Series: The Sunken Archive #1 (cliffhanger)
Publication Date: 25th April 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Epistolary
3.5 stars
One Liner: Ultra-slow-motion; but beautiful!
E. sends a letter to renowned scholar Henerey Clel after she spies an intriguing aquatic animal outside her window. Soon, they correspond regularly and fall in love. However, life in the underwater world has its risks. When the duo uncovered a mystery, they didn’t know it could destroy E.’s home. E. and Henerey vanish, presumed dead.
A year later, E.’s sister Sophy begins to archive her articles. She contacts Henerey’s brother Vyerin, and they begin to go through the letters and notes to discover more about their siblings and the mystery.
What happened and why? How does the truth change their lives?
The story comes in the form of letters, news reports, and other snippets shared by different characters.
My Thoughts:
Firstly, a huge thanks to an early reviewer. Her review helped me go into the book with the right expectations (ultra-slow pacing, almost non-existent plot, and a cliffhanger). I’m sure I enjoyed the book more because I knew what it was going to be.
The beginning is intriguing but soon dissolves into a lengthy character-building exercise. While the idea of showing character development only through letters and journal entries is a great idea, it cannot come at the cost of the plot.
I continued to read and read and read and finally, after 70%, saw a ray of hope. Maybe if the letters were shuffled to provide two tracks – one to get to know the characters and another to follow the mystery, we might feel better involved in the book.
The underwater setting is ambitious. It takes time to understand the whole thing, so wing it until you get a hang of it. There are enough details to picture the setting, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Moreover, the technology and stuff used can be compared to what we have, making it even easier to create parallels.
There’s no denying E.’s arc. It is indeed beautifully done. Sophy and others are well done, too, but E. shines just as she should. Henerey is equally adorable. My only grouse is that the plot and pacing needed to be sacrificed for this.
The letters are formal, with many post scripts, dashes, and parentheses. Do I mind it? Nope! That’s how they are supposed to write. It aligns with their professions and backstories. However, I wish the voices were a little more distinct. Giving them each a quirky trait might have helped. On a side note, I have no idea how this would work on audio.
The last section is truly where things start to come together. But it shouldn’t have been left until that point. Strengthening the threads from the midpoint would have worked even better.
Also, sorry, but E. Cidnosin sounds a bit too close to e coli (at least to my brain). It’s a me thing, but I had to mention it. Her full name, though! Poor girl. I understand why she preferred E.
To summarize, A Letter to the Luminous Deep is a character-driven book that sets the stage for the next book while providing snippets of information. Whatever is revealed is my kinda stuff, so I would love to read the next book and see where it goes.
Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Group (Orbit), for eARC.
#NetGalley #ALettertotheLuminousDeep
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