The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling | Book Review

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The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
Published by Harper Voyager on May 20, 2025
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, LGBT, Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Content Warnings: Death, Suicide, Blood, Sexual Content, Cannibalism, Starvation, Mind Control, Dismemberment, Disembowelment
Rating:

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration. Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar's walls. As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle's new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

The Starving Saints is one of the wildest, most confusing books I have ever read. Over a month later, I am still trying to process the events that took place at Aymar Castle once the Saints showed up and people started losing their minds. 

We begin well into a siege that has left those within the walls of Aymar running out of food. With just a few days left before food runs out, tensions are already high as people begin to starve. Starling does an excellent job showcasing the lengths people will go to survive and the tough decisions that must be made to ensure the survival of as many people as possible. The line between right and wrong blurs as hunger closes in, and we watch as these tough decisions are made. Starling challenges us to answer the question: Is it really wrong to eat another person, given the right circumstances? What lengths would you go to justify otherwise horrendous behavior?

The matter is complicated when the Saints arrive. At first, it appears the people of Aymar have been saved, but everything quickly descends into madness as it is revealed the Saints are not there to save them at all, but instead to entertain themselves. It is unclear what exactly the Saints are. One of my book club members suggested they may be fae, as they tend to follow many of the rules fae follow, like fear of iron and making deals, but they also follow the rules of vampires (needing to be invited in), as well as those of eldritch horrors. It isn't clear what we are dealing with, which makes us all the more uneasy as readers.

This unease is compounded by the creepy atmosphere and unreliable narrators. The story follows three women, each as unreliable as the next, as they face off against each other, the Saints, and themselves. Phosyne, a witch trying to figure out her own power, Ser Voyne, who is dedicated to her King and her Saint, and Treila, who is running away from her past and future, must make difficult choices that will determine the fate of everyone in Aymar's walls. Unfortunately, they too descend into madness, making it difficult to figure out what is reality and what is not. By the end of the book, I had more questions than answers, but I know this was by design. We are meant to be confused and uncomfortable, left feeling exactly like those we are following. The creepy atmosphere Starling creates is definitely memorable.

However, it is this sheer lack of answers that resulted in me giving the book only 3.5 stars. I wanted so much more than we were given. After discussing The Starving Saints with my friends, we all agreed we would have been happier if the book had contained an epilogue. I was invested in our characters' survival and was really curious how they fared once they escaped. Were they shocked? Horrified? Confused? How did the outside world feel about the events? Was it all just a delusion formed as a coping mechanism by three starving women who were pushed to horrific means of survival?

In the end, The Starving Saints is a great portrayal of psychological horror mixed with fantasy and a touch of romance set in a time of cruel kings and valiant knights. Maybe skip the charcuterie board while you read this one. It is sure to make you lose your appetite for fresh meat.