A Cruel and Fated Light

I was really surprised that it ended the way it did. I suspect the next book will be a continuation right where this one left off. I can’t wait to read it.

Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars. This is the second in The Hollow Star Saga, the first of which I read & loved last year! Let’s get into it: ⚡️ This series is something like HOSAB, The Mortal Instruments and The Folk of the Air had a child ( + a dash of RPG game play), but make it filled to the brim with Queer rep! ⚡️ Arlo & Nausicaa, our two heroines, are SO lovable. Their chemistry is jumping off the page, and I swooned almost every time they had a romantic moment. ⚡️ Nausicaa is a wildly morally grey badass of a character. She's hilarious & frightening and unconcerned with other people's opinions of her. She also has a deeply heartbroken side that is so well portrayed & explored, even as she uses her humor to try to cover it up. ⚡️ Aurelian & Vehan. *sigh*. I LOVE these two just as much as the previously mentioned pair. Shuttleworth absolutely SHINES with relationship & character development. ⚡️ The plot of this is an absolute adventure. There is action left and right, & so many cool magic systems and hierarchies of power to explore. ⚡️ The world building makes me feel a bit conflicted. There is a LOT, like a LOT LOT, going on. We have titans and gods and furies and all manner of faerie folk and seelie and unseelie and sidhe and lesidhe fae and SHEESH (this was the short list). I do love the inclusion of all of this, and I never thought I'd see the day where I'd want less magical creatures in a book, but I do find myself wondering whether we could have benefitted from cleaning this up just a *little* bit, because its all incredibly hard to keep up with. ⚡️ Despite that, this plot is still truly remarkable & unique. The threat really built here in a very tangible way, & certain Easter eggs, reveals & plot twists had me physically needing to catch my breath. There are so many characters that you care about in this one, & so much danger for every one of them. Overall, this was wonderful. Shuttleworth has created a world and a story that absolutely grips me, and I will 100% be coming back for more. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eArc!

I enjoyed this book so much! The secrets and conniving I don’t know how Ashley Shuttleworth is keeping track of them all but it works to keep the reader intrigued and I can’t wait to see what comes next because the ending!

Spoiler Warning: A Cruel and Fated Light is the second book in The Hollow Star Saga, so before reading my review or this book, I would strongly recommend grabbing a copy of the first book, A Dark and Hollow Star! I absolutely adored reading A Dark and Hollow Star, so it’s no surprise that A Cruel and Fated Light was another five-star read for me! This book took the characters I loved from the first book and pushed them to new heights (although to be honest Nausicaa could go grocery shopping and I would still want to read about it). The thing I love most about this series is definitely the different character perspectives. Sometimes, when reading a book from multiple perspectives, I find myself favoring one or two characters and almost wanting to skim through the other chapters, but that is never the case in these books! While I have my previously mentioned favorite character, I am always so engaged by the other perspectives, as they add so much depth to the story with their relationships to each other. Reading these books really does feel like entering into a perfect D&D campaign, with each character’s perspective working together to build a full cohesive story. I am so glad this series still has more books to come because I am far from ready to be finished with The Hollow Star Saga! My Recommendation- If you love high-stakes fantasy novels that have a great sense of humor and a wonderful cast of queer characters, you need to grab copies of A Dark and Hollow Star and A Cruel and Fated Light right away! These books would be perfect for fans of roll-playing games or other fun-focused fantasy genres!

Myth: 5/5 The Hollow Star cast of characters really kicks it up a notch in a Cruel and Fated Light. I lived for Queen Riadne’s backstory sections, giving us insights into the past generation’s secrets as the current players try and make sense of how the story in front of them is unfolding. The story has a fantastically rich world of the fae courts with casual and accepted queer representation. It really makes the book able to provide a safe space for YA gender and sexuality exploration. And if you like the immortal, scary, broody, badass who is really just a softy for their love interest trope, but want it queer, then look no further than Nausicaä. I love her and her relationship more than I can say. Magic: 5/5 Ashley Shuttleworth is a master at the nerd pop culture references, but to my utter delight, this was pulled into the magic system as well. There are definitely still the season-aligned powers at play, but Arlo’s new gifts take shape in a classic choose your adventure game play. Overall: 5/5 A mess of teenage fae trying to figure out what to do next but also enjoy some summer holidays. The Cruel and Fated Light cast is a delight as they pull you in to their romantic entanglements and deadly court politics. Ashley’s storytelling keeps you hooked with a perfect balance of unfolding politics and developing romance.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. so many twist and turns, I am in love with the characters and I’m DYING to know how it all ends. I cried, I laughed and on more than one occasion audibly gasped. Can’t wait for the third book to be released in the UK

In my completely biased opinion this book is swell 10 gold stars

If you loved book 1 then of course you’re going to love this book. It really felt like we were getting deeper into the adventure and I can’t believe I have to now wait 18 months for the release of the next book. Ashley don’t ever stop writing - you are my new favourite author!!

I hope Vehan’s mum steps barefooted on some Lego