This book is an enjoyable fever dream. The writing is dreamy and the religious iconography is interesting. Some of the characters are intriguing. Some we don't get enough time. My main issue is the pacing. The story stops and starts and drags in other places. And then there are the names. I couldn't figure out how to pronounce a good chunk of them.

I was already intrigued by how interesting the cover art was and ended up really enjoying the story the plot the suspense the twists and turns within the book itself!

Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints is the kind of book that sounds like it was cooked up in a cauldron of medieval grimdark, sapphic yearning, and a heavy dose of “what the fuck just happened?” It’s a novel that swings for the fences with a premise so juicy it could make a vegan salivate: a besieged castle, starving to death, gets a visit from godlike “saints” who bring feasts and salvation, only to plunge the place into cannibalistic madness and hedonistic chaos. But as much as I wanted to sink my teeth into this grotesque banquet, I came away feeling like I’d bitten into a beautifully plated dish that was half-baked and a little too chewy. Starling’s got the chops, no question. She’s a horror darling with a knack for the unsettling, but this book feels like it’s trying to juggle too many severed limbs and ends up dropping a few.

Starling’s no stranger to crafting nightmares that cling like damp rot. Her debut, The Luminous Dead (2019), was a sci-fi horror gut-punch about a caver trapped in a cave with a manipulative overseer, all wrapped in a suffocating sense of isolation. The Death of Jane Lawrence (2021) leaned into Gothic horror with a marriage gone wrong and a house that felt like it was breathing down your neck. Both books showcased her ability to blend psychological terror with visceral settings, often starring flawed, fierce women who wrestle with their own demons as much as external ones. Starling’s work thrives on tension and ambiguity, and she’s built a cult following for her willingness to get weird and stay there. The Starving Saints, her latest, cranks the weirdness to eleven, but it also feels like she’s trying to outdo her own strangeness, sometimes to a fault.

Set in the fictional Aymar Castle, The Starving Saints traps us in a medieval-ish stronghold under siege by an enemy kingdom, Etribia. Food’s running out, and the inhabitants are staring down the barrel of starvation. Enter our three POV characters: Phosyne, a former nun turned sorceress who’s tasked with conjuring miracles but lives in a pigsty of her own making; Ser Voyne, a loyal lady knight itching to do something heroic but stuck babysitting Phosyne; and Treila, a servant girl with a vendetta against Voyne for her father’s death. As the castle’s desperation peaks, four “saints” and their leader, the Constant Lady, appear out of nowhere, offering endless feasts and divine salvation. But the food’s got a catch. It's mind-controlling, and soon the castle’s spiraling into a bacchanalian nightmare of cannibalism, worship, and otherworldly horrors. Our three heroines, each wrestling with their own baggage, must figure out what the saints want and how to stop them before Aymar eats itself alive.

The Starving Saints is a smorgasbord of themes, and Starling doesn’t shy away from the big ones. Hunger is the beating heart of the story, not just for food but for power, love, and meaning. The castle’s starvation mirrors the characters’ inner voids: Phosyne’s craving for arcane knowledge, Voyne’s need for purpose, Treila’s thirst for revenge. The saints exploit this, turning devotion into a literal feast that consumes the worshippers. It’s a biting critique of blind faith, especially when desperation makes you cling to any savior, no matter how toothy. The book also plays with cleanliness as a metaphor for godliness: Phosyne’s filthy lair screams her rejection of the nuns’ sterile piety, while the saints’ pristine feasts hide their rot. There’s a nod to John 6:53-58 (“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man…”) that gets twisted into a grotesque literalism, flipping worship into predation.

The sapphic dynamics between the three women add another layer, exploring toxic codependency and yearning. Their relationships are a messy tangle of lust, hate, and need, reflecting the power struggles that ripple through the castle. Bees and honey pop up as symbols of both sweetness and danger, tying into the saints’ seductive but deadly offerings. But some of the symbolism like a creature in a crevice that bites fingers or invisible beasts that feel like they wandered in from a different book, comes off as random, like Starling threw in extra fantastical elements for the sake of it. The themes are ambitious, but they don’t always cohere, leaving you with a sense of “cool, but… why?”

Starling’s prose is a double-edged sword. It’s lush and evocative, painting Aymar as a claustrophobic hellscape where every stone drips with dread. Her descriptions of feasts with meat glistening, honey dripping, and flesh tearing are so vivid you can almost taste the horror. The shifting POVs give each character a distinct voice: Phosyne’s frantic, Voyne’s restless, Treila’s cunning. But the writing can also be a slog. Starling leans hard into a fever-dream style, with short, choppy sentences and metaphorical flourishes that sometimes obscure what’s happening. It’s intentional, meant to mirror the characters’ unraveling minds, but it can feel like wading through molasses. The book’s 320 pages feel closer to 500, with repetitive scenes of characters hiding, scheming, or stumbling through hallucinatory chaos. The pacing drags, especially in the middle, and the climax is prolonged, leaving some plot threads dangling like severed tendons.

Originality is where The Starving Saints shines. Starling’s premise is a knockout. Medieval horror with cannibalistic saints and sapphic antiheroes is about as fresh as it gets. The blend of psychological, body, and religious horror feels like a love letter to fans of Lapvona or The Green Knight. But the originality takes a hit when extraneous elements dilute the focus. It’s like Starling couldn’t resist tossing in every weird idea she had.

The writing is a strength and a weakness. When it’s good, it’s chef’s kiss—gory, poetic, and immersive. But the overreliance on dreamlike ambiguity and repetitive imagery bogs things down. I wanted more clarity to anchor the madness, especially when the plot started feeling like a carousel of “oh no, another feast gone wrong.”

The horror is visceral and unsettling, especially the cannibalism scenes, which are gross without being gratuitous. The saints are creepy as hell, their serene benevolence masking a predatory hunger. But the impact wanes when the weirdness gets silly. Those invisible beasts felt like they belonged in a B-movie, not this grim tapestry. The slow-burn tension also fizzles in the bloated middle, making the scares feel sporadic.

Starling’s tackling big ideas (faith, power, desire) and she mostly pulls it off. The critique of blind devotion and the exploration of sapphic dynamics are compelling. But the themes get muddled by the overstuffed plot and vague supernatural elements. I wanted more focus on the saints’ origins or the women’s backstories to ground the symbolism.

Here’s my biggest gripe. Phosyne, Voyne, and Treila are fascinating on paper being flawed, messy, and human. But I struggled to connect with them. Their motivations shift erratically, and their backstories feel like sketches rather than fully realized histories. I wanted to care about their triumphs and failures, but they often felt like pawns in the plot’s chaos rather than drivers of it.

The Starving Saints is a book I respect more than I enjoyed. Its originality and prose are top-tier, delivering a premise and atmosphere that horror fans will drool over. The horror hits hard when it lands, and the themes are bold, even if they don’t fully gel. But the bloated pacing, inconsistent weirdness, and distant characters kept me at arm’s length. It’s not a bad book—far from it—but it’s a frustrating one, like a gorgeous painting with a few smudged corners. If you’re a diehard fan of weird horror or Starling’s brand of dark fantasy, you’ll likely eat this up. For me, it was a feast that left me hungry for something tighter and more cohesive.

TL;DR: The Starving Saints is a grotesque, ambitious medieval horror show that’s as dazzling as it is maddening. Starling’s premise and prose are killer, but the bloated plot and disconnected characters make it a tough swallow. Worth a read if you love weird, sapphic, cannibalistic chaos, but don’t expect it to hold your hand.

Recommended for: Readers who own a velvet cloak, enjoy theological discourse during sex scenes, and consider religious ecstasy via cannibalism a beach read.
Not Recommended for: Anyone who needs their horror to make sense or their characters to feel like actual people, not fever-dream puppets.

3.5 stars. The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling is a gripping and atmospheric novel that masterfully blends horror with psychological depth. The setting was creepy and medieval. Starling crafts a haunting tale of faith, hunger, and obsession, driven by richly drawn characters and a creeping sense of dread. Her prose is sharp and evocative, pulling readers into a world where belief becomes both salvation and curse. It's a dark, compelling read that lingers long after the final page. Starling is one of the best horror writers working.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this digital e-arc.*

Caitlin Starling's latest novel "The Starving Saints" is a foray into medieval madness, chock full of horrifying creatures and moral dilemmas that will leave readers questioning what they would do in a situation as desperate as this one is.

I really loved this book! Each character was compelling, and there wasn't a perspective that I didn't want to read. In particular, I really loved Ser Voyne and her arc. Each dynamic was also extremely interesting, not only between the girls but also other secondary characters. The plot in general was fantastic, and there was never a moment I found myself bored— I loved the atmosphere before the Saints came, and I couldn't stop reading after they did. Finally, I adored the prose. It fit the plot perfectly, and there were so many lines I had to reread later because of how potent and visceral they were. The descriptions of body horror and gore were also great, and the dialogue felt accurate to the time period. I feel like this concept was really interesting, and I also feel like Starling delivered it spectacularly.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, Starling, & NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 stars, rounding up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC!

Medieval horror with cannibalism, sapphic nuns and knights and honeybees? I was so ready for this and was ecstatic when I was approved for the eARC. And the cover is disturbingly stunning.

It didn't quite hit the mark that I'd hoped, but I still did enjoy it. It was much slower paced than I expected, honestly, and I was surprised how long it took me to read it because I didn't always look forward to picking it up despite the lush descriptions. The pacing just felt really off to me at times, especially the progression of the relationships with the three women. I was very confused by their decisions most of the time, probably because we only got to know them on a surface level. The three of them honestly felt the same to me, and I would often forget which woman I was following at what time.

Despite that, I loved the disturbing world and descriptions that Starling put us in. Everything felt grimy and bloody, and the Saints were super creepy. Definitely a bizarre book that will not be for everyone, but I think horror lovers should give it a shot!

I wanted to love this. Badly. But it was so underwhelming.

The concept is what really draws people into this, and I can understand why. I hadn't heard about it till a friend told me about it and I was immediately interested, but the entire execution falls super short. Cannibalism, horror, queerness? Sick! Sadly it went downhill from the start for me.

The writing is unnecessarily detailed, and not in a beautiful way but a "trying too much" way. It felt confusing, unnecessarily detailed, and with too many segments that felt drawn out with no explanation of what it was really trying to say. Perhaps the author's writing in this is similar to their other book, and that can work for some but I fear that would ruin the reading experience for me as well. From the beginning, we are kind of introduced to a lot of characters that it overwhelmed me, and it was unnecessary. You really just need to know the gist of the main characters + The King and the Lady, but the names of everyone else making their rounds in the beginning just added confusion.

The characters felt underdeveloped and not fully fleshed out. I feel like we got more glimpses of who our main protagonists are instead of the big picture. I felt like there was never a time we really got to know either of them. Perhaps Phosyne was the one I felt like I knew the most, and it might just be because she was the first character we actually meet and get to know a bit in the beginning. Unfortunately, Treila was the least interesting to me, and her chapters felt agonizing to get through.

Maybe it's because of HOW I went into this book, but I expected more horror, more fear in between the chapters, more scary features that made the atmospheric dark, gritty and unhopeful, but this just felt like a fantasy with very minor supernatural and medieval traits featuring three women on an adventure. Sorry, I can't find another way to put it. There was hardly any plot to look forward to, and the characters lost their personalities early on.

While there is sapphic yearning (I guess), this should not be approached as romance in any way. It doesn't feature itself to be, but I know sometimes people can give unrealistic expectations. If there is one thing I would like someone to take away from this, it's to not go into this expecting a sapphic romance between three women.

Overall, disappointed. Maybe I need to read other horror novels to get used to the genre if this is how they are normally written. Which kind of sucks to say but it would help me have low to no expectations.

An eerie fever dream of a novel, and probably my favorite thing yet to come from Caitlin Starling. It's difficult to bounce between three different protagonists in this chaotic of a setting and have each feel fully real and distinct, but I was obsessed with each of them, and their distinctive motives and goals wove together delightfully.

This book is so weird and bizarre and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved the unique medieval horror setting, the toxic sapphics, the fever dream of it all. One of Starling's best yet.

I loved this book. It occupies a weird little space between horror and fantasy and I’m sure will receive some comparisons to Between Two Fires. I enjoyed the dark tone and the journey of self discovery of sorts our main characters go on.

The Starving Saints is darkly atmospheric and intense! We follow three women in a castle that has been under siege and in a desperate situation as the food supply is nearing its end. Phosyne is an ex-nun who miraculously was able to purify their tainted water supply; now they want her to perform another miracle, creating food from nothing. Ser Voyne is a loyal knight, cast aside by her king, who has been assigned to protect and oversee Phosyne’s progress. Then there’s Treila, once a noble woman now she works within the walls of the castle, she’s out for revenge against Ser Voyne.

Now, this setup alone would make for an interesting story, but things really kick off when the “saints” worshipped by the people in the castle suddenly show up offering sustenance in return for adoration. But these saints are super sus, and Phosyne, Voyne, and Treila are the only ones who seem to see past their enthrallment even as it threatens to overtake them as well.

This is a dark and atmospheric descent into madness and I loved every moment of it. I loved our three protagonists and their changing circumstances and how these changes impacted them. The character growth, emotional depth, and shifting relationships among the three women were incredibly well done, I was fully invested in their journey. The saints and other mysterious entities we encounter were both fascinating and terrifying, I was captivated by the mystery of what they were and how they came to be in the castle walls. Then there was the imagery and unsettling atmosphere which left a haunting impression. Whether it was voices whispering salvation from the walls, or the chilling image of someone planting fingernails in garden soil, I really loved it.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Where to begin? THE STARVING SAINTS is exactly the kind of wild and weird that I love.

Caitlin Starling’s books have this way of catching me off guard. I mean, before I start reading, I know the content is going to get crazy. And yet I allow her to draw me into the safety of her fictional embrace, slowly building my curiosity, until suddenly I step on the trap and down the rabbit hole I go.

We’re firmly in medieval horror mode, physical and psychological, so tread carefully if that’s a problem for you.

This book is a fever dream. It’s intense and thought provoking and complete madness. And now the story is embedded in my brain, and I see snippets every time I close my eyes.

*Thanks to Harper Voyager for the eARC, provided via NetGalley.*

I think it was ok? It was definitely a slow pace when I really just wanted it to move along and get to the gross parts

Highlights
~bees > holy communion
~fealty
~a failed Lionheart
~a voice (and mouth) in the dark
~is it cannibalism if it started as a fingernail

This sounded like everything my weird little heart could desire, but unfortunately it ended up pretty underwhelming.

The first third or so is great: Starling leans into Medieval Weird, replacing the Catholic church with a Lady and bees, and each of our three protagonists – Phosyne, Ser Voyne, and Treila – are deeply imperfect, all sharp, broken edges and contrasting flavours of unlikeable. Tensions are high, no one in charge really ought to be, and the situation is desperate. All of this came through to me beautifully.

Then the supernatural arrives.

Horror, I think, must be one of the hardest genres to write, and I suspect supernatural horror is even more difficult than other kinds. On the one hand, keeping the reader ignorant of what your monster/magic can do can up the fear factor – but if you don’t convince your reader that you know what it can do, the fear factor dissolves completely. You can’t dread something when you don’t know what to fear, and it’s easy for abrupt reveals to come across as random and disjointed rather than shocking.

Which is basically what happened with Saints. Starling makes up her own kind of demony creatures, and because I never knew what they were or what they could do, I stopped being scared of them pretty quickly, and was just left confused instead. I didn’t know what to dread, and I guess in theory that could have turned into dread that they might do anything at all…but it didn’t. Every new reveal of their capabilities just struck me as freaking random, irritatingly so, because none of their powers or goals seemed to fit together, more of the rules that bound them could be inferred from previous ones. It made for a lot of telling-not-showing as the characters ‘deduced’ each new thing and informed the reader of it. Borderline info-dumpy, at times.

The longer the story went on, the more annoying this got, the less impactful each subsequent reveal was – not just about the not-demons but also about the characters and their capabilities. Phosyne in particular becomes a kind of rival to the Lady, and I never understood how that was happening. The alchemy/magic Phosyne has been experimenting with at the beginning of the book, and which she grows more proficient in as we go along…it’s maddeningly vague, and seems to be, and be capable of, whatever the plot requires in the moment. The vagueness would be less maddening if Phosyne’s main arc wasn’t studying the magic, trying to make it make sense. Hand-waving it as ‘not human logic’ isn’t bloody good enough; I was never convinced that Starling knew how it worked or what-all it could do, and the magic ended up playing deus ex machina far too often.

(I had the vague impression Phosyne was meant to be neurodiverse, and that might be why she can grasp the magic at all, but that wasn’t very clear to me so don’t quote me on it.)

The pattern of abrupt reveals ruined pretty much every aspect of the book. Treila especially does a couple of 180s that weren’t the slightest bit convincing, and the magical reveal about her in the final showdown made no sense; I wanted to throw the book across the room and SHRIEK. At another point, a character is brought back from the dead WITH NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER; no one even expresses confusion about it! By the time bits of reality were dissolving up into the sky I had long since stopped caring.

All our protagonists were set up to be extremely interesting, but in the end they were each defined by just one or two traits that never deepened or developped – just flip-flopped like a dying fish. Phosyne went from feral mess to queenly with no transition. Treila discarded everything that made her great (vicious, out for herself, a survivor) for no apparent reason. Voyne…I don’t even know.

The cannibalism, especially the hypnotic feast sequences, was amazing: horrifying on every level, full marks, excuse me while I go throw up. The feverish quality to many scenes: superb. But the moment the book stepped away from that – in its attempt to paint some kind of Big Picture horror – it all fell apart, and kept falling.

(For all that this was trying very hard to be a queer book, none of the queer configurations had any real chemisty, by the way (even if Ser Voyne’s need to serve was delicious) and I remain very confused by a) the Relationship Status of the ending and b) how the m/f dynamic was so much sexier and more interesting than any other set-up. Seriously, what was going on here?)

This is the first Starling book that hasn’t worked for me. I’m disappointed, but it won’t be the last book of hers I try. I’ll cross my fingers for better luck next time – but I really can’t recommend Starving Saints at all.

Thank you Harper Voyager for my free ARC of The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling — available May 20!

» REVIEW «
I seem to be very much in the minority on this particular book, but it wasn't really for me! I couldn't connect to any of the three main characters, and that's a critical component for me in any story. I did enjoy the setting and the general story setup, but it was far too long a book for me when I wasn't vibing with the characters. Everyone else seems to be having a great time with it though, which I'm happy about!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

*the Starving Saints* immerses readers in a besieged castle where 3 women grapple with survival amid a kingdom ravaged by famine.

This haunting tale unfolds through the perspectives of a mad witch, a dutiful knight, and a noblewoman, each struggling to navigate a world that descends into madness with the opportune arrival of some mysterious 'Saints'. While these enigmatic figures promise salvation, they bring with them a chilling atmosphere of gore and horror, plunging the characters—and the reader—into a nightmarish reality where desperation can lead to cannibalism.

⭐️⭐️✨
(2.5/5 ⭐️s — Rounded to 2 if sites don't allow half-star ratings)

The author’s stylistic choices make this an arduous read, almost as if the prose was crafted to challenge the reader’s enjoyment. I found myself frequently reaching for my dictionary, learning a plethora of new vocabulary along the way. However, a pronunciation guide at the beginning would have been a welcome aid. It took me until the last few pages to decipher the name Treila as “Try-luh,” and I’m still perplexed by the correct pronunciation of our main character’s name, Phosyne. (Phosyne? FOH-sign? Ff-oss-eye-n?) My internal struggle with these names often distracted me from the unfolding drama, leading to some rather amusing mental gymnastics that resulted in odd sounds rather than actual names. (ph-osnsnene - vyyyonneee - trreeeeeeeeelalalalalalala)

Completing this book felt like a monumental effort, (I had to REALLY earn this one) & had it not been an ARC, I might have considered DNFing it. I had really high hopes for this one being an easy 4/5⭐️ read — it was one of the ARCs I really hoped got approved.

This is definitely not a read for the faint-hearted, weak-stomached.

However, let’s take a moment to appreciate the book cover—it’s stunning (especially if they added some gold foiling & some honeycomb endpapers with bee stencilized edges (I’m looking @ you @acrilipics @hemingwaybooks )

Despite the struggle reading, I found a haunting beauty within the narrative. Starling has a remarkable talent for weaving together a tapestry of dark imagery, crafting a world that is both surreal and atmospheric.

The story features complex female characters and an intricate blend of surreal fantasy and medieval horror that kept me on the edge of my seat, desperate to uncover what would happen next.

*The Starving Saints* is a testament to the power of words, even when they come wrapped in darkness. If you’re in search of a story that daringly explores the grotesque while providing a glimpse into the depths of human desperation, this book just might be your next obsession.
———————————
I was gifted an #eARC from the publisher of this book in exchange for an honest review via #NetGalley! Thank you @AvonBooks @HarperVoyagerUS & @Netgalley

#Books #bookrecs #reviews #Netgalley #netgalleyreader #readmore #readingiscool #gothic #horror

Never really read a medieval horror book but I did enjoy it. This book had many things going for it between the cannibalism and character questioning their religion and turning to science I at it up. The writing was gorgeous and overall the story was grabbing. Only qualm was some of the pacing felt a little slow for me but otherwise a really enjoyable read for anyone that enjoys horror.

After reading this and The Death of Jane Lawrence, I think that Caitlin Starling is great at creating atmosphere in her books. While the plots may be slow moving, her writing and sense of atmosphere help build the stories into larger, eerier, more fantastical conclusions.

This has body horror, cannibalism, lesbians, mages, zealots, and conversations about power, religion, obedience, will, survival, and faith. I appreciate that this was told in three different perspectives, as we got to experience this world/ time period through three different lenses, all examining how far people are willing to go for survival.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

This book was definitely a journey. The story follows three women as they traverse a dangerous game for not only their own survival, but for the survival of their people. The story employees psychological horror first and foremost, but has some religious horror/monster horror elements through out. There is also a lot of explicit gore, so I would recommend to read with caution. Overall I did enjoy this book, not only was it far from predictable, there are a lot of hidden elements to the story that will definitely make me want to reread it because it is the type of story that feels like the more times you read it, the more you will get out of it. If you enjoy psychological horror or religious based horror, I would highly recommend that you read this!