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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
A Dark and Hollow Star – Nichts ist gefährlicher als ein Märchen by Ashley Shuttleworth
13 reviews
irlchaosdemon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
stubbornlybookish's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings: murder/death, serial killings, depression, human trafficking
If you want a campy, hella queer, fae story that is super reminiscent of YA from the past decade, this is absolutely a story for you. A Dark and Hollow Star follows four queer teens navigating supernatural life. We have a prince and his guard, an immortal being with dubious intentions, and a half fae girl desperate to stay in the world of magic who cross paths when a string of murders crop up and no one seems to want to get involved. What they discover will shake the magical realm to its core.
I initially picked up A Dark and Hollow Star because its pitch is fantastic and appealed to that nostalgic YA bone I apparently still have. City of Bones meets The Cruel Prince set in Toronto with an entirely queer cast of MCs?? Sign me the f up.
Objectively speaking this book needs a little work-specifically in regards to the world building. You can tell this is a debut novel because Ashley Shuttleworth just packs way too much information, much to the detriment of the story. The pacing, plot, and even sometimes the characters get sidelined all so the reader gets told about the various abilities each subsect of fae contain. This persistence lasts right up until the end, whilst during the climax the story was getting undercut by world building interjections. I liked some of the concepts but found the execution lacking.
I also think this needed to be way shorter for what it was. At times the story felt like a giant prologue. So much of the beginning felt unnecessary and did little other than to dump a bunch of
information. Say what you will about classic ya fantasy (which there are plenty of critiques), those books got moving with a quickness that A Dark and Hollow Star desperately needed. I think this story could have easily been 150 pages shorter and the story would not have changed in any significant way.
Subjectively speaking this was a lot of fun. As soon as we got to the meat of the plot, I was in it. Broody characters with witty banter, a dangerous mystery driving the plot forward, a truly ridiculous villain/climax (which I say fully as a compliment). I especially liked our characters and their developing romances. The story could have benefitted from the two different story threads coming together sooner, because I found all of the different character interactions highly entertaining. I also happened to really enjoy the setting. This is incredibly niche but having a fantasy book set in a city I'm familiar with was really enjoyable. Also, the ending, while incredibly campy did actually hook me and I am willing to pick up the sequel to see where the story goes.
I predict this will be a super polarizing book. Depending what you value in stories this could really be your thing or supremely not. And I, of course, find myself in the middle.
*2.5 stars*
If you want a campy, hella queer, fae story that is super reminiscent of YA from the past decade, this is absolutely a story for you. A Dark and Hollow Star follows four queer teens navigating supernatural life. We have a prince and his guard, an immortal being with dubious intentions, and a half fae girl desperate to stay in the world of magic who cross paths when a string of murders crop up and no one seems to want to get involved. What they discover will shake the magical realm to its core.
I initially picked up A Dark and Hollow Star because its pitch is fantastic and appealed to that nostalgic YA bone I apparently still have. City of Bones meets The Cruel Prince set in Toronto with an entirely queer cast of MCs?? Sign me the f up.
Objectively speaking this book needs a little work-specifically in regards to the world building. You can tell this is a debut novel because Ashley Shuttleworth just packs way too much information, much to the detriment of the story. The pacing, plot, and even sometimes the characters get sidelined all so the reader gets told about the various abilities each subsect of fae contain. This persistence lasts right up until the end, whilst during the climax the story was getting undercut by world building interjections. I liked some of the concepts but found the execution lacking.
I also think this needed to be way shorter for what it was. At times the story felt like a giant prologue. So much of the beginning felt unnecessary and did little other than to dump a bunch of
information. Say what you will about classic ya fantasy (which there are plenty of critiques), those books got moving with a quickness that A Dark and Hollow Star desperately needed. I think this story could have easily been 150 pages shorter and the story would not have changed in any significant way.
Subjectively speaking this was a lot of fun. As soon as we got to the meat of the plot, I was in it. Broody characters with witty banter, a dangerous mystery driving the plot forward, a truly ridiculous villain/climax (which I say fully as a compliment). I especially liked our characters and their developing romances. The story could have benefitted from the two different story threads coming together sooner, because I found all of the different character interactions highly entertaining. I also happened to really enjoy the setting. This is incredibly niche but having a fantasy book set in a city I'm familiar with was really enjoyable. Also, the ending, while incredibly campy did actually hook me and I am willing to pick up the sequel to see where the story goes.
I predict this will be a super polarizing book. Depending what you value in stories this could really be your thing or supremely not. And I, of course, find myself in the middle.
*2.5 stars*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Child death
Moderate: Mental illness and Trafficking
Minor: Suicide and Gun violence
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Here's the book for those of us who grew up in the world of the Mortal Instruments and are now searching for something darker, grittier, but with that same comforting feel--the blurry lines between the mortal and faerie realms. The scope of worldbuilding is unparalleled, and it's only just beginning to flesh out, because not only do we meet the fae, but also ancient gods and other creatures of lore across time. But the heart of this book is in the characters. The casually all-queer cast solidifies that everyone deserves to be represented in magical stories and have adventures, and who are not defined by their sexuality or gender. Each of them contributes a different magical background from all corners of the Courts. The fallen deities, ironborn, the troublemakers, the snarky nerds. The world is not prepared for them but like it or not, they're here to shake things up. Holly Black may be the Queen of Faerie but Ashley Shuttleworth has secured their place in the Seelie Court.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
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