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.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Caitlin Starling for this eArc!

The Starving Saints is one of the most startling, macabre, atmospheric, and devastating books I have ever read. With every word, I was transported and stuck in Aymar Castle along with all the people and creatures that lurk within.

Set inside a keep under siege with fifteen days of food left before absolute starvation, The Starving Saints follows an unhinged witch, a confused lady knight, and a feral girl all faced with impending doom. While their loyalties, pasts, and goals could not be more different, they must deal with a fate worse than starvation after mysterious and intoxicating beings appear within the impenetrable walls of the castle. With elements of religion, magic, abuse of power, and yearning (in all definitions of the word), the aforementioned witch, knight, and girl work with and against each other in the hell that is now their reality.

Starling has managed to create a world that I enjoyed exploring, but never want to enter with characters that I equally loathe and love. In addition to the writing being beautiful and lyrical, the pacing of the book effectively created a psychedelic atmosphere, and a messy, sapphic tone underscored everything that happened, tying the plot together. I cannot recommend this book enough. (4.75 stars rounded up to 5)

Give me more medieval horror with lady knights and corrupted ex nuns and girls living for revenge.

The Starving Saints is such an atmospheric book that fills the reader with an eerie sense as we follow our characters through the castle as it both starves and is invaded by monsters beyond belief. I was hoping for a bit more madness as that was such a large part of the promotion of the novel but the bacchanals that we got were intense and horrific. The saints were horrifying - I was very confused by the magic but also that felt like part of the point here.
The weakest part for me was the Trelia's desire for revenge but I loved her POV, the writing felt very strong but I did not fully buy into her journey.

This will be a niche read and you should know what you are getting into before picking it up. This would be for people who enjoy horror and fantasy. It is a fever dream but one I could not look away from. I was in it for the atmosphere and the vibes. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Will be interested in this author again!
4 star

I have been a fan of Caitlin’s writing since the release of The Death of Jane Lawrence, which I absolutely loved and highly recommend if you haven’t already read it.

So when I got approved on NetGalley for the eARC of The Starving Saints I just knew it was going to be amazing. BUT, I didn’t knit it was going to completely blow away all my expectations and become one of my top books for 2025. 😍🎉

It’s a medieval setting in a castle under siege and on the last stores of food with no idea how they’re going to pull through, unless the lord of the castle’s mad scientist type religious defector can create another miracle!

This story is ripe with magic, a unique religion, juicy bits of cannibalism, and characters that have you feel like you’re falling into the book and watching it all play out like a fly on the wall. Plus it’s queer!! That’s always a plus for me 🏳️‍🌈!

I felt a wide range of emotions, but mostly the despair and then blind chaos that was so prevalent in the story. It was so rich, like the honey that they hold so dear!

In a besieged castle that is days from running out of food, three women toil as they starve. The King's alchemist, the excommunicated nun Phosyne, seeks isolation while grasping for a magical solution to the castle's predicament. The loyal knight Ser Voyne, tasked with guarding Phosyne, itches under the boredom of the duty and oddness of her charge while servant-with-a-secret Treila is as hungry for revenge as she is for food and escape. The king is on the verge of taking desperate measures when three bejeweled saints arrive out of thin air with endless feasts and answers too good to be true, leading Phosyne, Ser Voyne, Treila, and the whole castle down a Dionystic road to ruin. The Starving Saints is a claustrophobic, sapphic fantasy tale for fans of Augustina Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh and The Unworthy and Leigh Bardugo's The Familiar.

This had an interesting premise and was well-written. It was very atmospheric and visceral, but for me the strength was the creepy vibes and imagery rather than the plot and characters. I didn't feel very connected to the characters or story and the pacing was slow. This does help add to the sense of foreboding and building the mood, so it will definitely click for some readers but wasn't really for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I still don't know if I know what happened. What happened was a fever dream and I was scared and confused but I enjoyed it. It's so atmospheric and eerie, you felt as trapped as the main cast. What a wild ride.

3.75 stars--This is a beautifully written fever dream that confounded and disgusted me, but I liked it?

This takes place in a fantasy medieval world and follows three women who are forced to face starvation, violence, desire, and loathing. Firstly, Caitlin Starling knows how to write. I spend the first fourth of the book just admiring her prose. The filth and gore were transformed into a dazzling spectacle and made the mass descent into madness believable. I also believe that the isolation of the story helped heighten everything within; it is eat or be eaten within this small, enclosed space. There is nowhere to flee to and nothing is safe.

Despite my love of the prose, it did begin to weigh down the story around the middle. This took me far longer than most books to read and I finally decided I needed to start skimming a bit so that I could actually finish it. Luckily, once I was about 70% through, the intrigue kicked back in and I ended up enjoying just how complicated the closing scenes were. Yet, my rating reflects this lull in my experience and my general confusion about what happened. This book is an experience; one I tried to gleam the deeper meaning of but have set to settle on.

If you want a fevered story featuring cannibalism, religious fervor, and a complex web of desire and revulsion, this might be for you. (I also so badly want to know if the author has read Tanith Lee’s Vivia because there are so many little things about this that remind me of Vivia’s opening scenes.)

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC to read and review!

I couldn’t get into this. The idea is really cool and I was excited but the execution was just not there. I could t stand the writing style. Too many tangents and way too confusing.