majority of this book with a smile on my face. Adored this.

This wonderful epistolary story takes you on a fun adventure underwater and is filled with mystery, adorable moments, witty banter, and some heartwrenching bits.

So immersive and transportive, the vivid descriptions of the world truly make you feel like you are right there with the characters. The story flashes back and forth through the present and past, but it was never in a confusing way and I didn't find it to disrupt the flow or be confusing at all. We follow exchanges between E. and Henerey Clel who at the start of the book are missing. Their siblings begin to exchange letters to try to figure out what happened, and as the story unfolds, it seems there is more to the disappearance that initially met the eye. The characters were all charming, likeable, and compelling! They all had depth and while at times their writing styles seemed a little too similar to make them distinguishable, they each had enough distinct quirks and personalities.

Really excited for book 2!! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the world that Cathrall has created. With the under-sea setting, and all the lore that exists within both the scholarship and fiction of the world, I found it very intriguing. Without giving away any spoilers, let's just say I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book, and the promise of getting deeper into the world and it's lore.

The epistolary format also made this the perfect book to pick up and read just a few minutes before bed during a particularly busy work season. By about the third letter, a mystery was revealed and I was hooked. I was pleasantly surprised that the investigative nature of the story meant that the letters, articles, and journal entries included are from a whole cast of characters, and not only going back and forth between two people. This added a lot more texture and nuance to both the world and the mystery that was unfolding, and allowed the author to remain really true to the epistolary writing style. The one thing that got a little tiring for me were the extra-long postscripts, and the written apologies from characters for things they didn't really need to be apologizing for. However, that is a small enough thing in the scope of the story, and didn't take away from my enjoyment of the world or it's characters.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys cozy academia, epistolary novels, natural history, under-sea settings, or just plain old cozy fantasy. It's a wonderful debut work!

This book is a fresh, new sci-fi romance written entirely in letters.

This was my first time reading an epistolary novel. Overall, I enjoyed the format, but it did make it difficult in terms of world building and understanding the society and world in which it was set. I think more explanation was necessary. The romance was very cute and I loved seeing it unfold first hand.

This is definitely an original and unique novel!

I don’t think a review can capture just how much I loved this book but I’m going to try! “A Letter to the Luminous Deep” was not at all what I was expecting but in the best possible way. I thought it might be a little slow and contrived to fit into the epistolary format. However, this was not the case at all and I’m so, so happy to have read this book. I found it really engaging and the writing drew me in right away. I also wasn’t expecting a mystery - let alone one so compelling!

I was surprised at how well the “archive” idea worked for an epistolary novel. I especially loved how the narrative included different types of written media (“emails”, transcripts, diary entries, book excerpts). This allowed many different voices and perspectives while also serving to keep the plot moving quickly. The author also skillfully introduced the writer of each document which helped avoid confusion with the many different characters. This “archive” was also an inventive way to cover all aspects of the actions - I appreciate that the reader wasn’t limited to one view point on events.

The world-building was incredibly unique. The setting is a planet almost completely covered by water where society is run by scholars and organized into several different academic campuses. This fictional societal structure allows the author to explore different themes around academic culture, pressures on research output, and the struggles of the artistic process. Definitely themes I’ve never seen discussed in fantasy literature but a very timely and welcome discourse! Finally, the author’s inclusion of mental health struggles with the main character, E.’s, agoraphobia and OCD is deftly and sensitively handled. It was wonderful to see such representation in a main character!

“A Letter to the Luminous Deep” offers a completely unique setting with a rich and complex cast of characters all wrapped up in a very clever mystery. I highly, highly recommend this book and I absolutely cannot wait until the next in the series comes out!

I think the format of this book (epistolary - told mostly in letters but also in interviews and other formats) is really interesting and I was excited to read it since I love epistolary elements in books. My actual experience with this was somewhat....mixed. I initially started reading the eARC and read about 6% before I realized that I was just so confused and didn't know who any of the characters were. I paused it for the moment and decided to try to pick it back up as an audio since we were so close to pub day. And ultimately, I'm glad I ended up doing this because it was a much better experience and got me much more invested in the book itself and helped me to understand who the characters were. Once I got started with the audio, i was able to switch back and forth between the audio and the eARC pretty effectively.

I do think this format separates us from the characters enough that it takes much longer to get to know them and become invested. It's definitely an interesting choice - I liked the letters much more than the interviews and other formats included.

Again, I'm very glad that I listened to a majority of this on audio - the full cast narration was wonderful and also helped to differentiate between characters.

Ultimately I came away from this enjoying the audio and giving the book as a whole 3.5 stars - I'm not sure I'll continue with the series though I did enjoy my time listening.

Thank you to Orbit for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While I liked the idea of the book, I had a hard time getting through it. It felt like it was slow and not much happened until all of the things happened. I did really enjoy the style of writing and would read more by this author.

This book was hard for me to get in to and enjoy. I loved the premise and setting but I just found it too technical and hard to keep my attention

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC Copy!

When I first read the premise for this book I was so excited to read it. I love books about letters, but I did not realize this book was entirely made up of letters. It took a little while for me to get into the book and remember who was who, and what was going on, but I am glad that I finished.

The world was so beautiful and interesting, seeing it through the eyes of all the different characters, and reading the descriptions of all the creatures under the sea.

It is a slow read, and not a lot of action, but it is still a uniquely and beautifully written story and a relaxing read.

Thank you Orbit Books and Syvie Vathrall for providing me this ARC. I read this one a little bit ago but I have to admit, it took me a while to read and even longer to write a review. Better late than never....right?! (Pub Date Apr 23 2024)

Here we go:

I was instantly drawn to the cover of this one - stunning. The plot was intriguing, takes place in an underwater world, and the fact that it is written as an epistolary instantly grabbed my attention. I loved the setting, and the overall storyline was promising.

I wanted so badly to love this one but unfortunately, I had such a hard time getting through this one. I would love to revisit this one in the future and give it another try but for now, my first go around, I give this one 3 stars!

"Inspired, immersive, and full of heart, this charming epistolary tale is an adventure into the depths of a magical sea and the limits of the imagination from a marvelous debut voice."

This entire novel is written in epistolary fashion, and I wish I had known that before starting it. This just didn't work for me.

The academic dialogue was charming at first, but quickly got old when everyone speaks the same way and you're reading letter after letter from various characters to other characters. I found myself invested in the world, but not these characters. There is a mystery about a tragedy and the world itself that teases you from the start, and I found this to be my only motivation to continue. Thankfully, you do get some answers, which is where the book picked up for me.

I was also seeing this advertised as fantasy, but it really felt more like science fiction (which I love, if I'm correct in some of my theories). In the end, I'm still not sure which genre it is, or if it's both.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep was a well-written novel, and I know many people who would still enjoy it as more of a character study. 2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and orbit for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. While I love the letter based story, I just found myself having a hard time wanting to pick it back up after starting it. I will try again with the physical copy of the book.