I am truly in my weird girl horror era! The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling filled the void that The Unworthy left in my soul when I finished it!

This story is gross (and I mean that in the BEST of ways!!!). It's got toxic co-dependent women in dire circumstances that begs the question: Would they have the same type of relationship if they weren't thrust into such a cloistered environment with life and death situations happening all around? I am also a big fan of the recent surge in Lady Knights in Fiction! This book truly has it all!

Do you like cannibalism in fiction? You'd love this book. Do you like weird and culty type of religions? This is the book for you! Are you a fan of books that start with a bang and just throw you into the fray without holding your hand? Look no further than The Staving Saints!

Definitely check your trigger warnings and make sure you're a reader who can handle weird and kind of gross content.

In conclusion....please read this book! It deserves all the hype and should be on everyone's must-read list for May!

The vibes are the main thing this book has going for it (unfortunately). I love the idea of this book and was excited to dive in, but ultimately this one fell flat.
To be honest the story was a bit confusing, and not always in a fun fever dream way, but a lot of times in a “this could have used tighter editing way.” Some things just didn’t make sense, and I think if I asked the author she would know, but the writing didn’t convey it.
My main gripe is probably our 3 main characters, who are ever-changing (almost interchangeable);their motivations are there one second and gone the next. They have a plan and then by the time the carousel of POVs get back to them, they are on a completely different track. They float through scene to scene, mainly to have new creepy or horrific or horny things happen to them.
I’m all for lady knights and creatures in dark caverns underneath the castle and heretical madwomen who are discovering their power - but this was a letdown.
This doesn’t deserve to be a 2, rounding up to a 3.

This was a wild ride. As other reviewers have mentioned, this did feel like a fever dream. If you like messy independent female characters and a medieval horror setting, then this is a read for you! Be prepared for some disgusting imagery.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I think I have my favorite book of May already!

The Starving Saints is a fever dream of queer, kinky magic and mystery. I stayed up far too late both nights finishing it, and the reason it took me so long is because I didn't want it to end.

There's a siege and everyone inside the walls is starving. Food is desperately low. We spend almost a quarter of the book getting to know our three POV characters before the "miracle" happens, which usually would feel too long, but because there are three POVs and each is interesting and the setting is interesting, it works. The story stretches on in the beginning like the days stretch on when you're starving.

And then everything speeds up dizzyingly.

Am going to rec this to fans of Lindz McLeod's Beast, Delilah S. Dawson, and Hailey Piper.

This book is beautiful. Starving, yearning, lonely, desperate, wrong. We come upon a castle whose inhabitants are stuck under the threat of siege, and are going to die if they don’t get food soon. There are three women whose POV we get to enjoy, each very distinct and wanted. We first meet Phosyne, a nun-turned-sorceress living in filth and stink, who has made a miracle or two happen but has no idea how they came to be, really. Ser Voyne, a loyal, devoted soldier, is given to us next, itching to leave the castle’s gates and seek help. Lastly, Treila, a rat-catcher and servant girl who knows how to survive, but carries the weight of grief. Just as they are about to resort to eating their own, a miracle happens in the form of their Constant Lady and her Saints arriving. Unfortunately, these visitors aren’t really here to help, and the castle descends into bacchanalian madness. Our three women must work together to save the castle (this sentence sounds way too normal for what actually occurs). This book was definitely for me. Disgusting and magnificent.

Nobody talk to me for the next 6-10 business years. This book was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be and yet utterly original and unpredictable. I was riveted from start to finish. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I’m so gratified that it was every bit as special as I knew it would be when Caitlin first started teasing it.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this novel was secondary world fantasy! It’s rare that we find truly disgusting little horror novels set in different worlds, and I thought this one was utterly compelling. There isn’t a lot of detail given on what kind of world we are in, however, the universe’s rules and laws are less important in this instance than the immediate sense of setting and place within Aymar’s walls. Its ambiguity, in this sense, is a strength, because there is nothing outside the castle to comfort us about what is happening within it. And holy shit is what’s happening inside this castle unhinged.

In terms of prose and characterisation, I thought this one shone. All three of our POV characters felt very distinct; each other their own voice and vernacular and unique sense of viewing the world that came through in the writing incredibly effectively. It was truly spectacular to see three different takes on how to survive everyone’s worst day.

I knew before going into it that the horror was going to be no joke and I was equally surprised and unsurprised by the guises the horror took. I expected the girly pop cannibalism and generally icky body horror but what I wasn’t prepared for was the exploration of how power can rob people of humanity and how precarious autonomy truly is in a world without limits. I think some of the scariest moments in this book came from wondering exactly how far total submission and obedience can go especially in the context of religion and fidelity.

I’ll be handselling this to anyone who stands still long enough

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This was such a fun and interesting read. Each of our main characters had a compelling storyline, and I enjoyed the push and pull in their relationships with each other and how their alliances shifted. The antagonists were also interesting and sufficiently mysterious and creepy. I enjoyed the tidbits that we learned about them throughout the story. I also enjoyed the castle being the singular setting of the story, and how it felt like the reader was also trapped in the castle with everyone else by not knowing what was going on in the outside world.

Hypnotic both in content and form, this book reinvents locked door mysteries. Each character felt fleshed out, and their actions made sense for them, even if you didn't agree with those choices as the reader. 1000000000/10

A lot of which in this book didn't fairly make sense to me, I loved the vibes but at points throughout the book the plot felt all over the place and left me rather confused at times but maybe its just me. Other than that the concept is great and I was Actually interested.

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for this free copy in exchange for an honest review💜

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy!!

This book was so good I almost wanted to gatekeep it!
Part medieval horror, part fever dream: it had me entirely obsessed.
The three characters who lead The Starving Saints-a madwoman, a knight, and a maid-were incredibly well-developed, starting with their backstories and ending with their character arcs. The atmosphere was cloistered, intense, and wicked, fully describing the pain and the hunger of the people stuck inside the castle and left to starve.
To say more would be to spoil everything, but The Starving Saints shouldn't be missed if you're a fan of unsettling medieval stories!! Absolutely incredible.

“The Starving Saints” is a dark and atmospheric novel with a strong concept and solid writing.

While I did appreciate the writing style and the eerie atmosphere of the story, I found it hard to focus on the plot. Maybe it just wasn’t the right moment for me to get fully invested in it.

That said, the book left enough of an impression that I might give it another try when I’m more in the mood for it.

A transfixing fever dream of medieval horror following three women in a besieged castle that descends ravenously into bacchanalian madness under the spell of mysterious, godlike visitors. A weaving of folklore, magic and a cannibalistic nightmare make up the main thread of this bizarre but brilliant story. Dripping with excessive decadence, purple prose and unhinged characters this story will give you nightmares.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

Beautiful, bloody, and impossible to put down.

This was one of the most unique books I've ever read, with lush world-building and and a claustrophobic, terror-inducing atmosphere. The medieval inspired fantasy setting adds a touch of familiarity that is, in the end, used to further discomfort and shake any expectations or predictions you have for what's going on.

If you're a horror fan, this is most definitely a book to pick up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Aymar Castle is under siege. Only a miracle saved their water supply, but they'll need something else drastic in order to eat. Centering on the stories of three women, the hero knight Ser Voyne, the nun-turned-sorceress Phosyne, and serving girl Treila, and the looming fears of starvation and disease that are more deadly than the enemy surrounding the keep.

This is a horror/speculative fiction novel exploring the reach of faith and miracles and the human capacity for suffering. It's absolutely the kind of horror I love to read, crossing the sacred and the profane with compelling characters. The story is not scary in the traditional sense, but terrifying as we look at the human and divine capacity for cruelty and forgiveness.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I was so excited to get the approval email! I love the author and the cover is gorgeous.

This was different than I was expecting. I love historical (and sapphic!!) horror, but fantasy is usually 50/50 for me.

The vibes were great- you could feel the desperation of the starving and how Phosyne wants to save everyone. I just wish we'd seen more to the characters than their roles. We don't see much personality for them. I think I would have liked this book more if there was only one POV.

The second half kind of lost me. It all revolved around the saints and I don't think their motives were covered well enough.

I was initially drawn to These Starving Saints by its beautiful cover and the promise of a sapphic, fantasy-infused cannibal horror story. While some of these elements delivered, others felt underdeveloped or lacking.

The biggest disappointment for me was the characters. They didn’t feel like fully fleshed-out individuals with clear motivations. Instead, they often came across as NPCs—acting in ways that felt disconnected or inexplicable, without enough narrative grounding to make their choices feel meaningful or earned.

That said, the book truly shined when it embraced its surreal, fantastical madness. The more abstract and unexplainable the story became, the more immersed I found myself. Some aspects of the world clearly weren’t meant to be fully understood, and that worked in the book’s favor, creating an eerie, compelling atmosphere that kept me reading.

Ultimately, These Starving Saints is a mixed bag. It stumbles in character development but succeeds in building a strange, unforgettable world that lingers after the final page.

Waiter! Waiter! More yearning lesbian cannibal medieval horror please!
This book gripped me in the way I want all books to - I was seated for the duration, and wished for it to be longer. There were no slow chapters or filler sentences - everything was tight and perfect. The Starving Saints is a masterclass in suspense, horror, and yearning from Caitlin Starling.

Meandering is probably the best word I can think of to describe this book. Perhaps it was purposely written this way, as while I found it a chore to get through, I kept on in the hopes of seeing some clarity or resolution.
I saw this less as a medieval horror and more of a commentary on the nature of religion and its’ psychological hold. TL;DR, this book requires some effort to read and understand beyond just the surface level ‘plot’.



Thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book!

I LOVED this book. I don't think there's anything that I can compare it to simply because I've never read anything like it. I want to get a physical copy of this book to annotate because having my live reactions preserved in this story is a must. I can't wait to reread this for many years!
Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me read and review this ARC!

4/5 stars.
This was 5 stars until the last quarter of the book. It didn't go in the direction I was hoping, and a few things near the end dampened my enjoyment. However, this is just my personal taste. I also don't know if I would define it as horror in the general sense. Horrific, yes. Disturbing, yes. But did it scare me? No. What it did do though, is give me several sleepless nights from staying up and reading nonstop, needing to know what would happen next. I was super interested in all three POVs for most of the book. Rather than repeating scenes from different perspectives or jumping around confusingly, for the most part the story moved along smoothly and linearly between perspectives, which made it super easy to just keep reading chapter after chapter. It was a bit challenging to read, with a lot of vocabulary I wasn't familiar with, but reading it at a slower pace with a dictionary really made me appreciate the author's descriptive writing. The story follows an eccentric former nun turned sorceress, a muscular knight with an intense sense of duty, and a cynical fallen noblewoman with secrets. Hundreds are trapped and starving for months in a castle after it is besieged by an enemy country, when one day, the Saints arrive with a solution for their hunger. While the rest of the castle seems to forget the enemy beyond the walls while gorging themselves on feasts and descending into madness, these three women have to work together to survive and save people (if they even can.) There are a lot of religious themes & symbolism in this book that added so much depth and explanation to what was going on. Honestly I had a fantastic time. If you like books that feel like a gory fever dream, with fleshed out characters and sapphic undertones, you might like this. If you vehemently dislike religious symbolism (even fictional), you might find this a bit tedious. Otherwise, give it a try!