This was such an inventive, unique premise and it was explored beautifully. This is a dark, bloody, intensely atmospheric gothic medieval horror. The multiple points of view were a great way to put readers into every angle of this wild story as it unfolds. The book started a bit slow but once we entered the unravelling, bacchanalian phase the story really picked up and grew in that sense of unease, driving the story to an intense and thought-provoking end.

Prepare your souls, fellow horror fans, for Caitlin Starling’s new novel The Starving Saints (Harper Voyager, May 20, 2025)—a blood-drenched medieval horror story of monsters and magic.

In this tale, a castle under siege becomes home to a new kind of nightmare when four deities suddenly appear amongst the starving masses. From the King and his liege lords to the peasants and farmers, the castle’s inhabitants are ready to rejoice when these saints produce a boundless feast out of thin air. But not everyone is convinced. Among the skeptics are a heretical nun, an honor-bound knight, and a serving girl with a secret who can all see there is something sinister to this divine intervention. As the indulgences increase, it’s up to the three women to unravel the mystery and save themselves from hell.

With The Starving Saints, Starling has composed such a unique piece of horror fiction it truly must be read to be believed. The plot writhes and twists in unpredictable directions that will keep readers leaning toward the page, even as Starling’s prose makes every scene a benediction to the poetry of horror. (“It’s eat or be eaten, she tells herself, and she cannot eat darkness. But it can eat her.”) This is a story, and a writer, that pulls no punches when it comes to describing pain, violence, and suffering, and genre fans will be pleased to know there is much of all three to be chronicled here.

But it’s the characters that will capture the reader's hearts in The Starving Saints. All three of Starling’s protagonists are compelling, dimensional people whose characterization still satisfies the genre’s need for archetypes. Phosyne’s erratic magic and Ser Voyne’s commitment to duty quickly expand beyond the expected, while Terlia’s mysterious past provides much more motivation than one might expect.

There will inevitably be comparisons to Christopher Buehlman’s 2012 Between Two Fires, and it’s undeniable the two novels strike complementary chords. However, what Starling is doing here is utterly unique and will quickly be cited as a standard in the sub genre. The Starving Saints is medieval horror transubstantiated into something fresh, fearless, and not to be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Starving Saints is a story bursting with hunger, cannibalism, and the power of bargaining (with a heaping side of girl kissing). This was just such a delight to read. However, if you are someone who likes all of your mysteries to get wrapped up nicely, this is probably not the book for you. Almost none of the mysteries get answers at all, and the ones that do are very vague. I am personally quite fond of weird, open ended horror books, so I ate this right up.

Update: After a month of sitting on this story, I've realized it truly is a 5 star read and am amending my rating as such. I think that says a lot about the book, just getting better with time.

Madness, alchemy, magic, cannibalism, Lesbians, knights, and monsters. What did this book NOT have?! This medieval sapphic horror was atmospheric and insane, literally. These people are under siege and when saviors finally come they are oozing wrongness. I really enjoyed this story!! The way the characters are confused and enchanted, the writing style made me as the reader feel the same way. I really loved our three main characters, all bad ass women who carried this story.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.

<b>3.50🍯🩸</b>

<b><i>’She should be frightened. She should be terrified, now that she’s played her hand, but instead she’s leaning closer, as if to kiss him. She wonders if he’ll let her.’</b></i>

<i>Uh okay then😃</i>

Alright! This took me way too long to get into and finish <b>BUT</b>..

I found the dynamics between Phosyne, Treila and Ser Voyne to be very interesting. I found them to be written quite well and the depth of them to be clear and understandable. Though I wish we got more of them as individuals so I could connect with them even <i>more</i>than how I eventually did, we are only given glimpses and other than that we are just following along with them in the now.

I was confused <b>a lot</b>in this book (feared I was becoming illiterate at times), the beginning and chapter 29/30 for example really threw me around. The writing I didn’t too much enjoy as it caused a lot of my confusion throughout ), along with random chapters being only a page or two when I felt needed more (yet there was times the writing really flowed in perfect clarity that contributed to my quickness of being put on track).

<i>Yet,</i> I realized though a bit hungry and confused, I still ended up finding myself enjoying my read once I reached the end. I may need to reread this at a later time!

<b>**SPOILER**</b>
Also poor prioress like dang I wanted more from her character— Alive ALIVE— lol.
<b>**</b>

<b><i>‘Voyne closes her eyes and lets her head fall back against the throne with a sigh. One of her hands curls into Phosyne’s hair. The other lifts to touch Treila’s arm.’</b></i>

<i>Felt both relieved and flustered in don’t know quite why😭 maybe I turned into Phosyne and Treila by the end loll</i>

<b><u>Departing Thoughts</b</u>

- To end off, I oh so wish we got at least a time skip chapter of what happened on the outside. How their dynamic withholds and the people of Aymar!

- I think something or a <i>few</i> things is really missing from this book, and or should’ve been about differently. And that is contributing on why, yes I eventually found joy in the read, but still feel starved after so.

<b>Thank you so much HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC!</b>

medieval horror? trapped in a castle where food is running scarce? the common people thirsty for a miracle and getting more than they bargained for? don’t threaten me with a good time!

we enter Almar castle as they are rapidly running out of food and soon learn how our three main characters are dealing with this (hint not well)

what follows is a delicious gothic medieval unraveling of the story that takes its time in some places but don’t let the slow(er) pace fool you, the story picks up and you won’t be able to put it down

I think my favorite character was Treila, but I liked all the POVs we got

if you want more medieval horror in your life definitely pick this one up!

Time (and food) is running out! Fans of medieval horror such as "Between Two Fires" will enjoy this one, that follows three different women as they attempt to survive a siege in different ways: one's a miracle worker, one's a knight, and one's a canny waif with a secret. This one takes a while to build, so patience is required, but by the time it gets in the thick of things you'll be engrossed. One of Starling's better efforts.

I was intrigued by the cover of this book, and the story was good. I did not expect there to be so many POVs and that always takes something away for me. I believe that this is more dark fantasy than it is horror. That’s okay, just not what I was expecting.

Incredible book. Medieval horror at its best. Slow, eerie, claustrophobic — I felt this book in my bones.

I choose this book because I was intrigued by the cover.. I find it annoying when a story is told in more than 2 POV but the story is very easy to follow and really interesting. There are a few trigger warnings that should be considered for some readers but overall it is a good book and good storyline.

This novel unfortunately was not for me. I was under the impression it was horror, not dark fantasy. This author tried really hard to make this sound elevated in to fit fantasy narrative but in just felt short. The cohesiveness was not there and half of the time I couldn’t not tell what was happening in the story.

✨This is another ARC to favorite! Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC of The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling.

“…three starving women who struggled for mastery of themselves in the face of a spiraling world.

Three women saving their world from murderous creatures masquerading as religious icons… and they’re queer! What more could you ask for? Ser Voyne, the dashing knight with her honor and grace. Phosyne, the nun turned alchemist who uses her strong mind to overcome temptation. And Trelia, the resourceful and quick rat catcher who, I think, really saved the people with her fearlessness.

This book is full of gore, body horror, cannibalism, and mind control. I loved every moment of it, it was so fun and action packed! The characters were so vivid. This is going on my list of auto recommendations!

Do you revel in the decent into maddness and horror? Does medieval cannibalism and revalry intruige you? Then this is deffinitely the book for you. Caitlin Starling drew me in with the idea of a nun-turned-sorceress, and unhinged saints all trapped within a castle rife with famine and disease, but I was plesantly suprised by the budding romance and enticing charachter development of the three women. Sir Voyne, Phoysne, and Trelia scattered within different parts of the castle, wrestling with various horrors are perfectly interwoven into this sinister fever dream.


*Blurb from the back of the book below*

From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

Aymar is a castle under siege--with one wall facing a cliff and the other surrounded by enemy soldiers, those within its walls have resorted to eating leather and waiting for the priory's bees, the only beings that can leave Aymar, to make enough honey to keep them from starving. Phosyne, a heretical ex-nun, is frantically working on a miracle to save her people, but her lack of success has her working under the watchful eye of the stern knight Ser Voyne. Meanwhile, a disgraced noblewoman whose father was executed by Ser Voyne wanders the halls of Aymar Castle, hunting rats in an effort to keep everyone fed. Their paths collide when four saints worshipped by the people of Aymar arrive past its gate, bringing more than enough fresh food to keep everyone fed and happy. Having their own reasons to be suspicious of these newcomers in holy clothes, the three women become unlikely companions in unraveling the mystery of how they arrived, and how they can free their people.

'The Starving Saints' is not an easy book to get into. It's a bleak fantasy, with writing that feels as oppressive and hopeless as the situation in which our cast finds themselves. Once the saints show up around seventy pages in, the pace quickens to an intoxicating frenzy, and the pieces that are meticulously set up in the beginning fall into place. It gets weird, it gets violent, and it gets confusing--all in a way that is lavishly described by Caitlin Starling's vivid prose. A lot of things in the story follow fairytale logic, though not in a way that feels disappointing or hollow. Phosyne's miracle working is guided by intuition and lucky guesses, with some of her feats confusing even her, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of hard magic system.

While I always appreciate a queer love story, I'll admit that this one felt a little out of place. Perhaps it was the bleakness of the setting, or perhaps it's just because I'm a bit too tender-hearted to be into throat-grabbing, but it felt more like filler in an already long book than an exciting new cast dynamic. I don't think Starling intends for it to be romantic as much as it's their weird and unhealthy fixations on each other, but if you're looking for a sapphic love story then you should look elsewhere.

'The Starving Saints' is weird and confusing and is probably a bit longer than it needs to be, but overall I enjoyed my time with it. This was my first time reading Caitlin Starling's work, but I'd definitely like to read more in the future.

Toxic women? Cannibalism? The Starving Saints was a highly anticipated ARC for me and it not only did not disappoint, it blew my expectations out of the water. What can I say except I love religious themes and cannibal metaphors.

A great read for YA and Adult body horror and female rage fans. This felt like listening to a Paris Paloma song, so if you're a fan of that genre you'd love this book.

A little bit of a slow pace, but the rich, horrifying language kept me reading. The body horror was done so well that it was difficult to read (in a good way, that's what I was looking for in this book). It was so easy to get swept up in the rage an anguish of the characters.
Medieval language is hard to adjust to, but I'm so glad it was included because it was really immersive and made the book feel like it was actually set in medieval times rather than modern day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC!

🥀🏰 The Starving Saints🏰🥀

"They deserve salvation, not merely an extension of their suffering"

This book was slow burn, chaotic, deranged, and filled with pure medival madness. If you've read Between Two Fires and have been yearning for a dark fantasy or something similar, this right here is literally an extended version of the disappearing castle chapter, with cannibalism and sapphic undertones and I mean that in the most exciting way!

We have an all female MCs, a Knight, a Nun and a Noble lady, whom are all in the same terrible circumstances, their castle is surrounded, they're out of food, the people are starving and they need to find a way to feed all these mouths, they keep praying to their saints to help them... and insanity ensues after prayers are answered.

We get everything with this one, dark fantasy, horror, suspense, and medival fever dream. This was such a delightful read. I dranked it up in just a couple of days, all 352 pages of it!

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

I would love to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this medival fever dream in exchange for an honest review!

god. gorgeous, delirious, wild & rabid. disgusting - give me more. no one does atmosphere like caitlin starling, and she is at her best in this sweltering, suffocating castle. the characters are stunning, each with their individual goals and personalities, and the cast of villains are richly sinister. the plot is rich and the pace is simply delirious - i was frequently just as confused if not more so than the characters - and the flow is beautiful. i want to devour this book whole.

This book has an amazing premise and if I was watching it as a film I think I would have been enthralled. I DNF'd at 20% after trying to read the book for over a month. The prose was overwhelming with historical words I was constantly looking up and names I struggled to pronounce. I desperately wanted to like this book because the plot set up so far was great from what i could understand and will probably give it another try some day down the road but it was just not for me at this time.

Give me religious trauma and female rage! Giving this a 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

(I swore I already wrote a review for this but apparently not so here we go again).

This story is not for the faint of heart. It is unfortunately a bit slower than I would have cared for, but the darkness and body horror and rage kept me going. This is a very character driven story, and being told from the POV of three different women who are trapped in the castle from vastly different socio-economic classes, you get a really diverse narrative and each character has very unique motivations.

Writing this I am already wanting to re-read this story and it just weaseled its way into my brain.