"A Dark and Hollow Star" by Ashley Shuttleworth is a spellbinding urban fantasy that brilliantly weaves together the supernatural and contemporary worlds. Shuttleworth's vivid storytelling brings readers into a lushly detailed Toronto where humans, faeries, and mythical creatures coexist.

The narrative unfolds through multiple perspectives, offering readers a rich understanding of the complex characters, their relationships, and the multifaceted plot. As dark secrets and intrigues unravel, the story is filled with thrilling twists and turns, and the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The novel excels in its diverse representation, LGBTQ+ themes, and exploration of identity, making it not only a gripping fantasy but also a socially resonant read. The characters, including a fae prince, a drag queen, a half-elf detective, and a powerful witch, are all well-developed and endearing.

"A Dark and Hollow Star" is an enchanting and immersive experience, blending magic, mystery, and romance. Ashley Shuttleworth has created a gripping urban fantasy that will delight fans of the genre and leave them eager for more

I couldn't finish this book as I couldn't get into the story, but what I read was fun and the characters intriguing.

This was...surprisingly fun. I didn't know much about this going into it other than that gorgeous cover was badass and so surely the book was badass, it was about fae, and that it was very queer.

A Dark and Hollow Star follows three teen fae (and one irritated ex-Fury) attempting to unravel a magical conspiracy that is leaving dead Ironborn in its wake -- it's a captivating story, with incredibly intricate world-building and mythology, & with so much action and atmosphere, it doesn't feel like you're reading a five-hundred-page book. The cover features the infamous Dark Star, also known as Nausicaä, a disgruntled and dishonoured former Fury, and she was definitely badass and also the best character in the whole book. Our protagonist, Arlo, was relatable and down-to-earth, she was easy to root for (and her chemistry with Nausicaä sizzled off the page). Our angsty star-crossed lovers friends Vehan and Aurelian are not the main focus of this story, but they're definitely being set up for bigger things. And yeah, pretty much everyone is queer. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.

Loved this book, it started off a little slow but picked up about half way through. Loved the setting of Toronto as I’ve never been able to visit. I also loved the LGBT and non-binary representation. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I read the first few chapters of this book but just couldn’t get into it. It felt like there were a lot of characters with tough backstories and the chapters jumped around too much, too quickly. I just couldn’t get through all the set up to see if I’d like the characters more once I got further in.

I dnfed this book at 8%. I struggled really hard through those first couple of chapters, and to be honest I didn't have any connection with the story nor with the characters. In those initial chapters I felt there was way too much inner thought with the characters, and I already found myself skipping parts that couldn't be skipped. I'm so sad to say that this book didn't do it for me.

I finally read this book in preparation for the second novel in the series and it was such a fun ride. The characters are interesting and funny, I love the diversity of it all. It's such a rich, interesting setting and I can't wait to read the twists this series will take in the future and see what my beloved characters are up to.

It's a fairly good book, but I've read too many books like this one in the past and A Dark and Hollow Star didn't really stand out. Also, it was too descriptive for me.
I loved the representation though.

A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021.. I love all things fae and was sold when I read the blurb.

There was too many info dumps for my liking which made it confusing as to what was going on at times. It bit slow in the beginning but the ending, however, was action-packed and I enjoyed it.

The characters were the strongest parts of the novel. Not a bad first to a series but defiantly not my favourite.

'A Dark and Hollow Star' was a beautiful, quick read. I really enjoyed reading this. If you think the cover is beautiful, just wait until you pick up this book and find out how beautiful the story itself is!

It's very rare that I don't finish a book but I've tried a couple of times to read this book and I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it was just the wrong time for me to read it or if the story wasn't that exciting/writing style wasn't for me.

I was so looking forward to this, but I couldn't make it through the first few chapters. Maybe it's the formatting, which doesn't make the POVs massively clear. If I can get this book physically through my library I may give it another go. DNF.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

A Dark and Hollow star is everything I wanted it to be and more. I was immediately drawn to the story and so very hooked, I couldn’t put it down and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The worldbuilding, the characters and the writing are fantastic and I can’t wait to read more from Shuttleworth!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. It sounded so exciting, but I couldn't connect with the characters or the story, and I was disappointed in it.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

A Dark and Hollow Star is a tricky one for me to review. I have such mixed feelings about every aspect of it. So, let's start with the positives. It has a strong and diverse cast of characters, with strong queer representation. It also aptly dodges most queer tropes and instead delivers fully fleshed out and realised characters who just happen to be queer. I really liked that. But, in counterpoint to that, I didn't really enjoy the fully realised characters. While they didn't embrace queer tropes, I felt like they managed to tick off other stereotypes in the fantasy bingo.

I also didn't enjoy the modern feel of the writing. While I don't need my fantasy to be written like Shakespeare, I don't enjoy liberal scatterings of modern language either.

Sadly, this one just isn't for me, but I'm still glad that this exists. As a queer teen, I would have loved seeing the representation in this book.

A Dark and Hollow Star sounded like the perfect fantasy read. An LGBTQIA+ cast, an intriguing plot and multiple narrators. This is a book I will definitely need to revisit to get the full effect - my mood reading is so annoying right now!

Dark, gay, fae and magic. What's not to love?

This instantly appealed to me, from the beautiful cover to its descriptions of an epic fantasy featuring murder, brewing war and a tempestuous female lead. And while it did have all of those elements, I just don't think this lived up to my expectations.

My main problem centered around the pacing and plot. At times this feels very dense in terms of world building, with a lot of information thrown at the reader over a short amount of time. Add in 4 different povs and the constant chopping and changing, and I found myself feeling very confused for a lot of the story. It also meant that the story itself didn't grip me or keep me intrigued as all this info dumping meant the pace was incredibly slow. So much talking, and not enough action. I also didn't really like any of the characters, or feel any kind of emotional connection to their story. Again, probably due to the pacing.

Interesting ideas, and I did actually really like the writing style but there's too much exposition and not enough actual plot.

Where I did enjoy this, the characters and the world building, I do wish it qas a little more fast paced. It felt like a long time before they all come together and things got going.

At times it could maybe be a little too detailed, going in on every aspect of a room, but I feel like that's down to personal preference, I don't always mind more vague descriptions.

Sadly this book was not right for me because of the many perspectives. I couldn't get a grip on the whole story. I will try reading it later again. Maybe next year...