This book was so good.

The three main characters were all so complex - well-developed, flawed yet likable, growing and changing, all different and yet fit together so well. I enjoyed the somewhat vague magic system, as I think it made the world more mysterious and gave less clues as to where the plot could go. The atmosphere and description of the setting in context with the lack of time and severance from reality was great.

My only complaint is that I think there was not as much of a balance of ecstasy and horror the way I had expected when I saw the word Bacchanalian in the description of the book - the people who are suffering seem at best blank, confused or placated, not ecstatic. Not seduced. But that didn't impact the storytelling of the novel at all, and I still thought this book was amazing. Great writing, great characterization, compelling atmosphere.

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling is a queer medieval body-horror novel that dives deep into themes of religion and loyalty—with a generous serving of cannibalism. WARNING: Do not eat while reading.

It is engaging, refreshing, and a little graphic. For those who are gore-curious, the descriptions aren’t drastically bloody, but the context of the gore? Yeah....eww. The book builds a haunting, mysterious atmosphere that lingers, and the characters—especially the Saints—are compelling in the most unsettling way. I wasn’t expecting the level of body horror, and since I don’t usually read it, I struggled with some moments. That said, I know there’s an audience that thrives on queer cannibal narratives (Yellowjackets Hive, this one’s for you), so I have no doubt this book will find its people.

Try a spoonful of honey before reading, I hear it does wonders for your psyche!

4 Stars – “Come for the Siege, Stay for the Sinister Feast”

Look, six months trapped in a castle with no food sounds horrific… until salvation arrives in the form of mysterious divine figures who waltz in past the barricades and start handing out miracles like party favors. Sick? Healed. Starving? Here, have a feast. Skeptical? Well, don’t be rude—just drink the wine and enjoy the vibes.

Except maybe don’t, because something is deeply wrong.

This book is dark, twisted, and absolutely intoxicating—kind of like whatever’s in those banquet chalices. You’ve got a paranoid nun-turned-sorceress trying to science her way out of disaster, a war hero falling under the spell of some very suspect saints, and a serving girl with a vendetta, all trapped in a castle slipping into hedonistic, flesh-eating madness. It’s gothic horror at its finest—rich, unsettling, and impossible to look away from.

If you like your horror with a side of theological terror, unhinged feasts, and deeply questionable divine intervention, The Starving Saints is your next obsession. Just… maybe don’t read it on an empty stomach. Or right after a big meal. Trust me.

DNF at 63%

I gave it a shot but I should have trusted my gut that this book would not be for me. It's not really a problem with the book, and I hope this review still leads it to someone who will love it.

A lady-knight, a girl seeking vengeance, and a former nun turn mad sorceress walk into a b- oop wait, my bad. They're trapped in a castle under siege along with the king and many others, food is scarce, and hope is burning out. That is, until the saints arrive and bring with them bounty and salvation, but all is not as it seems. I know I'm too easy when one mention of Harrowhark Nonagesimus in another review gets me to read the book. Unfortunately, the characters fell kind of flat for me and it was difficult to get a sense of them outside the bounds of the story if you know what I mean. I also just deeply dislike dream/hallucinogenic sequences in books because it feels like the author can just get away with anything and brush it off as surreality. Also, maybe I just liked more extreme horror but there wasn't a whole lot of horror in the two thirds of the book that I read. Maybe it gets really crazy at the end, I don't know.

I think if you're a fantasy reader looking for more entry-level horror or you really like gothic and want to try out medieval, this is a solid starting point. It just didn't have anything for me.

Thank you to Caitlin Starling and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

Disgustingly delicious, depraved in all the right ways. I loved the descriptions of debauchery, the saints themselves in all their transcendent beauty juxtaposed against the horrors they invite, but what stuck with me most after reading were the three main characters and the wonderfully twisted relationship between them.
Much has been said about Ser Voyne and her choking kink, and well, I absolutely concur, but I will always be a sucker for love between women that’s messy and gritty and yet still underset by a deep love the characters themselves endlessly agonize over. If you like your sapphic relationships toxic yet still full of begrudging admiration, and your descriptions of cannibalism florid and dripping of honey, this is the novel for you! It made me really hungry, and for a book about cannibalism I think that’s great.
My only small caveat is that I would have wished it to be maybe even a bit more extreme and graphic, but I am also a horror lover, and I feel like for people who aren’t as big on gore this might be a bonus.
Next time I go to the store, I’ll pick up some honey in honor of my new favorite medieval disaster sapphics <3
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A medieval horror-dark fantasy mashup, The Starving Saints follows three women trapped in a castle filled with people starving to death as they are under siege: Phosyne, a madwoman who can seemingly make strange things occur, Trelia, once noble and now fighting for scraps, and Voyne, the right-hand knight to the king with fierce loyalty. When mysterious figures come to the castle who appear as saints ready to feed the starving people, the three women begin to realize the heinous cost of the saints’ gifts.

This book is filled with debauchery and is an exemplary use of a medieval horror setting. The story is filled with madness— characters losing their minds, the setting so strange and unusual it shakes your brain, and the reality of their situation (if reality is the word for it) so gruesome you want to look away but can’t. The mystery of the strange magic in the story is gripping and eerie, albeit also maddeningly vague at times, but it fits the narration style.

If you like watching a descent into madness, this definitely encompasses that entirely, though be prepared to read this on an empty stomach. This is a story that doesn’t answer all the strangeness inside it, instead, it just takes you on a journey of desperate survival. The little details haunt you, and honey is an element of horror now.

Also the buff knight who is desperate to be led lowkey was attractive idk buff women begging to have purpose like let’s go.

This was so creepy, weird, and claustrophobic. Most of Caitlin Starling's books that I have read previously have missed the mark for me, but this one was great! I really enjoyed the three different perspectives and the sense of slowly creeping dread that permeated every page of this book. You could really feel the emotions of all of the characters trapped in the castle. I particularly loved every scene with the saints.

This was my most anticipated horror of 2025, and it did not disappoint.

Other reviews have described this as a nightmarish fever dream. Those words are accurate, but I offer some of my own:

- beautifully macabre
- delightfully twisted
- slyly feminist (I support women's wrongs!)
- satisfyingly plotted

I will definitely be reading it again. And I truly hope Caitlin Starling writes a book on horror-craft or gives a masterclass at some point. This reverberated in my bones in ways I didn't even know I could crave horror.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc!
This was a fantastic read!! The writing was decedent and alluring, the world was fantastically well thought out and imaginative. Each of the three fmc’s were delightful in the way they interacted with each other and the world around them. I had never read a story quite as unique as this one before… from the opening page I felt drawn into this magnificently creepy world.

It got a little confusing towards the end, but otherwise fantastic

Such a unique premise! If you're into dark reads, The Starving Saints is a total trip. It’s got everything from a badass lady knight, mind-control food, creepy bees, cannibalism, and sooo much more. The characters are messy, compelling, and seriously flawed, and their twisted relationships kept me hooked. The book's a sensory overload—grotesque, visceral, and brilliant in its execution. It’s definitely a must-read for anyone into medieval horror or messy sapphic drama.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

This was a slog. I REALLY wanted to like it but nothing happened for the first 50% of the book and then the second half was just them sort of running around?

I think maybe I am not the right audience for this author - this is the second book by her I’ve tried

The Starving Saints is dark, decadent, and completely deranged—and I loved every second of it. Caitlin Starling has crafted a medieval horror fever dream that drags you in by the throat and doesn’t let go. The tension here is suffocating, the twists are genuinely sick, and the unraveling of morality and sanity is so visceral, you feel it in your gut. If you love stories that are too much in the best possible way—bloody, bizarre, and brilliantly unhinged—then The Starving Saints is your next obsession. Just… maybe don’t read it on an empty stomach. Or a full one.

I was immediately sucked in from chapter one - the tone was so intense and intriguing. Each character is well distinguished and incredibly vivid. There wasn’t a perspective I preferred less. Overall it’s a book whose atmosphere I carried with me and thought about for a while after finishing.

Let me be the first to say that medieval horror isn't a genre that typically interests me, but The Starving Saints hooked me pretty early and absolutely refused to let go.

The book follows three of the women of the Aymar Castle - Ser Voyne, knight and protector of the King and the people, Phosyne, a former nun-turned-witch, and Treila, a servant girl. While food supplies began to dwindle and the people of Aymar Castle began to disappear (literally and physically) are faced with a choice, they are visited by a group of saints who lust for mischief (and not in a good way). As everyone around them descends into madness, Voyne, Phosyne, and Treila all see the situation for what it is, and most of them try to help get their people out of it.

With more twists and turns than the caverns underneath the castle, The Starving Saints has everything we need in a medieval horror novel in 2025 - cannibalism, fingernails planted as seeds, caves biting people's ears off - what more could you ask for? Descend into delicious madness and devour The Starving Saints when it is published on May 20, 2025. You won't be sorry (or look at meat the same again).

Talk about jumping in with both feet! This book doesn't waste any time easing the reader into the direness of the situation and I mean that as a compliment. I loved that I was immediately transported into into the thick of the madness and chaos of Aymar castle. The people are starving, the food has run out, and they are desperate for a miracle. The energy and desperation is palpable. Using hunger as the motivating force in this book added such an alarming sense of urgency, desperation and primal fear. When the saints show up, it seems to be a miracle and no one questions the bizarre happenings and the too-good-to-be-true vibe.

The main characters, Phosyne, Thaila, and Ser Voyne fight through the haze and confusion of starvation to regain control of the castle. At times, I liked the alternating viewpoints of the characters, but I sometimes struggled to recall which person was under the influence of something and parse thorough what was taking place. The story moved quickly but somehow still felt a little choppy. I wish I knew more about Phosyne and Ser Voyne. Those two characters absolutely changed their motivations the most from the beginning of the story to the end, but I was hoping to know more of their background bc I think may have had a bigger impact on their evolution for me.

Overall - I would absolutely recommend this book. I LOVE horror and the creeping dread, medieval castle, desperation, magic, mind control, cannibalism, bees, religious icons, sapphic lit... it was all working for me.

Also just an aside - the two mysterious creatures created/summoned by Phosyne reminded me of the short story Moses and Gaspar by Amparo Davila, which automatically endeared me more to the story. Could be a coincidence, but still.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, Harper Voyager for the eARC!! <3

Wow, this was one wild ride. From the synopsis I was thinking this would not be my cup of tea because cannibalism is a squick of mine, but apparently in the hands of Caitlin Starling I'll go anywhere she wants to take me. Starling's fast becoming one of my favorite authors.

I felt the same intense dread in my mouth the whole time while reading this that I feel while watching a show like Severence. It was creepy, gruesome and relentless, a locked room staged at a castle under siege visited by a clutch of mysterious visitors. Donning the guise of the saints that the people worship, these creatures of darkness are no such thing, instead seekers of control and power, and they have a ravenous appetite for human flesh.

Three women, Phosyne, the mad witch in the tower who can work miracles, Treila, a former traitorous noble's daughter hiding as a rat-catching servant, and Voyne, a knight assigned to be Phosyne's minder, make up humanity's last stand against unspeakable evil in a place where time flows differently.

This had no romance in it but it was still queer AF with lots of painful sapphic yearning as these three have a love triangle of sorts as their fates are inexorably bound together. This isn't character-driven, either; I took some time to feel emotionally connected to the characters since they didn't get much character development. But I was drawn to their horrific predicament. I was on the edge of my seat till the last page wondering how they'd escape and save everyone. In the end I loved these three characters and their transformation from selfish, duty-driven people.

This was a thrilling fever dream, an ugly feast of humanity's worst impulses in the most desperate times; a stunning and vicious portrait of how power corrupts.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc!
I wanted to like The Starving Saints, however, for me, it greatly missed the mark on two levels. The first comes down to the plot of the novel and the timeline of events which starts rather slow and does not maintain this slow build-up that is characteristic of this genre sub-genre of horror; rather the second half of the book picks up and begins to speed run the plot of the novel to make room for purple prose and bland interpersonal relationships.
The second issue I have is one more closely tied to the marketing being geared towards sapphic readers while not having any major sapphic relationships outside of a brief kiss between a throuple. (this is a personal gripe with the marketing and has almost nothing to do with the quality of the novel)

Going into this I knew that my expectations were low. I just do not get along with Starling's execution of her plots, but I always give her books a chance, hoping that one of them works out. This one did not work out, unfortunately. One thing that Starling does well is her descriptive work--the gore and settings are always top tier. But her pacing and plot work do not match up to the actual quality of her writing. I never quite know what her point is, where the story is going, etc. I always end up disappointed at the end. But her synopses are intriguing enough that I'll keep trying her books. Madness on my part? Maybe!

"[...] Phosyne is hungry. But it's not the hunger of an empty stomach. It's the need to taste. To chew. To consume. She wants to indulge."

Devotion: love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or course. Religious worship or observance. Prayers or religious observances.

The Starving Saints does devotion, and it does it well. A castle under siege for half a year has run out of food. Survivors' faith is dwindling—until the saints come marching in. Quite literally.

Everything about The Starving Saints was brilliant, and I mean that. From the beginning, I was enamored with Phosyne—Her madness, her intellect, her making. And what's a lady without her knight? Voyne is the king's right hand. She is loyalty in its purest form. She is strength, hardship, and desire. And Treila is... something suffocated under her boot, or maybe her hands.

The Starving Saints gives us three main characters with their own points of view—which was executed well. Phosyne is a witch of some sort being used by the king while resources are scarce. She turns sewage into water. Phosyne purifies, Voyne pollutes, and Treila is their double-edged sword.

When the people left alive are close to giving up, their Lady appears at the castle, ready to bring them salvation. Though faith is never that easy, and Phosyne who had already succumbed to agnosticism isn't so easily swayed.

This seemingly omniscient woman, who the castle had been worshipping—had come to save them. To absolve them from their starvation, to flourish their crops, and to save their people. But there were no horses. No baggage. No sacks full of sustenance.

In fact, the more limbs the king lost, the more food there seemed to be. And as the people ate, they began to forget why they ever questioned questioning at all.

The Starving Saints is brutal. With gore, and love, and violence. The fight scenes are beautifully written, and the language is easy to understand. I haven't any deep knowledge about medieval times, so I can't critique the accuracy of any settings or titles—but I did enjoy it.

Specifically, I was a fan of the way the author wrote about suffocation. The way Starling describes it—the stillness, the realization, the anxiety. It's palpable. You feel for the people. You are the people. At least, for a moment. What phenomenal writing.

I loved the relationship between the three women. The way they all worked together, the fighting, the making up. Everything felt just right and perfectly paced. I'm almost shocked with how much I enjoyed this book, seeing as it was far from what I expected.

Somehow The Starving Saints defied and exceeded all of my expectations at once. What a book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

"'If you stay,' he says, eyes shining in the evening light, 'it is eat or be eaten. But I promise I'll make it good.'"

The vibes are STRONG with this one—from the very beginning I was hooked on Caitlin Starling’s latest dark fantasy, absolutely gorging myself on its prose. Aymar Castle is under siege, its people starving and becoming restless. They keep sending messengers out in hopes of seeking aid but none return. Phosyne, a nun-turned-attic-witch hoping to find a solution to their lack of food and clean drinking water. When the king demands a miracle and assigns her a chaperone to urge her work in the form of the imposing and powerful Ser Voyne (who is HOT), both women are faced with an impossible task. Trelia, a servant girl who catches rats to eat and trade and hates Ser Voyne, discovers a hidden part of the castle that might lead to a way out. But the suffering continues until one day, four beings arrive in the castle, claiming to be saints—and everyone goes absolutely apeshit about it. The Starving Saints is a delirious descent into madness, with three fascinating women at its core. This one is for people who like a little sacrilegious weirdness and also wish Game of Thrones was just a fancam of Brienne of Tarth.