The Everlys are a cursed family - once a generation an Everly has to walk into the unknown never to be seen again. Violet mothers, Marianne, was intended to be the chosen one, but one day she just disappeared in search of a way to end the curse, leaving her only daughter to be raised by her two brothers. And so Violet Everly grows up with her uncles, raised in absolute secrecy and kept away from the rest of the world. But no secret lasts forever, and when Violet is eleven a mysterious woman named Penelope shows up at the Everly house. Accompanying her is Aleksander - a young boy with eyes the color of grey sea-glass who shows Violet something that should be impossible. The woman has come to claim her debt, but she agrees to a deal: She gives Violet's uncles ten years to track down Marianne. If they can't find her, she will take Violet instead.
Violet always believed her mother would come back for her, but as the ten year limit approaches, there are still no signs of Marianne. When she learns of the secrets her uncles have kept from her for years, she is furious. But Aleksander - recently back in her life after nearly a decade of no contact - has told her of another world exisiting parallel to our own, and Violet is convinced the secrets of her mother's whereabouts lie in the mysterious city of Fidelis. And so, with only one year left until the curse will claim its victim, Violet sets out to do what her mother could not: Find the key to the City of Stardust, and break the Everly curse once and for all.
I really wanted to love this book, and for a while I did. The writing was lyrical and beautiful, and the premise itself really pulled me in. The time skips in the first part of the book felt natural and organic - just small glimpses into Violet's life while growing up inside the confined walls of the Everly house. Unfortunately things began to change once Violet left home in search of her mother. My main problem was the pacing. She leaves home to go on this epic adventure all over the world, and all of a sudden a year has passed and she's seen all this things and met all these people, but we don't actually get to see her do any of those things. I don't know, there was just something about the pacing in this part of the story that felt a bit off to me. I would have liked more insight into what the last year has actually been like for her.
There is a romance brewing between Violet and Aleksander throughout the book, but for the love of me I couldn't figure out why they were so drawn to eachother. They met once as children, only for him to pop back up in her life when she is nineteen at which point they chat a few times. And then he betrays her multiple times to the woman who literally wants Violet dead, but still she forgives him time and time again. Why? Because he's pretty (she keeps mentioning that he is unfairly good-looking)? To be competely honest, I felt more chemistry between Aleksander and his books (and also between Violet and Caspian) than I did between him and Violet. Their connection just didn't feel real. But romance is always a plus for me, so I'll let it go.
Despite the story dragging a bit in the middle, I do feel like it picked back up again towards the end of the book. The action really ramped up, and at this point the mythology behind the Everly curse is more thoroughly explored, and we finally understand the main villain's motivations a bit more. I was happy with how the story ended. Most of the major plot points are neatly tied up in the final chapter, but there are one or two elements of the story that are left open-ended. An epilogue shows our characters again after some time has passed, but there are still some questions that are just never answered. I didn't mind not having all the answers, but I can see how this could be a bit divisive among readers.
All in all, this is a solid debut from Georgia Summers, and I am excited to see what this author does next.
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