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A review by rubybooks
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book for review. A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021, and it was so much fun! I love urban fantasy so I was really excited to read it, as I love when fantasy is combined with the real world. This was a great debut from Ashley and I can’t wait to read more by them in the future.
A Dark and Hollow Star contains a murder mystery – ironborn folk are being killed, and the royalty of the Courts don’t seem to want to do anything about it. It falls to four teenagers to investigate, and they are all struggling to fit in in the world. The world-building was a really unique take on the fae. I wish some areas had more development, but this is only the first book of a series so I’m sure we’ll learn more in the future.
I found the beginning a bit slow moving, and the pacing was a bit off, but once we heard more about what was going on I was hooked. It took me a while to be fully invested in all the points of view – mainly because it took a bit more time to get to know Vehan and Aurelian – but by the end I loved them all. I think all the small issues I had will be resolved in the next book, so I’m excited to see how the characters will develop along with the plot.
Let me just talk about one of my new favourite characters – Nausicaä Kraken. She was just so badass and I loved her sense of humour. From the very beginning, we get to see Nausicaä’s struggles and emotions when she is exiled, and what she becomes. She was my favourite point of view by far! I felt Arlo was very relatable. She didn’t want to be thrust into the middle of a murder investigation, but Fate had other plans. I loved seeing Nausicaä and Arlo together – their scenes were my favourite parts.
Vehan definitely keeps his cards close to his chest, especially because of his royal upbringing and the nature of his mother. I’m hoping we get to learn more about him in the future, and see him stand up for what he believes in. His bodyguard, Aurelian, was also a really interesting character and he seemed really sweet too. I’m definitely waiting to see more development in their relationship, but I think there will be more obstacles for them to overcome.
I loved that the cast is comprised of queer characters. There is an f/f and an m/m relationship with the main characters. There’s also a lot of representation in the side characters, such as a range of pronouns being used. It was so cool to just see a lot of queer characters living their lives in this fantasy world where homophobia isn’t the big issue they are fighting against. If you are looking for specifics, this is what Ashley Shuttleworth says in their goodreads review:
Arlo—questioning (later to be confirmed pansexual)
Nausicaä—lesbian
Vehan—bisexual
Aurelian—gay
Luck—genderfluid
This book does have some content warnings, so be aware of these: discussions of grief, death and depression. Shuttleworth touches on some heavy topics, but they do it in a very mindful way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’d definitely recommend it – I think it was a good start to a series and I can’t wait to see where the story goes!
4/5 stars
A Dark and Hollow Star contains a murder mystery – ironborn folk are being killed, and the royalty of the Courts don’t seem to want to do anything about it. It falls to four teenagers to investigate, and they are all struggling to fit in in the world. The world-building was a really unique take on the fae. I wish some areas had more development, but this is only the first book of a series so I’m sure we’ll learn more in the future.
I found the beginning a bit slow moving, and the pacing was a bit off, but once we heard more about what was going on I was hooked. It took me a while to be fully invested in all the points of view – mainly because it took a bit more time to get to know Vehan and Aurelian – but by the end I loved them all. I think all the small issues I had will be resolved in the next book, so I’m excited to see how the characters will develop along with the plot.
Let me just talk about one of my new favourite characters – Nausicaä Kraken. She was just so badass and I loved her sense of humour. From the very beginning, we get to see Nausicaä’s struggles and emotions when she is exiled, and what she becomes. She was my favourite point of view by far! I felt Arlo was very relatable. She didn’t want to be thrust into the middle of a murder investigation, but Fate had other plans. I loved seeing Nausicaä and Arlo together – their scenes were my favourite parts.
Vehan definitely keeps his cards close to his chest, especially because of his royal upbringing and the nature of his mother. I’m hoping we get to learn more about him in the future, and see him stand up for what he believes in. His bodyguard, Aurelian, was also a really interesting character and he seemed really sweet too. I’m definitely waiting to see more development in their relationship, but I think there will be more obstacles for them to overcome.
I loved that the cast is comprised of queer characters. There is an f/f and an m/m relationship with the main characters. There’s also a lot of representation in the side characters, such as a range of pronouns being used. It was so cool to just see a lot of queer characters living their lives in this fantasy world where homophobia isn’t the big issue they are fighting against. If you are looking for specifics, this is what Ashley Shuttleworth says in their goodreads review:
Arlo—questioning (later to be confirmed pansexual)
Nausicaä—lesbian
Vehan—bisexual
Aurelian—gay
Luck—genderfluid
This book does have some content warnings, so be aware of these: discussions of grief, death and depression. Shuttleworth touches on some heavy topics, but they do it in a very mindful way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’d definitely recommend it – I think it was a good start to a series and I can’t wait to see where the story goes!
4/5 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief