Thank you for an opportunity to read A Letter to the Luminous Deep as an ARC!

Being my first epistolary novel, It took me a bit to get into it, but I enjoyed it overall. The story is conveyed by letters and notes between the characters and we follow them on their exploration of the deep sea as scholars. The writing is whimsical with beautiful proses and endearing characters. I loved reading about E and Henerey, and I wish we got to see them more. The romance was sweet even if I expected to see a bit more of it. The pacing was quite slow to be frank, and it took a good part of the book to get real answers to the mystery.

Overall, I am excited for the second book and I will reread the book as physical copy once it releases.

Thank you SO MUCH for an opportunity to read A Letter to the Luminous Deep as an ARC! This book.. absolutely warmed my heart. This is absolutely designed for fans of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faerie's and A Natural History of Dragons- A Letter to the Luminous Deep has the same feel of whimsical academia and magical storytelling that captured me from the first page. This underwater epistolary that tells the story of pen pals becoming lovers, unprecedented disappearances, uncovering mysteries, and an incredibly sweet love story. This book also explores fear and mental health (particularly OCD) in such a beautiful way, which I adored.

Not only does A Letter to the Luminous Deep have an absolutely gorgeous cover, but the contents brought me so much joy- I'm so attached to these characters, and although I wish this was a standalone, I am so looking forward to book two. This book releases on April 23rd, and I so look forward to getting a physical copy. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

I wanted to love this because it was giving Emily Wilde vibes, but I found this book’s language to be a little too archaic for me. It was more of a challenge to read, and not as light and brisk as I wanted. I can see cozy fantasy readers and more academic types falling for this new series.

A very whimsical piece, this fantasy also felt realistic in the amount of thought that went into the concepts behind the story, like with E’s home. I also became so connected with the characters because of the letters woven through this story. Each of the characters had a different “voice” in their letter and it felt like I was getting to know each of them. It was interesting to see the way the letters all connected, and the mystery’s became more clear as each letter was revealed. I felt like I was reading a Jules Verne novel. It has an air of mystery and whimsy that mixes reality with imaginative possibilities.

This was such an interesting book! I really enjoyed it but it is more an acquired taste I think. A lot of the story is told through letters which are very beautifully written but I feel like it is good to know that prior and what you are expecting. I liked it though! The characters are really great especially the FMC I felt really connected too. I love the underwater setting it was so cool and unique! Overall it was a bit slow at times but very interesting and I will be adding to our library collection!

3.4 ⭐️
Imaginative, futuristically Victorian, and exploratively poetic

📝 This book is 100% epistolary (writings and letter correspondence), written in a very formal historical and intellectual language. Though not my preferred style of language, it makes total sense for the era and the book.

🧑🏻‍🏫 Two “scholars” that share a fondness of marine life, bond over solving an under sea mystery through subtly flirtatious letters written between them in the year 1002, while living in separate pressurized spheres under the ocean.

🧩 A year later, their siblings, Sophy and Vyerin, join forces to piece together the evidence of correspondence between them that was left behind before their mysterious disappearance.

🫧 The letters paint a visual of living life deep under the dark waters of the sea and the anxieties of the world above, creating a sense of both intrigue and loneliness lived through glass walls at such depths. While reading I felt their longing for connections submerged with the weight of isolated waters, evoking a depressive but hopeful feeling.

🐢 This is what I’d consider a long cozy read. Extremely slow build up, lacking the exciting “oomph” of a page-turner for most of the book, a lot of it felt like trivial mundane fluff until it’s brought together around the 75% mark (which is when I finally started enjoying), and the overall formal writing style maintained a melancholy vibe for much of the book. I was really into the last 25% of the book, very creative!

🚨Slight Spoiler🚨
It leaves you hanging in the end, the rest to be revealed in Book 2. I’m not a fan of that when the book was finally getting exciting!

Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Sylvie Cathrall for providing me with a complimentary ARC to review!

3.5/10 rounded up to 4 stars :)

This book did quite a few things well, but I think overall, the pacing felt a little too slow for me. This story is told through a series of letters exchanged (and beautifully written). Our FMC is smart, curious, and expresses things warmly and openly. However, the letters feel a little... drawn out at times. There were multiple times while reading that I kind of paused and went "If only something tangible would occur in *line* with these letters." I don't think this is necessarily a glaring flaw for the book, but it does make it feel as though the plot isn't moving forward particularly quickly. That being said, I think that I was a little bit dissatisfied with how long the mystery and lore of the story took to become fleshed out. I struggled to stick with this book throughout, but especially as it was just opening. The prose is absolutely wonderful, but I just kept getting hinged on the "Could this maybe go just a tad quicker?"

One of my favorite aspects to this book was the slow burn romance. I thought the love story was absolutely lovely (and swoon worthy), and I found myself really looking forward to reading the letters exchanged between E. and Henerey. Overall, I think that I'll find myself picking up the second book once it comes out (mostly to find out more about the mystery), but I don't think it's an instant read for me. I would hesitate to recommend this book to Emily Wilde fans (because truly they aren't that similar, in my opinion), but I would recommend it to people who are looking for a slower paced, drawn out read.

As always, all my thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to review this ARC!

This was a story primarily told through letters. The story sets off a world of romance, mystery, and the captivating depths of an underwater realm. The romance intertwined seamlessly with the setting, pulling into the magic of the oceanic landscapes. The relationships among the characters, ranging from familial bonds to budding romances, exuded warmth and coziness, making their connections feel real. I loved the way the author unveiled the mystery through the discovery of siblings' correspondence and the discussions centered around grief and loss. As the story concluded with a somewhat open cliffhanger, I was left longing for more, I can't wait to see what book 2 has in store for the characters.

Thank you netgalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you're a person who needs there to be things happening in the story, stay from this. Admittedly this book was hard to get through even though I enjoyed it because I kept waiting for anything to happen. It took me a couple weeks to read it despite it's fairly short length.

However, as I look back at to write an honest review I can't help but think of all the good times. E's relateable depiction of OCD. Deep platonic friendships between many of the characters. Bits and pieces of the world this book takes place in being revealed like mined jewels. The adorable "slow" romance between E and Henerey (not a typo, that is how it's spelled).
For those of you who appreciate romantic classics, you will love this slow paced academic romance between two delightful nerds as they discover a shared passion for each other and learning.

For anyone else, just let this be enjoyed by the people it's meant for. I gave this a 3.25 in Storygraph and I'd be curious to see if the sequel pays off

3.5/5

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year, and it somewhat hit the mark. I love the idea of a sci-fi/fantasy epistolary novel with an underwater setting, and it was dreamy reading some of the scenes. Cathrall describes the world she's created with great detail, and once the history was introduced later in the book, I was enraptured with how the current world came to be. Not to mention that there are sketches throughout the book detailing some of the creatures and things the characters encountered. I wish there were more! I enjoyed reading the letters between E. and Henerey of how their respect and love towards each other grew. Although at times it did feel like the romance was lacking. The LGBTQ+ and mental health representation was done exceptionally well.

I absolutely adored Emily Wilde, but I do not think these books are similar enough outside of the MCs being scholars for it to be suggested for people who enjoyed it. I struggled to get used to the way this book was set up in epistolary form, and the pacing dragged up until the last quarter of the book when everything started to come together. Normally I would've DNFed a book that doesn't keep my attention of the plot for very long, but I really wanted to see how it would resolve. However, this is the first in a duology, so I will have to wait to find out. I wish books were marketed more whether they will be in a series or not because I thought this was a standalone the whole time! I am curious how Cathrall might resolve things and have hope that the mysteries introduced in this novel will be fleshed out more in the next installment. I think this will be a divisive book on whether people will enjoy it or not, as the writing style did take a bit to get used to and it took some time for the plot to really pick up. Overall this was an enjoyable read once things started to pick up, and I plan on reading the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Presented in epistolary format, A Letter to the Luminous Deep offers letters written between Sophy and Vyerin as they attempt to discover the mystery of their missing siblings. (E and Henerey) in the aftermath of a sea quake.

There are a few drawbacks to a story in letter format, and unfortunately I felt that in this case those drawbacks were present and hindered the overall feel of the story. I didn't hate it, but I did find that the characters fell slightly flat for me and their individual voices were not as clear as they could have been. However, the overall feel of the story...the oceanic setting, atmospheric vibe mixed with the academic aspect paired well enough alongside the sweetness of the romance that it made up for everything I didn't love about this story. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I found the prose to be very beautiful and will be impatiently waiting for the next book.

Imagine Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries mixed with the vibes of A Series of Unfortunate Events, that was what came to mind for me as I read this. If you love academia, beautiful prose, character driven stories with interesting atmospheric settings and romance that is slow building and sweet, this story might be for you.

A huge thank you to Orbit, Sylvie Cathrall and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review and E-ARC of this beautiful story.

I did not find the writing style of this book enjoyable but can see why someone might like it. I also struggled to care about the characters at all. If your not a fan of slow books I would pass on this one.

I loved the premise of the book! A fantasy romance taking place in an underwater world/academic setting was a unique and fun read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters using their correspondence, but the language used in the book wasn’t my personal preference. I think it’s worth the read either way!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Letters to the Luminous Deep.
This was a sweet pen pal story with a bit of mystery to a disappearance.
While this was a very deep read and I almost DNF'ed. I continued to read.
I got to the point where I was very interested in both characters.

I know it's only February, but I think we might have a contender for one of my favorite books this year. From the very beginning, I was absolutely captivated by the inventive world and the compassionate and lovable characters. E. was just the most painfully relatable character (I say, with all the affection in my heart). Her struggle with OCD and social anxiety, her self-recriminations and the frustration she feels with herself--these things just punched me in the gut with how much of myself I saw in her. The techniques she employs to deal with her anxieties (things she actually learns in therapy!) are some I used myself, which was a detail I particularly loved.

The relationships between the characters--be they familial to friendship to romance--were so warm and cozy. I wanted to settle in like a nice, warm bath after a chilly day. I just loved the variety AND the casual queerness throughout the book.

Epistolary novels can be hit or miss for me, but this one worked. The varying character voices all stood out to me and I loved that they actually felt like letters. There were the occasional moments where there was quoted dialogue, but it didn't bother me so much this time around because the vibe of a letter was there. I also loved all the additional bits throughout the book. There were sketches and journal entries, university announcements, etc. It all built up the world even more in a way I loved.

I also loved the way the mystery and the world unfolded. This is done primarily through V and Sophy unearthing their siblings' correspondence and other physical ephemera. It just worked and I loved the discussions of grief and loss throughout, as well.

I loved this world and its characters so much that I was honestly sad when it ended (and on a cliffhanger too! So mean!!). I need the sequel like I need air and I cannot wait until this book releases so I can read it all over again.

I barely know where to start with this book. It was so incredibly good. I quickly became attached to E and Henerey. Sweet nerds falling in love through letters may be my new favorite thing. Then when they go missing and are presumed dead their siblings develop the most lovely friendship trying to piece together what may have happened to them and their love story. The world that Sylvie Cathrall built is phenomenal. I was very impressed at how much the characters were developed through the letters.

The second I finished reading I preordered the audiobook because I want to experience this story again in that format. It was great on a first read but I know this is going to be even better to revisit. I will be counting the minutes until the next book comes out. I can't wait to see where this story goes, my heart sunk when it was done because I wanted more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Magic, curiosities, romance, mystery and letter writing. This book has it all. I fell IN LOVE with the characters. I can not wait to recommend this book to my customers and friends. The only reason I’m upset is I went into it thinking it was a standalone (my fault) and I’m so sad I have to wait for the second one to come out. (I’m impatient.)

First of all that cover is whimsical and delightful. I do enjoy a good epistolary style for a novel. However it did take a long time to know all the characters and their different relationships. I was confused at points because I couldn’t follow the conversations. Also where were all the sea creatures? I thought this would have more connections to the ocean’s plants and animals. So my expectations however misguided were not met here.
But I did enjoy the Cidnosin siblings and their letter pen pals. The last fifty pages were awesome. If most of the book had been more like this, it would’ve been great. The whole mystery part wasn’t revealed until close to the end. So what was so much of the rest of the book about? Maybe this was a big setup for the next book.
I enjoyed many things but equally didn’t like some things.
Good writing, clear character arcs but the plot meandered for me and took a long time to find its path.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc to give an honest review.

This was perhaps one of the most unique books I’ve ever read, and there were so many qualities about it that I deeply enjoyed:

-I loved learning about this underwater world through letters. Every letter uncovered a new aspect of the sea that I did not expect.

-The characters were incredibly likable. I enjoyed the subtle nods to mental illness, the quirks of E. and Henery, and learning about them through their siblings.

-The writing. Gosh, there’s something about the tone of the letters (and possibly even E. herself!) that reminded me so much of Emily Dickinson. I loved the descriptions of the sea, the art, and their underwater homes.

This book was slower paced for me, and it wasn’t until I was 60% finished that I became hooked. I would have loved more letters from E. and Henery. It sometimes felt the book was dragging on with the scholarly blurbs and extra long paragraphs that didn’t have much to do with anything.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and am excited for the second!

Epic, enchanting and highly addictive with incredible underwater world creation from the first pages. I love a good scholarly aspect with a dose of romance and magic, plus the letter format was unique and brilliantly composed. Perfect for this double water sign — calling all Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces — or anyone else wanting to tap into the water element, this book is for you!