Review Detail

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.