A Dark and Hollow Star
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- Create Date：2021-04-25 13:51:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ashley Shuttleworth
- ISBN：1534453679
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Choose your player。
The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family。
A tempestuous Fury， exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge。
A dutiful fae prince， determined to earn his place on the throne。
The prince’s brooding guardian， burdened with a terrible secret。
For centuries， the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us， concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans。 This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world。
Four queer teens， each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders， must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes。 If they fail， they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike。 If that’s not bad enough， there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms， and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales。 The only question is: which way？
Wish them luck。 They’re going to need it。
The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family。
A tempestuous Fury， exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge。
A dutiful fae prince， determined to earn his place on the throne。
The prince’s brooding guardian， burdened with a terrible secret。
For centuries， the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us， concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans。 This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world。
Four queer teens， each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders， must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes。 If they fail， they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike。 If that’s not bad enough， there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms， and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales。 The only question is: which way？
Wish them luck。 They’re going to need it。
Reviews
Stephy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If I had the physical book I def would have put like a 4。5 but since I had an audiobook it was 4。 Anyway I loved it so much。 I will say I need more then just a kiss from Naucica and arlo like come on the sequel needs to come
Lea Branov
，
I love this book and the characters and I can’t wait for the next one！
Marianne
，
3。5 StarsNot a bad read but I predicted this would be a 4。5-5* and sadly it didn't quite live up to my expectations。I think this is very much a case where the story needed to be streamlined; it felt as if the author wanted to get all their ideas out in one go， when many might have been better kept for sequels。 For example， the Wild Hunt， Nausicaa's back story and background， even a lot of the Celadon scenes （he was actually my favourite character， but he got a lot of screen time which probably s 3。5 StarsNot a bad read but I predicted this would be a 4。5-5* and sadly it didn't quite live up to my expectations。I think this is very much a case where the story needed to be streamlined; it felt as if the author wanted to get all their ideas out in one go， when many might have been better kept for sequels。 For example， the Wild Hunt， Nausicaa's back story and background， even a lot of the Celadon scenes （he was actually my favourite character， but he got a lot of screen time which probably should have been given to Vehan and Aurelian instead （view spoiler）[， and it's actually kind of weird he's missing from the final battle when he's so involved in the beginning （hide spoiler）]）。 Not only did all this information bog the story down， it also lessened the intrigue to a huge degree - can we have a bit of mystery in a murder mystery story， please？ Then there's the exposition problem; a lot of the worldbuilding （of which there is too much， to be honest） is delivered in dry， chunky paragraphs。 It's also delivered at odd points in the story - I'm fairly sure we only find out that the summer court has an affinity for electricity about 250 pages in， for instance。 Leading on from that， the pacing is just。。。off。 The main four characters don't meet until about halfway through， which could have worked had the first half of the story not been drawn out far longer than it needed to be。 In fact every chapter felt just that bit too long。 This is probably another side effect of there being too many story elements/too much exposition。 This review has been really negative so far， but this is a 3。5* read， so yes， there were a lot of positives too！ The characters - while suffering from a lack of intrigue - were very likeable; I particularly liked Arlo's relationship with her family members; each and every relationship dynamic was really compelling。 Aurelian and Vehan suffered from not getting enough screen time in comparison， but were enjoyable characters nonetheless， especially before they joined with the rest of the group。 Nausicaa I wish kept a bit more mystery about her （maybe she didn't need a POV？）， but she was fine， I guess， haven't quite made up my mind on her yet。There were also certain scenes I really liked; for example the early scenes of Vehan and Aurelian in Nevada were really cool， both in the Goblin Market and the desert。 There was also some good humour - the Pokemon prank was a personal fave。 To be honest， everything to do with Cel was a win。 A shame he got relegated in the second half of the story to be honest。 I said earlier that maybe some of his scenes should have been cut to give Aurelian and Vehan more space， but the alternative - making him a PROPER main character - would have been even better。While the ending was quite anticlimactic for me （again， we already knew too much）， there's enough here that I'm still intrigued by the sequel。 With a lot of the exposition out of the way， the sequels might actually get to the meat of the story， and allow the compelling character dynamics to really shine。 They are， after all， the story's strength， and character-driven stories are my thing。 So we'll see！ 。。。more
Louise
，
Well hot damn this book was good
Holly Hughes
，
“There was a fine and fragile line between the things that made a person brave and the things that made them fools - so far， she had a sinking suspicion their plan belonged to the latter category。”Full review to come。Hey Nausicaä， I am free this weekend， if you are free this weekend。I will always be a sucker for faerie tales， but especially when those faerie tales are queer （which， honestly we need more of）。 All of these characters are also queer disasters， which—surprising no one—I also ado “There was a fine and fragile line between the things that made a person brave and the things that made them fools - so far， she had a sinking suspicion their plan belonged to the latter category。”Full review to come。Hey Nausicaä， I am free this weekend， if you are free this weekend。I will always be a sucker for faerie tales， but especially when those faerie tales are queer （which， honestly we need more of）。 All of these characters are also queer disasters， which—surprising no one—I also adore。 Also， my soul for all the little Canadian-isms。This said， I think there were definitely parts where the plot was more dragged out in exposition than it needed to be。 The ball （or should I say die？ *ba dum tss*） took a little while to get rolling， but it was still a lot of fun before and after it did。PS。 As usual in this regard， I find switching to the audiobook really helps me when I'm struggling with pace。 And this audiobook is fantastically produced！ 。。。more
TownsofInk
，
The story begins with multi character perspectives that revolve around a series of attacks that are happening against ironborns which are half fae/half humans。 The narration of each of the characters highlights their struggles as they live between both the fae and human world。 From banishment to royal court conflicts， the story highlights their struggles to balance their involvement in stopping these lethal assaults along with their own personal battles in the two-part world。 Throughout the book The story begins with multi character perspectives that revolve around a series of attacks that are happening against ironborns which are half fae/half humans。 The narration of each of the characters highlights their struggles as they live between both the fae and human world。 From banishment to royal court conflicts， the story highlights their struggles to balance their involvement in stopping these lethal assaults along with their own personal battles in the two-part world。 Throughout the book， we get a background on each of their lives， all leading up to the investigation of who is killing these ironborns and it might just be more surprising and complicated than they had imagined。This book was amazing at lgbtq+ representation， particularly， in not making it a character trait， which I believe is great for normalizing lgbtq+ characters in books in general。 You learn about each main character intimately and are taken along with their highs and lows。 Relating to the characters was an experience and I loved being moved by their storylines and they're conflicts （both physical and emotional）。 The writing style flows wonderfully off the page。 I was immersed from beginning to end。 Can't wait for the sequel！！ 。。。more
Jordan
，
3。75 starsI really loved how Canadian this book was。 From the Toronto setting， to the casual mentions of Timbits and Toonies， it was very fun。 And I may have a new favourite ship。。。 （view spoiler）[ Arlo and Nausicaä！！ （hide spoiler）] 3。75 starsI really loved how Canadian this book was。 From the Toronto setting， to the casual mentions of Timbits and Toonies， it was very fun。 And I may have a new favourite ship。。。 （view spoiler）[ Arlo and Nausicaä！！ （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Rachel Roan
，
The queer modern faerie fantasy epic you've been looking for。 An excellent read for anyone who loves SJM books but is looking for queer character who are actually a part of the story。 Read it its great The queer modern faerie fantasy epic you've been looking for。 An excellent read for anyone who loves SJM books but is looking for queer character who are actually a part of the story。 Read it its great 。。。more
Gretchen Hintze
，
2。5？ 2。75 stars？ Maybe I can’t read anymore but this was tremendously boring， overwritten， and had poor （read: very little） character development。 Also the world and various kinds of magic were so poorly explained？？ I sat there the whole time asking myself “am i just stupid？” Because nothing made sense。 I wanted to like this so much more than I did and I am SAD。 The sephiroth clone was kinda cool tho。
gracie
，
i lost the plot like halfway through the book and only kept reading it because it was gay。
Virgil
，
BOOKS WITH COVERS AS GORGEOUS AS THIS ONE SHOULD NOT SUCK THIS MUCH。the last 150 pages were meh-but-enjoyable。 the rest was boring at best， downright stupid at worst。this book is full of clichés， like I know these characters and I didn't care for them at all。 I kinda enjoyed Nos but she acted more like the teenager she looked like than like a hundreds year old Fury。 Arlo was meh。 the villain was boring and cliche， but like， what did I expect。every time something remotely interesting happend， the BOOKS WITH COVERS AS GORGEOUS AS THIS ONE SHOULD NOT SUCK THIS MUCH。the last 150 pages were meh-but-enjoyable。 the rest was boring at best， downright stupid at worst。this book is full of clichés， like I know these characters and I didn't care for them at all。 I kinda enjoyed Nos but she acted more like the teenager she looked like than like a hundreds year old Fury。 Arlo was meh。 the villain was boring and cliche， but like， what did I expect。every time something remotely interesting happend， the story stopped to slap you on the head with some unnecessary infodumping about either the world or the characters。 also -- so！ many！ named！ characters！ that！ did！ absolutely！ NOTHING！ LIKE WTFAND THE DESCRIPTIONS！ like I do not know how any of the characters look excepted Nos， cuz she on the cover， Arlo cus its described sooo much and the bodyguard looks like a cat。 Everything else blended together。 this book thinks the reader is dumb， and that was my biggest issue。 Like， we can read trough the lines。。。 You do not have to explicitly state the characters intentions and insecurities/fears。 （looking at you oracle scene。。。 that shit was really， really dumb and unnecessary。 it was like the second time we saw him and we already got him yelling about how useless he feels？？？ Obvious much？？） I also could not pin down either princeling or his bodyguard （dont make me use their names） because of how little time we spent with them， and when I finally thought I knew something， the dialogue proved me wrong so - yeah for that I guess。also the dialoge was really unnatural at points， especially when the characters where texting。 （also the eleven year old was def not eleven。）so many unnecessary scenes。 （unnecessary is really the word for this book）The story is like the characters， bin there done that。 Such a shame， I was really looking forward to this one。 Lesson learned， not gonna fall for the hype again。 （that's a lie） what I liked about the book:- use of they/them and xi/xhem pronouns- some of Nos's oneliners- the queer rep I guess， even tho i expected way more of it （for a book that marked itself as the queer rep in fae land you've been looking for， it was surprisingly lacking。）- the cover 。。。more
Seana
，
THIS WAS SO GOOD！ A little slower at so parts but I understand it’s necessity for world and character building。 But when it was good， I could not put the book down。 This author was incredible and I am SO invested in our main group。 I’m literally obsessed with them。 WOW。 I can’t say enough positive things about this novel。 I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment of this series。 SO EXCITED 💖
arson
，
dnf （for now） at 30%
Sarah
，
This is my 50th book of the year！ I can't believe I've already read so many！ I really enjoyed this one， I liked the melding of high fae fantasy with urban fantasy。 There's also some variety of mythologies within the world building。 The character's were a lot of fun， Nausicaä was by far my favorite of the main four。 I loved her from the moment she appeared in the prologue and continued to love her badass self throughout the book。 Arlo felt a little more basic YA heroine， she's an outsider but als This is my 50th book of the year！ I can't believe I've already read so many！ I really enjoyed this one， I liked the melding of high fae fantasy with urban fantasy。 There's also some variety of mythologies within the world building。 The character's were a lot of fun， Nausicaä was by far my favorite of the main four。 I loved her from the moment she appeared in the prologue and continued to love her badass self throughout the book。 Arlo felt a little more basic YA heroine， she's an outsider but also has a secret power that could determine the fate of her world。 Despite this I did still like her and I loved her interactions with Nausicaä。 Though they were supposed to round out the main group of characters， Vehan and Aurelian felt a little more side character-like to me。 I anticipate they'll have a bigger presence in the next book。 I do love me some mutually pining idiots though。 I also kind of love our big villain of the book， so far they're shaping up very nicely and may join the ranks of some other villains I just love to hate。 I enjoy the way the magic we've seen so far works in this。 Each noble family has their own type of magic they're known for and can exhibit upon their maturity。 I'm excited to see what happens in book two。 。。。more
Rooz
，
This book！！ I mean I only needed to see the cover to get excited， but hell this book really lived up to it。 It’s a complex urban fantasy and for someone usually preferring epic fantasy this is really well written and makes you still believe in “another world” even when taking place in the real one。 You get to follow 4 different people， separately at first but then when their worlds collide。 The story that are told and the characters are vivid and intriguing， you absolutely get hooked。 The repres This book！！ I mean I only needed to see the cover to get excited， but hell this book really lived up to it。 It’s a complex urban fantasy and for someone usually preferring epic fantasy this is really well written and makes you still believe in “another world” even when taking place in the real one。 You get to follow 4 different people， separately at first but then when their worlds collide。 The story that are told and the characters are vivid and intriguing， you absolutely get hooked。 The representation is really good and feels natural。 This book get plenty messages along as for example that you can take charge of your own fate and choose who you want to be。 The concept is just so brilliant and absolutely intriguing and I loved everyone of the main characters， all in their own way。The book is filled with magic， action， mystery， adventure， humor and so much more！ I would really recommend this。 I can’t wait to the second book to get released！ 。。。more
Emily
，
This was a really good book。 I felt it was a little slow in places but still very well done。 Can't wait to continue with this story。 This was a really good book。 I felt it was a little slow in places but still very well done。 Can't wait to continue with this story。 。。。more
Mira Mio
，
DNF 10%Автор явно в школе не только всю домашку учил， но еще и рефераты два раза от руки переписывал。Давно я не видела настолько душных инфодампов。Три звезды за попытку в эпик и красивую обложку。
Mari
，
The plot itself was interesting， and if I would have liked the characters I would have liked the book。However， I sadly strongly disliked 2 characters （which had their own point of view）。First I dislike Hero。 He is a deeply messed up character， but while I dislike him， I also see that his actions are necessary for the plot， so if it were just him， I could have absolutely tolerated him for the sake of the story。But the main character， Arlo。。。I found her so annoying。 （view spoiler）[She is powerless The plot itself was interesting， and if I would have liked the characters I would have liked the book。However， I sadly strongly disliked 2 characters （which had their own point of view）。First I dislike Hero。 He is a deeply messed up character， but while I dislike him， I also see that his actions are necessary for the plot， so if it were just him， I could have absolutely tolerated him for the sake of the story。But the main character， Arlo。。。I found her so annoying。 （view spoiler）[She is powerless/ weak， and barely managed to avoid getting banished and getting her memories and powers sealed by the council and having to live as a human not remembering her fae side of the family。 And she only managed to avoid it thanks to her cousin， a prince。She gets a deadline， at which her powers will be judged again。 So what does she do？ Train or research how to activate/ find/ grow her powers？ No， she returns to the human world and goes to school。This was such a disappointmend。Then Arlo sees a random girl die in a cafe and is way too strongly affected by her death， as if she saw a friend or relative die， and keeps bringing up this random girl by name and crying over her and mourning。 And she saw the Dark Star/Nausicaä looking suspicious in the cafe while the random girl died and decided to not just mind her own business but follow her and question her。 After finding out who she is， Arlo decides that the Dark Star must have killed the girl， cause she is a criminal and is way to sure of her judgement， despite having no evidence at all。 And she reports her judgement to her cousin the prince and to the king。That really embedded my dislike for her。 （hide spoiler）]Arlo is such a weak and useless character， but is too stuborn， rash， annoying and altogether acts too stupid。 Her only redeeming quality is that she is kind。And since I had such an immense dislike for a main character， I really couldn't enjoy the story， despite it by itself being good。 For me the most important aspect to enjoy the book are the characters （liking the characters） and Arlo just annoyed me too much with her rash decisions and the lack of trying to do something against her weak powers。Also I found it kinda random that the Dark Star just starts liking Arlo， I really couldn't see where this could have come from。 。。。more
Holly Doll
，
Absolutely brilliant。 Nausicaä is my absolute favorite character I have come across so far this year。 I’m ready for book 2 now！
Nick
，
Love vehan， arlo， Nausicaä， Aurelian can’t wait for the next book
Jen Appell
，
Chaotic queer fae teens take on the immortals？ Queer characters being queer？？？ Queer romances？ Plural？？？ SWORD LESBIANS？？？？？？？I absolutely love this concept and characters， and that ending！ The last couple of chapters pack a lot of punch， so it took me a minute to catch up， but oh my god。Can't wait for 2 Dark 2 Hollow！ Chaotic queer fae teens take on the immortals？ Queer characters being queer？？？ Queer romances？ Plural？？？ SWORD LESBIANS？？？？？？？I absolutely love this concept and characters， and that ending！ The last couple of chapters pack a lot of punch， so it took me a minute to catch up， but oh my god。Can't wait for 2 Dark 2 Hollow！ 。。。more
Filomena Baker
，
I want to read this book so badly so I can hate it so much。 I can just tell I'm going to dislike it。 Yay！ I want to read this book so badly so I can hate it so much。 I can just tell I'm going to dislike it。 Yay！ 。。。more
Grüffeline
，
Maybe the problem was that she was once again letting herself get so keyed up by all the things she wasn't that she couldn't see the things she already was - resourceful and brave and， perhaps most importantly， not in this alone。 2。5 starsThis book deserves a shout out for its diverstity alone。 So everyone that would love a fae story with a lot of queer， this might be the book for you。 But if you need to watch out for trigger/content warnings: This book has a pretty long list， so you might wa Maybe the problem was that she was once again letting herself get so keyed up by all the things she wasn't that she couldn't see the things she already was - resourceful and brave and， perhaps most importantly， not in this alone。 2。5 starsThis book deserves a shout out for its diverstity alone。 So everyone that would love a fae story with a lot of queer， this might be the book for you。 But if you need to watch out for trigger/content warnings: This book has a pretty long list， so you might wanna look into that。 For me， this book was a roller coaster。 It started off really amazing， I liked Alecto at once and the setting and everything in the prologue was perfection。 Well， the setting didn't last long， Shuttleworth puts all the magical creatures she writes about in a modern US/Canadian environment。 Mixing magic with technology and modern times is difficult （not in general but for me personally！）。 There were pages （yes， after the prologue as well） that I devoured and could not put this book down。 And then were pages that I just couldn't get through， they would take forever to read。 I don't know what it was。 Maybe part of it were the changes in pov。 Nausicaä and Arlo were great almost through every of their chapters。 Aurelian was interesting and pretty cool， too。 The Seelie prince （I always forget his name。。。） was the opposite。 I didn't really like him or care for him。 But handsdown my favorite characters was Celadon。 I just love him。 The story started like a crime novel and it's all about figuring out who murdered all those people （not my cup of tea， either， I'm afraid）。 I was more interested in the courts and all which really fascinated me and I'm here for more so if the sequel comes， I'll be reading it。 。。。more
Hanel Kim
，
I just finished the book and im absolutely speechless。 What was that？ That was amazing， it was everything I wanted from a book。 Its seems like there are alot of people who disliked this book due to the high expectation the hype brought。 On the other hand， I really loved this book and I did red the book bc of its beautiful cover of nos and fun summary。 Its my absolute new favorite which I was delightedly shocked by。 The plot at the start was a bit slow and the over all plot seems very simple but I just finished the book and im absolutely speechless。 What was that？ That was amazing， it was everything I wanted from a book。 Its seems like there are alot of people who disliked this book due to the high expectation the hype brought。 On the other hand， I really loved this book and I did red the book bc of its beautiful cover of nos and fun summary。 Its my absolute new favorite which I was delightedly shocked by。 The plot at the start was a bit slow and the over all plot seems very simple but the world building and characters was what got me mesmerized and motivating me to keep reading。 Its a bit predictable at times but its fine because the world of the story is so well fleshed out。The main characters are amazing， they do embody some tropes but underneath it， theres an unexpected depth to them that makes me care for them deeply。I really loved the representation and the fact that Arlo always had a choice。This is the first book so I understand that its building up to a bigger plot。 Im absolutely looking forward to the 2nd book！ 。。。more
Chandra Rooney
，
I don’t know if I’m going to finish this， but if I’ll update if I do。 I’m ~40% through the book， and one of the major issues I’m having with it is because it was marketed to Canadian readers as a book about -fairies in TORONTO- when it’s a book that is about -FAIRIES in toronto。-Thus far， it spends little to no time using Toronto to ground the vast， highly-detailed fae world in an equally rich and detailed human sense of place。There have been a couple scenes in the book where it manages to strik I don’t know if I’m going to finish this， but if I’ll update if I do。 I’m ~40% through the book， and one of the major issues I’m having with it is because it was marketed to Canadian readers as a book about -fairies in TORONTO- when it’s a book that is about -FAIRIES in toronto。-Thus far， it spends little to no time using Toronto to ground the vast， highly-detailed fae world in an equally rich and detailed human sense of place。There have been a couple scenes in the book where it manages to strike the right balance—like in the truly wondrous Goblin Market trip—but the rest of the time， things are just。。。happening 。。。 somewhere。 And a bunch of fairies are there。This imbalanced world-building holds back the story， because instead of layering onto our world a magical one for us to be guided through by the main characters， we’re constantly tripping over the descriptions of all the extras in the background。 It’s like the story doesn’t know which of its details matter， and that’s a big concern when it wants to have a mystery element as its inciting action。 It’s not really about the mystery， but we can’t get to what it’s about because the characters are stuck in the early stages of investigating the mystery。That distraction is unfortunate， because there’s an interesting story here for this all-queer cast of characters to be in。 And I wish this book had had another round of edits with stronger/better guidance to excavate it。 。。。more
kelsey
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 this one was a bit of a struggle at the start， but honestly i had so much fun with the rest of it that i don't even care it took me a minute to get into it。 i'll start with the good things。 there were four pov characters-arlo， a half fae， half human teenager （also called ironborn）; nausicaa， a former fury bent on causing chaos wherever she roams; vehan， the seelie prince of summer; and aurelian， his best friend and steward/bodyguard/basically anything he needs to be。 i liked all of the character this one was a bit of a struggle at the start， but honestly i had so much fun with the rest of it that i don't even care it took me a minute to get into it。 i'll start with the good things。 there were four pov characters-arlo， a half fae， half human teenager （also called ironborn）; nausicaa， a former fury bent on causing chaos wherever she roams; vehan， the seelie prince of summer; and aurelian， his best friend and steward/bodyguard/basically anything he needs to be。 i liked all of the characters， and i enjoyed most of their povs。 i thought the world was really interesting， and it's definitely explained very well; all the intricacies of the faerie court are explained， and the fact that i can't remember the difference between fae and faeries is because i am simply a dummy。 i really liked the writing style， but i think this is the biggest area where ymmv。 shuttleworth has a tendency to over-describe; any time a character enters a room we know exactly what the intricate detailing of the furniture looks like。 i like that！ tell me exactly what everything looks like！！ i am terrible at picturing shapes and things in my head （geometry and calc 3 were nightmares for me） but i still want to know about it all。 there were a lot of info dumps at the start of the book。 i'm normally not one to complain about this， and that should tell you how noticeable it was。 they weren't confusing， and it was interesting information about the world， but sometimes it went on for so long that it took me out of the story。 relatedly， the world is so big: we've got Furies， Titans， the Folk， deities， vampires （no mention of werewolves， which in my opinion is classism， in this essay i will-）， mermaids， Oracles， and probably other things that i am forgetting。 it's a lot to take in and it's definitely not all necessary to know， but it is interesting！ and i admire shuttleworth going for it all。 the character dynamics were great， and one of my favorite parts of the book。 the four main characters have such distinct dynamics between themselves and it's great to read when they finally come together （about two thirds of the way through the novel）。 the romances are something of a slowburn， but in different ways。 （view spoiler）[arlo and nausicaa just met， and arlo is still questioning her sexuality， so it takes a while for them to build up their romantic dynamic， but i adore the effect that arlo has on the 300 year old fury。 vehan/aurelian gets less development， but they have a deeper history-they're childhood best friends and already in love with each other， but neither of them are able to act on it， for different reasons。 i loved reading their povs and seeing how they thought about each other， and how they thought the other one thought of them。 （hide spoiler）]i have two complaints that are keeping this from a 4。5 or a 5。 the first is that arlo is by far the least interesting of the main characters， and she overwhelmingly has the most chapters， more than the other 3 have collectively。 i understand that she is the human character and thus the proxy for the reader to learn about the world， but i don't agree that was necessary， and wished the other characters had more development。 particularly vehan and aurelian， who combined had almost the same number of chapters as nausicaa。 this makes it less of an ensemble cast and more of a single protag with some friends， which is not what i think the goal was here。 arlo's main problem， aside from the murders that make up the plot of this book， is the Weighing-when the Court decides whether her magic is strong enough for her to keep her magic side。 if she doesn't measure up， she will be forced to forget anything to do with fae and magic and live her life as a simple human。 this is an interesting problem to have， but in her very first chapter， it's immediately pushed out 8 years， taking away the threat。 her other problem is she doesn't know if she wants to go to college。 while this is relatable， it's not particularly interesting in comparison with nausicaa's desire for chaos and revenge， and her depression; vehan's struggle to keep the peace between his mother and the people who work for her， while dealing with his mysterious scar and depression; and the thin wire aurelian balances on to keep himself， his family， and the prince alive。 which is not to say that i don't like arlo！ i love that she's good and kind and feels things very strongly。 but she also suffers from generic YA heroine syndrome: she's secretly very good at magic and powerful， she just hasn't come into it yet; she's actually very pretty but she can't tell; her best friend is constantly telling her how amazing she is but she simply does not see it; her outfits are described to a T （i know i said i love description but this is my exception。 unless a character is wearing a bespoke suit i am uninterested in the exact details）。 i appreciated her arc of rejecting heroism in favor of a normal life， but a lot of it was very on the nose。 my other criticism is that the main villain for this book is also not particularly interesting， but he could be。 the reason the man has become a villain is （view spoiler）[that the Court Weighed him， found him wanting， and took all his memories of his magic。 When he gets his magic and his memories back， he's angry and。。。well I don't really know what he wants， which is part of the problem。 The other part of the problem is that he suffers the exact fate that Arlo is trying to avoid in her first chapter， and at no point is this acknowledged by anyone。 （hide spoiler）] this could have been such an interesting parallel， a way to give him more substance and less of a 2D villain。 instead we just get lots of evil speeches about his Genius。 criticisms aside， i really enjoyed these characters and i had a lot of fun with this， especially the back half！ i am really looking forward to the next one。 。。。more
Lotus Xie
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I really， really wanted to love this book。 I love urban fantasy， I’m fascinated by Faeries， and not to mention that I’m queer and live in Toronto！ However， I just can’t get into the story。 I will probably pick it up again in the future。
Isabel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If it wasn’t gay it would be more like three stars but I’m easily pleased
Nevaeh
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I was realy good
Corin
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I liked this book more than I expected myself （someone who tends to read adult books） to。4/5 StarsThis book is the story of a crime threatening to become larger than life - and death。 The story follows four queer youngsters， each with a different kind of power to bring to the table， as they - more or less intentionally - dive into the heart of a series of murders happening to the fae community。 Ironborn， children born of both fae and human， are brutally killed on the streets and no one seems to I liked this book more than I expected myself （someone who tends to read adult books） to。4/5 StarsThis book is the story of a crime threatening to become larger than life - and death。 The story follows four queer youngsters， each with a different kind of power to bring to the table， as they - more or less intentionally - dive into the heart of a series of murders happening to the fae community。 Ironborn， children born of both fae and human， are brutally killed on the streets and no one seems to do anything about it。 When the adults fail to do their job， it's them who hunts the wraith that is behind this scheme。This book was fun， it truly was！ It is adverstised as a queer YA fantasy and I couldn't agree more with any part of that genre。 The characters were witty and funny， they made me laugh and cry out in frustration。 The way fantasy is written into this， as part of a very modern world， is intriguing to me。 Apps for magical folk， cafés run by them， grand courts and grander personalities。 The author spends a lot of time weaving this very intricate and detailed web of fantasy， mythology， and reality。 At first I thought this would end up as a huge mess - and it seemed like that from time to time simply because of the sheer ammount of different references to various mythologies - but it is a job well done。Like many other people I missed any aspect of cultural diversity in this book， but it did handle it's "queer" title like no other book I've read so far。 When a honest-to-god Fury lectures you on the pronouns of deities， that's the part where I just laughed out loud at the absurdity of it。 But it was really nice and refreshing！If you like this book's blurb， I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed by this read！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Dark and Hollow Star
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Dark and Hollow Star&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft