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smitinghedgehog's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Body horror
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Eating disorder, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
nofriendofmine's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
This "adult" book is actually YA and I will not be told otherwise. Ugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Rape, and Death of parent
bentgaidin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
'Star Eater' is a story that pleasantly surprised me. I picked it up without knowing really anything about it beyond that it was about women who get magic by eating their mothers; I might have guessed that it would be about family trauma, but I was also amused to discover how much office politics was involved too. A lot of the story revolved around intra-group feuds among the magic wielders who control the city; despite the bloody, revolting source of their power, it's all very civilized - which is to say, full of subtle slights and fake smiles and social pressure to conform 'for your own good.' There's also a metaphorical layer about generational trauma; mothers who fear their lives being consumed by their daughters, who will be raised to fear their daughters in turn; men turned into hungry monsters, exiled but inescapable; and the constant fear of not being able to give enough to be worthy, of being bleed dry by other people's demands. The story is a little wobbly at the end, but I'd still recommend this to fans of dark fantasy (by which I mean, watch out for blood, bodily trauma, abuse and rape) - it's a really compelling and original fantasy and it's worth taking a look at.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Gore
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Miscarriage
sageleafpark's review
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
inkslinger's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
'Star Eater' by Kerstin Hall, takes place in Aytrium, a dystopian fantasy land where an order of women called the Sisterhood wield all the power. Males and those from non-magical bloodlines are second class citizens, but being a sister isn't necessarily optimal either.
Elfreda Raughn is just an acolyte. Her best friends are both non-magical, Millie and Finn.. they're also the only family she's got. She wants out of the Sisterhood and all the ritualistic activities they center their lives around.
When a shadowy faction offers her an opportunity to avoid some of the most trying day-to-day duties, she agrees to spy for them. Her tasks give her access to a world she's never seen before. The elegant parties, twisted games, and dangerous interactions that only the leaders amongst her order engage in.. but surviving them may be another story.
Conceptually it's an intriguing story with incredibly dark elements. Not only do the Sisters engage in blood magic, it's quite frankly a brutal existence. Even those at the top have to sacrifice heavily, having more power only enables them to choose between those sacrifices a bit more aggressively and in Aytrium, none of the choices are good.
Hall manages to take some truly horrific acts and make them so palatable that they seem almost acceptable within the structure of the story. Which, isn't to say there isn't an occurrence here and there that's methodically too much even under the expectations she sets.
I enjoyed the multi-tiered conflict. The characters have plenty of internal struggles, but there are also waves and waves of conflicts overlapping and crashing into each other amongst the citizens of Aytrium. Though I did feel the ending was a little anti-climactic for me, the path from about the midway point of the book up to that conclusion hits pretty hard and fast. In fact, there's a moment it the city that is really rough emotionally.
While overall the story was pretty enjoyable, the beginning was a big of a slog. Somehow the author both over-describes and under-describes.. and I've genuinely never seen that before. Meaning, she'll give an eye-view of nearly everything the character comes across, but she doesn't actually describe any of it in enough detail so as to be easily visualized or memorable. The overuse of group names within the order is also a bit out of hand.
Fortunately, after the first third or so of the novel, that clears up as the plot itself becomes more dense. The book is definitely still worth a read, as it improves considerably from that point on and by the halfway mark or so, I didn't want to put it down anymore. If you're sensitive to graphic scenes, blood, gore, or death.. this book might not be for you.
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
Elfreda Raughn is just an acolyte. Her best friends are both non-magical, Millie and Finn.. they're also the only family she's got. She wants out of the Sisterhood and all the ritualistic activities they center their lives around.
When a shadowy faction offers her an opportunity to avoid some of the most trying day-to-day duties, she agrees to spy for them. Her tasks give her access to a world she's never seen before. The elegant parties, twisted games, and dangerous interactions that only the leaders amongst her order engage in.. but surviving them may be another story.
Conceptually it's an intriguing story with incredibly dark elements. Not only do the Sisters engage in blood magic, it's quite frankly a brutal existence. Even those at the top have to sacrifice heavily, having more power only enables them to choose between those sacrifices a bit more aggressively and in Aytrium, none of the choices are good.
Hall manages to take some truly horrific acts and make them so palatable that they seem almost acceptable within the structure of the story. Which, isn't to say there isn't an occurrence here and there that's methodically too much even under the expectations she sets.
I enjoyed the multi-tiered conflict. The characters have plenty of internal struggles, but there are also waves and waves of conflicts overlapping and crashing into each other amongst the citizens of Aytrium. Though I did feel the ending was a little anti-climactic for me, the path from about the midway point of the book up to that conclusion hits pretty hard and fast. In fact, there's a moment it the city that is really rough emotionally.
While overall the story was pretty enjoyable, the beginning was a big of a slog. Somehow the author both over-describes and under-describes.. and I've genuinely never seen that before. Meaning, she'll give an eye-view of nearly everything the character comes across, but she doesn't actually describe any of it in enough detail so as to be easily visualized or memorable. The overuse of group names within the order is also a bit out of hand.
Fortunately, after the first third or so of the novel, that clears up as the plot itself becomes more dense. The book is definitely still worth a read, as it improves considerably from that point on and by the halfway mark or so, I didn't want to put it down anymore. If you're sensitive to graphic scenes, blood, gore, or death.. this book might not be for you.
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Confinement, and Vomit
phoebereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Cannibalism, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion and Child abuse
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