A Letter to the Luminous Deep | 
Dear Scholar Clel,
Instead of reading further, I hope you will return this letter to its envelope or, better yet, crumple it into an abstract shape that might look quite at home on a coral reef.
#FirstLineFridays
pickE. Cidnosin witnesses strange, giant eel-like creatures and starts a correspondence with scholar Henerey Clel. This leads to investigating a mysterious structure and the pair‘s disappearance.
E.‘s sister Sophy and Henerey‘s brother Vyerin delve into their siblings‘ exchanged letters to find out what happened.
If you want something different, cozy with a good mystery, academia with some excitement, all told in letter format, this is for you.
pickThis is going to be one of the best surprises of the year! Told entirely through letters, articles, etc., the pacing is not fast, but it was captivating. A unique world is created, and the characters all felt distinct & interesting. I think this was helped by the excellent audiobook narration provided by four different readers. Some romance, some academia, some laughs, some anxiety-overall excellent storytelling. And also - what a gorgeous cover!
“Dear Scholar Clel,
Instead of reading further, I hope you will return this letter to its envelope or, better yet, crumple it into an abstract shape that might look quite at home on a coral reef.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
This book was a grab-without-looking-and-go read. So glad I grabbed it now. It's beautifully written, and the mystery plot at its core is both curious, fantastical, and utterly tantalizing. To say nothing of the adorable romance as well, which was giving “waterlogged Jane Austen,“ an aesthetic I never knew I needed.
As a lover of the ocean, romance, epistolary novels, and well-crafted prose, this was a big win for me. Looking out for the sequel!
pickA sweet epistolary novel about love and adventure. I always love a strong cast of voices on audiobooks with multiple POVs. It took a minute to get into the rhythm of the narrative, but once there, I was soaring (diving?) into the depths of the ocean.
I love the concept of the deep house. Can you imagine waking up to a view of a coral reef outside your window?
so-soThis was a fascinating world, obviously written by yet another person scarred by Academia. The format of letters and emails about letters written by other characters was hard to read and while I appreciate Neuro-diverse representation those parts made the letters very boring and too long.
Two siblings decide to create an archive to try to understand why their two siblings are gone.
2/5 read for a fascinating world, with scifi & steampunk vibes
pickI absolutely adored this book! Told in epistolary format (through letters, diary entries, text excerpts), a (supernatural?) mystery unfolds and a lovely relationship develops. The underwater society was such an interesting world to explore, and major kudos to the author for their incremental world building. I can‘t wait for the sequel to this book and to spend more time with this fascinating world and the endearing characters.
pickSophy & Vyerin are each mourning a lost sibling when they have the idea to compare the letters their siblings shared. Between all of these letters a larger mystery starts to unfurl.
Loved this. The characters are so fleshed out, & the relationships are so interesting. & I adore epistolary books. & the world building!
My only issue is that the main arc of the story feels unresolved, it feels like I‘ve got the first half of a novel. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
pickIf you‘d dare to immerse yourself in a light academia fantasy under the sea, you won‘t discover one more enchanting and earnest in equal measure than this epistolary debut! A Letter to the Luminous Deep is lush, romantic, and mysterious, unique, queer, and neurodivergent, and bubbling over with the magic of discovery—whether scientific, world-changing, or tenderly personal. Highly recommended for fans of Emily Wilde‘s Encyclopaedia of Faeries!
