Having read (and loved) The Death of Jane Lawrence, I was extremely excited to receive a copy of The Starving Saints. In the year of our lord 2025, and under the influence of Chappell Roan, the need for (sapphic) lady knights has risen 200%. Thank you Cailtin Starling for filling a gap that, before six months ago, I did not know needed filling. I am enamored by all of the women who reside within the pages of this book.

If you love gritty medieval horror that does not shy away from the grotesque, this is a book you won’t want to miss. Un-put-down-able and unpredictable, this book delivers a heady mix of medieval horror, cult-like religion, and suffocating desire. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the book!

This book started off a bit slow for me, but once it picked up it was nonstop to the very last page. I've never been into medieval fantasy, but was willing to give it a shot and I'm glad I did. This book was dark, gory, spooky, and a bit sapphic which turned it into a perfect and incredibly original tale. I wish that each new chapter had told you who the plot was following in that instance, as sometimes I had trouble remembering where their storyline ended and would have liked to know where to flip back to, but besides that it was excellent. My favorite character was definitely Phosyne, as I'm a big fan of women's wrongs.

Thank you to Caitlin Starling, Avon & Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A deeply fascinating book about desperation, power, loyalty... and cannibalism.

First, thank you to Caitlin Starling, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for an e-ARC for this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Let me get this out of the way: this is an immensely confusing book if you aren't paying attention all the way through. The latter half fits a lot of content within it, and whilst the pace is good, it is quite daunting to read, especially also considering the topics discussed in this novel. I was super confused for at least half the book.

But that didn't matter. This dark fantasy is so incredibly atmospheric with vividly horrifying descriptions. I'm in awe of Starling's ability to describe everything so viscerally. The novel is messy, chaotic, horrible, and so incredibly good. The three main characters of this book are also all so fascinating, fitting into the novel in their own way and quite insanely adding to the lore of the novel. I'm genuinely so startled by them and their complex, desperate, relationship. Phosyne, Ser Voyne, and Treila all have their own motives and reasonings and it's done quite well through the novel.

I would recommend this for fans of Plain Bad Heroines and Gideon the Ninth-- and people who enjoy deeply concerning horror, fantasy, and cannibalism as a literary device.

~thank you to the author, publisher & Netgalley for letting me read & review this book~

Unfortunately I will not be giving it a proper rating because I do not think it is fair only because this genre is not my go to & I just didn’t vibe with it. The overall story is fine but not for me. It’s classified as medieval horror but I found it to be too fantasy like and I’m not into that. I just can’t get into it. If you’re into that sort of thing, then this book is for you. But it wasn’t for me. I will give 3 stars to meet in the middle.

Four stars for The Starving Saints ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I could say the Starving Saints is a sapphic horror story, or, I could simply and perhaps more accurately say that it is about hunger. Phosyne hungers for a miracle. Ser Voyne for purpose. Treilla for revenge.

Yet they starve in every sense.

Trapped within the walls of their castle; the war has given Aymar over to starvation and death as they try to outlast their enemies who sit camped just outside their fortress. Food has been running scarce and the people are desperate. With the King himself eying the most depraved of measures just to keep them alive -- Ser Voyne worries for the heart and soul of Aymar itself. She is tasked with overseeing Phosyne, the madwoman responsible for clearing their water enough to drink. If Phosyne cannot create food, Aymar will surely perish. Or be forced into something far worse to survive.

Meanwhile, Treilla slinks among the people. Fierce and defiant she carves out the remedy for her own survival. There is a creature lying in wait in the bowels of the castle that speaks of freedom and sacrifice. She must choose between vengeance against the person who broke her heart and murdered her father -- and a future that sees her breathing.

Then through the walls comes the Lady and her blessed Saints, bringing health and food and hope. The people rejoyce, the King concedes his power, and even Ser Voyne takes up her mantle at the Lady's side. But Phosyne and Treilla both know something is Wrong about their new saviors. Together they must unbind the horrors that have come waltzing into their midst, or give in to their own hunger.

Was that a long set up? Tell me about it.

There's a lot going on in this book. I think despite this it carries itself well. Though much of the set up occurs before the Saints arrive, that information does not feel redundant once you understand why it's necessary later. This will probably be cumbersome for people who want to slide right into the action, but I feel like there is enough tense, slow-growing horror in the situation to keep you interested if you can hold on past chapter ten. I've seen this book described as "bacchanalian" and while I agree for a small portion of the book, this is not going to be the depraved free-for-all that might entail. This book requires more patience than that. It is a rich story, with a lot of threads and while not all are executed in a way that is satisfying, I believe the book is solid. The ending was delightfully ambiguous where the hint of romance was concerned and even for the futures of our protagonists in general.

If you want to get wrapped into a story of human darkness and perserverance with a little bit of body and creature horror to keep things interesting (and a few gorgeous steamy sapphic scenes) this is not likely to disappoint.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

Sapphic medieval historical horror is amazing and Starling does an AWESOME job dropping you right into this world and having you become captivated!

We are dropped into the end portion of a siege at Aymar Castle. They've fought off enemies beyond the castle wall for 6 months, but we meet them near the end. People are starving, rioting and dying inside the castle. We have three main female POV's. One of which is Phosyne, she's a nun who managed to purify the water and is now tasked with delivering the miracle of food out of nothing. Then we have Ser Voyne, a knight assigned to her, to make sure she's actually working. Lastly, Treilia - a seamstress, and rat catcher with her own agenda.

All seems hopeless until Aymar's religious figure, the Constant Lady and her Saints arrive inside the walls. They promise food and salvation... or do they? Phosyne, Ser Voyne and Treilia must see past the allure, power and promises of the Constant Lady, in order to save themselves and the castle.

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This was so fun! Medieval horror is such a vibe! I feel like Starling really created a fascinating world, religion and characters. I love how we were just dropped in to the siege and with our MC's as they try to survive. There's lesbian pining, canabalism! and dark magic. There was an excellent scene with some claustrophobia and one character puts her finger into a hole in the wall...what's on the other side creeeeped me out. The end felt a little fevery-dreamy and hard to track at times, but overall an excellent story with incredible vibes.

I definitely recommend!

As much as I loved the idea of this concept, I didn't mesh well with this book.

I felt that it was too slow and I felt I had to force myself to read it because its an ARC.

The setting and basic plot are really interesting. We get the story through 3 perspectives which felt too much to me. It made it confusing to follow sometimes since nothing big would happen and then we get another person. I think this would have benefited with some things cut out or be turned into a short story. Also the romance aspect was very minor and doesn't get a lot of time to develop.

The cover is beautiful and the story is so unique that I still would say to try to read this and give it a shot.

I've enjoyed this author's previous works but really struggled to finish this one. The premise was compelling but the execution felt like a fever dream (which was, perhaps, the point) but I could only somewhat grasp what was going on plot-wise which made for tedius reading. This is the sort of book that would be stunning as a film, but as a novel it exasperates.

Oh yes- thoroughly enjoyed this one. I got an eARC via NetGalley and tbh had forgotten to start reading it so I said oh, why not give a try. When I tell you I literally fell asleep at3AM because of reading this 😭

Loooove. It’s giving mysterious and eerie and I’m here for it!!

So original???? The characters felt real and the plot was insane and fast I loved it. I loved the themes it touched upon and the eerie atmosphere of it

I was really excited for this story because of the premise however it fell a little flat. I think the idea and how the author constructed the background for how this world operates was done beautifully. What I didn't like a lot was the pacing, and I didn't connect well to the characters. Nothing I disliked about the story would make me not recommend this to individuals who are used to this genre. If you like Tender Is the Flesh I think this book could be a really good fit for you.

A castle under siege is the setting for a strange, brutal story of survival. This is a very unique story that is frequently chilling and disturbing with some great characters. The main thing that lets this book down is the vivid imagery the author attempts to evoke can become overwrought and confusing. But anyone looking for a unique horror tale with strong female characters should check this one out.

Sadly this was a DNF….something I hate doing but….There was a whole lot of nothing going on but at the same time there was so much going on I was confused. Couldn’t understand how to pronounce one name have it be a person or a place. I wanted to like it so bad but it was becoming a chore to read and not enjoyable.

What a grim little fantasy about unintended consequences, personal power, and being blinded by what you desperately want.

In a city under siege, running out of food, a woman works feverishly to make something from nothing. Help is not coming, the enemy is at the gates, and everything is hopeless...until the Saints appear, magically conjuring feasts. Everyone - well almost everyone - rejoices. But some notice grimly the mindless way the citizens behave, and some can see what is really being served at the feasts.

Not so much a feel-good book, but definitely one that will stick with you.

I never thought I'd so be enthralled with cannibalism and the desperation of a castle under siege. This magical gothic horror story had me in suspense the entire time. I'm not sure I had ever read such a visceral description of odors, sights, and sounds. I couldn't put this incredibly unique novel down. Three very flawed and often unreliable narrators experience a siege of their castle and the arrival of their "saviors" in such different ways but uniquely connected. At every twist and turn I was captivated.

This book is debauchery in the craziest way, it was great. It was such an odd story you rarely see go this hard about cannibalism especially coming from saints it was really interesting to see how it affected the people. I liked how the gore was "hidden" behind illusions that even if you know you always have to think about it twice whenever they eat something and that when the truth is barren it is so gruesome but you cant look away anymore. This story makes us descent into the madness of all character (which was great trouple)
My one grip was that it took too long to pick up the pace to me as i got really engaged only around 80% in.

Rating: 3.5/5

Note: Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Starving Saints!

Review: The Starving Saints is a horror novel rife with lesbianism, cannibalism, and the eldritch horror of the fae. Our main characters, Phosyne, Treila, and Ser Voyne are all enigmatic people and by chapter 10 I was rooting for all of them to end up together instead of two and a third wheel. The mystery here takes a long time to build up, and in the meantime, you get a lot of abstract, oftentimes confusing prose that can be difficult to parse through if you’re not in the right mood for reading something like this. While the main creatures are never confirmed to be fae, they have a lot of similarities. I liked the magic system being based on ownership, since it set up a lot of interesting power dynamics between the characters themselves and the creatures. I just wish some parts had been written a little less abstractly so you can tell what’s going on more.

I did end up really liking this book, but at times, it wasn’t for me, and that’s okay! If you liked such titles as Our Wives Under the Sea and The Witcher, and really liked Sevika from Arcane, you’ll like The Starving Saints!

3.75

thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC !

this was an interesting one! i would describe the feel of The Starving Saints as Between Two Fires but make it lesbian (which is excellent and very pleasing to me). i loved how not just the setting but the horror itself felt distinctly medieval. that fear of decadence, of indulgence manifesting in cannibalistic feasts and gory orgies... delicious. three cheers for reckless abandon

hunger is a pulsating theme throughout; lines blur between flesh, food, and blood. everyone is always being pressed against the wall and kissing bloodied lips and lusting hungrily. this is both a pro and a con.
pro: these are awesome things that i like!
con: after the fourth wall-press, it becomes a noticeable pattern

the characterization felt a little shaky at times, treila's motivations in particular. for someone who's been singlemindedly plotting vengeance for years, she was pretty easily dissuaded when push comes to shove. that could be intentional, but otherwise treila is characterized as a cutthroat girl who gets what she wants at all costs so it was a little confusing. At least Ser Voyne's were pretty consistent bc she is basically a sexy guard dog for most of the book (this will be highly appealing to the correct audience)

on the positive side, i was impressed with how well everything came together in the end. the bacchanalian chaos somehow neatly spirals into a satisfying conclusion where everything has changed, and yet it has only been a half week of normalcy in the greater world

note: i read a large portion of starving saints with a soundtrack of saint avangeline, particularly lilith, black sheep, and the entire inferno album. highly recommend, it's full of horny/longing/angry lesbian themes that are perfect for the kind of catholic-flavoured dyke drama happening in this novel

last note: had to push a bit to finish this but that could be due to the due straits that forced me to read it all on my phone (NetGalley's new DRM epub format is not supported on kobo e-readers grrr)

This book had a very interesting premise and a very cool setting. A medieval castle with magic lurking in the corners. I thought the overall story was very interesting and gorey. It was definitely what I pictured when reading this synopsis initially. Unfortunately for me, I think the beginning was a little slow. I kept waiting for the saints to arrive and be all creepy and mysterious, but instead it seemed to take about 20-25 percent of the book to set up the scene which I thought was pretty well known after the first few chapters. Despite this, I still found the story to be quite interesting with a lot of things to unravel. I feel like some plot points went unanswered but I think the story overall delivered of the creepiness of the saints.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HarperCollins for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review!