A Dark and Hollow Star (A Dark and Hollow Star, #1)

Ashley Shuttleworth has set up an intriguing world where mortals, fae, immortals, and titans mix in her opening book, A Dark and Hollow Star. The story is told from multiple perspectives to make it like a puzzle coming closer to being pieced together when the characters finally meet and align their knowledge and skills.
There is Arlo, a half-human/half-fae “iron blood” who thinks she has very little power and therefore is at risk of being written off as too human and left with her magic bound and memories altered. Her dear cousin, Prince Celadon, delays this from happening. She is a likable character who is prone to being in the wrong place at the wrong time but has a heart of gold. There are many hints that she has far more power than realized.
I read a lot of books with the fae depicted as cold and fickle. Therefore, this world was different in how humane and emotional the characters were depicted. It kept emphasizing how much Prince Celadon loves Arlo and how close they are. I fully expected for most of the book to be revealed that his affections were just a cruel trick and that he is using her in some way and then will show her disdain. That never happened which was a surprise. The author stuck with the idea that Fae are weakened by iron so it felt odd that they are then driving around in human sports cars, use cellphones, and Aurelian is a tech nerd.
The former fury, Nausicaä, is all snarky with a big attitude. I loved her character and that she is a big old softie under all the protections around her emotions that she has erected. Her banter drew me into the story and became my favorite part of the book. She and Arlo seem on track to develop a romantic relationship in future books. Her background gives them extra power and knowledge to face the bad guys.
Prince Vehan and his friend, Aurelian have an interesting dynamic. They both romantically love each other. However, Vehan’s cruel mother has told Aurelian that his purpose is to die to break Vehan so she can mold him to her ideals later. Therefore, tension and distance rule their interactions. Prince Vehan is once again emotional and good and not what I expected for Fae's behavior.
I like that in book one the current problem appears to be over thanks to our cast of heroes. Yet, in the epilogue, we see that this is part of a bigger evil plan that is years in the making. These books are lengthy, but the characters are engaging and it did not feel hard to read quickly. I am looking forward to starting the next book. I used an audiobook paired with a physical copy of the book which I found helpful to hear the pronunciation which was often different than I would have expected and to see the spelling to better follow the character’s names.

I'm so conflicted about this book. First, I loved the story and the mystery. This is what really drove me to finish the book. If I didn't have the second book already and wasn't invested in the actual plot, I probably would have set this book aside. One of my main issues with this book was it was just too... human? I know that's a little weird but this story really focuses on the fae but everything was so human. It makes sense that these beings would adapt to the human world but I felt like it a little too much adapting. And since the fae were integrated into the human world in this book, oh the references. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in books. Where the references are non-stop. There were so many and no one... well no one that I know... references pop culture that much. It's just annoying. But the story overall was interesting and definitely kept me going.

Then we get to the characters. First, this book was over 500 pages which is a beefy book. And personally, it was about 200 pages too long. The pacing was off as the beginning took forever to get to the main plot point and, for me, that could have been resolved by removing Vehan and Auerlian's points of view. They offered nothing... nothing. All of their story could have been given from Arlo and Nausicaa -- who were both way more interesting. I also think that I would have enjoyed Vehan and Aurelian a lot more if I didn't read from their points of view. I just did not connect with them and was waiting for their chapters to be over.

Overall, A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth was okay. The story and plot itself was interesting and I will continue this series because I am invested enough. There were some choices made in the writing that just hit my personal pet peeves that had me wanting to give up on it. But I stuck it out and am glad that I did. While the first half of the book dragged, the ending was definitely better. A Dark and Hollow Star is a beefy book, sitting at over 500 pages which usually isn't an issue but it does provide four point of views. Arlo, Nausicaa, Vehan and Aurelian are all featured in the book but I could have easily done without Vehan and Aurelian. They offered no real insight to the plot and their chapters were just boring and whiny. I would have rather had the whole book from Arlo and Nausicaa's point of view. Personally, I probably would have ended up liking Vehan and Aurelian more too.

A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR is a slowly building YA fantasy that takes the reader on a wild ride through a world of magic. The book primarily follows five characters, Hero (a villain), Nausicaä (a former fury), Arlo (an ironborn), Vehan (a sidhe prince), and Aurelian (a lesidhe guard). In Toronto, the seat of the High King of all the fae courts, something dark has been happening. It began with disappearing humans, which was not of interest to the fae, and has transformed to the gruesome murders of the ironborn, individuals who are half fae and half human.

Nausicaä is a former fury who fell from grace after taking human lives while grieving her sister. She now lives among the mortals, and she soon learns more information about the deaths of the ironborn that cause her to take up the mystery of who is behind it - deaths that she as the Dark Star is being blamed for. Arlo is an ironborn who almost failed her Weighing, the time when the courts decide whether her magic should be taken from her and she should be separated from the fae courts entirely or whether she should be allowed to join. After her cousin's intervention, they have allowed her to delay the Weighing. As an ironborn, she has an interest in learning and stopping what is happening, but her mix of naivete and bravery is really what gets her accidentally involved, beginning with her seeking of the Dark Star.

Vehan is a sidhe prince of the Spring Court, and Aurelian is his lesidhe guard, assigned by his cruel mother. Vehan has a deep interest in solving these crimes, for several personal reasons. As they begin to investigate, their paths will soon cross with Nausicaä and Arlo, and soon, they will be stumbling into dangers that are bigger than they anticipated.

What I loved: The world and character building is really strong, and the plot is really cleverly woven. This book, as the first in the series, really focuses on the characters individually and those around them. There are several characters whose perspectives that we do not see that were equally intriguing, such as Celadon, the high prince. In terms of the main four, they each endear themselves to the reader's heart. They have all faced challenges that they work to overcome, and their lives are still evolving. This ended up being quite the journey, with all sorts of unexpected elements along the way.

The danger the main four face is present throughout, and I appreciated the tension that arises as they begin to search out the individuals behind the ironborn deaths. Despite the tension, Nausicaä's sarcasm works beautifully to break it and mix some humor into the read. I also enjoyed the LGBT romances that are developing in the book. Although this was a much lesser theme, with the deep character development here, it felt like the cherry on top.

There are some interesting themes about suppression of the ironborn, fate, and the balance of power with morality. The ironborn have definitely been treated as lesser and now the council seems to be doing what they feel is in their (ironborn) best interest, often casting them out. However, the reader can definitely see that this is not the case. The High King has the most power, and while he was initially interested in protecting all the fae and doing what is best for his people, his goals seem to have evolved over time. Here, these may be some of the effects of the immortal crown that was not meant for human heads (some interesting symbolism), but it may also be the corruptibility of power. Regardless, I am curious to see how this will develop as his role in it all is yet unclear.

What left me wanting more: Owing to the many characters and deep world-building here, the book is a bit slow at the start and at first, it is difficult to keep track of who is who and how they fit into the story. This definitely gets better as it moves on, and I think future books will be able to move much faster because of the breadth and depth of information given here.

Final verdict: With strong world-building and compelling characters, A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR is a lush and captivating YA fantasy that begins a series I am eager to follow. Highly recommend for fans of Amanda Hocking, Holly Black, and Julie Kagawa.