A Dark and Hollow Star

DNFed midway through.


I messaged a friend and she told me the rest of the plot and let me just say, it was weird, doesn't make sense or add up.


What bugged me the most about this book is the lengthy descriptions lasting more than an paragraph to a whole page, about places and people we only see once. It wasn't engaging snd I zoned out for most of it, but towards the end I skipped.


Oh and the fantasy names! I really struggled with some of them, so my review is going to be the names I ended up giving them in my head.


Naus — AKA the Celena Sardothian of this book. She was bad ass, an immortal in a mortal body and downright rude. I liked her at first but other than trying to force the character to be the stereotypical badass female character “I'm not afraid of anything” there was nothing to her personality.

Aleco— the most wet wipe of a character there has been. No backbone (yet she can sneak into a club?) let's people push her around and ugh I hated her. She's 18 and still lets her mother ground her. Like wtf? She's 18!

Alrau... something. — as a quiet broody character he was fine. Could be better but fine.

Vehan — on the best one out of them all! Decisive, confident and determined to find who's behind the deaths. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE! But what really pissed me off that all the issues between Al and Vehan could have been resolved if I don't know they actually spoke to one another?

I am sometimes a bit sniffy about YA, but this one I thoroughly enjoyed. This one uses an Urban Fantasy/Fae setting but the stakes and the fantasy are really well constructed. The title refers to two of the main characters the ‘Dark Star', a fallen immortal who has a tendency to create mischief, and the ‘Hollow Star', a half-fae half-human who has been chosen by Luck as their champion and removed from the whims of Fate. The mythology and world building is one of the strong points of this story. Ashley Shuttleworth has created a very well realised Fae world within the real world. Various Fae courts representing the different seasons have built their secret lives into some of the major cities.

The main plot involves a sinister plot by some disgruntled Alchemist (a forbidden science in this world) that affects both the Fae and the human world. Our protagonists are drawn into this plot as the King of the Fae Courts refuses to get involved. There is a good sense of peril throughout as the various creations of this alchemist are let loose on the world. The interactions and motivations for the main characters are also interestingly portrayed. Even the love interest (which is usually the weakest part of any YA) is done in a way which is sympathetic and not too teenage angsty.

One criticism - this book could easily have mass appeal, but the cover art is not the most enticing to people outside of the usual Fae fantasy market.

4.5 Stars. There's a lot to say about this book. It's such high fantasy that the only human mentioned is the protagonist's father, and every other creature we come across is either half human or something else entirely. I am really impressed with the world Ashley Shuttleworth created and I know it couldn't have been easy, but since there were so many people involved, so many different races and powers, I really wish this book had a guide or a key to explain who the characters are, what the different races are, who has what power and why, and the role of each Court. I found it hard to fully immerse myself in the story because so much was going on that it was hard to focus on it all. Often I found myself turning back to pages to remind myself of who a character is or what they were capable of. That being said, I am surprised that it took around 300 pages for the four main characters to actually meet each other; that's a really long time by any standard. I think a lot was going on in the beginning; maybe even too much if it took that long for the team to get together. It's one of those stories where you look back at certain parts and think “everything happened, yet at the same time, I can't pinpoint what those things are.”

Interesting read and I am looking forward to reading the rest. I just hope it gets a little easier to follow going forward.