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Reviews tagging 'Grief'
A Dark and Hollow Star – Nichts ist gefährlicher als ein Märchen by Ashley Shuttleworth
18 reviews
madamepincers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gore and Misogyny
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Xenophobia
rubybooks's review against another edition
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: Grief and Death
sarahdh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide
trilby's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Characters were engaging (if a little uninventive- great characters, just not notably unique characters), writing was good, overall tone was easygoing and relaxing without being boring, worldbuilding and magic system was thought out and interesting, and I was very invested in the story. The author is pansexual and genderfluid and the queer representation is very well done. Both main romance plotlines were queer, and they were very present without being the focus of the book. The book started out a bit slow and boring but picked up speed quickly.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Gore, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Trafficking, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Violence
alibader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year which is what makes this especially disappointing. The plot and pacing were all over the place, it felt as though the story didn't really start until 300 pages in and the beginning was very slow. The ending felt rushed and several moments throughout I found myself rereading a chapter because things weren't explained.
The only aspect that saved this book and makes me want to pick up the sequel is the characters, I thought they were very entertaining to read about and the romantic buildup was well written.
The only aspect that saved this book and makes me want to pick up the sequel is the characters, I thought they were very entertaining to read about and the romantic buildup was well written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Stalking, Trafficking, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Grief and Gun violence
Minor: Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Suicide, and Vomit
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
Wow, I loved this book so so much!
I was immediately hooked by Nausicaa's point of view. She is so sarcastic and absolutely hilarious, but also super passionate! I love her so much. And then there were a bunch of other pov's I also loved! Arlo, Vehan, Aurelian! There are so many interesting characters in this book!
The plot is also great. There is a lot going on, but it comes together super well and it isn't hard to follow at all. There is enough mystery to really be left on the edge of your seat!
I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to this one!
I was immediately hooked by Nausicaa's point of view. She is so sarcastic and absolutely hilarious, but also super passionate! I love her so much. And then there were a bunch of other pov's I also loved! Arlo, Vehan, Aurelian! There are so many interesting characters in this book!
The plot is also great. There is a lot going on, but it comes together super well and it isn't hard to follow at all. There is enough mystery to really be left on the edge of your seat!
I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Gore, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Drug use
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I love Fae and Greek mythology, so when I realized this was going to give me Tisiphone and the High Court all in one book I was intrigued. Ultimately I’m stopping because it feels like it’s trying to do too much, and by trying to remember the many characters and track the complex blend of two already massive paradigms/pantheons... it got to be overwhelming. The Furies are great, and the Furies plus the Faerie Courts would be really cool, but the Furies, the Greco-Roman creation myth, complex systems for inheritance, political machinations, a serial murderer (or murderers), and the marginalization of the faeries (which are different from the Fae), and the persecution of the Ironborn (which could variously be considered Fae, Faerie, or human?)... it’s a lot. It would be a lot for even a trilogy to establish gradually, it begs for the room to have major details conveyed simply at first and then expanded, distorted, and recontextualized over the course of two books minimum. You can do really cool narrative things with “knowing” something then finding out your information was wrong and it changes how you think about what came before. Here things were established, rebutted, and adjusted so quickly I’m not even sure if they were supposed to be changes at all. I made it just over a third of the way through and I feel overwhelmed by the world and underwhelmed by the plot.
My one regret by not finishing this is I won’t know how things resolve for Tisiphone, but there’s too much extraneous stuff around her very interesting backstory for me to get fully into this one thing I like.
My one regret by not finishing this is I won’t know how things resolve for Tisiphone, but there’s too much extraneous stuff around her very interesting backstory for me to get fully into this one thing I like.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Body horror and Suicide
Full CWs provided from the Author’s Note. TWs may be incomplete. CW for anger, arson, blood/gore, body horror (minor), death of a child, depression, disownment, divorce, drug use/addiction, grief/grieving, human trafficking, poverty, psychopathy, stalking, suicide (past, off-page), suicidal ideation, toxic relationship/manipulation, trauma/PTSD, racism, violence/gun violence. TW for Harry Potter reference (page 169).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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