Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I never really know my subgenres, but this felt like Arthurian meets gothic, but VERY body horror with cannibalism. I binged it once I got passed the 2/3rds mark, but really around 15% is when it starts to move. A castle under siege is starving, so when their saviors come many welcome them with open arms while a few are skeptical. There’s this question Starling explores that I enjoyed around what will these characters, this castle do when it is truly starving, truly exhausted, truly desperate? Some minor quibbles: it took me a minute to get into it, I was initially confused, there were some convenience plot things, and I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but overall a fantastic, even if absolutely chilling, story.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Trelia my queen, my goat, my mirror 💜
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am so sad to DNF this book, but the prose just can’t hold itself up. It is not willing to engage with the darker sides of the characters enough to pull them from two dimensional muck. The concepts at play go hard, but the execution is limp. Characters get banged up in one chapter to face little cumulative consequence in the next. Most chapters in the portion I read follow about the same cadence, as does all of the text. Maybe I went in with the wrong impression of what I would get, but I was so ready to be taken to a chaotic place where hunger and desperation dictates characters and their choices, and what I got was a well researched castle with some cutouts of character concepts playing out tropes.
It is really rough. With some serious editing, I think there’s a real gem here, but not like this.
It is really rough. With some serious editing, I think there’s a real gem here, but not like this.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-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:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Regrettably forgettable. The premise sounds so interesting but unfortunately gets lost and muddled. The beginning is hazy, then intrigue sets in just to dwindle down again. I wish the characters were a bit more flushed out and that the setting was explored a lot more. It feels at many times that we're told it's a castle and there's stone. And not much else. The vibe of hopelessness, fear, and hunger could've been dialed up. I'm also not convinced we ever reached the requirements to use the term debauchery to describe the situation. Other than the thin yet overly convoluted plot, an okay read that leaves you craving a lot more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cannibalism
I’ve tried to read this book three times and I just can’t get into it