A Letter to the Luminous Deep
by Sylvie Cathrall
What is the opposite of Dark Academia? Bright Academia? Radiant Academia? Whatever it is, Letters from the Luminous Deep certainly qualifies. This cozy, epistolary fantasy features a slow blooming romance and an intriguing mystery.
The world in this novel is predominantly aquatic with only a small landmass being available to humans. People either live on ships, in buildings underwater or on man made islands. Our heroine E (her full name isn’t revealed until the end) lives in an architectural marvel called Deep House, where she is somewhat of a recluse. Based on her descriptions of herself, she suffers from anxiety and OCD and prefers her underwater home to society.
One day E sees two unusual eels and sends a letter about them to Henerey Clel, a Scholar whose expertise is something similar to Linnaean classification of species. Henerey has never heard of this variety of eel, and the two begin a correspondence that ignites a friendship and eventually a long distance love affair.
The reader gets E and Henerey’s correspondence as well as something similar to email between E’s sister Sophy and Henerey’s brother Vyerin. It’s through the latter that we learn that E and Henerey have gone missing in a disaster involving Deep House.
There’s so much to love about this novel. The world building was unfolded within the epistolary storytelling, as did the slow-building elements of romance and mystery. I would describe this world as almost an aquatic Victorian realm at the height of the Age of Discovery. Exploration and science are all the rage, but it’s also a proper and mannered world (at least E and Henerey’s class is). There is a formality to the letters that make this feel like historical fantasy.
E and Henerey are both a little bit awkward, and their romance is incredibly sweet. Henerey makes an effort to be understanding of E’s anxieties and to never make her uncomfortable. Even though the reader never “sees” the couple together in real time—rather through their own memories captured in writing—their blooming love feels at once very gentle and urgent at the same time.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book—and it’s not really a complaint—is that it ends on a cliffhanger and we have to wait until the next installment to find out what happened to E and Henerey.
If you are looking for a cozy fantasy read with excellent romance and worldbuilding, I highly recommend Letters from the Luminous Deep.
– Elyse
A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light, Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faeries and The House in the Cerulean Sea.
“An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things I adore: nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity.” —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light
A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.
Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.
A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery, piecing together the letters, sketches and field notes left behind—and learn what their siblings’ disappearance might mean for life as they know it.
Inspired, immersive, and full of heart, this charming epistolary tale is an adventure into the depths of a magical sea and the limits of the imagination from a marvelous debut voice.
Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
This book is available from:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well.
Thanks!
