My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn’t approved for advance access to the e-ARC of this book, so I was ECSTATIC when I was approved for the audiobook ARC. And honestly, it was super fun as an audiobook. The pace is quick enough and the story intriguing enough to make you want to keep listening, making Star Eater perfect for long car rides, commutes, or whenever else one needs a good, gripping audiobook.

As for the story itself, it’s perfectly creepy, horrifying, and inventive. I’m a hardcore fantasy fan, but even I get a little sick of protagonists mysteriously born with great magical powers thanks to sheer dumb luck. But not the members of The Sisterhood, a matriarchal religious order and oligarchic governing body. In Star Eater, magic comes at a price, for each and every member of the order must replenish their magic by dissecting and consuming pieces of their mothers’ comatose bodies. This makes the prospect of motherhood a bittersweet proposal, to say the least. After all, it means raising a child who’ll one day be eating you, and probably far sooner than you’re ready to essentially die (or euphemistically, be “martyred”). ON TOP OF ALL THAT. Pregnancies result from monthly ritualistic rapes.

If you can stomach all of that, you’ll find much more than mere gore in these pages, or, mp3. Star Eater is full of great characters, magical-political intrigue, a compelling bisexual love triangle, and more!

My one note on consuming Star Eater as an audiobook is that the names of the elder sisters can get a bit hard to follow if you aren’t paying close attention.

Many thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for giving me advance access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The audio was great. They story was compelling and was very surreal at times hard to take but interesting.

Well, this was a bit of a weird read. I kinda liked the world building, even with the cannabalism. Some parts we're really gross and this book could do with a content warning. Very male/female centerd world, would love to have seen some trans rep, or at least have it mentioned.

I liked that this book was different from the typical fantasy. It had different elements to its plot and it had a different magic system. I also liked that it was a bit more on the darker side. It was intriguing from the synopsis to the end.

3.5/5 Stars

Elfreda Raughn is an acolyte for the Sisterhood, who live on a floating city in the sky. When her mother dies earlier than expected, her world is turned upside down. A rouge nun convinces Elfreda to spy for her in exchange for an out during her next Renewal. Elfreda agrees, as she hates the Renewal process and is thrust into the hierarchy of the sisterhood.

I don't even know what to think of this book. It was both unique and disturbing at the same time. The magic system was definitely the most intriguing and confusing part of this story. In order to get "lace", the user had to eat the flesh of their mother... The renewal system was creepy and gross and I was not a fan. The haunts (basically men turned into Zombies after having sex with the nuns or are in close contact with them for prolonged periods of time) were interesting to read about, but I'm still confused about why that happens. Honestly a lot of this book was confusing... but you keep reading because you need to know what the heck is going on. I listened to this on audio, and I do think that the narrator did a great job with this story.

Overall, a bit confusing... but still interesting

The cover: amazing.
the synopsis: amazing.
I mean come on. A magical cannibal nun cult?
The execution however: not amazing. This was painfully boring for most of the book and I lost interest real quick but pushed myself through. I'm deeply disappointed. The character's don't have much distinction or personality and nothing interesting happens either.

This was a great read that I really enjoyed. I loved the way the world was built for the reader over time. The rituals surrounding the sisterhood were truly disturbing and one of the central points of interest for me. The normalized queerness was great, and the way that magic and the sisterhood shaped relationships was also really interesting. I thought that the ending wrapped things up way too neatly. Would have loved to see a darker tone more in line with the rest of the book. My main criticism is that this book was that it never once addresses how a society so based on the gender binary is experienced by nonbinary or trans people. This didn't have to be a focal point of the book, but the way that it was simply ignored felt like a big misstep. Four stars overall from me!

The narrator does an amazing job at elevating the story and making the prose feel rich and elegant. The story otherwise felt a little one-dimensional and incohesive. The book often fails to set the scene, making the world feel blander than I would have expected, based on the premise. The story would have benefitted from either being trimmed down or expanded into multiple books. There were quite a few threads left hanging by the end of the book, making it feel jarring and anti-climatic. Ultimately, the book had so much potential but failed to do anything interesting with it.

This book really brings the horror element, but it is done in a very impactful way. In order for sisters to use lace, they must cannibalize other sisters. Though the flesh of any sister will do the trick, each sister cannibalizes their own mother. The cannibalism itself isn’t overly disturbing. The martyrs are in a coma-like state that prevents them from feeling pain and only small pieces of flesh are consumed at a time. However, the nature of the cannibalism makes it both deeply disturbing and horrifically beautiful. It simultaneously violates and affirms the sacred mother-daughter relationship and creates complex conflict for both Elfreda and the reader.

The other prominent horror aspect of this novel lies with the haunts. In essence, the same lace that gives sisters power infects men and transforms them into zombie-like monsters. Since sisters need to reproduce in order to pass down the power of lace and preserve The Sisterhood, each sister is made to participate in ritualized rape with a male criminal who, through the act, becomes infected. As with cannibalism, this system is horrific and traumatizing, yet has a practical function in this world. A lot of Elfreda’s trauma centers around this practice, and it makes her internal struggle all the more relatable.

Where the story has a lot of interesting and powerful elements, it is less successful at tying them all together. Elfreda is very much a pawn in the political game, never a player. It might be my personal preference, but Elfreda’s seeming lack of awareness, agency, and goal made the ‘political intrigue’ a tough sell. Elfreda’s ultimate role and choices have weight, but I felt like there wasn’t enough lore built up to make the reader realize just how important they are.

Overall, this gothic dystopian novel was a unique and enjoyable experience. Though a lot of it reads YA, there is graphic violence and adult themes that might not be appropriate for all younger readers. By the same token, I would not recommend this book to the overly squeamish. I experienced this book as an audiobook and where I enjoyed the reader, some might prefer the text. There are a lot of characters and I sometimes found it hard to differentiate them when I couldn’t see the names written out. The book has a slow start, but if you stick with it, it is well worth the ride.

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
Narrated by Samara Naeymi
Publisher: RB Media
Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy
Publication Date: June 22, 2021

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall is a standalone fantasy novel that is action packed and incredible twists!

There is so much goodness to this book! Kerstin Hall has created a masterful world with so much depth! Women rule the world through magic and an iron-fist over the citizens. The author created incredible characters that I truly came to care for!

I loved this story! There was so much going on that it kept the book moving at a great pace! I loved the journey the characters went on.

The narration by Samara Naeymi was incredible! She brought each character to life.

I can't wait to see what is coming next from this author! I am definitely a fan!

I'm so grateful to Kerstin Hall, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.

"Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her."

I was so looking forward to reading a fantasy novel with a matriarchal, religious body ruling the lands it was set in. Through no fault of the wonderful narrator, Samara Naeymi, I had some early confusion with the details of this world and it formed a later disconnect with the characters and this story, however. I never felt I truly understood the reasons behind all the decisions made or all the issues persecuting the Sisters of the story and these questions dogged me all the way to the novel's close.

Fans of The Handmaid's Tale and the Freeform series Motherland: Fort Salem should enjoy this LGBT fantasy. Kerstin Hall created an interesting world built on a feminist society, but it's not all roses and sunshine for those who wish to live outside the strict societal requirements.

The worldbuilding was one of my favorite things about this audiobook, which seemed to feature layers upon layers of new information. However, it is never clearly defined what the lace is exactly or how it works. I imagined it sort of as Elfreda's very own Spidey web-shooters. There were a lot of characters which, when it came to the audiobook, made it hard to follow who was who because some of the names were too similar. Despite that, those side characters were some of my favorites.

The thing that kept this from being a five-star read for me was the ending. It felt rushed and incomplete, sort of a fade-to-black without much of an explanation. If any of that had been expounded upon, I think this could have been bumped up a star.

The narrator, Samara Naeymi, did an excellent job. She has a very pleasant voice and created a unique voice for each character, which isn't easy to do considering how many there were.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

Cannibal witch nuns as a premise is quite the choice and yet somehow it works.

The Sisterhood of Aytrium is in charge of a land gripped by severe drought, dwindling food supplies, and growing unrest. They are a religious sect that worships the Eater, the entity that lifted their home into the sky. Only women are allowed to be part of the Sisterhood, which leaves them with a few conundrums to figure out. Sex with men becomes a scheduled horrible, monthly ritual that often turns the man into a monster over time. Monsters that will stop at nothing to kill the sisters if they are not disposed of properly—better known as thrown off the literal edge. The sisters possess a type of magic called lace. To replenish it, they martyr their mothers and slowly ... eat them. It sounds utterly bizarre but like I said, it worked. This is a story with strong themes of feminism, choice, and love.

In hindsight, the summary feels quite misleading. It's not as shadowy or glamorous as the summary led me to believe, which was a little disappointing. Admittedly, this world doesn't seem to allow much for the glamour I expected. Also, the topic of pregnancy is not brought up all that much. There is an awful practice called the Renewal that each sister goes through monthly, which is essentially to have sex with a criminal in the hopes of becoming pregnant and continuing on the Sisterhood. The earlier a sister has a child, the sooner she will be martyred in her life. As horrific as that all sounds, it's glazed over. I never really connected with her desire to not have children. It felt incredibly distant from a reader's standpoint, even when it was discussed quite blatantly. TW: for abortion.

There is a lot to like here. I expected this to be far more horror-adjacent than it was but I still found it rather chilling. The haunts were excellent with how they are described, their transformation from men to monsters very eldritch. Haunts are the result of sex with a sister. I don't recall it being explained, but what I gathered is the sisters have poisonous v*ginas (not a sentence I thought I would ever write) and sex with them eventually turns these men into veritable zombies, hungry for the sisters and their lace. The cannibal aspect was quite nasty too, yet somehow elegant. And I really liked the main character. I could feel Elfreda's anxiety and passion for the people she loves and the world she lives in, and it made her a strong character.

Where this book suffered for me was in the world building. Apparently this world is actually an island floating in the air high above the world below, and I didn't learn that until at least three quarters through. There were a lot of religious and historical aspects that didn't quite land for me either. The religious faction is in charge, and there is a rebellion working in the shadows to undermine them, but it never exactly comes to anything. Rather the treachery came from within, but it was difficult for me to follow as an audiobook reader because I couldn't keep half the characters apart. The narrator did a fantastic job, but the source material was too much to fully follow.

I think what really solidified my rating of this book is the ending. How very disappointing. There was huge build-up towards the end, and at one point I thought this was a duology. There was so little time left that there was no way it could end. And then it did, and I actually blinked and missed it. I had to go back and reread it because it's not possible something with that much ramped up tension could be so anti-climactic. Dis-a-point-ment.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I'll admit right here and right now that I had no idea what I was walking into. Heck, once I saw that the audio was available I was freaking out with excitement. Mostly because I just really wanted to dive into Star Eater after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately, that was the best part out of the entire freaking book. Well, at least for me it was.

I'm definitely blaming myself for all the hyping up I did because this book was just one huge disappointment to me. Some thing were just really too gross and I'm so happy that I wasn't eating or drinking anything when I got to those scenes. Then there are parts that confused me so much that I just didn't know what was going on. I honestly had no idea who was good or bad for most of this book and I secretly wished I had the ebook or physical to read instead of listening to the audiobook.

If I did, I don't think my opinion on the book would have changed drastically but I think some of my confusion would never appear. Maybe. Again, not completely sure right now. Other than that, I thought the whole nuns who were kind of like black widows was a pretty interesting idea. It definitely had potential to be a great book. Unfortunately, it just had parts where absolutely nothing was happening and I felt like I was missing a lot of information. Whether it was the lack of world building or even the characters. I honestly had no idea who was who and just sat back and watched the chaos unfold.

Before I forget, there was also some romance but I didn't really care for it. I think it would have been fine with zero romance and a lot more action to keep me from zoning in and out of the book. I'm also pretty happy that this isn't a series because I just don't think I could handle another book. It would definitely confuse me even more.

Many thanks for the Arc by @Netgalley, here's my honest review.

I have listened to 60% of the book before i just lost steam.

I was fascinated by the world, and as it started i loved the Handmaid's tale vibe. I was really looking forward to learning more of it: cannibalistic nuns, forced sexual acts etc it sounded like a fascinating - if gruesome - world i couldn't wait to get into.

I listened to the audiobook with interest for a long time and found it engaging enough, and I'm certain it will be loved by many.

HOWEVER...

This is a YA fiction in an adult world setting.
I avoid reading ya as it is not my age group and i find many unpalatable for myself - usually my eyeballs start hurting too much from constant rolling. But this is just me of course. So instead of trigger warnings, my generation desperately need a clear label on that please.

The main character is the typical YA heroine: weak af, no idea EVER about what's going on, always the last to learn about everything, zero emotional or mental strength, stumbles around blind and her friends need to hold her hand at all times. Of course she is meant to have the most power (*hard eyeroll there), and I'm sure later in the book or in the sequels she could get actually stronger. But weak characters that just get blown around in a story make for a weak story for me.

Sadly the promising world wasn't fleshed out either enough, as other reviewers have mentioned already. It just got distilled down to court politics. What a waste of a great idea!

So while this book was not for me, i think it will appeal to a lot of younger readers.

Elfreda is a sister in the Sisterhood that controls the floating city. There is civil unrest putting pressure on the rule of the Sisterhood and there is an increasing number of haunts, men who have had sex with Sisters and become infected with a zombie-like disease. Elfreda suddenly finds herself in the middle of contests for power, even as she begins to question her place in the Sisterhood.

To be honest, I feel like this book is different from the description, which really set me up for a different story. I also didn't quite understand where the magic came from and how it really functioned, and the book has cannibalism at the center of it's magic system, which is a bit gruesome. Overall, the story has an interesting premise. There is civil unrest as well as dissension in the ranks of the cult that rules the city. And this is a story of a revolution.

But I struggled to stay invested as I didn't really care much about the characters, a feeling that comes from the interiority of Elfreda's character. It was hard to understand her connections to the people around her and she also appears to act unilaterally, which I just didn't love. Overall, there is a lot going on and so it felt like some more detail in certain areas would have built out the story a bit and helped me get more invested.

The audiobook was well produced and I think the narrator, Samara Naeymi does a great job bringing the story to life. Thank you to Netgalley and RBMedia for gifting me with the copy of the audiobook.

This was not exactly what I was expecting when I first looked into this story but I really enjoyed it. It was definitely darker than I originally thought but in a shockingly good way. I was fascinated by this story and I couldn't put it down because I wanted answer. This was just a great book all and all.

This was a unique premise for sure! A religious sisterhood of witches that eat their mothers to gain power, woah. They also can't have sex with a man without giving them basically an STI that turns them into zombie-like creatures, so most of the Sisters are lesbian. Okay, I'm intrigued.

While the idea was so cool, the execution was a bit lacking. I thought there were spans where nothing happened and I really struggled keeping track of the Sister characters. There's a lack of physical descriptions and with so many Sisters, I kept forgetting who was against Elreda and who was with her.

The cannibal scenes were gruesome, but there aren't actually that many so it's not too bad. I would have liked to see more magic and learn a bit more about their ancestors. I also liked the romance between Elfreda and Finn, but it wasn't a big part of the story.

I think this could have been shorter or maybe if it had more action to keep the pace moving. I liked that it's a standalone and wrapped Elfreda's story up nicely.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the copy.

I found the narrator to be fine with reading. I wanted so much more from the story. The characters were so-so and for all the hype of cannibal nuns, I guess I was pretty underwhelmed with the whole thing. It read as more YA than I was expecting with many of the common themes that go along with that genre. Wasn't terrible, but wasn't great either.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first audiobook to try out the format. I liked the narrator, she was quite good.

Star Eater has a unique magic system (don’t think I have ever read about nuns that eat flesh to renew their magic before) and I liked the story. I did miss a couple of key points, details about the renewal, that I don’t know if it was just implied about what goes on or if because it was an audiobook I spaced out in that moment and missed it but several chapters later I was left a bit confused. The one negative about audiobooks is that it is hard to go back and reread something if you have missed it. The only negative about the actual book is that the ending seemed a bit rushed. We had taken a long time to get to that point and it was all over in a rush and the epilogue was on. I think I would have liked a little more explanation.