The Starving Saints was good. It was a bit overlong for the story but it gets huge bonus points for a medieval fantasy focusing on three women!

The story takes place in a medieval castle under siege and they’re at the point of running out of food. It follows three women, a former sister of the priory who successfully performed a miracle giving them water to drink; a knight loyal to a fault; and a nobleman's daughter hiding in plain sight from said knight waiting for her moment to get revenge. The Constant Lady shows up in flesh but are she and her companions actual Saints?
The first 30% of the book is getting to know each woman and a bit of their back story. It was, to be put bluntly, slow. When the Saints arrive at their gate the story picks up because a new obstacle was introduced. Before it was just a lot of being really hungry and wanting to escape. Over and over and over. But honestly it wasn’t terribly exciting for very long after the Saints showed up. There’s discoveries about magic and monsters but nothing was a big “wow”. I had no idea what was happening for a good chunk of the book. (and not in an enjoyable.) There were a lot of bees and honey. And cannibalism and people having power over other people in a way that couldn’t be broken. And weird sexual excitement over this? It was very hedonistic which I think is what the author was going for so it was successful in that aspect. The ending was a vague “you decide what you think will happen” but there’s a point in the story where one of the main POVs goes and gets information about what’s happening outside so it was easy for me to come to a conclusion about what I think happens. Overall I was disappointed. None of the characters resonated with me, the pacing was off and I was left wanting more on the origins of the monsters.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food has run out, the animals are gone, and desperation is sinking in. Just as all hope seems lost, a miracle arrives: the Constant Lady and her Saints, a mysterious trio offering food, healing, and salvation in exchange for worship. What follows is a feverish descent into madness, mysticism, and monstrous appetites.

There’s Ser Voyne, the loyal war hero clinging to duty. Phosyne, a wild-eyed sorceress with chaotic hunger. And Treila, a serving girl caught in a bloody tangle of revenge and survival. Part medieval horror, part dark fantasy.

This book? It’s a trip. Like, an actual “did I fall into a hallucination?” type of experience. The premise was super intriguing. I mean, female saints descending into a besieged castle with food and promises? Sign me up. But… I’m not sure about the execution.

I listened on audio, and while the narrator did a solid job, I kept losing focus. This is one of those books where the vibes are strong, but you really need to be in the right headspace to stick with it. I was sick, juggling some family stuff, and honestly, probably not in the right mental space for a book that reads like a fever dream wrapped in medieval horror and queer chaos.

The writing had flashes of brilliance, but I also noticed moments where it slipped into oddly modern slang for a supposedly medieval setting, which threw me off. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either. I think it’s a “right book, wrong time” situation. Or maybe just a “right book for the right reader.”

If you like feeling unmoored and weirded out in the best possible way, this is your book. This one’s for the gothic fantasy lovers who enjoy their horror served raw, bloody, and unapologetically unhinged. The jury is still out on how much I enjoyed it.

TW: Gory and yes some cannibalism.

The Starving Saints comes out May 20, 2025. Huge thank you to Harper Voyager for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
Tiktok @speakingof.books
Website: SPEAKINGOF.ORG

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love The Starving Saints—the premise sounded dark, unique, and full of potential. But sadly, it just didn’t work for me. I had to DNF around 11% in because I couldn’t connect with the writing or the pacing. It felt like it was trying to be intense without giving me a reason to care yet.

Maybe it gets better later, but I couldn’t stick around to find out. Disappointed, but I hope it finds the right readers.

This book started strong - a castle under siege desperately trying to come up with a way to prevent everyone from starving to death. But then it went all went a little sideways about a third of the way in. The story became a bit muddled and the characters just seemed become a bit repetitive in their actions. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the arc:

I can't pretend to understand what happened at multiple points in this book but it really doesn't matter because I loved the way it was written and the entire vibe of this book. It's so strange and sometimes confusing in a way that reminds me of 'Gideon the Ninth', and also encourages me to pick that book up again and give it a second chance.

Starling does not shy away from getting gross and weird and I loved every moment where she let her freak flag fly. This book is also so gay. I was giggling and kicking my feet during the most insane moments of intimacy between our three leads who have the craziest dynamic that I ate up completely. Especially paired with the theme of religious devotion and how that applies to the saints and the three women involved.

The only thing that stops me from going full five star is that the first quarter of this book too a while to grip me and I struggled initially. But now, looking back on that initial quarter I think it will be much better on a reread. Definitely recommend. Though I fear this will definitely not be for everyone, it was very much so written for me. Will be visiting Starling's other work.

This is a sinister slow burn twisting from the realistic dread of starvation to wildly supernatural threats with touches of grotesque body horror, all dripping with symbolism (sometimes literally). And (much like in Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth) if you're scared of bees, that's going to dial the discomfort up to 11.

This is less scary horror and more eerie, unsettling, and repulsive. The scene is set beautifully from chapter one and I instantly felt that this is what I wanted to see in Agustina Bazterrica's work.

Excellent central characters with A+ sapphic longing and some very strong side characters too. The author does a great job of having general horrors forming the atmosphere of much of the book but also punctuating the narrative with moments that victimize a fully realized character to bring things home.

I do think the antagonists and their weaknesses are a bit too far beyond this astral plane to make the book a slam dunk. There is so much strangeness and abstraction at play, it waters down some of what should be intense scenes. That being said, though, I was so happy with the way things ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The easiest way to describe this book is as a pure fever dream. The number of times I said "huh" or my jaw physically came unhinged is too numerous to count. I had no idea where Caitlin was going to bring this story and I'm still not sure if I liked it or if I hated it. Seriously. I'm not sure if I liked it or not. So, for that reason, I feel like this is a 2.5 star (rounded down for Goodreads and up for NetGalley) for now, but it could also honestly be a 4 star tomorrow. If you're confused - same. But read this book and you will understand why.

This was a DNF for me. I really liked Starling's initial effort, The Luminous Dead, but maybe it was the claustrophobia of her writing that worked for me because nothing has resonated since then.

2.5 rounded up.

you're going to see a lot of glowing reviews for this book in the coming weeks. this, unfortunately, is not one of them.

don't get me wrong, i didn't hate this story. i was mostly just confused by it. there were some very good parts (the writing itself, the initial world building, some clever characters, the tension) that got lost to some very bad parts (a truly convoluted plot, incomplete world building, the ongoing characterizations, the nonsensical resolutions) along the way. you'll hear that this is a sapphic, medieval fever dream of a horror novel. well, kinda? call me desensitized, but i feel like in the year 2025 we've seen books much more sapphic and much more horrifying than this.

i was fully along for whatever weird world starling was writing but every time we got an answer, it seemed like she changed her mind, took it back, and rewrote it to make less sense. it really kept me from being able to just go along for the ride. my fellow audio lovers might be especially confused while trying to follow along, because this one absolutely sacrifices clarity in the name of fantasy and it makes the last 30% or so really slippery and difficult to grasp.

so yeah, i guess i agree that this one is like a fever dream — after finishing it, i'm left wondering what i missed, what i forgot, and if anything ever made sense at all.

thanks to avon and harper voyager for the digital copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT DID I JUST READ!

A wild, gory ride that really can't be explained until you read it yourself! The Starving Saints focuses on a town that has been under siege for several days and of course their supplies begin to dwindle down and desperation kicks in as they try to figure out how to make something out of nothing or die trying.

In the midst of this chaos 4 mysterious Saints appear at the gates with no recollection of how the entered since of course they are under siege. The story focuses on our three main female protagonist (Phosyne: our madwoman sorceress, Ser Voyne: a war hero, Treila: a revenge seeking girl who lost her father after the execution). As we venture into madness we see how these three women begin to interact with one another and how hunger and devotion can either make or break this town. Will they live? Will they beat the siege? Who knows...........

This book has a very interesting premise that drew me in immediately. I like books that have a very limited setting, I think it can be challenging to pull off well, but I found Aymar to be surprisingly expansive.

I think my main frustration with the book is that I never fully understood who the antagonists were, there were quite a few things that were never fully resolved/explained (Phosyne’s pets for one), and towards the end I felt like the main characters’ actions didn’t make sense to me. It got them what they wanted, but how did they figure out they should do that?

I don’t know if I just completely missed something or if I just needed a little more hand-holding, but I was so confused by the end that I was glad on the last page that there was a sentence that wrapped everything up in a neat bow.

Perhaps this just wasn’t the one for me; I wish it was.

I wish I liked this book more because it's right up my alley, but it felt choppy and took a long time to get started.

Where do I even start with this one? A dizzying spiral of maddening sapphic horror and cannibalism set again a contained location of a medieval castle? What was there not to like?! Honestly, it was such a fun ride, and 3 female protagonists striving towards their own end goals finding uneasy alliance with each other? Chefs kiss. Read it, that’s my recommendation

What a vibe. A bizarre, disgusting, fever dream of a vibe, but in a way that I loved.
Set in a desperate and starving medieval castle under siege, complete with weird religious iconography, feral magical creatures, a knight who's not sure where her allegience should be, a nun-turned-sorceress trying to work a miracle, and a serving girl torn between her desires for revenge and survival, it was honestly just a wild ride from start to finish. I personally didn't see the "bacchanalian hedonistic ecstasy" that was supposed to ensue when the saints arrived, but the grim horror of it all was very fun in itself. Definitely a lot more gruesome and gory than I expected, but I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC for review.

On paper, The Starving Saints is completely up my alley. Sapphic, medieval horror filled with bacchanalian madness and hedonistic ecstasy? Yes please. In practice, this book did not deliver on my expectations.

I really am disappointed to not have enjoyed this more. The Death of Jane Lawrence to this day is one of my favorite books, and I was thrilled to see another book by Caitlin Starling.

While the beginning of the story is slow, the plot felt like it hit its stride when the Saints arrived to Aymar and the castle descends into madness. The imagery of the cannibalistic feasting was visceral and gloriously disgusting. The creatures taking over the castle were beautiful and terrifying, and seeing the slow reveal of their true nature was legitimately scary.

However, as it becomes more obvious that there is magic involved and that Aymar is separating from the rules of reality, the internal logic of the world goes out the window. The magic system truly does not make sense. Characters are resurrected, seemingly by accident, with no explanation, and none of the other characters are surprised. The last third of the book fully descends into maddening moon logic to make narrative leaps, and the explanations as to how these things are possible are vapid at best. I understand that this is meant to show that reality is breaking apart, but this completely destroys the stakes. If death isn’t permanent when faced with monsters that want to kill you, where is the narrative tension? It doesn’t help that during multiple major conflicts, the characters discover special abilities through the power of insight, and suddenly are able to defeat their enemies. If any major character can survive any interaction, what is the point?

Another major gripe is that the pacing is glacial. This book fully has no business being as long as it is. It reads like an essay written by a college student trying to hit a word count requirement. There is a redundancy to what is being stated in the narrative, to the point of swathes of paragraphs being entirely skippable. For instance, Treila’s internal narrative constantly reflects on the winter she spent starving following the death of her lord father and the dissolution of her status as a noble. It is obviously a life-altering experience that defines how she now sees herself and the world. However, the same reflections and experiences are regurgitated over and over in her chapters with no new information. It is just a maddening waste of space in a book that needed more tension.

By the time I was 90% of the way through the book, I was begging for the ending. It’s a shame too, because so many things of this could have been great. The middle third had me on the edge of my seat. However, the last third of the book felt like nonsense and was genuinely disappointing.

Such a weird ass book… and I mean that in the best way possible. It took me a second to get into this one but once I did I couldn’t stop until I finished it.

This sapphic medieval horror is an absolute fever dream. There were moments where I felt a little lost, but honestly I think that was the point. The characters themselves are lost too in all this madness. The atmosphere is exactly what I wanted from this book. Dark, gothic, and almost claustrophobic? I definitely need to try out more books by this author.

a medieval sapphic fever dream with lots of yearning and cannibalism. if any of that sounds appealing to you, this is definitely the book for you.

i enjoyed the different perspectives with the three characters and specially liked how their stories intertwined with each other. throughout the whole book there's a constant sense of dread that makes you want to keep devouring the story.

Caitlin Starling is one of my go-to authors to recommend, as well as an auto-buy author for myself personally. This is an excellent addition to her already stacked repertoire.