Kerstin Hall

From Nommo Award finalist Kerstin Hall "Both haunted and haunting."—A. K. Larkwood, author of The Unspoken Name She swallowed a star, and the Sisterhood called her the Eater. Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she’s able to stomach the gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Order’s magical bloodline horrifies her, but the Sisters of Aytrium have sworn to pay a price for the safety of their nation. Elfreda wants out, whatever the cost. So when a shadowy cabal approaches her with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Order, and enters a glittering world of opulent parties, subtle deceptions, and unexpected bloodshed. A phantasmagorical indictment of hereditary power, Star Eater takes readers deep into a perilous and uncanny world where even the most powerful women are forced to choose what sacrifices they will make, so that they might have any choice at all.

Star Eater

From Nommo Award finalist Kerstin Hall comes “a layered and incisive examination of power.”—Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls All martyrdoms are difficult. Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she’s able to stomach her gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Sisterhood of Aytrium’s magical bloodline horrifies her. She wants out, whatever the cost. So when a shadowy faction approaches Elfreda with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Sisterhood, and enters a glittering world of opulent parties, subtle deceptions, and unexpected bloodshed. A phantasmagorical indictment of hereditary power, Star Eater takes readers deep into a perilous and uncanny world where even the most powerful women are forced to choose what sacrifices they will make, so that they might have any choice at all. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Jennifer

Kerstin Hall's Star Eater had been on my tbr for almost a year. I added this novel onto my tbr because I was intrigued by the premise: I found the title quite appealing, there's the concept of sisterhood, and I'm also interested in reading from the perspective of someone firsthand experiencing matyrdom / acts of sacrifice.

In Star Eater, we follow through Elfreda's narratives and her journey of matrydom. What stood out to me is the amount of emphasis put into Elfreda's headspace as she navigates through the hierarchal structure of the sisterhood and faces difficult decisions that forces her to re-examine her belief systems. The tension of the story is enhanced with the supernatural / horror elements. These elements highlight Elfreda's struggle as well as her feminist narrative: how she takes command of her voice despite all of the societal expectations that she faces.

While I think Elfreda's characterisation is decent, I believe that the lack of details in the worldbuilding bogged down Star Eater. There are definitely interesting concepts with the diety, sisterhood, and supernatural elements but I believe there should be more work put into fleshing out the world that Elfreda resides in. If there are more explanations and backstories provided into the sisterhood and the magic system beforehand, this would be a more immersive read.

To sum it up, this is a heartbreaking character-driven novel that explores the notion of matyrdom - with tinges of horror elements. If you could put up with some horror elements, this is something to check out!

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: gore, drowning, violence, weapons, and illnesses

Star Eater

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