Ashley Shuttleworth

The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones in this thrilling urban fantasy set in the magical underworld of Toronto that follows a queer cast of characters racing to stop a serial killer whose crimes could expose the hidden world of faeries to humans. Choose your player. The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family. A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge. A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne. The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret. 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? Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.

A Dark and Hollow Star

akynn 

2.5 Stars

Before I say anything on this book let it be known that I skimmed most of it. 

First of all, based on the description I was under the impression that this group of teenagers would all meet around 100 pages through and continue to investigate this murder mystery and build a friendship while we learned more about them. I was disappointed in both the murder mystery aspect and they all met more than half way through the book.

Second of all, the romance was lacking. I read over 400 pages of barely a friendship between Arlo and Nausicaa for them to suddenly kiss??? I felt zero attachment to the characters and cared little for the plot and the only reason this is 2.5 starts and not 1.75 stars is because of the Riadne drama going on, which was, by the way, one of the only parts of this book that I actually found interesting.

Finally, I found the ending dissatisfying and kinda boring. I can 100% admit that the reason I was confused during the last 99 or so pages was because of my skimming. But despite my confusion I feel like we could've seen more of Vehan and Aurelian throughout not just the end but the whole book. I understand Arlo was the main focus of this installment of the series but if you're gonna make four main characters you can at least try and balance their on-page time a bit more.

I might read the next book in the series in hopes that we'll be able to see more of Vehan, Aurelian, and Nausicaa and maybe an interesting continuation of the Riadne situation.

Tatiana

Thank you, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGallery for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Dark and Hollow Star: 4/5

There was a reason this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. I was NOT disappointed.

A Dark and Hollow Star is a multi-perspective urban fantasy set in Toronto Candada. It follows four main perspectives: Arlo, Aurelian, Nausicaä, and Vehan, all from very diverse pasts and perspectives. These four are drawn together to investigate a series of murders.

This book really shines with its character development. Nausicaä is an incredibly sassy and sarcastic Fury. Her humor and growth throughout A Dark and Hollow Star is so encapsulating and honestly.. kind of beautiful. She has the most amazing character arc without ever losing her wittiness which I adore.

Arlo is a half-human 'ironborn' fae, who is part of the royal family, though through a few degrees of separation. She struggles with finding her own place in the world whether that's in the fae realm or human. She seems to be right in the middle and is not "enough" of one side to be accepted fully.

Vehan is a High Prince from the seelie summer court who is overall just a wonderful and sweet character, and his companion or "retainer" is named Aurelian. Little do they know they both definitely have the hots for each other but neither of them is willing to admit it/is completely oblivious to the other's hints.

These characters are all extremely diverse from one other, along with some incredible side characters that add to the great representation. Most of the story is told through Nos and Arlo's perspectives, and while I was nervous about not forming a connection with Vehan and Aurelian, I instantly grew attached to them. 

One beauty of this book is that all four main perspectives start this journey of solving these murders by themselves and slowly get drawn together through many different jobs and circumstances. I really enjoyed watching the characters grow on their own and slowly find each other throughout this book rather than them being thrown together. It adds a really nice complexity and depth to the characters, so when you're reading their perspective the reader gets a bit more insight into their decisions while the other main characters stay in the dark. This was super unique to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot of this book also is a complete knockout. Ashley Shuttleworth is not afraid to keep things from the reader, only to reveal them later in the book. As the reader gets more answers, more questions are introduced which keeps the reader (quite literally in my case) on the edge of their seat. The author also beautifully set up a sequel with a HUGE reveal at the end. IM SHOOK. Pls drop book two ASAP.

Now, I want to mention why this is four instead of five stars. That's the world-building for me. The characters live with the fae in modern-day Toronto, but along with fae and humans, there are other creatures such as trolls, reapers, and more. It is never really explained how this all came to be and how this is all concealed from the mortal realm besides the overarching explanation of "glamours". Furthermore, I think the concepts of this world are really cool and unique but how it all works seems like an afterthought with half thought-out explanations as to how buildings/entities are concealed. This yields to the world feeling highly unbelievable.

To go off of this, the plot is great but it seems like the ideas come first, and then they are fit into the world by any means necessary after that topic is introduced. This seems sloppy, where a huge plot point will be introduced pretty late into the book, the reader will be confused, and then a random explanation is given a few paragraphs later that doesn't quite make sense in the context of this world. 

For example, a whole godly system was introduced 4/5ths of the way into the book without any inkling to the reader this existed prior. It's almost as if the author had the idea halfway into the book and hastily added it with a sporadic info dump one page later to quickly make it make sense. This happens throughout the entire book all the way until the end. Most of these new topics would have been nice to introduce at the beginning of the book rather than at random points when that plot point is about to be talked about one page later.

Also, the last "battle" unsure if you can call it that, was kind of a mess. It seemed high stakes at some points but the characters still had time for lengthy monologues between one another. At one point it really felt more like a pokemon battle rather than a final boss fight. This was frustrating for me because I was so engrossed in the book only to be incredibly confused and let down over the final climax of the novel.

Overall, if you have the ability to suspend disbelief and push through, I think you would really like this book. I personally enjoyed most of it because of these wonderful characters and page-turning plot. Although the world-building was a bit messy, I think it "got the job done" and we're now set up for a potentially great sequel.

took me about 200 pages to get into but after that WOW so good

matti horckmans

jupiter

adahs is a fast pace, urban fantasy book about faeries and a fury. everyone is lgbt 😤 we leaving being boring in the past.

nausicaä the loml <333 i hope we see more of her pov in the next book.

3.5 stars. 

spoilers: 

hero was a really corny antagonist i really couldn’t care about his scenes that much. the reaper was fun to see, and the hunters def have potential for being more involved in the next book (vesper pls). 

seeing characters who are non-binary and use neo pronouns was so 😳. i’m excited to see more characters like them/xem 😭 made my heart ❤️

Aishling

This was soooooo good, honestly the most solid fantasy I’ve read in ages. The characters are all great, I really like the world building, and the story is interesting too. Plus we have a budding slow burn romance and two pining idiots in love so what more could you want.

grace richards

y’all weren’t kidding when you said this was a slow burn my god

By the deities above, I've finally finished it! This was a difficult book to get through. The topics, the characters, and the settings were all intriguing. I was also quite invested in the relationships between the characters and the time dedicated on-page to exploring them. However. This was a book I found myself reading just to find out if this character confesses to this other character or if this bad guy gets a roundhouse beating. I did not enjoy reading this novel and for most of the middle I found myself skipping over sentences and sometimes just skimming paragraphs instead of reading them. I'm interested in what else is going to happen, particularly with Riadne, but I doubt I'll read further in the series.

Kiersten

I have... absolutely NO IDEA what happened in the book and yet I... somehow loved it??

This book is the most Gen Z book to ever Gen Z. Everyone is either gay, mentally ill, socially anxious, anti-establishment, or (the most common) all of the above. It was the most chaotic book I've ever read, and I absolutely devoured it.

I'm not even going to cover the plot because, as previously stated, I have no idea what happened in this book. The best part of the book was the characters. They each were incredibly endearing and fun to follow. I couldn't even tell you who was my favorite character because they were all so good! Each person felt incredibly real and human. 

I also loved the romances. If you want a good sapphic romance? This book has it. You want a good mlm? Again, has it. Both have tension and slow burn and emotions and sweetness. I loved them!

I don't even know what else to say really. This book was similar to the Atlas Six in that you don't read it for the plot. You read it to delve into the minds of multiple characters. So. If you like character driven, chaotic books that will make you laugh and feel, I recommend this book.

Emily B

4.5 STARS:

I have... absolutely NO IDEA what happened in the book and yet I... somehow loved it??

This book is the most Gen Z book to ever Gen Z. Everyone is either gay, mentally ill, socially anxious, anti-establishment, or (the most common) all of the above. It was the most chaotic book I've ever read, and I absolutely devoured it.

I'm not even going to cover the plot because, as previously stated, I have no idea what happened in this book. The best part of the book was the characters. They each were incredibly endearing and fun to follow. I couldn't even tell you who was my favorite character because they were all so good! Each person felt incredibly real and human. 

I also loved the romances. If you want a good sapphic romance? This book has it. You want a good mlm? Again, has it. Both have tension and slow burn and emotions and sweetness. I loved them!

I don't even know what else to say really. This book was similar to the Atlas Six in that you don't read it for the plot. You read it to delve into the minds of multiple characters. So. If you like character driven, chaotic books that will make you laugh and feel, I recommend this book.

Carrington Kinslow

I just finished my reread of A Dark and Hollow Star, and once again, I absolutely loved it! Cannot wait to dive into book 2.

A Dark and Hollow Star is epic, it’s queer as hell, and it’s a love letter to all the nerdiest shit imaginable. It’s equal parts fantasy and mystery/thriller. It’s got a touch of romance, yes, but above all, it’s about friendship and companionship. 

I love all four characters, which is sometimes hard for me to do with a multi-pov story. Arlo, Vehan, Aurelian, are all wonderful, but I especially love my knife wife, Nausicaä! Arlo and Nausicaä have amazing chemistry that I can’t wait to see continue to develop. I do think that Vehan and Aurelian could have used a good amount of fleshing out, though. I do like them together, but it sometimes felt like I was being told they should be together instead of being shown. 

And honorary mention to a non-POV character, Celadon. God, I love him. I will be devastated if he doesn’t survive this whole series. Here’s to me hoping he becomes a POV character in the next book! 

Going off of that, I think the other characters should have gotten a bit more…. equal treatment? Arlo pretty much dominates this book. Which is cool, she’s a great character. But that leaves the other three kinda trailing behind. Vehan and Aurelian most of all. Nausicaä got a decent amount of chapters, but I was pretty disappointed in the lack of Vehan and Aurelian POVs. Even when they’re all together, Vehan and Aurelian kinda took over the sidelines. I just think this could’ve used a lot less Arlo chapters, I mean sometimes it would be Arlo chapter after Arlo chapter after Arlo chapter. Hopefully this was remedied in the sequel, which is A LOT bigger!

I thought the magic in this was amazing! Very unique and captivating. These fae fall more in the realm of The Iron King and The Cruel Prince, not like an SJM fae world, which was nice. There were also lots of other… beings? Creatures? Other than fae, which was also very fun! I especially loved the deities. Super interesting way to bring those to life. 

My one issue with the world, though, is there is quite a bit of info-dumping. I’m really not that anti-info-dumping, but it did kinda drag a bit in this book, and I can see that really turning off some readers. But I do admit that this world is so tangible that sometimes there probably was no other choice but to info-dump a lil. 

Also, this book is very ~nerdy~ but not in an unbearable or cringe type of way. If you love Pokemon, Dungeons and Dragons, video games, or anything else in that realm, you will have a lot of fucking fun with this! And if you don’t, STILL READ IT! I’m not into any of that stuff but I thought it was added in a very fun way and the references were cute! 

Lastly, Ashley Shuttleworth is so hilarious. I very rarely (like not at all) laugh at books. But Shuttleworth is perfect at writing sarcasm and wit. Nausicaä is one of the sassiest and funniest characters I’ve ever come across. She’s just so fun. Her comebacks had me rolling sometimes. This book is so so so funny.

Overall, I guess I’d just say this book is really damn fun. I absolutely loved rereading this, and I could very easily overlook its few flaws because the rest of it is just that good. If you like fae stories, urban fantasy, queer fantasy, or mystery fantasies, pick this up, NOW! 

A Dark and Hollow Star - 4/5 Stars

Paige mandia 

(4.75 stars rounded up to 5)
i absolutely LOVED this novel!! i was a little bit scared at first actually that id have to dnf it because the magic system and world building were a bit intimidating and i thought it would be too confusing and overwhelming to finish. but i am so glad i pushed through those first 100 or so pages because i just adored this. i needed an urban fantasy after reading so many political/war-oriented fantasies the past few weeks and this was the perfect read. while the plot is definitely strong and moves at a nice pace with some great turns and mysteries, the characters are the best part of this novel. although i wish certain characters had more chapters, i was never bored with any of the characters’ povs. it took me all of five pages to fall in love with all of them and i am so excited for book 2 to continue their stories!!! i just loved it.


updated review may 2022:
ugh this book was so much fun, probably even more so than the first time around. it definitely helped having some prior memory of the magic system going in the second time, because even then it was still hard to grasp. however, that is not necessarily a bad thing. the mythology, magic system, lore, etc are so intricate and very, very well thought out. it’s honestly wicked impressive. with patience and a little time, everything clicks into place. but it really does throw everything at you instantly. 

again, the characters are the best part of this novel. been enjoying a lot of queer media lately and just the breath of fresh air when all the main characters are queer without even needing to address it??? that’s my crack right there. <3 

arlo, nos, vehan, and aurelian are all such fun protagonists. i was never bored with whoever’s pov i was in. and even after knowing what was coming, their backstories and personalities nonetheless caused true distress. someone help these poor children 😭😭😭 especially vehan jesus christ my poor angel xxx

ne ways so excited for the sequel next week and this was such a fun re-read that solidified this novel in the list of my all time favs. just so much fun ❤️

so sad the 2nd book doesn't come out until next year, 'cause this was great

Sierra

"Maybe the problem wasn't that Arlo didn't have what it took to be a hero. Maybe the problem was that she was once again letting herself get so keyed up by all the things she wasn't that she couldn't see the things she already was - resourceful and brave and, perhaps most importantly, not in this alone."

A YA-fantasy novel set in the modern world with a whole community of magic and fae under humanity's nose. Lot's of entertaining dialogue, but I do personally think this book dragged a little for the first half. And most of the second half until maybe the last 100 pages. It's a debut, so I know the world-building and descriptions can be a little heavy, but this was supposed to be a bit of a murder mystery and it felt a little boring. I can see the potential and the concept is pretty cool, but it just didn't quite deliver. What I appreciated the most was that all 4 main characters were queer. So many fantasy books barely have 1 and it's usually a side character, so this was pretty cool.

The chapters alternate between characters that appear to be different backgrounds and are irrelevant to each other, but as the story progresses they all begin to connect. A group of teens and one sassy ex-Fury set out to solve the mystery behind a bunch of murders that they feel are not getting enough attention, even if it gets them in major trouble. Set between the Seelie Court capital in Nevada and the Unseelie Court capital of Toronto and a bunch of magical "in-between" places, the characters are constantly on the move. 

I liked the characters themselves but did find Arlo and Nausicaä to be more enjoyable to read about than Vehan and Aurelian since they felt like they had a lot more personality. Nausicaä especially. I enjoyed the scenes she was present in the most for sure and it makes me happy that she was the cover girl for the book's front cover because she deserves nothing less. Arlo is a half-fae/half-human called an ironborn who despite her royal lineage, isn't accepted in society well due to her apparent lack of magical ability. I found most of the pop culture references the characters made entertaining and how they appeared in lots of bantering moments. The fact that our group of ragtag heroes don't even meet until late in the book and then don't actually work together until the end kinda disappointed me. I was under the impression they'd be together a lot sooner. Lots of dark topics are mentioned (look up trigger warnings because it's a pretty long list. I'll throw Harry Potter references on top of them also) and folklore and mythology both have a role in the world-building of this book.

I'm interested in seeing how the sequel continues the story and do hope that the plot shows up a little sooner and that it's not as slow. Overall while I liked the general idea of the book, the representation, and some of the scenes, the plot wasn't as strong as I hoped and the book just felt long and too wordy. It took me a while to get invested in the story and even in some of the action scenes it still wasn't something I was on the edge of my seat for. I also love a good villain and the few antagonists in this story that did appear just didn't feel very strong. I guess maybe the best way to describe the book is a little messy? Regardless, I think I'll still read the sequel at some point because Nausicaä is pretty cool and I'm a sucker for badass characters like her. Maybe we'll get a little more romance in the next book because this one is the epitome of a slow burn.

Hannah Hoskins

** spoiler alert **
           DNF at page 422. I’m surprised I read this far through, wanting to love this story as the cover is gorgeous. 

It was interesting at times but it severely dragged. If it were a 300 page book, especially for the first in a series, it would’ve been great. 

But I feel like what was promised in the synopsis just fell through. The story was expanded for far too long, and having it be a mystery team up it did not hit the point it needed to. When reading the synopsis and when I initially bought it, it reminded me of Crescent City, so I was intrigued. 

It seemed to lack emotion throughout, and even 3/4 through the book, they had just reached the compound where all the murdery stuff was happening. It didn’t do a great job of keeping the reader interested. I wanted to love this oh so much. I really did. I was interested in the romance, because of the queer aspect but there was nothing. Short glances and teases but really nothing that pulled me in. 

The characters weren’t bad, but there wasn’t much backstory to fall on or understand them, especially Nausicaä. I wanted to learn more about her time as a Fury and to see Tisiphone’s story in detail. 

Overall it was an average book, but I probably won’t read the sequel.

Kari Finkle 

I loved the characters, but the plot was annoyingly obvious. I think there was a lot of potential plot wise, but it just ended up being really disappointing. I found myself glazing the pages more often than I’d like. Overall, the representation is awesome but that’s all that was interesting in the end.

Casey Stevens

“Beautifully written and deliciously complex…I couldn’t get enough.” —Nicki Pau Preto, author of the Crown of Feathers series The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones in this thrilling urban fantasy set in the magical underworld of Toronto that follows a queer cast of characters racing to stop a serial killer whose crimes could expose the hidden world of faeries to humans. Choose your player. The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family. A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge. A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne. The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret. 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? Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.

Allison

It was hard for me to decide what to rate this tbh because in moments I found myself bored and wanting to DNF and in others I was invested. I really liked Arlo and Nausicaä. I just didn’t always enjoy the pop culture references, I think they removed me from the story a little bit. I also think the pacing could’ve been improved. It felt very long and I wished some of the scenes were darker, they didn’t feel as dark or intense until the end… I’m still deciding if I’ll read the sequel or not. Part of me wants to because I feel like things should speed up from here, we’ll seeeeee. 

Also - I think I didn’t like Vehan and Aurelian as much because I listened to part of this book on audio and their characters on audio felt cringey, wish I’d only read the physical 

Micol Scalabrino

Loved this book! It was original and Nos and Arlo were just perfect! We need to protect them

Toni Turner

I am very pumped for a long series following this whole thing. Thank you Ashley. I am in love.

Jordan Heustis

I debated between a very high 3 or a very low 4 🤷🏼‍♀️ I LOVED the characters. Like I seriously think each character had so much depth and they were so cool. I want Nausicaä to be my best friend. But I found myself really bored at quiet a few chapters with the plot. I still recommend checking it out! I know some people that really loved it 😁

dana

laura

I loved the characters in this read. I found this to be a super slow paced read, that was very character focused. I really also loved the world, but it was very descibtion heavy and i sometimes got lost in the details. I really did enjoy all the main characters and loved the queer focused of all the characters. It was a book that reminded me a lot of the mortal instruments series. I also loved the canada setting and it was such a complex read. I am def excited to read more of this series in the future.

Ashling Brown

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.

Lauren Lopez

** spoiler alert **
           3.5** 

The world building was good but it was ALOT! The characters are everything, especially Nausicaä! The plot moved very slowly and didn’t totally grasp me until all the POVs came together. 

I also don’t know if I even understand Arlo’s magic, so I’m still a bit confused on the whole magical die thing and what exactly The Alchemy allows her to do.

I highly recommend the audiobook because it’s full cast and it helps to differentiate the characters and navigate during the slower parts. 

I think the future installments will be more fast paced now that we’ve got our world built and are just needed a few more pieces to complete the magic puzzle. 

Solid debut, in by opinion!

A Dark and Hollow Star

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