I am not sure if I was the target audience for this book. I finished it but if I’m honest it was because I wanted to see what was going to happen. I was confused more than I thought I would be. That probably was what made the book a bit hard for me to finish. Religion horror probably isn’t for me.

Well...I finished it. But only out of pure stubbornness. I was really excited about this book. The cover was awesome and the promise of creepy, cannibalistic saints had me intrigued. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. I found the book to be incredibly slow and confusing. I constantly felt like I missed something. I'm not sure if it was because it kept jumping from different characters (although that doesn't usually bother me) or if things actually were just glanced over but I kept saying "what is happening?" and not in a good way. Things weren't really explained.

I also found all the characters to be super one dimensional and they blended together for me, even though they were supposed to be quite different. I didn't really care about any of them.

I also felt like half of the book was them running around the castle without doing much of anything. And I'm not sure I'd classify this as horror.

2 stars for the cool cover and some decent cannibalistic scenes.

This book was a complete fever dream to me. I loved the blend of a medieval setting with horror. It was well done and so fun to read.

I think If I had to read this book again, I would but while listening to the Dance Fever album by Florence and the machine. The direction this book went was rather interesting to me. I have so many questions about some of the things that have happened but I think maybe keeping the mystery about it just makes it so much more appealing.

I can’t wait to read more from this author because this book was amazing and scary and dark. Everything I wanted it to be. Will have to recommend to like minded friends!

Been in a big of a reading slump this year, given the state of the world. This was a fun read that helped me break back into reading. Unique premise. Sapphic in nature. The exact kind of story to take me away from thoughts and worries.

This one is difficult for me to rate. On one hand it was very well written and I imagine it’ll be widely loved, on the other hand, it just wasn’t particularly for me. I’ve come to learn that religious horror isn’t necessarily something that I love. But I do think this book will be widely received by those who do love that particular sub genre.

Caitlin Starling's The Starving Saints is a masterfully atmospheric and haunting novel that blends dark fantasy with psychological tension. Set in a besieged castle, the story explores themes of power, temptation, and moral decay as the residents fall under the spell of divine figures offering salvation at a steep cost.

Starling’s writing is immersive and richly detailed, drawing readers into a world where faith, desperation, and hedonism collide. The characters, particularly the three central women Ser Voyne, Phosyne, and Treila are complex and multifaceted, navigating shifting alliances and personal demons with raw intensity. The slow unraveling of their morality and survival instincts adds layers of suspense to an already gripping narrative.

With its exploration of human nature under extreme pressure, The Starving Saints is a chilling, thought-provoking read that keeps you questioning where the line between salvation and damnation truly lies.

This would have made a better novella than a novel; there simply wasn’t any meat (pun absolutely intended) to it. We didn’t really understand Phosyne before the events of the story and even Ser Voyne is painted in such broad strokes that she fills a role more so than she is a person. So much of the magic and weirdness remains super vague and unexplained.

I liked the beginning quite a bit, when we were still mostly bound to the rules of our real world, but as soon as things changed, it felt like the pacing and intrigue dropped off.

Certainly not my favorite Starling book, but honestly still more put together than Jane Lawrence

A harrowing tale of a madwoman, knight, and serving girl who are trapped within a castle under siege. The food is running out, the keep is starving, and suddenly relief comes in the form of the saints the people worship. Bounties of food fill the halls, but these icons aren’t all that they seem. A sapphic medieval horror novel, The Starving Saints paints a unique premise for its readers. With a theme of how far one would be willing to go to sate more than one type of hunger, The Starving Saints takes its readers on a grueling journey into the morality of the human mind.

Starling’s writing was well crafted and had some haunting verses. Decent read from the author. Hope she decides to do some more medieval horror-type books. That, I could get behind.

The much awaited queer horror novel for 2025 is here. Fantastic representation of womanhood and interconnecting relationships, including things like polyamory. The cover is also a beauty and is sure to be swept off shelves.

(Currently crafting GR review, will update with appropriate link)

*The Starving Saints* immediately captivated me with its haunting cover and intriguing premise, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Set almost entirely in a besieged castle town, the story moves quickly, unfolding through the perspectives of Treila, Voyne, and Phosyne, each with her own complex background and distorted view of reality. The dynamics between these three women—exploring themes of revenge, loyalty, submission, and protection—are gripping, and fans of the toxic devotion seen in *Gideon the Ninth* will find similar intensity here. The sinister magic in the story is revealed gradually, adding mystery and tension, while the Saints themselves are beautifully eerie, providing a formidable challenge for the knight, serving girl, and disgraced nun at the center of the plot. Starling’s writing is lush and atmospheric, with vivid, unsettling imagery, particularly the recurring motif of honeycomb, which plays a subtle yet significant role in the story. Overall, *The Starving Saints* is a dark, compelling read that pulls you into its madness and keeps you hooked from start to finish.

Aymar Castle find themselves running low on food when being held under siege for 6 months until their saints they worship come brining hope of salvation, or maybe not salvation but madness.

I can’t lie the beginning of this book was slow and I was a tad bored. I kept wanting to put it down but, Caitlin Starling's writing is beautiful and I love books that take place in Medieval times AND it’s horror so I kept going.

I’m glad I did, once these “saints” appeared it got so unsettling, slightly fever dream-ish at times and then it led me to just wanting to figure out what these saints and other creatures are, not to mention I did find things I loved.

All of our main characters (Phosyne, Ser Voyne, & Treila) are so interesting to follow. They all feel a little unhinged in their own way. The author does a great job making you feel that hunger and dread these characters must feel. They do a great job making you feel helpless. These saints themselves feel so deeply unsettling and you long to figure out what they are but that knowledge feels so out of reach that it does make them in turn terrifying.

There were parts of this I loved. I do feel though that because at times things felt disjointed (which maybe I just missed something while I read?) it did take me out of the story and I still found myself wanting to put it down and wanting to read something else.

I do feel there’s a reader for every story and I’m sure this one could resonate with some of you. I’m still glad I read this. The writing I still find beautiful, it was atmospheric, and deeply unsettling. I’d still try more of this author's work. I’d like to believe there’s something of theirs I would resonate with.

I found this overall very unique and I for sure enjoyed the second half more than the first.

Thank you Netgalley, the publishers, and author for this ARC for my honest review!

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months & is now descending into absolute madness within its walls. The story is told from the POV of 3 women who do not trust the four saints who have appeared to save the inhabitants of this doomed castle. This medieval horror fever dream is laced in cannibalism, debauchery, obsession and pure horror. This was utter craziness in all its glory. Thank you to Avon/Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC. You can give this a read when it publishes May 20, 2025

Told from three alternating POVs, The Starving Saints takes place in a castle under siege where the food has run out, and the residents have begun to starve. Ser Voyne, a knight loyal to her king; Treila, the daughter of a Lord killed by Ser Voyne at the king's command; and Phosyne, a madwoman tasked with making food out of nothing is under Ser Voyne's watch. Once the food stores have diminished, and the king begins to consider feeding the castle's dead to its inhabitants, four Saints appear in the courtyard and bring with them a feast.
This book was like a medieval fever dream. The characters are well developed, and their interwoven backstories create an interesting dynamic between the three women. As the story progresses, the castle becomes more and more frenzied under the Saints' thrall, and I never truly knew what was reality.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy of The Starving Saints in exchange for my honest review. This is my first book by Caitlin Starling, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Starving Saints took me on an epic fantasy adventure. I love that this book by Caitlin Starling feels like a fresh new take on fantasy and magic. I couldn't put it down and the characters and world she has created will for sure be an amazing read for everyone on May 20th. I loved this book and will be recommending it every chance I get. I cant wait to see what she writes next.

This was such an inventive, unique premise and it was explored beautifully. This is a dark, bloody, intensely atmospheric gothic medieval horror. The multiple points of view were a great way to put readers into every angle of this wild story as it unfolds. The book started a bit slow but once we entered the unravelling, bacchanalian phase the story really picked up and grew in that sense of unease, driving the story to an intense and thought-provoking end.

Prepare your souls, fellow horror fans, for Caitlin Starling’s new novel The Starving Saints (Harper Voyager, May 20, 2025)—a blood-drenched medieval horror story of monsters and magic.

In this tale, a castle under siege becomes home to a new kind of nightmare when four deities suddenly appear amongst the starving masses. From the King and his liege lords to the peasants and farmers, the castle’s inhabitants are ready to rejoice when these saints produce a boundless feast out of thin air. But not everyone is convinced. Among the skeptics are a heretical nun, an honor-bound knight, and a serving girl with a secret who can all see there is something sinister to this divine intervention. As the indulgences increase, it’s up to the three women to unravel the mystery and save themselves from hell.

With The Starving Saints, Starling has composed such a unique piece of horror fiction it truly must be read to be believed. The plot writhes and twists in unpredictable directions that will keep readers leaning toward the page, even as Starling’s prose makes every scene a benediction to the poetry of horror. (“It’s eat or be eaten, she tells herself, and she cannot eat darkness. But it can eat her.”) This is a story, and a writer, that pulls no punches when it comes to describing pain, violence, and suffering, and genre fans will be pleased to know there is much of all three to be chronicled here.

But it’s the characters that will capture the reader's hearts in The Starving Saints. All three of Starling’s protagonists are compelling, dimensional people whose characterization still satisfies the genre’s need for archetypes. Phosyne’s erratic magic and Ser Voyne’s commitment to duty quickly expand beyond the expected, while Terlia’s mysterious past provides much more motivation than one might expect.

There will inevitably be comparisons to Christopher Buehlman’s 2012 Between Two Fires, and it’s undeniable the two novels strike complementary chords. However, what Starling is doing here is utterly unique and will quickly be cited as a standard in the sub genre. The Starving Saints is medieval horror transubstantiated into something fresh, fearless, and not to be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Starving Saints is a story bursting with hunger, cannibalism, and the power of bargaining (with a heaping side of girl kissing). This was just such a delight to read. However, if you are someone who likes all of your mysteries to get wrapped up nicely, this is probably not the book for you. Almost none of the mysteries get answers at all, and the ones that do are very vague. I am personally quite fond of weird, open ended horror books, so I ate this right up.

Update: After a month of sitting on this story, I've realized it truly is a 5 star read and am amending my rating as such. I think that says a lot about the book, just getting better with time.

Madness, alchemy, magic, cannibalism, Lesbians, knights, and monsters. What did this book NOT have?! This medieval sapphic horror was atmospheric and insane, literally. These people are under siege and when saviors finally come they are oozing wrongness. I really enjoyed this story!! The way the characters are confused and enchanted, the writing style made me as the reader feel the same way. I really loved our three main characters, all bad ass women who carried this story.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.

<b>3.50🍯🩸</b>

<b><i>’She should be frightened. She should be terrified, now that she’s played her hand, but instead she’s leaning closer, as if to kiss him. She wonders if he’ll let her.’</b></i>

<i>Uh okay then😃</i>

Alright! This took me way too long to get into and finish <b>BUT</b>..

I found the dynamics between Phosyne, Treila and Ser Voyne to be very interesting. I found them to be written quite well and the depth of them to be clear and understandable. Though I wish we got more of them as individuals so I could connect with them even <i>more</i>than how I eventually did, we are only given glimpses and other than that we are just following along with them in the now.

I was confused <b>a lot</b>in this book (feared I was becoming illiterate at times), the beginning and chapter 29/30 for example really threw me around. The writing I didn’t too much enjoy as it caused a lot of my confusion throughout ), along with random chapters being only a page or two when I felt needed more (yet there was times the writing really flowed in perfect clarity that contributed to my quickness of being put on track).

<i>Yet,</i> I realized though a bit hungry and confused, I still ended up finding myself enjoying my read once I reached the end. I may need to reread this at a later time!

<b>**SPOILER**</b>
Also poor prioress like dang I wanted more from her character— Alive ALIVE— lol.
<b>**</b>

<b><i>‘Voyne closes her eyes and lets her head fall back against the throne with a sigh. One of her hands curls into Phosyne’s hair. The other lifts to touch Treila’s arm.’</b></i>

<i>Felt both relieved and flustered in don’t know quite why😭 maybe I turned into Phosyne and Treila by the end loll</i>

<b><u>Departing Thoughts</b</u>

- To end off, I oh so wish we got at least a time skip chapter of what happened on the outside. How their dynamic withholds and the people of Aymar!

- I think something or a <i>few</i> things is really missing from this book, and or should’ve been about differently. And that is contributing on why, yes I eventually found joy in the read, but still feel starved after so.

<b>Thank you so much HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC!</b>