Forgive me, DNF 45%

I didn't care enough about the characters to deal with the info dump & to stay aware of everyone's backstory & the plot. It's just too long with too many povs.

I WAS REALLY UPSET as I really needed a new Wicked Lovely world & This was looking good after Book 1

Man, this book! I loved being in this world again, and hanging out with the gang again! I had such a great time, though it wasn't really great for them! I had to know what was going to happen next, because oh, there were plots brewing!

Things have calmed down after the events of the first book, and these characters have split up again. I was just itching to get the band back together, though, because they're such great characters, and I enjoy their dynamics with one another!

There are quite a few secrets still being held. Like how Riadne is blackmailing Aurelian, so he doesn't tell Vehan the truth. As well as a few mysteries, like who is trying to summon the Seven Deadly Sins, because that sounds like a swell idea (can you read my sarcasm?)

That ending though? That was just killer! I just couldn't put it down, and I couldn't believe what was happening! I need to know what's going to happen next, what's going to be the impact of what happened! I mean, that was major!

This was another really great book, and now I'm dying for book 3!

This book examines some very serious and important themes such as grief, trauma and a world that forces teens to grow up much faster than they should. The author does an incredible job of pulling at reader's heart strings and making us root for the main characters experiencing the cruelty of the world around them. The characters themselves are extremely relatable and will likely help a teenager or two gain acceptance over their identity.

Overall, I would have appreciated less of a focus on the descriptions of the setting and much less use of italics. She does a great job of setting the scene, however it has a tendency of detracting from the overall storyline and I ended up getting lost in a few places where I tried to remember what had happened immediately preceding drawn-out scene setting.

I will definitely be picking up the sequel because that was one memorable ending!!

Actual rating: 3.5/5.

A Cruel and Fated Light, the second entry in The Hollow Star Saga, follows main character Arlo as she comes to terms with the events of the first book and gets drawn deeper and deeper into the nefarious world of fae political intrigue.

There’s a lot to love about this book. The urban fantasy atmosphere continues to delight me, and as always, I am thrilled that Canada gets some page time. We exist too, you know! Additional POVs mean we get more perspective on the returning cast; Nausicaä remains a fave, both in general and for her personal arc throughout this novel. I’m pleased to report this got even queerer as well.

Compared to the first novel, there are even more twists and turns amidst the layers of political intrigue. The novel does a great job at enough foreshadowing to contextualize the more dramatic plot twists without feeling too predictable, and for the reveals you’re supposed to see coming, they hit hard when they arrive. I appreciated the continuing engagement with darker themes.

One thing I do feel this novel suffered from was instances of characters acting in service to the plot rather than the characters acting in service to the characters. There’s a lot of promising development both for relationships and individual character arcs that feel tanked by certain decisions in the last 10% of the book—which, while I know climactic scenes SHOULD move fast, did feel rushed to me, especially in comparison to the earlier, slower pacing.

All in all I still highly recommend this series for readers who enjoy dark and dramatic fae stories with a plethora of queer characters all around. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series as soon as I can, especially after THAT ending, and can’t wait to see what’s next.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Are you freaking kidding me?
I gotta wait forever to find out what happens next?
Dammit Ashley!

This was just as good as the first book. I got high hopes for the rest of the series!
Much love to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for my ARC.

4.5

I was lucky enough to be a part of the author's street team for the promotion of the release of this book. A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my favourite of 2021 so clearly A Cruel and Fated Light was one of my anticipated reads of this year.

The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me was because I found the beginning quite slow and it took me a bit to get into. That may be a bigger issue for some people, but frankly, I'm mostly in this for the characters which made the rest of the book enjoyable for me. It was all very character driven, looking in depth into character relationships and backgrounds and we got a new perspective with Celadon which was a really nice addition!

Once again, Ashley Shuttleworth has put me through an emotional rollercoaster with their work and left me a wreck and I could not be happier about it.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, I cannot say that I loved this one as much. However, it did still have all of the things that I loved from book 1 (lots of queer characters, an intriguing magic system, the Canadianisms) but with the addition of stress and sadness. Therefore it feels very personal that I didn't quite like this one as much because I avoid upset when reading at all costs. Those who are less easily affected by such things will probably like this installment just as much as the first.

A Cruel and Fated Light by Ashley Shuttleworth is the second book in the Hollow Star Saga. Arlo wants a quiet summer after thwarting the man behind the iron-born murders. Unfortunately, someone is still trying to summon the Seven Deadly Sins. When Queen Riadne invites Arlo to the Seelie Summer Palace, she is excited to go. She looks forward to seeing Vehan and Aurelian. She also hopes to sort out her feelings for Nausicaä. The Summer Solstice is drawing closer, and Riadne is expected to challenge the High King. As Arlo adjusts to her new life, she is faced with a monumental choice.

Ashley Shuttleworth continues the Hollow Star Saga with another high-stakes adventure. These characters continue to evolve in such big ways. Just like the first book, I enjoy all the different perspectives.

3.5 stars

Okay so I liked this one a lot more than the first one, though Arlo is still so, so irritating and completely oblivious. It doesn't even really make a lot of sense in terms of her character with the whole Riadne situation. The author tries to justify it, but it wasn't enough IMO. Everyone around her is warning her, people she loves and trusts, Aurelian who lives with this bitch, everyone, but she is like oh no I believe the best in everyone even though nearly every single person I've ever interacted with in my life has treated me like hot garbage and shown me the worst of themselves. That makes sense. On top of all this, she herself keeps getting these bad vibes and wafts of evil from Riadne, but I guess it's just that Arlo is so pure and good that she can't help but be a fucking imbecile.

Speaking of characters doing things out of.. character, there was a lot more Celadon in this book, which I approve of, but the whole him just telling Riadne not to do something bad and then pulling the plug on any further investigation was so unlike him. I don't even trust my dog not to swipe shit off my desk when I go to the bathroom, but Celadon would surely tell Riadne to sit and be good, and in his heart he surely knows that hoping is good enough.

There was just too much in this book that was convenient. It was also bit bloated, more so than the previous. I did a fair bit of skimming because I just couldn't bring myself to slog through it all.

Kvetching about that aside, I actually did quite enjoy a lot of the overzealous description in this book. The lush and decadent settings were very evocative, magical and ethereal and very over-the-top Fae, as it should be. I liked reading about the clothes, the food, and the decor. Riadne's solstice dress? So good.

The romances continue to be lackluster, though I did still enjoy a lot of the banter. No one has any chemistry except for maybe whatever is bubbling up with Celadon and Theo. It's great that this series is inclusive in that regard, but it seems to be the author's entire marketing plan, and a lot of it seems forced, particularly the random infodumps.

The dice thing is still so fucking hokey, and I really feel like it takes more than it gives. The idea of Luck is great, the idea of dice is great, but it's made so DnDcentric and so.. I don't even know how to describe it. Like bright flashing lights show up in front of her? It was very game showy.

On that note, again, I feel the need to mention that your book shouldn't be a love letter to yourself. It's like Nausicaa (I'm sorry, I hate that name, it's like nautical nausea or something) is who the author wishes she was or who she is in her head and Arlo is who she is in reality, like she wrote the whole book and then went back and randomly selected places to add in references to her favourite games. It pulled me out of the story. It changed the ambience. Don't fanservice yourself.

That ending was fucking criminal. Like hey I'm going to keep carrotting my donkey-reader, and then at the very end I will take that carrot and launch it in a trebuchet toward the next book. Go get it donkey bitch! See you next year.

I’m only a quarter way through this book and all I have to say is this book is a whole lot better than it predecessor.

The world building, the character evolution (I’ll just use this for the lack of a better word), and the magickal system are all topnotch. I seriously feel like this series needs to be made into video games A.S.A.P.

P.S.
This is not a complete review. I’ll post one next week (or in a few days ) on Bookstagram and Booktube once I’m done reading this.

A wonderful sequel overall! While I was a little confused about the worldbuilding at times, Shuttleworth completely made up for it with their lovely characters and enjoyable dialogue. I especially appreciated Arlo's journey with her sexuality and Vehan and Aurelian's relationship. This was a wonderful addition to the series and I'm very excited to continue to promote this author's work in store!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.
I genuinely, truly wish I could find any piece of criticism for this book but I just can't. It was amazing. It was a nice, evenly paced start where I was reminded why I fell in love with these characters and their world in the first place, and then it got so tense with the mystery and suspense at the end that I actually woke up early just to finish it.
It's freaking phenomenal is what it is.

First of all, I love this book so much and I'm so glad I got it in advance so it could immediately go to the top of my TBR list.

This book picks up essentially where the last left off, Arlo explaining what happened to the court and then she (along with Celadon) are invited to the Summer Seelie Court for the summer so that Arlo can train her alchemy. Honestly, there are multiple plots in this book but it's done so well and so smoothly, that I didn't even realise it until I was writing this. First, you have Arlo and her studies, both in alchemy and with Luck as a Hollow Star. Also with Arlo you have your "will-they-won't-they" romance with her and Nos as she continues to fall in love (and realise she is falling in love). Next, with Celadon and Aurelian, you have their heavy suspicion of the Seelie Queen of Summer and dedication to reveal her plans (also with the help of another character but that's totally spoilers) and this plot line is VERY political/court drama and I must say, I absolutely loved it and it was very well done. Then you have Vehan's struggle with his magic and emotions that May Or May Not be his and, to top it all off, his and Aurelian's own "will-they-won't-they" oblivious love story. 100% this sequel was everything I hoped for, and more, and I need the third one NOW!

Potential cons:
- Length. When I first put this book on my kobo and saw it was like 550~ pages I was immediately overwhelmed. I tend to not like super long books, because they can drag on and tend to be really slow to get going but this WAS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. It was written so smoothly, and so well frankly that everything flowed and seemed to follow a logical and exciting timeline that kept me super engaged.

What I liked:
- Queerness. This book reminds me of the Oprah meme "you get a car! And you get a car!" Except instead of cars, we're getting queer characters. Literally everyone and their mom are queer and it's AMAZING. I love the way that in this universe, queerness just is and it's SO refreshing and comforting to read. Sometimes, we don't need stories about how terrible or difficult it is to be queer and this is one of those stories.

- The TTRPG-ness. Of course I'm a DnD nerd, I'm gay what do you expect. The way this is done feels very natural, and just another part of the magic in the world (instead of feeling awkward or forced). The author explains it so well and spread out that we believe this is Arlo learning and exploring what it means to be a Hollow Star and that the TTRPG-ness of it is just happenstance - like the magic came first.

- Worldbuilding. Can I just compliment how GOOD Ashley Shuttleworth is at worldbuilding because good goly are they ever. This is the second book, so we're expected to know a lot more about the world and we do. However, we still get to learn new aspects and traditions of the world as the characters, particularly Arlo, are exposed to new information and events. Everything is woven in so seamlessly though, there's not just a big block of information shoved in there, obviously for the reader's benefit. Instead, things are exposed layer by layer, as they come up and ugh, it's just so good to read.

A Cruel and Fated Light was honestly an amazing sequel. In the second book of the series we revisit the same loveable characters from book 1 with the added perspective of the antagonist at the end of some chapters. I haven't read many books that have managed to do this as successfully as Ashley Shuttleworth. With this added perspective we not only get to see what makes them the antagonist but also we find out a lot about some of the other main characters.
Story wise this is a beautiful continuation and truly brought a new light to the story. We see the characters grow closer and get stronger, namely our MC Arlo. One of the things I love about this series is the world building. The details we get really helped me imagine the setting and characters. I really enjoyed getting to see other mystical races and how well the fantasy world morphs into reality.

Characters:
I love all of the characters in this series, even the antagonists are likeable as a villain and are somewhat relatable. The 5 main characters continue to tug at my heartstrings and bring all of the feels throughout their journeys.
Arlo in the first book had a lot of flaws and was just confused all of the time so seeing her grow so much in this book really made me happy, along with how her friendships and relationships grow.
Nausicaa is once again an iconic character and made me laugh a lot. Her sarcasm and wit is always relatable to me and I loved getting to see her also show her soft side some more.
All of the other characters grow a lot but since they weren't as much of a focus in the first book and to avoid spoilers that's all I will say about them.

I love this series and will continue to recommend it to everyone I know that wants to read a queer fantasy book with tons of amazing representation and that has GORGEOUS covers!!

Now that my head has cleared and I've worked through some of the emotional damage, I am ready to gush about this book.
I don't believe that I have ever before been so dazzled by a sequel. A Cruel and Fated Light is phenomenal! Our favourite cast of magical misfits is back and ready to break some hearts.
In ACAFL, the action moves to Vegas, where the group gets to spend the summer with Vehan and Riadne. It is tense from page one, and the twists are endless. So many of them are emotional and I absolutely did cry. Have a blast trying to guess them all because it's impossible to see everything coming and you'll be left with your jaw hanging when it all comes to a head.
I am already planning to reread this one asap. The mental health rep and found family dynamics are all that I could hope for, and the action is shocking. Love love love this book! Ashley Shuttleworth is brilliant!