I've never had a book put in me a grave, dig me up, and kiss me with a rotting lips before but CAITLIN STARLING DID THAT. Please go into this book blind, such a fantastic read.

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling was one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. At the same time, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what was going to happen even if I was reading with one eye closed. The Starving Saints is definitely one of the most unique stories I have read and thought that the aesthetic of the book was unmatched. The storyline was interesting, and I thought the pacing worked for most of the story. There were parts were I felt like it dragged a little but I was able to get past it very quickly. Overall, a fantastic book but one that made me realize that medieval horror might not be for me.

Reading this book felt like a fever dream. From page 1 I had no idea wtf was going on, but I was happy to be along for this twisted (and sometimes confusing) ride! I'm usually not a fan of historical settings but I do love anything horror-esque and I was especially enticed by the sapphic undertones. Our 3 main characters were deliciously depraved and selfish and compelling. I love it when women are allowed to be themselves!!!

The pacing was decent in the first half, but I kind of got lost halfway through. My favorite thing about this book was not necessarily the actual plot, but the way it made me squirm in my seat. Overall a fun, strange, and surprisingly sexy read!

I really really liked this book from what I read! However, I also discovered that I cannot handle horror, so I do have to DNF this book. But, I feel like horror fans really will like this book! (5 Stars for what I did read and how it stuck with me)

ARC via Netgalley. A castle under siege is saved from starvation by dangerous figures in the form of the Lady and her Saints. This is one of the weirder books I've read in recent memory, and I love weird, but I'm not sure that this weird works. The world is stylized, and the developing plot and magic system lean in hard: medieval vibes, a knight and bee-keeping nuns and an apostate madwoman; monsters masquerading as divine and fey bargains. The cast is very Starling, prickly women negotiating codependent murder/love desires, featuring sexy choking and revenge-lust, what's not to like.

But, structurally... Weird, I say again, but here that means: a hot mess. The narration rotates between the three characters, and they rarely come together or stay long in one place. It's a lot of traveling from one end of the grounds to the other, passing connections and deferred confrontations, and the result is something more gestural than inhabited. I think I appreciate the attempt; I prefer a strange read to an easy one, and this strange is viscous and hungry. But it's also a borderline slog.

Set in a vaguely medieval but distinctly otherworldly setting, Aymar Castle is the centerpiece of a novel steeped in siege, starvation, and supernatural horror. The story alternates between three perspectives:

Phosyne, an exiled nun delving into forbidden knowledge to perform 'miracles' for the castle's starving residents.
Ser Voyne, a loyal knight torn between her duty to the king and saving those around her.
Treila, an absolute menace servant girl harboring dark secrets and a long-simmering revenge plot.

The eerie atmosphere escalates with the arrival of a mysterious group of "saints," bringing grotesque murders, otherworldly creatures, and a descent into darkness within the castle. The grotesque "feast" scenes are particularly chilling.

Now n0w...there IS something for everyone, however, the narrative falters with repetition—escape, hide, plan—and uneven relationships among the protagonists, with Treila and Ser Voyne's shared history standing out as the most compelling. The last quarter of the book was just...confusing? The 'climax' was not at all satisfying for how HORNY this book was. Sigh.

Medieval horror is COOL...let's do more of that!! Something here was just missing for me.

This was definitely a dark book. As a warning there are mentions of cannibalism, and extremely tight spaces are described. The writing is so descriptive the tightness made me feel uneasy. However the story was fast paced and exciting. I’m very thankful to NetGalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to read this prior to release as it is certainly outside my normal choices. I’m glad it helped widen my horizons and I believe I would pick up a book from this author again

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing and eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Starving Saints delves into themes of desperation, power, and all the different forms of hunger while featuring masterful prose. It definitely hits the creepy, gory, and shocking aspects of the horror genre, but it’s not thrilling which is something I personally really like in my horror. There are amazing creepy elements introduced as the plot unfolds, and I think if there was more suspense and that “edge of you seat” feeling, it would’ve had a bigger impact. The book felt long and dragging at time, and I don’t think it’s because it was a slow book, but rather it was more medium paced when I really think the whole experience would’ve been elevated if the story was quick and concise. The gore sneaks up on you, and the descriptions are so well done that there were times I physically cringed (and I’m not squeamish). I loved the parts that were written in a way that you didn’t immediately get what was going on because the structure of the writing was fully immersing you in the experience or emotion it was describing — such masterful showing-not-telling writing. It’s a fever dream of an experience in that it’s so strange and unhinged, but I liked that you got most of your questions answered and weren’t left completely hanging. Towards the end, however, I found myself reading sections over and over trying to piece together some of these answers because some of the fever dream aspects of the book started to get messy and disorganized to follow. I felt completely immersed in the strange world this book creates thanks to the clever writing. There wasn’t any dense exposition to introduce the world, just indirect descriptions of the environment from the characters. Overall, I’m blown away by this book, it was a great way to end my reading year, and I can’t wait to see what else Caitlin Sterling writes.

In the castle food is running dangerously low. Phosyne is approached once again by the kings men for a miracle; months prior she managed to clean the fetid water in the cisterns, now she’s being asked to create food from nothing. While in the middle of her experiments, as the palace officials are proclaiming eating their dead as the next course of action, the saints arrive bringing boundless food. Their magic though is not what it seems. A former nun, the right hand of the king, and a spurned noblewoman must work together to save the castle from itself.

I’m iffy on this. It was definitely a unique read, but I don’t think it was ultimately for me. There didn’t seem to be any character who knew what was going on at all, which to me was especially frustrating because even the king is in the dark. There was no mention of why they were fighting this enemy, and very ethereal descriptions of the magic that the magic character herself actually said she didn’t know how it worked.

3.5 stars.

The Starving Saints had a compelling premise and fantastic atmosphere, but the actual substance of the book was lacking a little for me. The arrival of the Constant Lady and Her saints to Aymar castle is exactly what I wanted from this book on the surface: ethereal, decadent, and vaguely unsettling. After their arrival, though, the plot kept going in circles—and not in the fun and twisty way I wanted from something described with the words “bacchanalian madness.” A few plot contrivances kept the main cast from actually interacting with one another until surprisingly late in the book, stunting relationships that I really wanted to see be built upon.

The book is at its best when it fully leans into the insanity. The dark, wild, blood-and-honey-drenched magic at the heart of the novel is the perfect blend of aesthetic and horror, and there were several visually striking scenes that will stick with me. The Starving Saints only becomes more of a fever dream as it goes on, so don’t expect rational decisions or clear explanations, though the story did wrap up neatly enough (if a little quickly).

Overall, I wanted a bit more out of this book than I got. Some issues with plot and character development left the story feeling like it was missing something, though the lovely and unsettling horror elements of the book still made for a worthwhile experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

Conceptually, The Starving Saints is lush ground. Trapped in a siege against a medieval keep, three women—a nun-turned-sorceress, a lady knight, and a fallen noblewoman with a vendetta for revenge—battle against false saints, cannibalism, and bacchanalian madness. This story has so many things I like: The horror, when it’s good, is excellent, and the plot is led by three distinct women who each have various forms of romantic entanglement or enmity with each other. It’s medieval horror, specifically, with lots of the token weirdness that comes with the genre. What’s not to love about sapphic lady knights and mad sorceresses and creepy, feylike saints?

I’ve been trying to articulate why a book that, on paper, appeals directly to me didn’t land for me as I was hoping. I think when you confine a story to a setting like a trapped castle, you run the risk of confining your plot, and while The Starving Saints struggles admirably against those constraints, it never quite escapes the repetition or aimlessness of a bottle episode. The stakes fade in and out throughout the book—while the castle is at first besieged by an enemy army, it disappears about halfway through the novel as the evil saints take the antagonistic spotlight, which left me confused—and the plot formula eventually becomes the same as we cycle through the three alternating POVs and a funhouse of various horrors.

While in theory, the three main characters are interesting, I never felt particularly connected with any of them; or I should say, I felt they lacked some dimension of depth that made them feel truly real. This is a niche, personal nitpick, but with historical fiction and especially medieval fiction, I want to feel believably immersed in the time period and setting—which other medieval lit like Between Two Fires and Matrix pulls off more or less believably—but the dialogue in The Starving Saints felt too modern and colloquial to really achieve that effect I was hoping for.

Overall, if the novel’s unique aesthetic, setting, and themes appeal to you, you should give it a go, because it might work much better for you than it did for me.

THIS. WAS. EVERYTHING! Such a fantastically unhinged read. It was so entrancing I simultaneously couldn’t put it down but also couldn’t turn the page. It’s gory and it’s strange, but in all the ways that make sense.

As always, Starling completely blew me away. Her books never disappoint, and The Starving Saints is no exception. I gasped, I screamed. I cowered for days at points. I cannot WAIT for this to be in print for me to throw copies at all of my friends and to add a copy to my shelf of favorites.

If you look at my reviews from the last few months, you can tell I've been on a thriller and horror kick. <i>The Starving Saints</i> sits comfortably in horror and uncomfortableness and highlights the debauchery of humanity.

<i>The Starving Saints</i> really did it for me. This is the first novel I've read by Caitlin Starling, despite the fact she is probably the author I get recommended the most. I am glad that this was my first venture into her works. Starling is clearly a talented, passionate author, and I look forward to reading more of her writing in the near future.

A starving medieval castle with religion, female knights, and cannibalism? My Master's thesis was focused on women and their consumption in the medieval Catholic Church, so when I saw the ARCs open up, I jumped.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to review this book.

Starling successfully captures the reality of a siege and how the threats are not just the enemy outside your walls but also the enemies within. It wears on the body, mind, and soul. She captures the grittiness and grime of the human conditions and the lengths mankind will go to in order to ensure their survival.

I am most impressed by Starling's ability to create three female main characters (FMCs) that feel like tangible people. She successfully created characters that are fully rounded, thoughtful individuals worn down by the siege but still determined. I find that many texts that showcase the worst in humanity often fall into the pit of creating unlikeable characters. Starling seems to avoid this all together with the main cast. Ser Voyne may annoy you at first, but watching the growth of her character throughout the novel redeems her wholly. While some characters could use a bit more depth for me personally, the characterization and the interactions between Ser Voyne, Phosyne, and Treila felt believable. The way their love and lust for one another play together to create a wonderful sapphic throuple (or love triangle - it feels very dealer's choice) tertiary to the main plots of the novel.

Starling has created a lived-in universe with fantasy lore and a strong religion system that is ever-present in the novel. As <i>The Starving Saints</i> unfolds, she sprinkles in enough lore and details to allow you to piece together the world without being spoon-fed the answers. The imagery throughout the novel is gorgeous and gory without being too overbearing. Starlings imagery breathes through her wonderful prose and aids in the creation of this cohesive world-building.

I want to sincerely thank Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC. I look forward to picking up a physical copy of <i>The Starving Saints</i> when it releases on 05/20/2025.

~~~

Brief Summary/Book Blurb: <i>The Starving Saints</i> is a gritty, gory medieval horror book that sets us in the middle of a siege. Food is scarce; the remaining survivors begin to consider the unimaginable. Yet, before they can act the castle food stores are replenished by their Constant Landy and her Saints. The people rejoice in adoration and partake in their ill-originated feasts and intoxications.

Female knight and right hand to her king, Ser Voyne abandons her post and pledges her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, dirty, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, is perplexed by these newcomers and believes her experiments as the cause for their appearance. Treila, a servant girl, must decide between her quest for vengeance against Ser Voyne or her desire to escape the horrors plaguing Aymar's stone walls.

As time progresses with the Constant Lady and her Saints occupation, the survivors descend into a bacchanalian madness that only the three women recognize. All three women struggle against the compelling food and drink brought by the Constant Lady and the temptations of the flesh for each other- no matter how gross they are. As the women meet, past entanglement arise further, complicating their situation. To save the castle, the survivors and themselves, the women must overcome temptations and find who they truly are.

Who knew I needed sapphic medieval horror in my life? I didn’t even notice the gaping hole in my heart until I saw this cover and immediately hit request. Caitlin Sterling is an author I’ve been wanting to love, because their mind is amazing with the best ideas, but I just hadn’t found a book I connected to yet. Alas, with The Starving Saints, I finally did!

This. Book. Is. So. Good. Like crazy good. The entirety reads like a really messed up fever dream filled with body horror, meddling gods, bacchanalian madness, and the best cast of lead characters that I’ve read in awhile. There was a bit of a lull for me in the middle, the story feeling a smidge repetitive, but the plot bounces back and I finished feeling incredibly satisfied. Is it greedy for me to wish for an epilogue? Overall, this is an incredibly unique horror read that fans of the genre are going to go nuts about come May 2025.

The Starving Saints is a haunting and thematically rich horror novel. Caitlin Starling crafts a story that delves into faith, suffering, and the human condition, all while building an atmosphere thick with unease. The horror elements are chilling, and the sense of dread lingers throughout, creating a vivid, unforgettable experience.

Starling’s imagery is striking and memorable, with scenes that haunt long after you’ve turned the page. While the pacing is mostly strong, it felt about 5-10% too long, and I started to lose momentum in the fourth act.

Having just finished Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, I’ve discovered that medieval horror is now one of my favorite subgenres. *The Starving Saints* is a must-read for fans of gothic and atmospheric horror.

Rating: 4.6/5 stars. Highly recommended.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Voyager for sending me a free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review! I’ve been reading a lot of good, queer horror recently, and “The Starving Saints” easily makes the top ten. The writing was beautiful, the characters were interesting and well-crafted, and the plot induced the kind of creeping horror that I loved in books like “Coup de Grace” and “The Honeys.” I will say, I didn’t always know what was going on in this story, but I think that fit well with the type of “not able to be interpreted by the human mind” type of magic and interactions that the book was trying to evoke. Overall I highly recommend this title, especially to anyone who enjoyed the books I mentioned earlier, or, the type of horror that may not chase you down, but haunts every dark corner, unseen, until it’s ready to strike.

DNF at 20%, I really tried to get into this but it’s just a really grim book. The final straw for me is the vivid depiction cannibalism, it just made me feel ill.

Where to even begin with this book? I was really hoping this was going to be something else. What it is though is boring and massively confusing. I consider myself a well-read individual, but I am genuinely so confused about this book.

Here’s the pitch: A castle is under siege and starving when four divine Saints arrive and replenish the castle’s storehouses from an unimaginable origin. Only Phosyne, an ex-nun turned witch, Voyne, a female knight, and Trelia, a castle servant, are capable of seeing the truth behind the madness. They must band together to save themselves and the cattle. Sounds super cool, right? Well, guess again. What I was hoping for was a super gritty book where people make increasingly disturbing sacrifices to the saints in return for sustenance. What I got was a weird metaphor for a sapphic, BDSM relationship. Maybe, I still don’t really know.

Overall, I’m very unhappy with my reading. Sure, not every book needs an underlying message, but some certainly benefit from it. This book didn’t have the vibes or the horror to sustain itself on plot alone. Ultimately, the real horror of this book is that it’s a full-length novel instead of a short story.

1.5 stars. 1 star for book as a whole, and a half star for one particularly gory scene.

One of the most brilliant books to be released in 2025. This book uses religion and spirituality to construct an awe-inspiring and harrowing novel that toes the line between fantasy and horror.