Loved this book and series it was amazing and I am so excited i got an early copy it was amazing and fun

You're all sleeping on this series. Every single one of you. This book was fantastic and yes you can expect me to encourage everyone to reread the series with me before the last book comes out next year. As soon as we have a release date, I will have a schedule!

I already loved the first two books in The Hollow Star Saga (A Dark and Hollow Star and A Cruel and Fated Light), and felt that the second one was a step up from the first. That trend continued here, because A Grim and Sunken Vow took the growth from book two and skyrocketed. The interweaving of plot lines was well done, something that must have been incredibly difficult given that every single character had their own motives. Even Aurelian—a character I like, but ultimately find the flattest of the PoVs—really grows in this book, coming into his own. There's a lot of care put into the evolution of each of the characters, both in the events that unfold throughout this one book, but also overall. Arlo herself, as per usual (and as it should be!) is the main star of the show for the regular PoVs, and I can say with certainty that this will continue into book four.

There's a dual timeline in all of these books where Shuttleworth writes the history of an additional character in the book. In ADAHS, that character is Hero, the alchemist crafting the first philosopher's stone. In ACAFL, that character is Riadne, Queen of Seelie Summer (and future High Sovereign). In AGASV, that character is Lethe. While he's not a villain like Hero or Riadne, he's certainly an anti-hero, and I think his PoV was pivotal for making this work.

What a charming third book. A grim and sunken vow was a well written lyrical fantasy following the second instalment of the hollow star saga, it had all the poise and engagement of the first two books, with wonderful twists and turns, and the most stunning character development. The flashbacks were a wonderful addition, and this story was my favorite arc of all. I hope everyone gets something out of this book because representation >>

A Grim and Sunken Vow is a beautifully written addition to the series and there is no arguing that fact.
Shuttleworth does a fantastic job at fully fletching out her characters and giving them a fully thought out story, whilst keeping the world building top tier. My main area of praise with this book plot wise was the plausibility of the events that unfold. Everything that happens has a reason and explanation to go along with it.
The characters are well written and hold their own in this instalment.
Most notably the addition of Lethe and Celadon's POV's and backstories. These characters were a delight to read and kept me going throughout the sheer girth of the book. (I'll come back to that)
The plot: takes a very long time to get moving, like way too long. For reference, ACFL ends on an epic cliffhanger that had me heavily anticipating this book's release. However, it falls flat on it's face when it tries to pick up where its predecessor leaves off. The characters are shook, that's about it. Roughly 200 pages of the characters dealing with what the reader already knew from reading the previous book. That's not all bad though, I think character based books are great, but due to the massive cast of characters in this series, it drastically affects the readability and pacing of the first third of this book.
Length wise, the book desperately needed to have a thorough editing, and someone had to red pen the heck out of the transcript. It's simply overwritten. I spent 640 pages with Aurleian and Vehan in the last book, I really didn't need their POV chapters to be longer than a few pages to get me up to speed with where they were. If you're introducing two new characters (Lethe and Celadon) that are the secondary/main event of the book's plot. Then you can't spend so much time on past MC's that become side characters (which are ALSO in Arlo, Nausicaa, and Celadon's POV's).
Overall I love the book, and Shuttleworth's writing carried me throughout, but I was let down with the ending of this one. Alongside the length, it affected the overall enjoyability of the book.
I think craftsmanship and originality goes a long way, however, if it wasn't for my love for Celadon and Lethe this would have been a meh read (pros of having amazing characters i guess).
I don't know where I stand about the series as a whole in regards to recommending it. If you can handle long books at the YA level then go for it, but otherwise, I feel as if this is a hard series for teens to pick up if they aren't already dedicated readers.

This book is an emotional masterpiece from beginning to end. We pick up right after the devastating events at the end of book 2 and build from there. This amazing cast of characters are tested in new ways after many new discoveries along the way. My only qualm with this being multiple POV is being so invested in one chapter and it ending on a mini cliffhanger, for us then to switch to another character for a bit. But I was uniquely invested in each character's POV, so this ultimately wasn't a flaw to the book. The multiple POVs do a great job at detailing every piece of the story's overall puzzle.

What this third book does best is really dives into each character emotionally. There is so much development in this book, especially with Arlo and Celadon. We also get a lot more insight into Lethe, and his arc throughout this book was done beautifully.

And once again, this ending leaves me emotionally reeling and anticipating the next book. The countdown begins!