User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Oh my god THIS WAS
DUCKING AMAZING.
Arlo, Nos, Vehan, Aurelian . . . I'm so ducking in love with them it's not even funny🥺😭
Now the real question is:
When's 2022? also plz kill a certain individual who starts with an 'R'Because I really, really,
really need the next book right now. This is 100% definitely better than both
The Cruel Prince and
City of Bones in my opinion.
I don't mean to hype this book too much because the hype can sometimes kill a book BUT SERIOUSLY I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I WOULD
DIE FOR THESE GUYS😭 which I definitely was
not expecting going into this.
Thank you Ashley for making me feel like this. Now—if any of them are killed, I will be left destroyed.😃
im terrified
In this world, Fae and faeries also live in the human world, while of course, not allowing the humans to discover that magical creatures do in fact exist. (glamour is truly amazing😌)
While the
Seelie Court's base is in Nevada—run by their *only* Queen Riadne, the
Unseelie Court are the ones who have true power, living in good ol' Toronto, with their
High King Azurean.
The way Ashley created this world . . . it leaves me in
awe🥺. I love most how this takes place in modern day with Fae
heyy that rhymed AND IN
TORONTOOOO😭 (and Nevada) All those mentions made me so happy. I actually knew
exactly how the scenes looked like whenever they took place ahhhh the
feeling is so nice.
I'm so very much in love with everything in this book, but mostly (as I've probably mentioned a million times by now) with
THE CHARACTERS-
☆。*。☆。
"What if I don't want to be a hero?"
From the moment I met
Arlo Jarsdel, I fell in love with her.
But from the moment I found out that she was a
manga/anime fan—
I knew right then and there, I'd lay down
my life for this girl.
it sounds ridiculous BUT SHE LOVES ANIME SO IDCI love her and I will not
never stop saying how much I love her because this girl is amazing and
deserves the world and the
respect that some of these idiots cant give.👿 They're all just JEALOUS they cant be an ironborn half-fae, half-human haha suckersss.
Anyways, Arlo is definitely the quiet and reserved type around others, but with those she loves (like my sweet Celadon & Arlo) . . . let's just say that she's very fierce and annoyingly persistent when she wants something.😏
"One hundred and sixteen years ago, eleven people learned the answer to that question, Vehan Lysterne.
Nausicaä Kraken (aka Nos)—the
chaotic and very sarcastic lesbian that loves to wreak havoc. Literally from
page 3 when she told the others off while facing her
trial . . . to say that I started to worship this girl is definitely an understatement. Muahahhaha I love a girl who says exactly what's on their mind without a care in the world. And she definitely hates socializing
like every introvert . . . except with maybe
Arlo of course hehe.
The way she tries to make people think less of her🥺 no no no
Nos is not fooling anyone behind this act, especially not
Arlo . All that hurt is too much for one to carry alone and I can't wait to see that healing in the next book😭
(gorgeous art by @viria94) "It eats at me, because feeling that?
That soul-crushing hopelessness that drowns everything else inside you and tells you you're totally and completely alone, that you're nothing but a tool, a means to an end, a burden, and no one will really miss you when you're gone?
I know exactly what that's like."
ohmygod TELL ME THAT DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE YOU CRY???😭
VEHAN, MY
PRECIOUS BISEXUAL CINNAMON ROLL, WHO MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS, especially from
certain MONSTERS.
I want to
MURDER the person who made him feel that way and I know EXACTLY who I should be targeting.👿
Aghh you see what I mean? How can I choose a favourite when they all make me feel like this?!?! I demand that Ashley be sued for the too many feels.🥺
Vehan is too precious and as the prince of Seelie, all he wants to do is protect others and be a future king everyone can rely on. He loves too much . . . especially a certain dark haired, golden eyed person.
I am very very sad and especially after that ending, I fear for my life because what's going to happen omgggg that ducking shouldn't happen.
Over
my dead body . I want to cry :(
wow do i sound crazy
And lastly there's
Aurelian Bessel—everyone's
brooding and dramatic gay druid boy who pretends to not care at all about *ahem* a blue-eyed someone. Oh Aurelian, you're not fooling anyone, except maybe that person.😥 This guy . . . he acts all grump and uncaring, but to find out the truth about the
why behind it and know it's because of
that MONSTER...
I'm not being dramatic when I say that DEATH MUST COME FOR THAT MONSTER next book OR ELSE—
Now I love those 4, but I have to say that
Celadon Viridian was my favouritee💕 I wish he was a main character too because I'm so hopelessly in love with him. He is the sweetest and most caring cousin to Arlo. I really hope Ashley isn't planning his death or anything . . . because
I will be destroyed beyond repair😓
Also, is it weird to say that I actually just adore one of the villains. (at least I'm pretty sure he's a villain?) His plans are a little unclear and he's protecting Arlo sooooo *confusion*
If he's evil and all, well I still love him because he's definitely a really cool villain😏
uh oh pretty soon im gonna be rooting for him too smh "There's a reason why the Lord of Death himself went out of his way to restrain me."
yup, there's definitely something wrong with meAs you can see, I'm very much in love with practically all the characters in this book
(except for that retched monster ofc). The only reason this didn't get 5 stars was bc it was slow at times BUT STILL I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Ahhh the one regret I have is reading this now, because now I have to wait until
2022 for the next book *cries*
Bottom line: Once you read this, there's no going back >:)
(4.5⭐)═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
Eternally grateful to Simon & Schuster Canada for bestowing upon me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All quotes in this review are subject to change upon release date.
Rating: really liked it
Hello hello, biggest disappointment of 2021. Nice to meet you.
A Dark and Hollow Star follows four characters—Nausicaä, Arlo, Vehan, and Aurelian. Nausicaä is a Fury, a lethal force of death who longs to exact revenge on her enemies. Arlo is a shy half-fae girl who must fight for her right to be called fae. Vehan is a prince of the fae, determined to keep his people safe. Aurelian is Vehan’s angsty guardian. Together, they must save their world.
I was so underwhelmed. The characters were walking stereotypes and the real plot didn’t even start until after the halfway point.
I felt nothing for the characters. The only one I sort of liked was Arlo.
Nausicaä had sass. She was okay, I guess. Her humor was a bit too much. It was trying too hard to be funny and sarcastic. I wanted her to be more dark. She’s supposed to be a “tempestuous Fury, hellbent on revenge.” Don’t mislead me. Did I ship her and Arlo? No. They have no chemistry. Well, they have more chemistry than Vehan and Aurelian, but that’s hardly anything.
Arlo was better at the beginning than at the end. She isn’t physically strong, but she’s smart and resourceful. She’s kind and caring, as well. She’s not
that selfless. She doesn't want to be a hero. When protagonists have a savior complex, it annoys me. She was promising. But then a whole cHoSeN oNe plot showed up, which she helped with (not going to say who the Chosen One was), and it was so cheesy.
Vehan is the typical Noble Prince Who Will Do Anything For His People. And not even in an interesting way. He had no personality, in my opinion, besides being a typical loyal prince.
Aurelian was the blandest of the bland. He had some BiG sEcReT and was so brooding. I was constantly annoyed with him. Stop being rude just because you have a crush, Aurelian.
The plot was just bad. That’s all.
It was about sorcerer’s stones and an evil villain making them from the corpses of ironborn fae (half-fae, half-human). It was so cheesy.
The villain cackled while revealing his evil plans in a long monologue at the end of the book before attempting to kill the protagonists in some intricate manner. The plot was also really arbitrary. I felt like the author backed themself against a wall and made up something random to get themself out. One of these side plots was
iT’s FaTe, which is one of my least favorite tropes. Basically, Arlo has to go on this mission because fAtE cOmMaNdEd HeR. It was so random and I hated it. Arlo got a random magical die that helps her. It was just bad.
100 pages or more should have been cut from this book. The mystery dragged on for far too long. The characters never even joined forces until the very end. They became friends so quickly. I wish most of the first half were cut and replaced with character building and found-family goodness, instead of one clue every fifty pages and mediocrity in between.
I had to force myself to be interested in this book. I began to read a set number of pages a day just to finish it so I could move on.
The writing really annoyed me. I couldn’t get over how painful it was. The abbreviation FYI was used multiple times. The word “urgh” was used
so much. Does anyone actually say that in real life? I’ve never heard anyone say “urgh.” “Ugh,” yes. But not “urgh.”
Every time it showed up, I would snort out loud, close the book, and rethink my life. There was a lot of all-caps screaming as well, which is such an amateur thing to do.
In the end,
A Dark and Hollow Star lacked a certain spark. I didn’t enjoy reading it at all. I didn’t like the characters, the plot was boring, the writing was amateur.
1 star
Rating: really liked it
edit 06/20: I'm very excited for the world to meet Arlo, Nos, Vehan, and Aurelian, my chaotic children who've come to mean so much to me, just like this story, which is very long and very busy (thank you final Fantasy) and at times was very painful to write, but I’m fiercely proud of what it levelled up to become. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Also, I get asked fairly often what sort of queer rep is in this, so for your curiosity:
Arlo—questioning (later to be confirmed pansexual)
Nausicaä—lesbian
Vehan—bisexual
Aurelian—gay
Luck—genderfluid
Please be advised of the trigger/content warnings for this story, which will be included in the book. These subjects are all things I’ve tried to handle with care and sensitivity. It's important to talk about uncomfortable issues, especially with our youth, but that discussion should be something you consent to engaging with first and foremost.
CW: anger, arson, blood/gore, body horror (minor), death of a child, depression, disownment, divorce, drug use/addiction, grief/grieving, human trafficking, poverty, psychopathy, stalking, suicide (past, off-page), suicide ideation, toxic relationship/manipulation, trauma/PTSD, racism, violence/gun violence
Rating: really liked it
If I haven’t convinced you to go out and buy 10 copies of this book by the end of my review, I haven’t done it justice.
Plot: Ok, let’s be honest, there are TONS of book about the Faerie being written as of late, but I promise none can compare to this one. There is a perfect mix of Fae/modern world, tons of different mythology, and great LGBTQ+ representation.
Characters: Arlo was just about the most relatable person ever. She was unsure of herself, her powers, and her standing in the world. Nausicaä. WOW. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be her, or was in love with her (I was definitely in love with her). And I’m really curious to see where their relationship goes! I feel like Vehan and Aurelian weren’t the main focus of the story, but their perspectives did add important information for the plot.
Overall: I know this was a gushy review, but guys, I am not easy to impress. I loved the mixture of mythology. The story itself was brilliant. So many pieces were woven together, it didn’t feel like a standard YA fantasy at all. It was more like having an entire series packed into one book, but in the absolute best way possible
Content warnings: murder, suicide, depression (the book contains a full list, but these are the things I thought were heaviest)
1/23: OMG guess who got their first physical ARC?? I am very much fangirling right now
Rating: really liked it
This book is the start of something special. I knew this from the very first page and the feeling never once faded across 500 pages of action, banter, magic and pining. Following four queer teens caught up in a series of brutal, ritualistic murders and forced to work together to solve them,
A Dark and Hollow Star brings a startling humanity to the ancient faerie courts and breathes new life into the YA urban fantasy genre.
Why is it always so difficult to review a book you loved? I wish I could leave this review as ‘Absolutely incredible, can’t wait to see where this series goes, loved everything about it. Also, I’ve completely fallen in love with Nausicaä Kraken and am the proud founder of the simping-for-nausicaä club hmu if you want in.’ But apparently that’s not ‘professional’ or even really a ‘review’ so allow me to attempt to write something more coherent.
I loved so many things about this book: the plot and mystery, the worldbuilding, the writing, the casual LGBTQ+ and mental illness rep, the characters and their relationships with each other – whether romantic, platonic, familial or barely able to stand each other but forced to form an alliance to save the world. Everything about this book felt like it was written just for me, combining some of the elements I love most into one gorgeous book (both inside and out).
The worldbuilding was a particular strong point and I can’t wait to explore more of this world in the sequel. The combination of a vibrant modern Toronto setting and all the technology and pop culture of the 21st century with ancient fairy tales and legend created a rich urban fantasy setting. I really enjoyed this interpretation of how the courts of fae could function in our world while still retaining their wildness and magic. The world is expertly fleshed out and developed and I found learning about the different creatures and peoples of faerie, the Seelie and Unseelie courts, the deities and the magic system all really interesting.
Ashley Shuttleworth’s writing was spectacular, both in its ability to gently ease you into this world, giving information where necessary but not overwhelming, and in the authentic dialogue, humour and feelings of the characters. I thought the action scenes were written really well and the tension throughout left me unable to put the book down. The multiple perspectives worked really well with the story and I loved how the different dynamics and pieces of the mystery were explored through them. I also found reading from the antagonist’s perspective really interesting and thought it had the perfect balance of creating understanding of their motivation and even sympathy for them, while also establishing them as the enemy. The main mystery of the murders came together really effectively which created a satisfying conclusion, even as other plotlines opened up and left me desperate for more.
In terms of characters, I loved all four of our main perspectives and really enjoyed reading from them all. I particularly loved Arlo and Nausicaä, who we spent slightly more time with, as I felt I got a chance to know them better but I hope to be able to say the same for Vehan and Aurelian as the series progresses. The character dynamics were so much fun and definitely my favourite part of the story. I loved the banter between them all, as they went from reluctant allies to friends, as well as the blossoming relationships – particularly between Nausicaä and Arlo, who had the sweetest dynamic, even if they started out with a murder accusation. And just because I love them so much, here’s a wee bit about each of their characters:
‘“What if I don’t want to be a hero?”’
Arlo Jarsdel is an ironborn: part human, part fae and not particularly blessed in the magic department. She’s gentle and sweet and quite content with a regular – or as regular as possible when you’re part fae and best friends / cousins with a prince – life, she’s loveably naïve and awkward at times and struggles with feeling useless in a society where magical ability is everything. I adored her character right from the start and found her easy to root for and relate to and loved seeing her character grow and develop during the book as she realised her worth.
“Nausicaä was still gorgeous without her glamour, but the nine rings of hell couldn’t come up with anything more terrible than the way her grin split across her face like razor wire catching skin and tearing it apart.”
Nausicaä Kraken (what a name!) was once a terrifying, powerful fury, before her powers were stripped and she was banished to the mortal world. She’s the grumpy to Arlo’s sunshine, the tall to her small, the sword-weilding lesbian of my dreams and determined to wreak havoc. She’s simultaneously the sarcastic, badass, leather-clad typical YA love interest (finally I understand the appeal!) and a lonely young woman struggling with grief and depression who would do anything for those she loves. She’s the type to nickname her friends (and, well, everyone – whether they like it or not), drink unicorn frappuccinos and know all of Arlo’s nerdy references (
and even make some of her own). Just look at her on the cover and tell me you’re not already a little in love!
As much as I loved this book, I want to bring attention to the lack of racial diversity by linking this review. Toronto is such a diverse, multi-cultural city and unfortunately
A Dark and Hollow Star didn’t fully capture this. This is my main criticism of the book and something I’d love to see improved, especially as the LGBTQ+ and mental health representation were so well done: the four main characters were all queer, there were queer and trans side characters, including one who uses neo pronouns and these identities were never a point of conflict. I also particularly admired Nausicaä being open about having depression and going to therapy.
As I’m sure you can tell from this review, I adored
A Dark and Hollow Star. This was a fresh and unique take on YA urban fantasy and faerie stories with queer characters at its forefront. A fun and gritty story, packed full of action and authentic characters,
A Dark and Hollow Star has become a new favourite and reminded me why I love fantasy. I can’t wait to see where the story takes us next! (The things I would do to get my hands on the sequel…). And honestly, you need to read this if only to understand why the title makes me feral – it’s so gay guys, so
fucking gay.
If you fancy some more memes and reactions to this book, check out my reading thread!
I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter
*finished copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Rating: really liked it
No one is more shocked than me at how disappointed I am with my most anticipated read of 2021.I’m heartbroken. But I am
also allowing myself the space to be ambivalent about a book.
I mean, I can’t even begin to describe my euphoria when I first heard the premise of
A Dark and Hollow Star. (Though if you want some idea, please scroll to the bottom of my review and take a gander at my yelling and spluttering!)
“Queer ownvoices urban fantasy set in Toronto with serial killers” felt like someone had reached into my bookish soul and made every last one of my wishes into reality. It was surreal. I was rooting for this book with my whole heart.
Which made my dismay all the more profound. But before we get into why, here’s what I want you to know off the bat.
I feel SO strongly—so passionately—about speculative fiction set in Toronto, and Canada more broadly. We are a city, land, and many cultures and communities that deserve representation (
beyond the white eurocentric norm). We are rife with magnetizing stories and settings. As Ashley Shuttleworth writes:
Toronto had become an epicenter of the magical community. Creatures of all walks of life had been drawn into its folds…
Moreover, I feel just as—if not even more—strongly about publishing and reading ownvoices queer stories.
It is SO IMPORTANT that we read and support queer authors, and queer spec-fic holds an infinitely soft space in my heart.
For these reasons, I think you should read
A Dark and Hollow Star.
The queer rep was fucking fantastic. As Ashley Shuttleworth says in their review, the four leads are all LGBTQIA+.
Arlo, the half-fae/half-human ironborn girl, is questioning and later confirmed to be pansexual.
Nausicaä is lesbian, a centuries-old former-immortal who has been banished to the mortal realm, where she’s been stirring up trouble.
Aurelian is gay and a member of the Seelie Summer court; he keeps watch over kind-hearted
Vehan, who is bisexual and sweet as heck.
And if that hasn’t convinced you, then I have two words for you:
Sapphic. Faeries. 🧚🏻♀️
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster Canada for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to read my most anticipated 2021 release as an advance copy.◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
The primary reason I felt so let down by this book is its lack of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural rep.How to tell a story of Toronto without grappling with its history of colonialism and diasporic migration? How to write Toronto without including the Black folk, Indigenous peoples, and people of colour at this city’s heart?
I'm not sure. I don't think the story would be complete.
What makes Toronto such a fucking magical city in real life is its incredible, intersectional diversity—of people, cultures, communities, identities.
Toronto’s one of the most multicultural cities in the entire world. It is a space that is defined by the interweaving of peoples, a place that resonated so deeply with me for its expansiveness.
And queer BIPOC have long been at the heart of Toronto's queer community and activism. This is true in
spite of their historic lack of visibility and representation in mainstream discourse. For example, Dr. Beverly Bain, a Black queer scholar, speaks about how Black queer folk shaped Pride in Toronto by standing at the forefront of grassroots movements in the 80s, when Toronto police cracked down on the gay community via bathhouse raids. Meanwhile, Richard Fung and Gay Asians of Toronto were one of the first organizations to advocate for queer POC in Toronto, and their efforts as "pioneers of diversity" are integral to Toronto's queer history.
Mind you, I’m not saying Toronto is a perfect space—far from it. Canada has major issues, like all settler states, with systemic injustice and discrimination against BIPOC, queer folk, and other marginalized communities.
But I
am saying that the pockets of happiness, resilience, and resistance that I found in Toronto changed my life. In this city, I learned that I didn’t have to conform myself to an ill-fitting—no,
painful—white and heternormative default. It was a momentous revelation for me.
And this book didn't capture that diversity, that richness, for me.Not all of it, at least. Despite the fantastic queer rep, there was no diversity in the ethnicities or cultures represented in
A Dark and Hollow Star. There was no acknowledgement of the Indigenous lands on which Toronto was constructed, no recognition of the Indigenous peoples and cultures who are the rich, inextricable foundation and fabric of this city.
From what I could tell (and PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong),
all of the major characters in A Dark and Hollow Star were white or white-coded.The protagonists were all fae of European (mainly English and German) descent. There’s one scene where the book describes how the fae and their Courts moved from England and “settled [in Canada] a little over a century ago.” I know this must've been unintentional, but it just sounded so eerily colonial.
And if some minor characters were described as having darker skin or ethnic-sounding names, this was ultimately arbitrary. Because there was
no meaningful incorporation of non-European cultures into the world-building and magic systems in this novel. There was no discussion of Middle Eastern, African, South Asian, East Asian, Latin American epistemologies, to name but a few, even though the majority of Toronto’s population (51.5% in 2016) belongs to a visible minority group. In fact, just under half of all Torontonians are immigrants.
This book did not reflect that.
And I felt profound grief at the loss of this opportunity to represent, celebrate, and champion Toronto’s intersectional diversity in a hyped-up mainstream YA novel.
But
at the same time,
I think this just further highlights the need for more YA fiction, speculative fiction, queer fiction—more stories, period—set in Toronto. In the course of writing and reflecting on this review, I've come to realize that, despite what I've written above, there is no "complete" or "true" story of Toronto. The responsibility of representing this incredibly multifaceted city should not solely be on the shoulders of Ashley Shuttleworth or
A Dark and Hollow Star (or any other single author or novel).
We should be allowed the space for stories like
A Dark and Hollow Star—
as well as stories that feature characters of diverse ethnicities, races, and cultures.
🧚🏻♀️
TLDR; While I am disappointed by the lack of diverse racial/ethnic rep in this novel, I don't mean for this to be a scathing criticism of
A Dark and Hollow Star. Rather,
I write this as a call for publishers like Simon & Schuster Canada to publish more queer and Torontonian stories—to afford queer Torontonians the array of literature and representation that is deserved.◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
Besides the lack of racial/cultural diversity, my other gripes with this book have to do with the actual prose and storytelling.
➟ Confusing, convoluted worldbuilding.
There were WAY
too many info-dumps in this novel. And the irony was that even with all this explicit explanation, I still couldn’t grasp the magic system at the centre.
This was partly because the world-building was neither intuitive nor presented in an easy-to-comprehend manner. For example, "fae" and "faerie" refer to two
different types of supernatural beings in this novel (the former resemble humans, while the latter have animal/plant-like characteristics). In all of the fae-related novels I've read so far, the two terms have been used interchangeably, so it was hard to get my head around the idea that in
A Dark and Hollow Star they were now two separate entities.
Also, the lore of
A Dark and Hollow Star is an
erratic mish-mash of legends from disparate (European) cultures. Greek gods, Titans, Furies, faerie (Seelie, UnSeelie, lesidhe, sidhe), trolls, vampires, something called the Wild Hunt—and a Chinese dragon thrown in for good measure…? None of it made sense to me.
➟ Overused YA fantasy tropes and clichés.
This echoes some of the issues I had with Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn.
A Dark and Hollow Star relies heavily on YA fantasy clichés, including Capitalization of Everything to Do With World-building (including Maturity, Matured, the Weighing, Sight, Gift, Destroyed, Tracker… the list goes on). There's a dash of the Chosen One trope with Arlo, and an overuse of
italics that made the text feel more melodramatic than anything.
➟ Prose doesn’t flow very well for me personally.
The tone of the writing in this novel didn’t really fit the urban fantasy setting imo. It reads with the cadence and diction of high fantasy (awkwardly formal constructions of phrase etc.) when this is urban fantasy. As a result, the prose came off a little stuffy when I would’ve rather it flowed more smoothly like contemporary speech.
I also found the banter/dialogue weirdly juvenile. For example, when Nausicäa says things like “What the shit” and “W-T-Fuck” and “Miss Sassypants,” it felt to me like she had the maturity of a preteen human and not a 300-year-old immortal being.
✨
BOTTOM LINE: To my disappointment, this book didn't capture Toronto—or its diversity of cultures and peoples—like I'd been expecting. NONETHELESS, I still think it’s extremely important to read and support queer ownvoices stories, and
A Dark and Hollow Star will surely be a trailblazer for queer spec-fic to come.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
06/29/2020: Y'ALL. MY JAW LITERALLY DROPPED. IT'S LIKE ASHLEY SHUTTLEWORTH TOOK ALL THE THINGS I LOVED AND MASHED THEM INTO THE STORY I'VE NEEDED ALL MY LIFECruel Prince? CHECK. ✅
City of Bones? CHECK. ✅
Set in the 6ix? CHECK. ✅
Serial killer creepiness? CHECK. ✅
Queer author + cast? BOOYAH, CHECK. ✅
I am SO hyped for this I'm shaking
Rating: really liked it
4.5 Stars ⭐️ IT’S ABOUT TIME I GOT A WINNER!
I loved pretty much everything about it. I just wish there was a few things different but for the most part it was great! Now I need to buy the damn hardback! THIS, should have been in my book boxes and the book I skipped for Owlcrate April is now going to be in FairyLoot May and they don’t skip a box!!!!! THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS BOOK, but no, and I know why.
Anyhoo, I’m really looking forward to the next book! Oh, and this cover is everything!!!!!!!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Rating: really liked it
feb 23, 2021 - happy book birthday to this book!!! now, for my late review.
I don't particularly love fae. After the experiences I've had with reading about them in the past, I wasn't sure I wanted to pick up a book with fae again in the distant future. But then I heard about this one. Which sounded more dark, more angsty, and (way) more queer than two particular fae series.* AND IT WAS. it was also so much better, if i may add 😏
*you know what I'm referring to.
A Dark and Hollow Star follows four queer teens as their paths cross and worlds collide (quite literally). It contains faerie cafes, family dynamics, and cinnamon rolls that must be protected at all costs (so smol and so precious)*
*dang it there's no cinnamon roll emoji. love that for me.
Forget that you loved me, if you must, but please . . . do not forget you loved at all, and do not forget you loved so fiercely it made you the best of your name.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and I'm excited to say that I was not disappointed in the least.
So. There's:
Arlo, the Soft™ half-fae outcast who's very awkward and unsure of herself. She also loves anime and works in coffee shop!!
Nausicaä, a sarcastic lesbian and a bad girl in black who swings around a katana. AND she's also a banished Fury who's out for revenge, to make things more interesting (my personal favorite of the four 🥺).
Vehan, a bisexual blue-eyed fae prince who's bent on proving his worth to the throne (and may or may not have a gigantic crush on his bodyguard).
Aurelian, protector and childhood friend of Prince Vehan, hider of secrets, a not-so-talkative gay.
All four of these characters are so flawed, but these imperfections are what truly reflect them, and I really loved that.
This is unrelated but this fanart!!! WHO CAN RESIST THEM.
art by
@viria94 Magic had its rules, and woe betide anyone who tried to sidestep them.
The writing. It was simply
divine and so atmospheric that I wanted to lose myself in it. The story is written in such a vivid way, blending the worlds of faerie and reality seamlessly.
On another note, Jenny's review came to my attention, and I had to think on my opinions again. Every single character in this book is white or white-coded, but like Jenny said, Toronto is full of people of different cultures and identities. Please see her review to learn more on this aspect!
Overall, ADHS was a solid debut that I enjoyed! And although it didn't end on a painful cliffhanger, I'll definitely be watching out for the second book in the series!!*
*ughh slkdfjlskdj i have to wait until 2022 :') also who am i kidding it ended on a (somewhat) huge cliffhanger
other things i loved:
- discussions about mental illness that didn't feel forced (!!!!!)
- casual queer rep (which we desperately need more of)
- vehan & aurelian, who are soft and sad (and quietly yearning for each other)
- arlo & nausicaä (my serotonin levels went 📈📈 every time they interacted aka i needed to go touch some grass)
- celadon, arlo's very supportive cousin; i literally loved him so much <3
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feb 13, 2021 - just finished. in shock. all i can say is: be prepared.
rtc!!!
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AHHH I GOT APPROVED FROM THE PUBLISHER FOR A PHYSICAL ARC OF THIS AHHHHH ALAKJASLKD
Rating: really liked it
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you Simon & Schuster Canada). All thoughts and opinions are my own. ✅ Fae/magic
✅ Band of misfits
✅🆗 Characters
✅🆗 Intrigue/Murders
🆗 Plot/Pace
🆗 Villain
3.5 stars
A sidhe prince, a lesidhe guard, an ironborn girl, and a former Fury – they seemed less like a serious investigative team and more like the lead-in to some terrible joke.
This story revolves around 4 main characters:
“You mistake my meaning,” Alecto drawled. “I freely admit to all crimes you accuse me of. I did it, yes. I simply don’t feel guilty about any of it.”
Alecto is one of the three Furies tasked with upholding the Three Principle of Magic. She is the daughter of Urielle, Goddess of the Elements and Lady of Chaos, and was condemned to live forever among the mortals, after exacting revenge for her sister’s murder and killing 11 mortals. She had to assume a new identity and had been known as Nausicaä Kraken for the last 116 years, or, as some like to call her, the Dark Star. She has been a plague to the magical community. She is fierce, blunt, confident, sassy, and I really liked her.
"What if I don't want to be a hero?"
She couldn’t help them.
She wasn’t special, wasn’t brave.
Arlo was just a girl with fancy connections and no real magic of her own, regardless of what Nausicaä thought she knew about her. She was no hero, no chosen savior, nobody but Arlo Jarsdel, ironborn human.
Arlo Jarsdel is an ironborn (half-human) teenager in a pure-blood fae royal family. Not deemed fae enough by the elitist High Council because of her weak magical abilities and her “impure” blood, she lives as an outcast, her only real friend being her cousin, High Prince Celadon (who I wished was one of the main characters because I really like him, he’s the best). She is an introvert, not believing that she is anything special, but she is fierce when comes the time to defend the ones she cares about. She is not the most original YA character, but I still enjoyed her chapters.
"It eats at me, because feeling that?
That soul-crushing hopelessness that drowns everything else inside you and tells you you're totally and completely alone, that you're nothing but a tool, a means to an end, a burden, and no one will really miss you when you're gone?
I know exactly what that's like."
Vehan is the prince of the Summer court, he is sweet, valiant, and noble, but he loves too much and too deeply for a Fae prince. He spends almost all his time with his steward and childhood best friend, Aurelian (aka, Mr. I-pretend-I-don’t-care-but-I-do-care-way-too-much). Together, they are trying to investigate the series of ironborn murders that have been happening lately. Their path will cross Nausicaä’s and Arlo’s, and it will be up to them to figure out what is happening because the High King of the fae keeps on insisting that the culprit is a human serial killer, that there is nothing he can do, that there is no need for the magical community to investigate.
The dynamic between the 4 main characters is a good mix of wariness, friendship, sarcasm, and even love. They are trying to trust each other and help each other even though they just met for some of them. They go from strangers to a unit built on shaky trust, but they still have each other’s back. Each character is vulnerable, and insecure, even though they try to hide it, and it makes them so much more relatable. They are doubting their worth and their feelings, wondering what awaits them in the future and what there are destined to become. This self-doubt is so human and so real (especially considering that they are teenagers), it made me appreciate this little band of misfits.
“No, no, no – we’re not on the same team,” Nausicaä interrupted. “I’m no hero! Just because I’m not running around turning kids to stone doesn’t mean I’m a fine upstanding citizen like Red and Prince Charmless here, and… I don’t know, what fairy-tale character do you want to be, Aurelian?”
Aurelian cut her a deadly glare.
“And fucking Grumpy.”
The murders are part of a complex scheme that is revealed one tiny step at a time. There is still a lot of intrigues left to be discovered and resolved in the next book. I would have liked it if the characters got together earlier, the first half of the book is a little slow, with lots of details that are not always useful in the story. I might read the next book when it comes out, but since this book does not end with a cliffhanger, I am not in a hurry to read it.
On a side note, I really liked how the Seelie and Unseelie courts are determined by our geographic frontiers. The Canadian territory belongs to a court, western Europe to another court, and so on, and the fae and fairies live among the humans using glamours. The pop-culture references (Harry Potter, Lord of the Ring, Pokemon, Super Mario, etc.) are also very funny and help us connect even more with the characters and the story.
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Rating: really liked it
This book has quickly moved onto my
To Read list and now looks to be the highlight of year
*thank god cuz we all need something to look forward to* 
But hear me out....
Not only does the book offer an
intriguing plot full of fantastical creatures, fey, and murder which is the ultimate book combo
But it also
*seems* to offer
genuine representation and not
tOkeNiZaTiOn which yall know vexes me to no end.
The cover looks gorgeous. The plot is intriguing.
Featuring LGBTQ+ main characters who fully developed with their own goals, adventures, and identities
I genuinely hope that the book community uses this book to promote much-needed conversations, and honestly... I just can't bloody wait for
the gorgeous fan art I KNOW is going to come out
*pun intended* 
Rating: really liked it
rep: lesbian mc with depression, pan mc, gay mc, bi mc, genderfluid side character
tw: blood, gore, body horror, death, drugs, past suicide, suicide ideation, toxic relationship
there are like 3 thoughts in my head:
1) there is no plot, only nausicaä being super extremely gay for arlo
2) this is like fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood but make it extra gay and also with less war crimes
3) y'all have no clue how gay this title actually is
Rating: really liked it
*3.5🧐
still debating between a 3.5 and a 4 star rating so i’m going to sit on this one for a bit!
Rating: really liked it
A Dark and Hollow Star was overall a good story, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
🆗
I THINK YOU WILL LIKE THIS more than I did if you prefer character-driven stories and don't mind a plethora of worldbuilding. The author did an amazing job with each character's backstory and each character was very well developed, but in my opinion, it came at the expense of an exciting plot to keep me interested
❌
I USUALLY PREFER SINGLE POV to multiple POVs - so having five different POVs was not something I particularly enjoyed because it was difficult for me to feel invested in the characters. But out of the characters so far, Aurelian is surprisingly my favorite!
❌
IT TOOK TOO LONG for everyone to come together. It was almost the 70% mark before all of the characters finally met each other and started working as a team! I think this build-up phase lasted too long because the story definitely became much more interesting after this point
✅
THIS WAS ADVERTISED AS AN LGBT+ urban fantasy and it definitely delivered on that! None of the main characters are heterosexual (I think?), there was mention of gender-neutral deities (deities, not "Gods"!) and it was overall refreshing to see all of this accepted as normal within the world
❌
THE ROMANCE between both couples was superrr slow to build. I don't even think I would really call it slow burn because it was more like a complete lack of romance. Hopefully, there will be more angst/sexual tension in the sequel
✅
I LOVED HOW DND WAS incorporated into the story and I actually felt like some of the pop culture references were pretty funny too, and I normally
despise pop culture references. I particularly liked this one:
I, uh, remember the one Solstice years ago when High Prince Celadon gifted my mother a deck of cards with bizarre animals on the front. He told her they were enchanted, and that all she had to do was throw them while shouting their names and the creature she wished to summon would come to her aid. She spent an entire week trying to summon something called ‘Pikachu’ before someone kindly explained to her what Pokémon cards were, and that they weren’t magic.
We'll see how the pop culture references age... but for now, I enjoyed them 😁
Overall, this was a very good introduction to the characters and the world and I think the future books will be better because we've gotten most of the backstories and confusing worldbuilding out of the way. I recommend this if you are looking for a character-driven LGBT+ urban fantasy with slight hints of romance, but likely more romance to come in the sequel(s)
Rating: really liked it
Queer kids and fae, that’s all I need in life tbh
edited june 2020: and now we have a cover and it is EVERYTHING?!?!?! Oh my gods
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: really liked it
The sapphics have won this round by far.
The grumpy Fury and the confident femme (half)fae. They are hilarious together and were meant to be. Their chemistry is breaking the walls.
The world is so rich and this is probably the first time in history I agree with the comparison marketing. Yes, this book is perfect for the Shadowhunters' fans. I want it to follow CC's lead and have many companion series, because with this world, the possibilities are endless.
I'm also curious where Vehan and Aurelian's relationship will go, but in my humble opinion Nausicaä and Arlo deserve the spotlight.
This book gets the biggest compliment from me a book can get: it reminded me of why I love reading. 🥰
