This is a book for anyone who has ever wanted to step through the back of the wardrobe, receive a letter delivered by owl or stumble across a knife capable of cutting doors into alternate realities. It is a book written for this community, for anyone who has ever found comfort, magic or escape in the consumption or creation of stories. It’s about the stories we read, the stories that exist within stories and the stories we all live. This is a book that felt like it was written just for me and I feel so incredibly privileged to have received an early copy; thank you so much Vintage Books for the best bookish gift I could possibly have been given. I love you forever and always.

The Starless Sea is beautifully written with a multi-layered, non-linear narrative that twists and turns as the overarching story unfolds. It’ll give your brain a bit of a workout, give your heart a painful squeeze and be somehow familiar and strange all at once. It is completely unlike anything I have ever read and I know it’ll take multiple re-reads for me to fully untangle this stunning novel.

If this is what the results of seven years look like, I might have to start hoping that other authors slow down.

Longer, more revealing review to follow closer to publication date but if you haven’t pre-ordered this already, you really ought to - the Waterstones exclusive edition with the sprayed edges is STUNNING and remember that pre-orders are an AMAZING way to support your favourite authors.