A Thrilling continuation from the last book! we get to dive deep into an amazing otherworld, and find the truth of what lays in wait, all while meeting a cast of brand new, very interesting characters with unique personalities, and a whole new world filled with beautiful imagery. not to mention, how the romance really kicks off! Henery and E.'s relationship is easily one of my all time favorites in literature, it's not often we get to see such a positive expression of an asexual partnership!

while i will admit that the pacing seams a little slower in this book, and i wasn't as hooked as i was in the first one, i still really loved the mystery of it all. this book focused far more on the people, rather than the mystery, but there's still a mystery to be solved, a world to be saved, and of course, E.'s beautiful writing style. it ends very beautifully as well, in such a way that i can't tell if this is going to be a duology or not. it leaves room for another, without leaving any desperate answers. while i certainly hope for another because I've fallen so in love with this wonderful, amazing world, i won't be frustrated if it does end up being only a duology. a definite need to read series for anyone who loves unique worlds, whirlwind romances, and titillating mysteries!

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Orbit Books for this ARC.

A wonderful conclusion to a beautifully crafted, character-driven narrative told through correspondences and journals. I absolutely loved A Letter to the Luminous Deep, and this was the perfect follow-up. It expanded the world, developed the main characters, and I felt deeply immersed in reading the letters and uncovering the secrets as they were revealed. The ocean fantasy world and the scholarly approach made for a whimsical time, and I loved every minute of the world and characters. A huge thank you to Orbit for the eARC and my friend Colleen for the buddy read!

I really loved this novel. I think that at some point in the beginning I felt that it moved slowly, but after finishing I realized it was purposeful. I sat trying to figure out how to review the end of this book, as it feels like the end of this duology, and I think that I deeply loved how the book ended. It was tragically beautiful, and fit incredibly well with the characters. The ending will I think likely polarize the audience but I love that it didnt feel too sweet or fabricated to give the audience exactly what they wanted. The book feels like its a story that Cathrall wanted to tell rather than just another ending that was just satisfying enough to keep people reading.

“My dear E., would you agree that we have, perhaps, found ourselves in rather more adventurous circumstances than we anticipated?” 3.5 stars

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore picks up right where we left off; with E. and Henerey entering an unknown world, and Sophy and Vyerin launching a recovery mission to find their siblings. Will they be reunited or is something ominous lurking in the depths? 👀

What a bittersweet conclusion to a charming duology. I adore E. and Henerey with all my heart, and I was glad to be back with them, but I have to say this conclusion was a little different than I anticipated. A Letter from the Lonesome Shore leans more into science fiction than its predecessor - and that may just not be for everyone (it was a bit of a struggle for me).

Though I preferred the first story in the series (a bit more romantic and fantastical in my opinion) it is a beautiful duology with great mental health, as well as asexual representation. I’m excited to see what the author does next.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. A Letter from the Lonesome Shore comes out May 6th.

3.75 - If you liked the first one this is well worth a read. I still love the world and the whimsy.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t captivate me the same way Luminous Deep did with its budding romance and looming tragedy. I think the pacing could have benefited greatly from interspersing the POVs more early on.

Thanks to Orbit for providing an arc through NetGalley for me to review!

4 stars. A Letter to the Luminous Deep was one of my favorite reads of 2024. I loved Cathrall's lyrical and poetic writing, and I really enjoyed the epistolray format. I'm thriled that book 2 was just as lovely and heartwarming and was a great conclusion to the duology! If you adored The Luminous Deep, you're gonna love this too—E. and Henerey are still the absolute sweetest, most precious duo ever, and getting to see them together for real, managing their own struggles and supporting each other so tenderly, was everything. I have to say, I really really really appreciated the first chapter-- because as it turns out, I remembered almost nothing from book 1. But Cathrall gives us a really concise recap of where we left off and setting up the rest of the book. The first half of the book, really focuses on E. and Henerey settling into their new life, and this was my favorite part of the book. All in all, I really enjoyed this sweet, heartwarming, and super unique fantasy and romance. Thank you so much to Cathrall, Orbit, and netgalley for the ARC!

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall is an utterly charming epistolary novel and the perfect conclusion to her Sunken Archives duology! It continues the story of the characters from the first novel and introduces more quirky and lovable characters into the mix. The story has the perfect amount of whimsy and adventure while addressing mental health issues. As someone with anxiety, there were moments in the book that felt so personal as I saw the exact way I think portrayed by these characters. I appreciated the way the mental health issues were handled with love and care. Anyone who loved A Letter to the Luminous Deep will love this sequel, and if you haven't read the Sunken Archives duology yet, I highly recommend it! It is perfect if you want a sweet, cozy academia book to snuggle up with!

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall will be published on May 6, 2025.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for this ARC.

As someone who absolutely loved the first book in this duology, A Letter from the Lonesome Shore had a lot to live up to and I think it held its own. These books are character driven, but Lonesome Shore definitely felt even more character driven despite the fact that there were plot things happening. We get to sit a lot with Henerey and E, but also with their siblings and their siblings' friends and families as well as with some characters I can't really talk much about to as not to spoil. This world is so beautifully described even through the format of letters and scholarly reports. The plot is intriguing enough to move things along, but we do still get to spend time with characters as they deal with personal and interpersonal concerns. Henerey dealing with his anxiety, E with her obsessions, many of the characters dealing with loneliness and feelings of inadequacy. Truly, a very charming and heartfelt cozy fantasy/scifi duology.

When Sophy and Vy determine that E and Henerey are alive,they vow to find their way to them.
Little do they know that they are making the best of their situation and finding life quite comfortable as their relationship blossoms and they make sense ofthis new world around them.

But when the families collide, a new danger lurks, one that the Scholars of the new world have tried to hide.

Thoughts:
I ADORE the family dynamics from this book. E and Henerey of course but also Vy and Henerey, Sophy and Naia and just everyone in between. The quirkiness was just so heart warming. The last 20% of this book seemed like sharp turn with the new conflict so that is what dropped my star rating but overall I really loved this duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the E-Arc of this book and good luck to the author on publication day!!

A solid follow up to the first book in the series that picks up right where the last one left off. Readers who loved the first will love this one too!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Second in the Sunken Archive duology, we return to the world of A Letter to the Luminous Deep. Equally as quaint and cozy as the first, albeit somewhat less enjoyable to me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a heartwarming and whimsical story! It’s does pick up right where the first book ended so i definitely recommend reading the first book! I did find the book to be a little slow so it took me a lot longer to finish it. It’s definitely a unique story!

Thank you NetGalley, Sylvie and Orbit Books for the eARC!

Rating: ✨✨✨
Publication Date: May 6 2025

“A Letter from the Lonesome Shore” is a must read for fans of the first book in this charming duology. This novel covers journal entries and letters that shed light on many unanswered questions from book one. E., Heneray, Sophy, Vyerin, and other beloved characters face new challenges and mysteries in this next installment. I love how unique and whimsical the writing style is. The humor is subtle but so enjoyable. I have a new favorite character that I can’t wait for you to meet! (30.ii)

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

*Received as a free ARC*
I'll preface this by saying this was a very neurodivergent book. By which I mean many of the characters were neurodivergent and their thoughts processes were reflected as such. To that end, it was a little slow and drudgy at times, but I enjoyed it. I once again deeply enjoyed Sophy. I'm a bit sad we didn't see more of Vy. The ending was a bit abrupt as well. Overall, an enjoyable conclusion to the duology.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall is the multi-POV epistolary cozy fantasy sequel to A Letter to the Luminous Deep. E. and Henerey have made their way to a long-forgotten society that shares origins with their own. Sophy, E.’s sister, and Veryn, Henerey’s brother, follow them into this new society where they all learn about the Predator who could very well destroy their world.

The romance between Henerey and E. develops further as the pair are finely in the same room for the first time. Like the first book, it is a slowburn and on the sweeter side as the two explore the kind of intimacy they are comfortable with in this new environment and context. It’s really cute how the two are concerned about making the other uncomfortable or making a mistake, because you can feel how much they really want this to work and how much they really do like each other.

One of the major themes is perception versus reality. I really appreciated when E. told Sophy that what Sophy read in her letters to Henerey were still a facet of herself, not her whole self, and that she and Henerey are still exploring who the other us despite their emotional intimacy. I think that in modern society, we’re so determined to be able to definitively state who someone is and it’s just never that black-and-white. Humans contain multitudes and even siblings and significant others can miss things.

While A Letter to the Luminous Deep was fairly epistolary, A Letter from the Lonesome Shore has a lot of parts that are more in a typical prose style. Many of those parts come from the reports of theThirtieth Second Scholar, a new character from the society we are introduced to. We get a lot of dialogue and some blocking but the cozy tone remains relatively the same throughout. There is a bit of an escalation of stakes that could edge into epic stakes in the final book, but it will depend on how the Predator is handled. There’s also a lot of worldbuilding, including a giant mermaid.

I would recommend this to fans of cozy fantasy with a romance arc and readers of fantasy looking for an Aspec romance

After really enjoying the first book in this series, I was really looking forward to to continuing in this world. That being said, I was very disappointed.

The first book was so whimsical and intriguing. I was invested in E. and Henerey. It was so charming!

This book was terrible compared to that. It was an absolute slog to get through. I hated the scholars names being numbers. It was a chore to continue honestly. There was no whimsy. The fact that I finished it for that lackluster ending only made it worse.

Many thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This was just as enchanting and beautiful as the first book. Basically if you loved Luminous Deep, you should love this as well. E. and Henerey continue to be the cutest, most wholesome, most precious people in the world. The first 40% of the book is dedicated to their time together in their new locale, and it was perfection. Definitely my favorite part of the entire book.

After that, we then move into Vy and Sophy's quest and the results of it. I don't want to spoil anything about what happens. I will say some really great character development was had by all, along with some beautiful emotional moments.

Why the 1/2 star reduction? Honestly because things got a little OTT WEIRD within the worlds. It kind of took me out of the book things were so bizarre in the world (world building? World past?).
BUT, the end was really lovely and fitting for our characters, especially E. and Henerey.
Overall, I loved it and would recommend.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I was excited for this second installment of this story. If you haven't read the first, you absolutely must in order to read this story. While the author does a good job reminding you of background, you will not understand much of what happens without reading the first.
Also, know this is told in epistolary (letter) format. I had not read anything like it before the first book and enjoyed it so much more than I ever thought I would. I truly thought I'd be bored. But the author does a fabulous job of presenting all different points of view to really shape the story and the relationships between the characters.
These books definitely are ones that have you stretching your imagination to understand the world. It's pure fantasy with characters living both above and within the water. The author really does a great job of building this world out even more than you know from the first book. She expands where they travel and how and with whom. Plus she introduces a new group of characters.
I will say there were times I had to back track to know what was exactly happening (thus only having a 4 star review from me). You definitely have to focus all your attention on the story and not be distracted while reading this.
I liked the mystery and how it unfolded. Plus it's ensconced in academia, which is always so intriguing to me.
There is a ton of diversity in these books ranging from mental health representation to LBGTQ+. Lots of characters with differing personalities and relationships to follow and understand.
And the romance! Its sweet and endearing. If you're looking for sexy and explicit, you won't get that here. You get bare bones attraction and a love that grows organically.
If you're looking for a whimsical duaology set in a underwater/surrounded by water world with a fantastic array of different characters with tons of representation, check these books out!

If it’s been a minute since you read the first book, I would definitely recommend a reread, because I didn’t and had some regrets about it through the first half of the book.

Much like A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Lonesome Shore has beautiful prose, and the epistolary format really helps the voices of the characters shine. It also makes the book a much slower read because so much meaning is packed into every line.

If you loved the first book, I highly recommend continuing the series. If you hated the first book and were hoping the sequel would be different? It’s not.

I loved watching E. And Henerey’s romance blossom and the ace rep was always nice to see. Definitely a beautiful story full of representation that isn’t often portrayed in stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the review copy! All thoughts are my own.

Keeping my fingers crossed that Fairyloot releases a matching edition so that I can add it to my shelf trophy collection!

Let me preface this review by saying that I did not enjoy A Letter to the Luminous Deep. I loved the writing style, and the premise, but the pacing was completely off and it was a slog to get through. I was happy to find that, like the first entry in this duology, A Letter From the Lonesome Shore is written in the epistolary style (meaning in the form of letters). It was also lovely to see E. and Henerey together, and get a peak into their romance. The setting is indeed, luminous - very atmospheric and fantastical.

Unfortunately this entry also suffers from the same pacing issues as the first, and it was really hard for me to finish. It is cozy almost to the point of putting you to sleep. In my opinion, there was not enough romance, not enough mystery and not enough plot to keep me hooked. The ending was too abrupt as well, which was a bit jarring considering the pace I described.

If you enjoyed the first one for more than just the writing style and setting, I imagine you will most likely enjoy this one, but it unfortunately wasn’t for me. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!