The Starving Saints has been described as an intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror, and man, did it live up to that! If you love weird girl, sapphic horror lit-fic, this will be the book for you! Think Ottessa Moshfegh’s
Lapvona, but without all of the fecal matter. It is bloody and sticky and bizarre, and for the longest time, you really aren’t sure what exactly is going on. I love a wild ride when I’m reading a book, and this definitely was one.

The narrators are an excommunicated nun (possible witch?), a Brienne of Tarth-type knight, and a girl playing the long game of revenge for her father’s death. They are all inside a castle that has been under siege for quite some time, and the food has run out. Phosyne (our nun-turned-magic woman) has managed to pull off one magical stunt, and everyone is expecting her to pull food out of thin air. After several failed attempts, it doesn’t matter because the Constant Lady and her Saints (Icons aka Heavenly beings??) show up out of nowhere with a bounty of refreshments. What could possibly go wrong? This book is a wild ride. It is very gory, has a lot of cannibalism, a lot of body horror, and a lot of creepy creatures. You will be grossed out, you will change your opinions about the main characters multiple times, and you will wonder if the ending is happy or not. This is my first book by Caitlin Starling, but I am looking forward to reading more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyage for this advanced copy of The Starving Saints.

I had the pleasure of reading this book last year- but really wanted to revisit it once I saw the audiobook was available. Barrie Kreinik did a fantastic job narrating. This is not my first audiobook by her- and it sure won’t be my last either! Thank you to Harper Audio for letting me also get a chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book- it was equally creepy and weird and I loved every minute of it!

I think Caitlin Starling keeps growing as a writer! I really appreciate her imagination, and I’m so impressed with the way she comes up with some new weird thing for every book. They are contained, small-scale stories that feel full without infodumps.

Where she suffers is in pacing, and that continues here. To my eye it’s getting better, but still an issue. I found The Luminous Dead very repetitive, but this one was more a feeling of aimlessness at times or a constantly shifting goal. But the tension and weirdness escalated well and new elements were introduced as the story progressed. Overall pretty good.

This story is from three POVs: a heretic nun, a knight, and a rando 😂. They are starving after a long time in a siege when some guests appear promising a feast. A horrific fever dream ensues. It’s dark fantasy, horror, fairy tale, surreal. I really loved the world and magic (such as there is in a small story like this).

Loved the tension of the situation, the alchemy and magic, the horror and awful imagery.

My complaint is just that at times it felt like we were spinning in circles. Deciding one thing then flipping then flipping again. I think it’d have been a stronger story if it was shorter.

Really refreshing ideas, and I think I’ll always give Starling’s work a try!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Inhabitants of a medieval castle under siege are starving and desperate for a miracle. Phosyne, a "sorceress" (read: scientist) has performed one "miracle", purifying the castle's water supply, and the king has demanded she perform another: create food from nothing. Amidst the pressure and despair, mysterious figures make their way into the castle -- yet no one witnessed them entering through the closed gates. They bring a feast and promises of salvation. Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

The gritty/grimy details of life in a castle under siege stand out as being as, if not more, horrific than the demands of the new mysterious new masters. The smells, living with constant rot & disease will make readers squirm...and we haven't even gotten to the gruesome details yet.

I always gravitate toward historical horror set in really dark/gritty times (I think horror westerns), where the setting is as much the big-bad as the action, and Starving Saints fits this category perfectly.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this book in exchange for my review.

I was excited for this one from the description, but it didn't work for me. I like the idea and how the author put the book together, explaining the world the book takes place in. But the pacing was off for me. I had a tough time connecting to the characters. Other books recommended with this book like The Eyes Are The Best Part, What Moves The Dead, The Vegetarian, and Pen Pal are all on my TBR, so I'm hoping those will be enjoyable.

3 stars - liked it, but it wasn't for me.

This is a mix of medieval fantasy and cannibalistic horror with some sapphic romance mixed in. The narration was beautiful and the pacing was great. The imagery and descriptions were gory and dark and I was a fan.

I wish this was called Girl Dinner lol

A moment for the sick cover too.

I thought this was an intriguing premise for a book. A very real problem in medieval times with a gloriously satirical solution? Yes, please. This is definitely not a fast paced story and kind of wafts around in the atmosphere for quite a while. If that isn’t your cup of tea, this may not be for you. Definitely more character forward than plot forward but I had a great time with it.

The audiobook narrator does a great job with that creepy gothic vibe, would definitely recommend on audio.

Thank you to NetGally and Harper Audio adult for an audiobook arc of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I grew up on horror of the 70s and 80s.

I could not get enough of the slow build horror stories done by storytellers who knew how to build tension in their storytelling in a way that made it feel like the walls were closing in and you were going mad.

Caitlin Starling is one of those storytellers.

As the besieged inhabitants of Aymar Castle are slowly starving to death, they're all hoping the "Mad Woman" can come up with a miracle to keep the people alive and fed.

Starling's writing communicates the growing madness and wild emotions and tempers of those stuck in the castle. You can feel the frayed nerves, the loss of control, and the desperation of the starving citizens.

It's done so well and in such an uncomfortable way, with prose that was just plain beautiful.

If you can, I highly recommend the audio book here. Barrie Kreinik, the narrator, delivers a stunning recitation of this, bringing unique tone and delivery of the book.

This was just so intense and I loved every minute of it.

This book was really slow. I felt like I was trudging through molasses trying to get through this. Its a shame because the actual story and characters were really good. It felt like the same story could have been told in a novella and it would have been much better. I think is Starling had put this through one more round of editing and trimming this could have been perfect. Unfortunately because of all the pacing I just couldn't get into this so I didn't really get into it.

Pub date: 20 May 2025

Thanks for Netgalley and HarperAudio for an audio-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Saying I’m sad this didn’t work for me is an understatement. I wanted to love this—gothic horror, a castle setting, sapphic leads—it sounded like everything I’d enjoy. But the execution just didn’t deliver. The plot dragged for far too long and didn’t pick up until well into the book. By then, I was too checked out to care.

I’ve seen a lot of people say this would’ve worked better as a novella, and I agree. Even trimming 50–70 pages and tightening the pacing/plot could’ve made a huge difference.

If you like gothic novels then definitely give this a shot. If you are sensitive to what you read definitely read content warnings!

This book started slow—and stayed slow. While the premise is rich with potential, the pacing made it difficult to stay fully engaged. The atmosphere leans heavily into the surreal, which some readers will love, especially those drawn to “weird girl” lit and stories that feel like a fever dream. But if you’re looking for action or momentum, you won’t find much until the very end.

That said, the setting and strange, shifting dynamics among the characters were intriguing enough to keep me curious. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy layered allegory, unsettling imagery, and a heavy dose of the bizarre over plot-driven narratives.

Thank you Harper Audio & NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm familiar with Starling's work from The Luminous Dead; like in the previous book she does a good job of depicting people in desperate situations trying to do whatever they can to survive. The atmosphere was immersive and oppressive and suitably unsettling. I did feel like the book might have been a bit longer than it needed to be but overall I enjoyed it.

The Starving Saints by Caitlyn Starling 4⭐️! A medieval cannibalism horror story with sapphic romance and lots of bees lol A castle filled with refugees trapped behind the walls to stay alive from their enemy’s attacks are running out of food. The Constant Lady and her Saints show up and mysteriously bring food but at a price. The story gives the perspective of 3 women; a warrior, a nun and a servant seeking revenge. Their stories are all interconnected as the book goes on. It took me half the book to figure out which women’s perspective I was in because of their names. I don’t know if it was just me, but even with each one being unique I kept mixing up who was who. The audiobook narrator did an amazing job! The story felt dreamlike and strange. It was very unique but there were some slow parts which made me take longer to get through it. It’s pretty graphic and gross with the cannibalism and you definitely feel dread for the characters!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ARC! All opinions expressed are my own.

Okay this book is weird, and very slow to get started. But it's ultimately a pretty twisted queer horror novel that's doing something clever I've not seen before in quite this way. The Starving Saints is set in a medieval castle under siege. The people are starving and we follow the perspectives of three women including a miracle worker/nun and a knight. The nun has found a way to magically purify the water, but there isn't food. Until a group of beautiful and powerful saints appear and things devolve into a fever dream of the "bacchanalian feasting" mentioned in the description.

Yes, it does involve cannibalism. And yes, it includes sapphic characters, but living in a time where they don't necessarily understand that? I will say, when I figured out what the author was doing with this novel I thought it was really cool. Not going to be to everyone's taste, but I liked it. The audio narration is pretty good, though I wish it was more clear when we had a perspective change. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

The combination of the narrators accent (which is PERFECT for the novel, just requires more focus from me) and the slow start had me a bit lost at first. I could not get into the story and had to restart a couple times. Once I finally got settled, WHEEEW. This book had all the good stuff. Messy, complex cannibals? Say less. This read like a historical fantasy horror with a sensual subplot? It’s really hard to pin this one to one specific genre and I love it for that. I really appreciate books that are in a world of their own. This definitely isn’t a light read. Tackle the world building and the unique time period and you’re in for a treat, I promise.

I love all things medieval and this fever dream of a horror book did medieval very well. I loved the use of taste/eating as means of control and enjoyed watching the three main women go through hard decisions. The writing was well done and I liked the progression of the plot (except one specific key part that I feel was a bit of a cop out and took away from some emotional impact).

Thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so dark and unpleasant (affectionate). The first half was so strong. It’s the perfect amount of mind bending to make for excellent horror. I was really engaged, and I was fully expecting to rate this book four stars, but then it kind of stumbled over the finish line with the second half. There was a lot of running around and it didn’t feel like the plot could decide what to focus on. All this resulted in a three star rating instead, which isn’t bad! But I think it could’ve been better.

The characters had potential chemistry at the beginning of the story, but it wasn’t fleshed out well in the end. The relationships weren’t as compelling as I’d have liked them to be. They felt shoehorned in to make the character dynamics more complex, but they only made them shallower.

I feel like this book almost hit the mark in so many ways, but wasn’t able to quite get there. It’s giving me a little bit of ‘no plot just vibes’ energy.

I really liked the audiobook. It was read by Barrie Kreinik, who also read Ariadne (a book I hated, but the audiobook was good). I like the way she reads. Her voices are really good and she speaks clearly.

Plot: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Prose: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Pacing: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Characters: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
World: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
—————————
Final Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Audiobook: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I am going to DNF this at 70% in. The premise sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, it was just not executed how I thought it would be. The plot dragged considerably and didn't really pick up until about 18 chapters in, by then I was just so uninterested I couldn't care. I wanted there to be more creepy scenes, especially when it came to the cannibalism. I want to be grossed out, and it just seemed dulled down. The book was atmospheric though and you could get into the medieval feel, I just wish that authors would not take so long in books to build a plot because it really could have kept my attention more if so.

This is a weird one, but super good. In a medieval setting, a woman is expected to complete a miracle to create food and save everyone. Instead, a group of creepy saints show up to "save" the day. This was weird in all the right ways, compelling, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio: The narration is well done, no complaints!

Review: When I added this to my TBR I did so because I thought it would be something different and a book to challenge me. It was both. I think if you are a fan of Gideon in the Ninth you must pick this book up.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this. If you are going to read it, I would highly recommend the audio as there's a lot of names and places that are difficult to connect and for me, the audio helped with that. The synopsis alludes to this, but this is a very harsh book. There are so very difficult scenes to read and experience. The author did an excellent job of telling the story she set out to, it was just very difficult to stomach. If you are looking for something light and straight forward this book is not for you. I found it difficult to really understand what was going on, outside of large plot points and some disturbing scenes.

All in all this just simply was not a book for me but I do think there are people who will enjoy it. Other than being confusing (for me), it is written well, descriptive, atmospheric and most importantly, you get exactly what you expect. I was not shocked that I had a difficult time with this one. It's kind of a me problem but I hope I've described it well enough for those of you who may want to pick it up. Proceed with caution.

I am NOT a horror fan so this wasn't a home run for me, but the characters are interesting enough that it did keep my attention even as I wanted to cringe away.

A kingdom's keep has been besieged and food stores are getting dire. The king's mad woman, Phosyne, managed to work a miracle giving them fresh water and now he's demanding she do the same to create food enough for all from nothing, even going so far as to assign a knight, Ser Voyne, to monitor her.

As things grow more desperate, the gods of the kingdom suddenly, without the gates having ever opened and bring with them a feast for the weary. However those who are not enchanted by these gods see the feast for what it is.

Spoilerish:

Prepare yourself for cannibalism and dark violence.