Emma☀️'s Reviews > A Dark and Hollow Star

A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. The blurb promised queer teenagers set in Toronto with serial killers and I was ecstatic when I got approved for the ARC. Unfortunately, it did fall short in terms of world-building and pacing.

I have to acknowledge how wonderful the queer rep was. All the main characters were part of the LBGTQ+ community and their orientation was accepted in the courts. This was so refreshing because not a lot of fantasy books integrate LGBTQ+ rep into their world and acknowledged.

In terms of world-building, it was confusing and riddled with many info dumps. Despite the influx of information, I still could not understand the magic system and I spent a portion of the book confused. A glossary would have definitely helped in this situation. However, I appreciated the nod to Greek mythology. It was fresh and new.
Plot-wise, it was slow-moving. It took a long time for the characters to finally meet and by then, I was not engaging with the content. The ending, however, was action-packed and I enjoyed it.

The characters were the strongest parts of the novel. A Dark and Hollow Star was told in 4 POVs - Arlo, Nausicaä, Aurelian, and Vehan. I appreciated that Shuttleworth took the time to flesh out each character, so by the end of the book, they all felt like one of my best friends. There was one gripe I had, some of the dialogue felt forced between the characters. Nausicaä would bring up pop culture that felt a little random. It came off as an adult hanging out with the kids - the "hello fellow kids" meme, if you will.

Overall, this was a solid first installment! The world-building was a bit shaky but hopefully, that will be resolved in the sequel.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.