My favorite book of Starling's so far! It's weird and twisty, like most of her books are, but I really thought that the setting added a lot to the ambiance. This year has shown me that I am very much a fun of medieval fantasy horror stories. As the characters unhinge themselves through the story things do become a little muddled, but I'm not opposed to being confused a little by the books I read.

The premise to The Starving Saints sounded perfect, but unfortunately the writing was a bit all over the place for me, and the characters felt very similar to one another.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to preface my brief thoughts with the fact I'm a big fan of Caitlin Starling's writing. Such a talented author. It cannot be denied.

But this book is too long. It's just too long. The pace is occasionally glacial. It could have been 50 to 75 pages shorter and been more effective in my opinion.

I had such high hopes for this book based on the description and it just didn't land for me. I hope other readers enjoy it more.

The three different points of view lifted this story in suspense and intrigue. A success on all fronts!

I got an ARC of this book.

I should have loved this book. I have no idea why I didn't. It was well written, it had horrifying elements that I adored (cannibalism and the ethics of it), but something just didn't click. I wish I knew what it was. I wanted to know more, but I just couldn't ever bring myself to pick up the book without a fight.

I think this is very much a case of "its me, not you". I will try giving this another shot in the future, just something wasn't right for me this time.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this early!

I missed pub date because of a variety of things that had nothing to do with the book but this was an absolutely bananas read and I was so enthralled by it even when I didn’t want to be. Bacchanalian is right!

Incredible trio of main characters and absolutely horrifying villains (though that feels not quite right as a descriptor) with actions and behaviors and viscera that easily rivaled horror movie visuals in their nastiness. I loved this!

It loses half a star because I found it difficult to keep track of what was exactly going on towards the end during a particular sequence, so for that reason I’m rounding it down to 4. But overall another stunner from this author!

3.5 stars. I’d love to compare it to the final product because I did enjoy it, but aspects felt unrealized.

I thought it had an intriguing start, interesting middle, but then fell apart by the end. I was left confused about character motivations behind actions, and struggled to understand some of the development. I loved the Saints and how creepy they were, and the general atmosphere was engaging and left me wanting to know more. While this was perfectly descriptive enough at times, I almost wish that some moments were less "flowery" for lack of a better term, and really hit hard at how disturbing the castle has become. However, I also think the language was fine enough as is, and the occasional vagueness or elusive wording made sense during certain plot moments, so there's that.

This has led me to check out some other medieval fantasy horror books, so I think anyone interested in those types of books might find this book enjoyable as well. I might check this out again down the road, and probably other things by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC! I was finally able to read this with the Send to Kobo option.

An absolute fever dream of a book in a very fun way. I love books that are confusing and weird, so this was right up my alley. This absolutely had a few scenes that were right on the edge of my tolerance level when it comes to gruesome/goriness, particularly in re: cannibalism, but it also had this slow-building, almost eerie vibe that builds on itself. Fantastic dark fantasy woven in with sapphic yearning, toeing the line between love and hate, bees (???), and hedonism. Don't expect to have a lot of questions answered, because I don't think that's really the point.

This book was everything I wanted and more. Absolute insanity, cannibalistic fever dream. Medieval horror dark fantasy with hidden creatures and time-bending witchery. Unhinged with ensnaring atmosphere.

Caitlin Starling continues to blow me away.

I wanted to love this book more than I did.

It took a while to finish it, admittedly. I wish it were shorter because a lot of the second half of the book just felt like it was dragging. However, this book feels like some ethereal, medieval, fever dream, grotesque, nightmare that is somehow dreamlike.

Some of the modern terminology felt odd for the vibe, but honestly, I can overlook it. If you are someone that hates modern terms into a medieval-type setting, skip this book.

That being said, Catholic horror is one of my favorite genres being a recovering Catholic myself. I loved having a sapphic throuple, didn't like the child aspect. Loved the seemingly random choking fetish? Give me more?

Concept was stunning, love it, execution just fell short for me.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

The novel starts as if it were part of the fantasy genre. A castle is under siege at the book's beginning and an ex-nun has found a way to purify water for drinking. However, at the story's start she has not yet been able to conjure food and the population is slowly starting to starve.

It is a slow read to start, with the action not picking up until the book is about 25% done. At the point, the genre begins to morph into horror as the titular starving saints make their appearance. Horrors such as cannibalism, bee swarms and monsters begin to make an appearance. The storylines of the three main characters begin to intertwine.

While I ultimately really enjoyed it, I did have a couple of false starts. The writing style is very unique: third person, multi-POV, and present tense. It definitely took some getting used to. I won’t be seeking out more books written like this anytime soon, but in the end, I think it served the story well.

This is a weird book—in the best way. A castle has been under siege for months, and food is nearly gone. One woman is tasked with finding a magical solution. A knight is assigned to keep watch over her. And a third woman lurks in the shadows, determined to escape by any means necessary (and maybe get a little revenge along the way). Then the saints arrive.

It’s eerie, atmospheric, and deeply unsettling—not scary in a traditional horror sense, but it gets under your skin. Also: it’s gory. Definitely not one for the faint of heart!

Highly recommend this one if you like your fantasy dark, twisted, and laced with body horror and dread.

Rating: 5 stars
Format: Physical book, audiobook
Genre: Horror, fantasy

I haven’t read a book that felt the way that the Locked Tomb series feels to me in so long. Crazy nuns? Sexy lady knights? Cannibalism? Corrupt power structures? Devotion, obsession, and love intertwined? Are you kidding? Welcome back messy, vile sapphics. The Harryanthe, the Griddlehark, the Judabeth of it all. I need to do a re-read immediately.

This book wasn’t perfect but it was perfect FOR ME. It was confusing and nasty and weird and lyrical and full of complex characters that have shifting motivations, and allegiances. The whole book felt like a fever dream and while others may be bothered by how up in the air things are left and the lack of concrete explanations for both the magic and the horror, those things were strengths to me because they contributed to the overall chaos and confusion of the danger falling upon the fortress and our characters.

If you’re able to live with not knowing what the hell is going on for most of this book, I think it’s absolutely worth reading. Starling’s writing was immersive and eerie and she completely sucked me into this sweetly sick world.

I'm obsessed with this book. 5 stars, no notes, so good. I loved the three main characters and their complex relationships as the developed over the course of the book. There was great tension and horror elements that made you feel claustrophobic and trapped with the characters in the castle. Loved it!

Aymar Castle has been under seige for six months, and food stores are running dangerously low. Former nun and local reaident madwoman Phosyne has been tasked by the king with creating food from nothing after a miraculous discovery that purified putrid water. Just when things get their most desperate, salvation comes in the form of the Constant Lady and her companion saints. They come, bringing a feast for the starving residents.

Phosyne works against the clock to get to the bottom of this miracle, as it doesn’t seem right. Knight Ser Voyne, assigned to Phosyne, has pledged herself to the Constant Lady. Trelia, a serving girl with a vendetta against the knight now just wants to escape the castle alive. But everything has a price. The book follows the three women as the situation devolves into madness, and they try to save those left from whatever is coming.

I devoured this weird ass book. Weird fiction is my favorite, and Starling always delivers on the weird. The women are flawed, each in their own ways, but they’ll have to pull together and build a partnership to save the people from these “saints.” I appreciated Phosyne’s madwoman status, Ser Voyne’s fall from grace and redemption arc, and Trelia’s fierce independence and what happens when she has to depend on others.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Crazy and unhinged, disgusting book. This is gonna live rent free in my head. One of my favorite horrors to date.

I’m not gonna lie..I lowkey shipped Treila with the Loving Saint during their interactions. 💀

Without giving too much away, the setting and vibes gave me Witcher or Game of Thrones meets The Nun with plenty of cannibalism and cult like behavior. If you like how that sounds, i highly recommend it. The book have me sitting and flailing at the edge wondering how our main protagonists were going to survive this nightmare alive or sane. It’s so eerie and atmospheric. I already picture this book like a movie. This book is unfortunately and unforgivable living rent free in my head lol

FIVE STARS!!

This book was so so wierd and gory and just strange. It felt like a fever dream the whole time, and I just COULDNT put it down. I read this in 3 days all while traveling, and being in a massive reading slump.

This book follows three main characters: Ser Voyne, Phosyne and Treila. Their castle Aymar, is under seige. There has been no outside help and the residents are slowly but surely dying. That is— until the Saints arrive.

These girls are all so flawed yet resiliant in their own ways. I was rooting for them the whole book despite some of their worst moments.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc 💚 this book was a part of my quest to have a weird girl summer and boy did it deliver. we follow a trio of girls trying to untangle webs and survive in a place that once offered them safety and security. they have to figure out their new roles amidst carnage and threats. i don’t want to say too much about this book because i firmly believe going in blind makes this the best read possible, but know that it is dark and brutal and honest. it feels like an ode to the nastiness that resides in all of us especially to those who say girls/women could never be that brutal—oh yes we can.

This was a hard book to read. Not in a sense of the subject matter, but understanding what is happening. The book is set in a medieval castle, and people are barricaded in. They are dying and asking for a miracle. They are desperate, and a miracle happens. Now things take a turn for the weird. A fever dream of hunger, and pleasure that is derived from need and want.

There was a lot of flesh, and eating, and enjoying, and being scared and freaked out. Giving into the need and want and hunger and feeling everything to forget the horrors that is happening around.

Though I kept wanting to come back to this world and maybe finally understand what is happening, and how this magic is working, I never got the answer. It left me unsatisfied. No clear answers about anything that happened within the castle. Who, what, how?? I understand being lost in the dream and just accept the ride, but it's not for me or my personality.

Otherwise, a weird book I would recommend. It wasn't too gruesome where one would not be OK reading it. It had its beauty and lyricism. So it's a win.

This was such a feverdream of a novel, and I still can't tell if I enjoyed it. It has been several days since I finished it, and it remains in the back of my mind. A mixture of historical fiction, horror, vaguely eldritch vibes, and religious iconography, The Starving Saints is definitely not a book for everyone. Set at Aymar Castle, which has been under siege for six long months, and food has become scarce. What Aymar needs is a miracle. Then the Saints appear, and hope and food seem to be restored. However, this miracle comes with multiple strings attached. Soon, Aymar Castle decides seemingly overnight into a bacchanalian and hedonistic ecstasy-fueled nightmare. This nightmare is told through the viewpoints of three women. The Mad Woman, The War Hero, and The Surviving Servant Girl. This story is filled with shifting viewpoints, unreliable narrators, and some of the most poetic and depraved passages that I have ever read. This book is filled with body horror, cannibalism, mind control, romantic yearning, cults, and last but not least, bees. While I am not sure who I will be able to recommend this book to, I know that I will not forget it anytime soon. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.