A Dark and Hollow Star was a fun fantasy read. It wasn't my favorite fantasy book for 2021. I'm giving the book 3 stars.

QUEER BOOK OF THE YEAR!

ALSO I NOW LIVE IN THE UNSEELIE SPRING COURT!

The CN Tower lit up in a rainbow to celebrate the Pride Parade in Toronto / La Tour, illuminée en arc-en-ciel pour célébrer … | Tower light, Iconic landmarks, Tower
A Very Queer Toronto. My Happy Place.
Where to even begin?!

I mean, that’s obvious, so without further ado…

From the top!

Ashley kicks this book off with a killer Prologue. Normally I find myself slipping during these drawling bits of info dumping, but not theirs. I was thrown into the ring right out the gate and couldn’t stop. Everything from the description of the flooring to the snarky remarks of my girl Alecto had me trying to force myself into the pages of this novel!

The book follows four POVS of Faerie teens (well, sort of teens) with their plots split between Las Vegas, Nevada and the glorious city I call home, Toronto, Ontario.

Each character has been uniquely crafted and I personally love each one! (though my heart belongs to Arlo) The building of friendships, relationships, and just overall development of the story was one of the most natural I’ve ever read. These are teens/young adults acting as true teens and young adults. It’s not very often I find characters doing things that are completely believable, and even in some cases things I would personally do (Arlo I’m looking at you).

Ashley has written a world so incredible and full of beauty into one that I know to be so mundane. From the glamoured Faerie haunts to the location of the UnSeelie Spring Palace, I’m pretty sure they know something and are keeping it a secret.

If you read this Ashley, TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!

Just kidding, but not really.

Oh I wanted to love this book so much, just from the description alone it felt like it was made for me. Alas, while a fun read, it's a little too long and slow paced.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

Fun! I enjoyed this queer fantasy with its banter, worldbuilding, and characters. After reading a lot of dense fantasy, this was more relaxed on worldbuilding and I appreciated it that. However! Readers, beware! This book has over 500 pages, which means that, yes, unfortunately, I did feel like it dragged at some parts, and I think the pacing could be better. Please do not let that discourage you from picking this up -- as I said in the first word of this review, A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR is: fun. :)

Recommended.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

A Dark and Hollow Star follows four characters—Nausicaä, Arlo, Vehan, and Aurelian. Nausicaä is a lesbian Fury, who was banished to the mortal realm and a lethal force of death who longs to exact revenge on her enemies. Arlo is a shy half-fae half-human pansexual girl who must fight for her right to be called fae. Vehan is the bisexual prince of the fae who is the sweetest little cinnamon roll. Aurelian is a gay member of the Seelie Summer court and Vehan’s guardian. All their paths collide and together, they must save their world.

I really had a lot of hopes for this book and I was slightly disappointed. The characters were a bit stereotypical but I honestly loved them despite that. I want to protect all of them at all costs. They did all had flaws but that is what had them so unique and loveable. While this did have a lot of casual queer rep, there wasn't much diversity in the racial, ethnic, or cultural departments and I wish there was. I've heard Toronto is a very diverse city and that wasn't captured in this book.

I love the banter between the characters and while Ashley had good writing, that introduced you to the world without being overwhelmed, I feel like there definitely could have been better world-building. The fighting scenes and the humor si where Ashley's writing really shined. Having the different perspectives really worked in this story especially with the mystery. We also read from the antagonist's perspective which was really interesting.

The antagonist's perspective was interesting but the antagonist felt a bit cartoony to me and I didn't really love that whole aspect of the book. Parts of the mystery and plot were a bit confusing but I mostly overlooked it because of the amazing characters. It also took a long time for everything to come together and for the characters to all finally meet. It made the plot drag a bit

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Ashley Shittleworth, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very difficult read and I initially picked it wanting to read something different from my norm. I picked wrong I found the characters were hard to associate with and it took forever to get to the plot.

I didnt finish this book. I was really enjoying it up until the half way point. I liked the characters but I didn't click with the story.

So, when I heard about this queer fantasy with a badass main character and the most beautiful cover of 2021, you knew that I was going to jump at it. I was super excited about this book. Unfortunately, the book definitely struggled and it was obvious it was a debut novel. I felt like the the pace really meandered and the writing style just did not work for me. This might be one that I re-read as an audiobook to see if I can understand it more, but physically reading it, I was lost for probably 75% of the book.

I really loved the writing and characters in this book. I thought Shuttleworth did a great job in handling the dark subject matter.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. A fae world and queer characters? Sounded perfect. Not to mention how gorgeous the cover is. However, after about 25% in, I realized that this book just wasn't for me. The pacing felt so slow and I didn't really have any attachments to the four main characters. The plot itself felt like a drag, and perhaps I just don't enjoy murder mysteries? I took me forever to get through this book and it felt very early 2010s YA Fantasy in its character and world building, This was really a let down and I'm still on the fence whether I will read the sequel. Part of me wants to give the author another chance but the other part of me just found the entire book unenjoyable.

**Thank you Simon And Schuster publishing for providing this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change.**


“Nothing more dangerous than a fairytale.”

Iron borns are dying and the High king has deemed it a human issue. In order to discover the truth behind these murders, a group of teenagers who have absolutely nothing in common will team up to uncover this mystery.

Arlo, a girl stuck between two worlds and yet destined for great things. An outcast of the royal family, too fae for the human and too human for the fae.
Nausicaa, a cast out fury who has been banished to the human realm to roam the earth for the rest of eternity.
Vehan a prince, a boy starved for affection.
Aurelian, the prince’s bodyguard, best friend and potential love interest.

“Iron teeth will show you the way but… only once the stars align will you receive the answers you seek.”

Sounds promising right? I was extremely excited for this one! The cover is absolutely breathtaking. This book is marketed as a cross between the mortal instrument by Cassandra Clare and the cruel prince by Holly Black and there is a reason for that. In fact, A dark and hollow star is entirely too similar, at times it felt like I was reading a shadowhunter novel. I found myself constantly comparing the similarities between Arlo (A dark and hollow star) and Clary (The mortal instrument), from the demon club scene to the mention of art school, to their personality.

“ I want to protect someone the way no one wants to protect me.”

This book is set in modern Toronto, Canada. Although this is meant to be a modern fairytale the constant references to modern pop culture such as Harry Potter, Star Wars sort of disrupted the flow of the story. Honestly Nausicaa carried this entire book! The sarcasm! The murderous tendencies! And her attraction to Arlo *Chef’s Kiss! I really enjoyed the fact that this book had an entire cast of LGBTQ+ individuals as well as great BIPOC representations! Which is why i am rating A dark and hollow star 3/5

I was highly anticipating this one and unfortunately it fell fairly flat. There were definitely things I appreciated about it, which was the only reason I didn’t DNF... but sadly the bad outweighed the good.

Let’s start with the things I did like. The queer rep was great. I appreciate an author that is willing to actually use terms to label the sexuality of their characters, and not just hint towards a little same sex attraction here or there. As a bisexual woman I always like to see bisexual characters. I also appreciated the gender neutral pronouns of the one character that were used and respected. All that being said, I heard this book being talked up as such a paragon of queer rep but didn’t even really find or notice any of it until at least 60% in. The pacing was so slow that this felt like an eternity.

As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I’m used to the time it takes to do good world building. I go into new fantasy series fully expecting a slow build in the first book due to having to construct an entire reality... that being said, the world building here felt super clunky and heavy handed. There was so much politics and magic and lore that I felt constantly inundated with new information and it became a lot to keep track of.

I’m also so completely over references to Harry Potter and Twilight... they’re unnecessary at this point. There are better ways to make pop culture references... especially as a positive queer book- why are we referencing the work of a TERF? When a character told someone to “hold on spider monkey” I physically gagged.

Overall I feel like this book had a lot of potential but just got really bogged down by trying to build a huge world with so many rules and political goings on, and because of that didn’t get to spend enough time building on the characters that had a really good framework. I expect that this author will continue to grow and I would actually consider picking up the sequel, expecting it to have less of the slow world building and more action and character development now that the world exists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I was sold at the mention of faerie and the look of the book cover and honestly it was the best decision I ever made! This book was a wild ride and I already need the next book!

I really love that this book has queer rep in it, you just don't see that often in faerie books and so I am so glad that this one has it and that it's written by someone who is queer themselves. The writing itself was so lush and just beautiful in every way, I was in awe the entire time! I could picture it all so vividly in my mind. The way the author handles mental health was also something that I appreciated a lot.

A wonderful debut and I cannot wait for the next book!

I haven't enjoyed a book in sometime the way that I enjoyed A Dark and Hollow Star. A new and excitingly modern take on the Fae courts, this is an urban fantasy you do not want to miss. What really sold me on this book were its characters, especially Nausicca, I LOVED HER SO DANG MUCH. She's irreverent, sassy, saucy, and just plain old hilarious. Everytime Nausicca opened her mouth I was either laughing, rooting her on, or both. I haven't had so much fun reading about a character who is feisty and morally grey in such a long time. I also adored her dynamic with Arlo, how the two of them are polar opposites and balance each other out in the plot, and their banter absolutely gave me life. Arlo is just so adorable and pure she must be protected at all costs. Seeing all the characters come together was a lot of fun. Everything about this book is dynamite. I love how Shuttleworth's writing is both bold and electrifying, and it allows her personality to come shining through this story. The world-building was absolutely fascinating. I always appreciate when a fantasy world intersects with our own world and that is done super well here. I also thought Shuttleworth's take on mythologies having to do with faeries, furies, and so many other different legends was refreshingly new. The mystery and the stakes at the heart of the plot kept me guessing, and when the big bad was finally revealed at the end of the book I was actually surprised because I did not see it coming, which doesn't happen often to me. With compelling characters, lots of action, and a dash of romance, A Dark and Hollow Star is urban fantasy at its best and I will absolutely be reading the next book. A debut author to watch, that is sure.

This review is going to be pretty short because the only thing I can really say is I LOVED IT. The beginning opened with such a hook that I couldn't stop reading and the only reason I didn't inhale this book was because of work and the fact that I bought a house! 

This book takes place in two realms, the human world and the hidden fae realm, which I thought was so cool. I loved the fact that the fae were able to easily move from each realm and go in between whenever they wanted, especially since Arlo, one of our main characters, has a human father living in the human realm. While we spend a good amount of time in the human realm, I loved all of the moments in the fae realm. I can only imagine how sparling and gorgeous these locations were. 

The characters were also so interesting - especially Naucassia (Nos) - who is a forsaken Fury forced to live as an immortal in the human realm. Nos is snarky, sassy, and also more human than she would like to admit. Arlo was also great, especially once she gained some self confidence and came out of her shell. Vehan and Aurelian, our remaining two main characters, had me confused at first because they were kind of interchangeable in my mind. I kept getting confused who was who at first, but by the end, it is very clear they have wildly different personalities! And I feel like this varied mix of characters made this book that much more interesting. While I loved the plot, the characters completely sold this book for me and made me love it even more. 

Another thing I really appreciated was the discussion on mental illness. This book has a lot of trigger warnings which are included at the beginning of the book and thankfully nothing was too intense for me. 

CW: anger, arson, blood/gore, body horror (minor), death of a child, depression, disownment, divorce, drug use/addiction, grief/grieving, human trafficking, poverty, psychopathy, stalking, suicide (past, off-page), suicide ideation, toxic relationship/manipulation, trauma/PTSD, racism, violence/gun violence

Talking about mental health and the importance of mental health was a big aspect of this book. I appreciated the discussion of how suicide affects everyone, especially loved ones, and that the trauma never truly leaves a person. It's important to discuss these kinds of things because many people don't realize the impact suicide has on their family simply because they think that the world, and the people around them, are better off without them. Which is not true. 

This book covers serious topics, while also including light and dark humor, and I could appreciate that. While reading this though because there is a big discussion on heavier topics, this felt like it would have been better as an adult novel. At times it felt like I was reading adult fiction instead of YA - so if you're thinking of reading this or gifting it to someone, it is definitely bordering New Adult and possibly adult fiction with the content, imagery, and certain plot points. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the sequel!

I wanted to love this book, but I honestly had a very difficult time feeling engaged. There were too many POVs, and they went on for much too long. I felt like nothing actually HAPPENED until about halfway through the book, at which point I was just bored. Everything about the synopsis of this book called to me and I was looking forward to it, but ultimately this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book has been on my priority TBR since the beginning of 2019. It has everything I look for in a YA fantasy; queer rep, fae, adventure, and while I did like this for the most part, I struggled to understand the world and the plot was a bit too convoluted for me. There was also a lot of info-dumping and as this book is 500+ pages, I found myself a little bored at times.

However, I adored all the main characters and their relationships with each other, I also liked how their individual storylines came together towards the end.

While this book ended up being a mixed bag for me, it's totally a “me not you” situation and I definitely understand why people love this one, I highly recommend checking out other reviews as well!

I loved this book. It grabbed me immediately and the story kept hold of me. I'm not always a fan of multiple POV books, but I cared about each of the POV characters here enough to look forward to their chapters. I love that part of this is set in Canada, and it was so cool to see a city I'm familiar (Toronto) depicted. The fae feel very fresh, comparable to reading Holly Black.

Rating 3 out of 5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Dark and Hollow Star is the highly imaginative novel from debut author Ashley Shuttleworth, and it starts off with a bang. Now, that I have finished the book I still believe that the prologue was one of the most captivating moments within the novel, it drew me in fully. I appreciated the author's obvious passion for her work and want to thank the author and publisher for including trigger warnings at the beginning of the story, since the subject matter can be a bit difficult for many readers.

I will say this, at times I felt like this story was overly ambitious. There was a hodgepodge of varying folklore and mythology, which did give the story a unique edge, but in times it felt like the execution was a bit choppy. There are quite a few POV characters so you get insight into different minds and people living in differing courts, which helped to round out the picture of events. Although, sometimes the writing would switch to past and it was not completely clear when this switch had occurred, leading to moments of confusion. The premise of this story is great and the messaging is equally fantastic, but certain moments felt like they were not fully connected. The characters were engaging and complex and I love mutual pining so definitely an A+ from me there. Nausicaa was my favorite character and not just because she has the same name as a beloved Ghibli character, but her grief and anguish were real and raw and resonated with me. I would be interested in continuing on with this series, because I feel like some of the issues I had with this book could be smoothed out in the sequel and I'm keen to know what happens next.