***This book publishes April 23, 2024***
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I will say going in, that I must have been entranced by the beautiful cover, because I did not know everything in this book is letters, articles, or references to books written in this world. The only other thing I've read that was close to the reader feelings I had were when I read Daisy Jones and The Six where it was in an interview format. It takes a lot more brain power for me to switch to an uncommon format for a book. That said, I continued and started to get Subnautica vibes from the world. If you've never heard of it, it is a video game where you crash land on a planet covered in ocean and have to survive underwater.
The explanation of the world and its “campuses” came a little too late in my opinion (12%). So when mention in the letters before this point it caused a lot of confusion to the story setup. From what I gathered, there are 3 different campuses in this world where they apparently used to live in the sky and after “The Dive”, now catastrophically have to live on or in water, but there is also a single archipelago. As a primarily fantasy/sci-fi reader, I honed in on the background tidbits and often cared less about the characters. Which this book obviously wants a character focus with the letters written back and forth. I often got characters confused though. My ARC copy didn't have a character list or little map for the 3 campuses, but I'm hoping the final copy will. If not, I hope they take notes to add some in the next installment. I had to reference my own notes to remember which campus was which.
I almost stopped reading at 25%, but pushed myself to get to at least half of the book before quitting. I did get a little more interest at 30% with an added mysterious element in the letters. I still was only focused on the background story though. In my opinion, this book would have caught my attention more if it had been letters and then also had an actual story format for Sophy and Vyerin looking through all this information and trying to solve the mysteries. Especially because for me reading letters that jumped back and forth in past and present was hard to keep track of and for me jarring. It was interrupting a conversation in letter form.
Unfortunately, once the main reveal was made at about 70% I had the ending mostly predicted. The main plot element. I didn't predict the crazy other elements happening, but once again they were less impactful being described through letters for me. This book does take a strange turn, I will grant it that.
Finally, I had to suspend my disbelief because it was never explained about how these letters are being delivered through deep ocean. I get that its a somewhat scientific, aquatic community and the “automated response” letters were explained, but I just had to let it slide and not know. I would have loved to know if they trained the giant dolphins to be carriers, but because its letters only some of the world-building can happen.
Overall, for me personally, I didn't want this full story in letters. It hindered caring for the characters and blocked a lot of cool world-building elements because of the writing format choice. An author can only write it a certain way if someone is giving a one way personal account.
It does end on somewhat of a cliffhanger, but unfortunately I probably won't be reading the sequel if it's completely letters again.

DNF at 12%. For an epistolary novel to work, each of the letter writers needs to have a distinctive voice, but the four or five characters whose correspondence make up the first 12% of this novel (in a rather confusing timeline) are pretty much indistinguishable. I would likely have been able to get past this if the writing stye wasn’t completely opposite my taste - extremely overwrought, nearly every sentence ending in an exclamation point, every thought given so much importance that nothing was important.

I’d highly recommend reading a sample chapter if you’re considering picking this up, to make sure you can live with the writing.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advance copy. While this book had some strengths--written in creative correspondence and fun language and sentence structure, I have some major complaints. Mostly that the story was way too drawn out and could have been incredibly shorter with some narrative mixed in with the letters. I found the correspondence to be tedious at many points. It is likely my fault for not realizing there will be a second book, but nothing was resolved in the end. I hate to say a book is a waste of time, but this one was close.

I enjoyed the world building in this, and the idea of it, but the pacing just dragged for me. While I can see the appeal for other people, this was unfortunately not for me. Epistolary novels are not for everyone, but I generally don't mind them. I did find issue with the fact that the four POV characters were hard to distinguish - all very formal and only a few minor differences in tone. I understand the point, that they are formal communications, it just got a bit exhausting to follow. I might have been a little more forgiving if it had been a standalone, but the fact it's the first book in a duology lost me.

This book was pretty good! I found it very interesting that the format of writing was in letter format! It was so different from other books I read and i really enjoyed it!

This was...an odd one.

I say that as someone who relatively enjoyed this book. As an epistolary novel where everyone seems to write in the same Very Formal Voice, this book is not going to be for everyone. I keep seeing it compared to the Emily Wilde series, and I think if you pick this up with that expectation, you're going to be disappointed. The only similarities are the academia factor and the format (and even then, they take much different approaches to the overall structure - this one is much more back-and-forth and includes writings from several characters). The general vibe of A Letter to the Luminous Deep is incredibly different.

Even as a love story, this book takes a very long and winding approach. It's probably the most indirect way to depict two people falling in love that I've ever read. Not only are they mostly communicating through letters, the meat of the story is actually the correspondence between their two siblings a year after the fact. The letters themselves are very sweet, but they're sort of overshadowed by the main mystery of the novel and the grief of their siblings who believe them to be dead. The narrative structure is just very odd.

That said, I still found myself enjoying the story. The mystery in particular was really intriguing, but the fact that this is the first installment of a series means that the payoff isn't there at the end like I thought it would be. This isn't the first book that's surprised me by not being a standalone, but it might be one of the more frustrating ones.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but my interest is peaked enough to keep going with the series once the sequel comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the e-ARC!

This is not typically the style book I would read but I was pleasantly surprised. The cover is stunning ! I loved how the word is set in an underwater world. The style of the letter writing back and forth between the character's was different than anything I have read lately. The beginning of the story was hard for me to get into and understand and I considered not finishing it. But I am so happy I pushed through and kept reading. The second half picked up and started sucking me in and getting invested into finding out what happened to E. and Henerey. I will be looking to the second book when it comes out and reading it right away. I would love to learn more about this magical, mysterious world under the sea.

Don’t let the fact this story is told through letters deter you, trust the process because this story is beautiful!

Two strangers come together after a disaster befalls their siblings and while piecing together the story of their fates they discover a beautiful friendship, a budding romance and that their world might not be what it seems.

I absolutely loved this. It’s my first time reading a story told through letters, journal entries, and news snippets so I admit it took me a little bit to get into it but I was so invested once I was. I just wanted one more letter between E. and Henery, their friendship and romance was beautiful and had me kicking my feet for more. And that would be my only complaint that’s not a complaint, I wish there was more! There’s only so much that can be told through letters and I want all of it!

Do trust the process, the world building is shared slowly through the letters so you’re piecing it together bit by bit, don’t expect to understand the world right away. It’s very character driven so you quickly get a sense of them and who they are through the letters. The emotion each of the letters contain! Not just between E and Henery but Sophie and Vyerin as they experience a side of their siblings they never got to see and their friendship that builds from embarking on this journey to understand them.

DNFed about 30% of the way though.

I tried my best to follow through to the end, but it was just so hard for me to get through, There seems to be information that I'm missing, which is fine, but I just got tired to figure everything out so I gave up reading. I might return to this title when I am more in the mood for it, but we'll see.

Dear Review Reader,
It pains me on occasion such as this to bring you dire news (well, at least by the time you read the end of this review) that though I was radiantly hopeful and anticipating this new book, this is no longer the case (though maybe I don't need to actually be telling you this, as you can plainly see my rating of DNF -2 stars if you're on NetGalley- already).

This is not a freshwater review, as I am simply filled with too much salt (primarily at the editor who let bypass such a multitude of illogical details in the first chapter alone that I cannot bear not to mention it). I write to tell you this (and I hope you have picked up on my particular style of writing which is not by chance but is in fact an exact parody on every line!) because I regrettably touted this book as the next Emily Wilde when, alas, it is not.

Though the cover is quite beautiful (stunning colors!) and I love a light academia (or a dark academia, or perhaps a greyscale academia that's somewhere in between), it is difficult to read the same voice written across four different characters -a voice written precisely like this- and I cannot fathom having read a further 400 pages.

May the readers who love this style find this book perfectly made for them. For now I shall swim to other waters.

Yours,
Me, My Shelf, & I
(If it helps, I also go by "NG reviewer")

I absolutely adored this! It’s a gorgeous underwater fantasy told strictly through letters and occasionally field notes and journal entries. The letters are mainly between four people - E. and Henerey, our main couple who are now presumed dead, and then each of their siblings, Sophy and Vyerin, who are trying to piece together what happened to them. It may seem a little difficult to follow at first but actually becomes fairly easy.

E. and Henerey’s romance is very innocent and slow burn but so sweet, funny, and heartwarming. They’re both very intellectual and socially awkward, and although I don’t suffer nearly as much as E., I found her very relatable and comforting to read about.

The mysteries made this book so hard to put down and the plot was unlike anything else I’ve ever read. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next book! I understand that this may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to the writing style and sometimes difficult to understand language, but I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

Thank you so much to Orbit Books for the ARC!

4.5 stars!

Sylvie Cathrall’s “A Letter to the Luminous Deep” is an extraordinary epistolary fantasy that takes place in an aquatic society.

I am so grateful that NetGalley & Orbit Books provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review - I can only hope that I will also be granted access to the sequel as I can hardly wait to find out what happens next!

This book is slow paced and a slow burn, but it’s still so hard to put down. The story is told in letters following the correspondence of Sophy & Vyerin after their respective siblings E & Henerey vanish. Sophy & Vyerin send not only their own letters back and forth but reveal letters between Henerey & E, as well as excerpts from Henerey’s daybook and other material. I found this method of world building and getting to know the characters to be charming - as we don’t find out what E looks like until nearly halfway through the book!

I definitely picked up some new vocabulary words through this scholarly written piece. I found this to be unique story, unlike anything I’ve consumed before. Although it’s pretty innocent: it’s far from boring. I found myself thoroughly amused throughout and yearning for more information. This is one where you need to pay attention to the details. I felt a wide range of emotions as I devoured this enchanting story.

I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers who enjoyed Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, those who love reading letters back and forth, lovers of the underwater, SLOW BURN ROMANCE, light academia, mystery, LGBTQ+ characters, and general cozy vibes (unless you're prone to seasickness).

In "A Letter to the Luminous Deep," Sophy and Vyerin correspond to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of their siblings. Through letters to one another, they piece together to series of events that lead up to this.

When I first heard this book was like Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, I was intrigued. The book gave the atmospheric vibes of Emily Wilde but fell short as the pacing was far too slow for me. I had to pick up the book a few times to get through the first 20% of the book and ended up not finishing it as I think it just wasn't for me. For full disclosure though, I also didn't love Emily as much as most readers but did find it a light cozy read and this book did feel the same.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with the eArc in exchange for this honest review.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is less a book and more a joyful historical adventure. From the start, I felt like I was in fact sifting through old letters and trying to piece together my own familial history. This book follows Sophy and Vyerin, whose siblings have gone missing (and are presumably dead) following an explosion. A year after the explosion, Sophy and Vyerin connect and start to share correspondence between E. and Henerey. They try to piece together the discoveries, friendship, and romance between their siblings. What they uncover is a magical world of underwater mystery.

In viewing these letters, we get to know E., who lives in the ‘Deep House’, which is her family’s underwater home. E. loves to observe the world around her, and she is also extremely anxious. She was a comforting character to me. Henerey is the charming scholar she meets after writing to him about a creature she sees outside her window. We are then let into their world, and get to see them fall in love with one another. We get to see them trying to discover an odd Structure outside of the Deep House, which ends up being a really integral part of this story. And, we get to wonder about what really happened to them.

This book could have easily felt choppy and like it jumped around from place to place. Thankfully, it did not. It flowed really well. I found myself nearly screaming when I was reading a letter series from E. and Henerey and we got jolted back to the ‘real life’ of Sophy and Vyerin reading them. Not that I didn’t enjoy learning about Sophy and her wife’s expeditions, BUT I was so utterly enthralled with E and Henerey that I wanted to spend more time with them.

Cathrall’s writing style is truly delightful. The letters are written with flowery language, but it’s not overdone. It reminds me of Austen’s writing in Pride and Prejudice, and in books like Frankenstein. It echoes an older time, which makes sense for these characters. It is also how I imagine I would write to someone if I had a scholarly pen pal turned lover. As an aside, this book has convinced me that I need a pen pal now! I really loved this book and cannot wait for the next one.

Could not get into this one. Sad to say but this is a ‘did not finish’ for me. The cover is beautiful but I couldn’t get into the writing

I see a lot of potential here, but it was ultimately unrealized. The pacing was poor, particularly in the first half I struggled because it felt as though nothing was happening. I felt very disconnected from the characters, I believe because all of their voices were too similar. I frequently had to flip back to reference who was writing the letter. I found Vyerin and Sophy’s sections too long and boring. I was far more interested to Henerey and E and found myself skimming the other parts to get back to their story. The overuse of parentheses and post scripts was frustrating and I did not enjoy them. If only one character did this, at least it would make their voice unique. I did enjoy the unraveling of the mystery and would be curious where the story goes in the next book. The writing was also lovely.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall is an epistolary novel told entirely in the format of correspondence via letters, automated post, (similar to email), and research documents exchanged between the characters, both illuminating past events and solving a mystery therein.

Though I delighted in the enchanting, whimsical and mysterious underwater setting and the discovery of strange and exotic deep sea creatures, I also found it difficult to completely engage and immerse in the narrative and the world itself. This caught me by surprise, as the novel is well-written, the prose both eloquent and polished. However, I found myself longing for dialogue or events occurring outside of the epistolary format, between the letters, that would have allowed for the fantasy setting of Deep House and the various academic schools, as well as the unique technologies and curiosities of the world to be more fully realized. Also, the names of the characters, while unique to be sure, were so long to read or pronounce that it made reading the headings and figuring out which character was writing the correspondence to be a bit tedious.

The story did pick up steam for me in the latter half of the novel, as more details were revealed about the seaquake, strange artifacts and academic finds, and how they relate to the disappearance of the endearing couple that is Henerey Clel and E. Cidnosin. As others have mentioned, the novel does end on a cliff-hanger, which I expected and enjoyed, knowing that this is book one of a series.

The three stars are for the alluring beauty of the underwater world and it's flora and fauna, the imaginative and original nature of the novel's concept, the quirkiness of the central characters, the positive LGBTQIA+ representation in the novel, and the eloquent and fluent nature of the prose. Despite my ability to fully connect with the world as I had hoped, I look forward to revisiting the magical ocean depths, and reuniting with fond acquaintances, in the hopes that they may become familiar and treasured friends on the next adventure.

Thank you to Netgalley, Orbit, and Sylvie Cathrall for providing me with the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to Orbit and Sylvia Cathrall for the opportunity to read and rate the arc of A Letter to the Luminous Deep.

I really wanted to love this book, as there are so many aspects of it that draw me in. The world I imagine they live in and the wonders of exploring the sea and its mysteries speaks to my soul. Unfortunately I DNFed at around 20%. The prose and world building was not easy to follow and it felt like I had to put too much effort into understanding the world in order to enjoy the story. There were also a lot of words used that just felt inaccessible to the everyday reader. It wasn’t impossible to understand but it felt a little like reading a research paper instead of letters or a story. In the amount I read it was heavily focused on building the world and the background of the characters where I feel like the story started to lose its spark for me and reading became significantly less enjoyable. I may pick it back up in the future as I am still spellbound by the idea of this story and I really want to love it.

It also may be noteworthy that while what I have read didn’t feel great to me there are probably a lot of people that would enjoy the prose and language and would find it enjoyable. The writing is definitely well done and the characters and world are completely unique. The author really has a specific writing and language style and the whole book feels reminiscent of 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Reclusive E. makes a discovery outside the window of her under water home, Deep House. With this discovery begins her correspondence with the notable Schr. Henerey Clel. As Henerey and E. delve deeper into the mystery of what she saw they also grow closer. After a tragic accident both E. and Henerey go missing, and after a year their siblings Sophy and Vyerin begin a correspondence of their own. What they discover about E. and Henerey’s disappearance changes everything they thought they knew.

This story is told over the exchange of letters and missives, this was such a cool way to format the book. The world Cathrall created is so alluring and the story was even more enchanting because of it. The only downside for me was at times i felt like the story was a little too slow. With that being said the author provided a lot of information throughout the story for world building, the characters are lovable and charming, and the discoveries are shocking. This is book one in an unfinished series and I cannot wait for the announcement of boon two!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the NetGalley team and Orbit Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review!

"A Letter to The Luminous Deep" unfolds through a series of letters and entries as Sophy and Vyerin reconstruct the events preceding their siblings' disappearance.

Despite my initial intrigue with the promising premise of a fantasy epistolary cozy mystery set in a whimsical underwater world, I struggled to connect with this novel. The writing style didn't resonate with me, and the story felt overly prolonged. While the epistolary format is unique, I had hoped for more dialogue between the letters. Nevertheless, for those who appreciate academia vibes and a slowly unraveled mystery, this might be the perfect read.