The whole time I was reading this I just wanted her to step on my throat because YES.

LGBT rep? (lesbian, bi, gay and gender fluid rep here guys, I’m screaming, we love to see that rep.)

I’m here for anything revolving around fantasy storylines but honestly felt this book impressed me more than any Sarah J. Mass story. Whilst the world building left some room for improvement I was wildly drawn to the characters and each of their backgrounds.

It’s also really bloody cool to have to much mental health exploration, as someone with PTSD it’s awesome to see subjects like these brought up and handled really well (definitely take a look at the TW’s before reading if you have concerns)

All in all I really loved this . It’s a breath of fresh air with solid representation in a genre where that can often be hard to find.

Grab this book🙌🏻

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for approving me for a digital arc, I’ll be off to grab a paper copy on release.

A Dark and Hollow Star - Ashley Shuttleworth

I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley, which I’m very grateful for.

In A Dark and Hollow Star we meet very diverse cast of characters. Arlo, the iron born half-fae, who resembles more human qualities than fae qualities. A tempestuous fury called Nausicaä, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge. A dutiful fae prince, called Vehan, determined to earn his place on the throne. And last, but not least, the prince’s brooding guardian, Aurelian, burdened with a terrible secret.

What do they have in common, you ask? Well I didn’t really figure that out ‘till I almost finished the book. Because if I have to describe it, it was confusing. The The beginning was a bit hard to follow, but that is a feeling I always have when reading a fantasy with multiple POV’s. It is hard to figure out who is who, what they have in common ect. Well, that feeling of confusing never faded (sadly) and made it quite a struggle to finish this book. We mostly followed two perspectives in this book, (Arlo and Nausicaä) which made it really hard to care for the other two (Vehan and Aurelian). As in, I didn’t care.. At all. I liked the other two perspectives, which we kept following, but it was annoying when then (after chapters of not switching POV’s) we finally switched to the Aur. I didn’t want to know their story. We barely were past the introductions for them, while with the other characters we were deep in to a story.
So that mostly the beginning. We slowly get some introductions to all the eight courts of folk, who are concealed by magic and young by law to not harm humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts - until a series of gruesome murders rock the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world. I did actually get excited when the murders took place, even though I was still quite confused. I slowly started to get sucked in to the story (mind you, I was half way done with the book), but I still wasn’t a fan of the POV switching. In my opinion, we should’ve seen more of Vehan and Aurelian, because it was very hard for me to care about them.
Something which I wished we would’ve seen more, is more of the courts. The book feels more of an urban fantasy, then an actually fantasy book, due to that. It takes mostly place in Toronto, though at some times we have some magical places in Toronto.

The writing style was okay, though I do feel like everything was stretched out quite a lot, As in, this book would’ve been so much better if it only had 350 pages or so. The 500+ pages feel quite overdone, and it made it so hard to finish. Because it was boring! We had some exciting times, but most of the things were stretched so far that it made it hard for me to actually care.

Now, it does sounds like I hated this book, and I didn’t. It was an okay read. But it was so disappointing for me, since I was hoping for something so different. Especially after reading the synopsis, which sounds so freaking amazing! But the overall feeling of confused stayed so long with me, it was also hard to let go of certain feelings I developed while reading. The ending was really good though, and I started to (finally) love the story after hitting the 75% mark, but that is way to late. I should’ve fallen in love within the first 100 pages and not feel confused.

So yeah, I’m a bit disappointed. I ended up giving this book 3,5 stars.

Pheeeeeeeeeeew That was a RIDE.
Look, this met its expectations and that is saying a LOT, because I was expecting a LOT.

A Dark and Hollow Star brings us to Toronto where the High King of all courts resides. That's also where Arlo lives. The King of the fae is her uncle but she was never accepted by her family since her father is just a human and she's never shown proper powers, but, her cousin, Celadon, the High Prince, is her best friend and the two are thick as thieves. Arlo finds herself at the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses a very weird murder that won't get out of her head, especially since it's linked to a whole series of murder. And there enters, Nausicaä, a banished Fury, also known as the Dark Star and who is pretty much the boogeyman of the magical world. Nausicaä does not want to be in Toronto but she made a promise she can't break and has to see this to the end. She's also trying to catch a Reaper so you know she busy but not to busy to start scheming with Arlo and saving her life from time to time.
Further south, near Las Vegas, we found Vehan, the Prince of the Seelie Court of Summer and his retainer, Aurelian. The two used to be best friends before their relationship soured and now find themselves in the middle of an investigation about missing humans…

This book was great. I was engaged from the prologue to the epilogue with no stops in between. I found myself having to close it and scream from time to time, I was just too stressed.
I just loved everything about it. The plot, the characters, the relationships, the setting, the world, everything. The characters were layered and so imperfect, in the best way. It made them so relatable and I couldn't get enough. Their relationships to each other gave me all the feels, whether they were friendships or romantic or family... They made me laugh and pine and cry and everything in between, all of it did, really.
I found the plot to be perfectly paced and I honestly wouldn't change a thing.
I cannot wait to read this over and over again and everything else by Ashley Shuttleworth. This book definitely made them a one-click author to me.

This book confused me so much. In the beginning, I felt as if we were thrown into this world with a banished female fae, and I was intrigued. However, we were then sent onto another character and another, and I just felt a little overwhelmed and overly confused the entire time.

Most of the time, I had no clue what was going on, and I think that took away from the story.

Did I enjoy what I read? Yes, but I felt as if it could have been a lot better if we were thrown around everywhere and had the chance to digest information and characters fully.

This book is advertised as the Cruel Prince meets City of Bones which really should have told me I wasn’t the right audience as I wasn’t a fan of either book but the premise sounded so good!! Unfortunately I have had to really push myself through this book.

Pros - the representation in this book is done very well . LGBTQ + rep is 👌
Premise is spot on. Mixtures of legends and fae all trying to solve a crime
The descriptions are stunning

Cons- omg I was so confused . There was so much going on and loads of characters and settings and I just got more and more baffled . I couldn’t quite get to grip with what an iron born was and my Arlo wasn’t fae but allowed to be in the world etc etc. I felt like all the main characters were info dumped and it was a lot.


It did get stronger in the second half so do think a lot of people will love this especially the Cruel Prince fans out there . Just not for me. I think I am not the Fae type

I have to admit: I requested this book because I was so ready to tear it apart or have a laugh. It sounded so much like trash, the cover doesn’t help.

But I’m taking it all back.
Imagine if Sarah J Maas had an editor, but with a fun, entertaining and inclusive story, beautiful and complex (and even allegoric) representation of mental health issues of various natures, sexual orientations and gender identities in a magical, dark and complex world full of different creatures from different mythologies.
The story starts from a series of half-fae creatures disappearing or getting killed. No one really cares about them, so officially it’s not a real thing. But some people are worried, some others see an opportunity.
Around these episodes we get introduced to our cast through different point of views. Sometimes it’s quiet chaotic and some characters are not extremely distinguishable (except from their own story) one from another or have some minor characterization issues, but Arlo and Nausicaa are gold.

I’m positively surprised, the execution of the book is both entertaining and elaborate. There is action, there is character development and there are a lot of themes that we see developed through these characters. There are also a lot of trigger warning to be made here, since we discuss about abuse, suicide, murders, grief, depression, etc. but these topics are not thrown to your face or spectacularized for the sake of it. They are managed with care.

Cruel prince meets City of bones? Thanks the Gods NO! Ashley Shuttleworth writes so much better than both Cassie Clare and Holly Black, so it’s perfect if you want something that has those vibes (plus, SJM is the major reference) but with so much potential and with such a great start!

Gritty, epic and unique, A Dark and Hollow Star kept me on the edge of my seat. The world felt fresh and exciting. It was impossible to put down!

A Dark and Hollow Star is a fun urban fantasy novel with stunning world building and brilliant characters. I had high expectations for this book since the blurb sounded amazing. Although I found it slow to start, by the end I realised I really loved it.

The world building in A Dark and Hollow Star is very well done. The level of detail is incredible. It’s clear the author spent a considerable amount of time working on the world building and it pays off. I felt completely immersed in a world which is familiar yet unfamiliar – our world but with faeries roaming the streets. The different types of faerie, the Courts, and immortals, the way it’s all hidden alongside our world, was depicted so vividly. I loved the mix of fantasy and modern-day technology and pop culture references.

However, as much as I loved learning about the world, it felt very overwhelming. There is so much information crammed into the first few chapters that my brain felt like it was going to explode from trying to absorb everything. The focus on world building also meant I felt more distanced from the characters at the start, who were well-written, but felt side-lined by the world building at times in the first half. It also meant the book had a slow pace in the early parts.

The way the world building interrupted conversations for several paragraphs made it feel disjointed and I found it hard to get into many of the early scenes as they didn’t flow. The world building is so very good, but needed to be better woven into the narrative. However, I enjoyed the second half a lot more. It wasn’t as bogged down by long descriptions and explanations, and I was able to really get into the story and enjoy the ride.

A Dark and Hollow Star is written in third person with the perspectives of four queer characters: Arlo, Nausicaä, Aurelian and Vehan. I have to say, Aurelian and Vehan seemed to fade into the background as the book went on, with Arlo really feeling like the main character for most of the book, rather than the story being split between them more equally. I haven’t counted, but it seemed like there were a lot more chapters from Arlo’s POV than the others.

Nausicaä is my favourite character from this book, probably one of my favourite characters ever. She’s sarcastic, chaotic and sassy in the best way, and every scene she was in was made ten times better by her presence. Every time she dramatically entered a scene I mentally cheered because I knew it was going to be a good one if she was in it. She made reading this book so much fun. I also adored the chemistry between Nausicaä and Arlo and how it built up slowly over the course of the book.

As each of the characters investigates the murders, they eventually end up crossing paths and, as expected, team up. Their investigation leads them to a finale that was thrilling, but also still kept some of the humour that had been present throughout the book. Sections from the viewpoint of Hero sprinkled in were intriguing, but it did mean that there weren’t many surprises left for the finale, as the reader was already privy to a lot of what had been going on.

After all of that, the book ended a bit too abruptly. After the fantastic final showdown, we get one chapter from Arlo’s perspective and an intriguing epilogue. But there’s nothing to wrap up Aurelian and Vehan’s side of the story. Their friendship is pretty rocky, and since there is a sequel, is not resolved by the end of this book, but I would have liked to have seen a chapter with them after the finale. It felt like something major was missing. We’ve followed four characters through the book, but two of them are completely missing from the ending.

A Dark and Hollow Star is a brilliant debut that is both dark and full of humour, with characters you will fall in love with and an incredibly immersive world. Although I struggled to get into it at the start, once the story really got going, I was totally invested in the characters and the outcome of their investigation. This is going to be a must-read for 2021.

I really spent years thinking I didn't like fae books only to realize the existing ones were just painfully cishet.

That said, if I had to sum up this book in one word, it would be "confusing". I started reading it and felt confused. It was halfway through; still confused. And having finished it, that hasn't changed.

The one way I can see this being a good thing is if this book was a very long introduction to a series with multiple chunky installments. But even then, I feel like the author could have done a better job adding clarity to the story, and I just found there was such a lack of structure. The world building and the plot were very hard to keep track of for me, and I really couldn't make sense of the different kinds of fae.

I realize this makes it sound like I didn't enjoy this book very much, and it may sound unlikely, but I actually did have a great time reading it. I especially loved the characters. I just spent the entire time feeling so confused and waiting for explanations, and they never came. I might end up rereading this book at some point, because I did find it enjoyable and intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world. Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?

Sadly, I have had to DNF this book at 22%, which is something I truly hate doing. I really want to give books a chance but I’d hoped by 1/5 of the way in, I’d be sucked into the story - but this wasn’t the case.

I’ve found it very hard to get into the book. The world building felt too much for me, like it was one big information dump but it didn’t actually tell me what was going on. I’d be reading and just feeling utterly confused about who’s POV I was reading from and how they go about life. There were a lot of elements that just felt disjointed and unrealistic. The idea of blending mortal and immortal “realms” really appeals to me but it doesn’t work for me in how it’s been presented in this book - which is such a shame.

I love any and all stories involving magic and fae and the like. However, this just didn’t work for me. It had gotten to the point where I felt like I was forcing myself to read it which isn’t something I want to be doing as it takes all the enjoyment out of reading.

Sadly, A Dark and Hollow Star just really missed the mark for me. Maybe I’ll come back to it in the future. But for now, it’s my first DNF of 2021.

I was totally hooked on A Dark and Hollow Star from the cover alone, this book is incredible! I am a SJM fan but even I will say that fae storylines are starting to lose their appeal/originality and yet this book felt like such a breath of fresh air. I read this copy through NetGalley but immediately preordered the paperback to sit on my shelf, I just love it. There is a lot going on in this book, and a lot of good to talk about; the world building, the writing, the pace, the LGBT representation, the action, the slow burn romance, the humour, this book offers so much.

However what really sets this book apart is the characters which you just learn to love incredibly, with 4 main characters Tarim different backgrounds that must work together following a series of murders of ironborns. As I said at the start, I’m a SJM fan and if you too love Aelin Galathynius, you will love Nos/Nausicaa, right from the start, what an opener! Every time she appeared on the page I just smiled, she’s sarcastic and brazen and hides the huge pain that eats away at her behind a tough exterior. She also has wings and a katana and i would easily die for her. Arlo is the High King’s niece and feels rather irrelevant and insecure, however through the ‘mission’ in this book she learns that she is so much more than what people think she is.

Similarly there is Prince Vehan and his best friend/undeclared love/attendant Aurelian, both under the eye and power of Queen Riadne. They love each other and court obligation and threat have caused distance between them. Aurelian is definitely a slow burn, essentially he has had to emotionally withdraw himself to protect Vehan, and yet you still see that love under the surface. Vehan, on the other hand, feels alone and unloved, thinking Aurelian now hates him, and as a Prince he wants to protect and care for people like he wishes he was cared for. Vehan is a sweetheart, although Nos and Arlo were my favourite characters and my favourite parts of the book.

These characters are all struggling, with insecurity, grief, depression, loneliness etc, and it makes them feel incredibly real. Mental illness and the societal pressure to be ‘okay’ and resilient is referred to, as is suicide, and both are handled maturely, sensitively and with the promise of more exploration while other books would have just thrown it at you. You will find a part of yourself with each character, root for their inner battles, and miss them when the book ends.

This is a fun, fast adventure with characters you will love, characters you will relate to, and a depth and colour on the page that sets this book apart and promises so much for the next book.