This book was so interesting. It was told primarily through letters being exchanged back and forth between two scholars. While things such a unique format, I think it kind of pulled me out of the read. The academia vibe also didn’t fit with expected tropes for me. Like, I expected “dark academia” or “light academia” but it was kind of murky gray. I couldn’t figure out where it was going. And while that may be a great trait for some I found it made me struggle. This book is absolutly gorgeous and while it is perfect for some people, it didn’t find the right audience with me.

I really enjoyed this light academia romance told through epistolary style. The story is told through the point of view of the couple's siblings after their disappearance. I enjoyed the found family aspect of the sister of "E"and brother of Henry bonding in the search for answers. This was a sweet romance that gently unfurled throughout the story. I look forward to uncovering the mysterious circumstances of what happened to them, and the potential for them to be alive and well in another "realm" in the next book.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep is an epistolary novel set a year after E., a woman who lives a solitary life in her family's underwater home, mysteriously disappears after a seaquake destroys her home. Another person who disappears with her is Henerey, a marine naturalist with whom E. was apparently in contact. Trying to discover what happened to their siblings, E.'s sister and Henerey's brother begin a correspondence with each other to try and decipher letters, journal entries, and sketches that were left behind.

Look, if you compare a book to Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and the House in the Cerulean Sea but set it underwater, I'm going to read it! And I'm glad I did! This is one of the more unique books that I have ever read. I'm not usually one for epistolary novels, but I feel like it worked really well here. I thought that the premise was so cool and made me dream of living under the ocean. I really looked forward to seeing what happened! I also really appreciated the diversity, with both siblings being queer characters and both E. and Henerey seeming to have mental disorders (at least it seemed that way to me!)

For some reason, this book took me 100 years to read. I think it was the constant changing of materials that I read and having to take time to mentally shift to what was happening. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed. I did have difficulty with some of the names as they seemed really similar to each other and many characters went by nicknames, which were also similar. My friend read this book at the same time and had the same issue so I don't think it was just me. I'm notoriously terrible at remembering fantasy plots but I still don't really know what happened at the end of the book. Again, my friend felt the same way, so maybe not just a me problem! I really read this book for the vibes and they really delivered for me, so it didn't bother me too much.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book if you're ready to dive into an epistolary novel and are here for the marine vibes! 4 stars from me. Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the eARC, my thoughts are my own!

I was not a fan of the layout of how the book was written. It was throwing me off with how it was written only as a letter format.

First, a big thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC of Sylvie Cathrall’s debut novel "A Letter to the Luminous Deep" – “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.”

This novel is a solid debut fantasy that definitely has potential. Academia lovers will adore this story if they can give this story the attention it deserves. This story does take place over different timelines which can be a little confusing - but I did enjoy putting the puzzle together as the story went on. If you are the kind of reader that likes letters as a delivery of plot, then this story is definitely for you. There is minimal action and rather a lot of writing in this form. The pacing does pick up in the last fifth of the book and ends on a cliffhanger.

The romance in this story is solid and the letters allow the reader to really get to know the nuances of each character, and how they were affected by the actions of others. Each character stands out in their own way and highlights the representation within this story. I am excited to see what comes next from this author, as their writing is beautiful.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an ambitious debut novel that I think does many things well but falls flat on other parts.

This would be a my first epistolary novel and in all intents and purposes it does well to execute the story but I did find myself confused there didn’t seem to be a different tone between the four characters and their respective letter there were many times I had to look back and confirm whose letter I was reading, and unfortunately I wasn’t aware this is book one in a series this book was a building block to what I’m sure the next book would be a more fast paced seeming how this book ended had I know I think my expectations wouldn’t have been too high if I had known this was a series but that could be by bad for jumping in without doing my proper research.

We get to the most interesting part in the last 25% of the book and it was

I guess the best way to say this is that the first 75% are more cozy/ here for the vibes / slow build read and the last 25% that action build setting up for the next book.

If you're okay with that I recommend it.



Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Took entirely too long to get going at a good clip, but then I was captured and didn't want it to end, so I'd say the pacing was off. The setting and characters here are as captivating as the cover as long as you're willing to put in the time to get there.

This was a decent book and I liked the writing style, but the letters didn't entirely work for me. I didn't love all the different POVs and I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I knew it had so many since that's not entirely fair to the book. I definitely would try something else from this author as long as it isn't made up almost entirely of letters. Sometimes that form of media can work, but it kind of became tedious even with an interesting and engaging plotline. The characters really shined in this book too. I was impressed with what the author was able to do with just a letter format. I'm shocked the characters didn't come off as more 2-dimensional. Overall it was a fine book, but the style just didn't work for me. I think I would have enjoyed this much more if it was a novella or a much shorter novel.

this was such a magical time. i didn't know that an underwater love story was something that i needed.

the writing was lyrical and so fulfilling. i found myself devouring this book and just needing to know what would be happening next. i was more upset when it was over and i had no one to discuss any details with.

I normally hate epistolary novels, but this was lovely. Cathrall has done some really incredible things with her world-building here; I just wish there was more of it (more background, especially -- how did this happen?) I think the epistolary format works well here because Cathrall uses it to cleverly allow the story to unfold, and because the voices of her characters are particularly strong and interesting. I'm definitely interested in reading more stories set in this world.

Whimsical and endearing, this novel pulls you right in to a world that is fully underwater. A world where two people correspond through letters in one timeline and their siblings correspond through emails a few years later. It is written lyrically and is the kind of book you want to read wrapped in a blanket with a mug of warm tea. The pacing made it challenging for me to fully enjoy, as it was quite slow at points, lingering in the language and character portrayal. But I enjoyed it very much and think lovers of cozy fantasy and fans of the lost art of snail mail will enjoy this as well.

Wow, I haven't read anything like this before -- it's a wholly original and magical story.

A LETTER TO THE LUMINOUS DEEP is an epistolary book, with letters (in a tech system that appears similar to texting/emailing, but not 100% sure ha) between the reclusive E. and renowned scholar Henerey Clel, then subsequently, their sibling's correspondence after the pen pals' unexplained disappearance.

In the both tender and haunting mystery unfolding, reader and the remaining family discover the hidden depths of the ocean and the relationship between their beloved siblings.

It took me a little while to understand the worldbuilding and to keep things straight between all the correspondence and included documents/effects, but once I did, it was captivating and smart. And while it's touted as (at least in part) a romance, I didn't find that to be much of the storyline, and I wanted MORE. (Maybe that will come in the sequel?)

Overall, a creative and engaging story that I'm glad to have read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. A LETTER TO THE LUMINOUS DEEP is out now!

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and wow--was I impressed!! I absolutely loved the style and writing. This book is an epistolary novel, written in the form of letters and other documents. (I will say--if this style is not something you're a fan of, you probably won't enjoy this book.) Also, I found all of the characters a little hard to keep track of in the beginning, but at about 10% in found that this was no longer an issue, so if you experience this too--stick with it!

This story was so atmospheric and I found myself taking my time with reading it as I just wasn't ready for it to end. This book centers around E., a recluse living in the underwater house where she grew up, and renowned scholar Henerey Clel as the two work together to try and solve an underwater mystery. After the two of them mysteriously disappear, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin are left to solve the mystery of their disappearance--using letters, sketches, and field notes that E. and Henerey have left behind.

This book has a fantasy, romance, science fiction, and mystery feel to it and was unlike any other book I've read! I adored this book and cannot wait for the second book in this duology (I think). I recommend this to fans of any of the genres previously mentioned and I look forward to reading more from Sylvie Cathrall in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled at the opportunity to review this one. The STUNNING cover art was what first drew me in & the premise sounded fabulous.

Sadly, it did live up to what I’d hoped it to be. In fact, I despised it.

The writing style was a HUGE turnoff. I literally HATED it. The style made it such a hard & tedious read. It was sooooooooo overwritten. Just say what needs to be said without all the “fancy” styling & extra words.

I also don’t like the fact that this was not initially revealed to be part of a series. However, it doesn’t really matter because I absolutely will NOT be reading anymore of this series.

Additionally, characters HAVE to have different & distinguishable voices. Nope – we have several characters who could all be the same person as you can’t tell one from the other.

The cover art is gorgeous. That’s literally the only nice thing I have to say. Utterly AWFUL! 1-Star because it won't allow me to give zero.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Sylvia Cathrall for allowing me to review this beautiful novel. This is such an interesting concept and I enjoyed my time reading it. I love the scholarly romance between the two main characters who write letters back and forth to one another. I also enjoyed the storyline of the siblings. There is a mix of romance, mystery, and magic in such a unique setting. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Thank you again for allowing me to review this book.

I loved this book. I loved the writing, the imagery, the atmosphere, the letters. I thought the premise of the story was unique and had me hooked from start to finish.

"A Letter to the Luminous Deep" by Sylvie Cathrall has a vivid setting and poetic language, but its slow pacing and distant characters make it hard to stay interested. Despite beautiful prose, the story failed to captivate me. Overall, it did not hold my interest, resulting in a two-star rating.

This won’t be for everyone. The cover grabbed my attention immediately. I love the ocean and wanted to read about its wonders and magic system. I thought overall it was very unique. At first I was apprehensive about reading the world building through letters and multiple timelines, but I thought it was well done. It was fun discovering the characters, friendship, mystery, and the world, even when they were discovering it.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I picked this up because I love anything to do with underwater stories because I'm a Pisces. And I was immediately intrigued because of the comparison to The House in the Cerulean Sea. And I have to agree that fans of that will definitely love this too!

The book and I didn't quite mesh, particularly because of the epistolary nature of the storytelling. However, others might find it more enjoyable.