GOD. god i loved this. i think i found my new favourite book.

I'm never going to be able to put all my feelings about this incredible story down, at least not in any meaningful way, all I can do is encourage you to read it.

The prose was breathtaking. I don't think I've ever written down that many quotes (yes I take notes when I'm reading! It's fun) The world that Morgenstern so artfully constructed was beautiful and it hurts my soul that I can't live in it. I have very, very few complaints about this book. As in two. And one of those complaints is just that I think some bits could have used a comma or two to make things clearer, but I;m very overzealous with commas in my own writing so that might just be me. And the other one is that the middle is endless but frankly I don't really care because I loved every minute of it.

Man, I'm always going on to my friends about how much I hate feedback thats just "I loved it" but. Oh my god. I truly cannot think of anything else to say. I've seen this book described as a love letter to stories and the art of storytelling and I wholeheartedly agree. On that note, I do feel I have to say that this is not a casual read. I don't mean that in a derisive way! If you would identify yourself as a casual reader, that is completely fine. All I mean is that this book, in addition to being a love letter to the art of storytelling, is a nonlinear narrative with a lot of moving parts. A lot of different stories are told at once, and not all of them seem especially related to one another until the end. You have to be patient. If nonlinear narratives are a no-go for you, or if you prefer to shut your brain off a little and read to relax, this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, if I was making a list of books you should at least try to read before you die, this would be number one. That's very specific. Anyway, what I'm saying is that while I do suggest giving this a shot, know that it's not a casual fantasy romp. Not that casual fantasy romps are bad, I love them, just that this isn't that. I saw some people saying that they were confused or thrown off by the nature of the narrative, which I found odd at first. I suspect that the people who were confused were unaware of the nonlinear narrative/overlapping stories and so got confused when the story jumped around so much in time, location, and character, which is understandable! Just a heads-up there: 'tis complicated.

I have no idea if any of that made any sense. I feel a little high right now.

rep; main character of colour (presumably afro-latino, as his mother is described as Haitan), gay main character, various other characters of colour ranging in narrative importance from "very" to "not at all", fairly important character who "hates labels" and is attracted (at least) to men and women, mlm major character

I am in awe of this book. The way Morgenstern wove layer upon layer of story and world building was truly impressive. I felt fully immersed in the world she created. And I loved how everything came together in the end yet still left an air of mystery / open endedness. 

I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.

considering that I read most of this during two 6h long flights, with one of them having the fantastic background noise of: baby crying a lot, I think this book was…. confusing, but very big brain. it felt like one big metaphor that if I thought about too much it wouldn’t make sense anymore
i quite enjoyed the scattered stories and books, but sometimes they felt a bit too random or irrelevant to the main plotline imo.
im writing this block of text at 4am after said two long flights + excessively long  airport lines so needless to say my brain is fried atm
in sum tho
this books is pog + dorian best boy dorian ily 

I loved The Night Circus. I didn’t think I’d find a tale that surpassed that in terms of its elegance and magical power. But here I am, drowning in honey and wine as my mind works to accept the close of The Starless Sea.

I love this book. There’s so much to ponder and consider, so many beautiful little details, so quiet and lovely. I feel like I did, like I do, when I walk through a quiet art museum, only leaving because I’ve been dragged out by closing time. I feel as though I’ve lost my breath. I was so gripped by this book, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

I love this book. I already know I’m going to reread this many times. Ms. Morgenstern, should you ever read this, thank you.

This book was a gorgeous whimsical Fantasy full of mystery and books within books.
I loved the love for books, the magical mysterious library and after halfway through I fell in love with the characters too. 
If you enjoy non-linear plots and weird and wonderful in your books, you will enjoy this. 
I love the kitchen, I loved piecing things together. There were some ot threads I would have enjoyed less detail and others more, but generally I loved this book abd had a great time reading it abd hanging out with other book lovers. 

Erin Morgenstern's "The Starless Sea" beautifully illustrates the wonders of stories and storytelling. One thing I loved most about the prose and the writing, how everything was perfectly descriptive, allowing you to truly imagine yourself in this world of fantasies and stories.

Personally, I would rate it a 3.5 stars at first read because the pacing was a bit off at times. The first and last third of the book (specifically Book I, II, and VI) had a lot more plot compared to the other books. I also didn't feel the urgency of the antagonist because it was hardly mentioned directly to the reader. I also wished there was more of a plot in Books III, IV, and V since many of Zachary's perspective in the plot was him wandering around. 

Along with this, there was no strong character development for any of the characters. All of them more or less stayed the same, making the driving force behind the plot the story set in stone and not the characters making decisions for themselves.

All in all, I strongly believe that this book is better understood through more reads due to the intricate interconnectedness of all the stories and characters. I can see my rating changing once I do read it again, though!

A slow but enjoyable read. Lots of mysteriousness where I would get one answer and be given like 15 more questions.

The writing is beautiful and very detailed and descriptive. But can be overly descriptive and slows down the story quite a bit for me. I know it's to give the reader a lot of vivid imagery and create a certain atmosphere, but if you are like me and suspect you might have a level of aphantasia, it doesn't add to the story and kind of hinders/slows your reading progress if you read every word. I can't picture what is being described so I would've just preferred some of the minor details that were just to describe rooms or scenery taken out.

Lots of switching perspectives and little stories intermixed with the "main" story so if that's not your jam, this might not be it for you.

I feel like this is the sort of book you would reread to pick up on little things (hints or details that apply to something further along in the story) that you might miss like how you might rewatch certain shows to find easter eggs or when you realize an anime opening/ending was telling you everything before you got far enough along in the anime.

I think this book is for a certain aesthetic of reader so it's not as good as the people who hyped it up said it is. But it was still a worthwhile, enjoyable read. I can get the hype and would recommend it to one of my friends who fits into a part of that certain aesthetic, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.