A Grim and Sunken Vow

Hollow Star Saga, Book 3

By: Ashley Shuttleworth

Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Neo Cihi, Michael Crouch, Natalie Naudus, Imani Jade Powers

Length: 22 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Arlo and her friends must decide how far they’re willing to go to depose a cruel ruler in this third book in the Hollow Star Saga that’s The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones and “offers vicious and thrilling intrigue” (Kirkus Reviews).

The die is cast.
The era of Spring is over.

Riadne’s bloody coup on the Summer Solstice changed Arlo’s life forever. In one fell swoop and a fool’s bargain, she lost both her family and free will to the newly crowned High Queen. Now, with Arlo forced to use her powers as Luck’s Hollow Star to help summon the rest of the seven deadly sins, Riadne stands closer than ever to achieving her dark goals.

And Arlo isn’t the only one trapped in a frightening new role. Her ex-Fury girlfriend, Nausicaä, is determined to do whatever it takes to stay by Arlo’s side, even if that means becoming Riadne’s pet assassin. Aurelian and Vehan, torn apart, struggle to survive on their own.

Meanwhile, Celadon has been revealed as Riadne’s illegitimate son—and heir to both Spring and Summer, the ultimate offense in the faerie world. But the High Prince has secret plans of his own, plans made all the more complicated when the beautiful and deadly immortal Hunter Lethe takes an interest in him…

Five budding legacies will need more than luck if they hope to stand a chance against the greatest adversary the Courts have faced. For nothing’s more dangerous than a faerie tale… except the one who tells it, and maybe what they’re going to need is no longer that story’s hero but its villain.

©2023 Ashley Shuttleworth (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Ashley Shuttleworth just GETS it

this book series as me in a chokehold. I love it so so much. it's the fact that she does not hold back on representing the lgbtq community. This book series is so inspiring, and it is like a mix of every show and book that wasn't queer enough. it's like this book series genuinely makes up for not having that representation in anything growing up. 10/10 I will be re-reading these books over and over again for years.

The author holds my heart in their hands

From the jump this book hand me in its grasp and didn’t let go one bit. This book really hit me in my feelings multiple times, stressed me out more times than that, and all this to say that Ashley is an exceptional author.

I’m contemplating on whether or not I should self induce a coma so I don’t have to consciously wait for the finale to come out.

Incredible Story with Very Dark Elements

This book is incredible and dark. But I enjoyed the prose, the small jokes and the world building of the last two books and this one. A world where being Queer is not queer at all.

An EXCELLENT addition to an incredible story!

Ashely does it again. I was hanging off my chair listening to this book. I devoured it and i fear it has also devoured me from how often i have found it sitting in my thoughts.
Incredibly well written with a fantastically adept cast of voice actors who each bring their own touch to the story. I cannot recommend this and the whole Saga enough!

epic but I want MOOORE!

Better then the last one, which is saying a lot. It does leave you hanging on a cliff for the next one though.

Loved it

I loved it all of it so freaking awesome! But the sucky part is this is one of the only series that gives me what I’ve been looking for , it’s such a great series and I wish I could find more similar to it!

NO WORDS.

!!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!! !! !! !! !! !! !!!!!! !! !! !!! !! !!! !! !! ! ! ! !! ! !!!! ! !! ! ! !!

my god....

Didn't see that coming. Wow. Just wow. More whoa than book 2. Can't wait for 4, that was..... wow. God yes. I mean, all the strong hinting but still keeping you in such intense suspense the whole time.... but WOW. Worth the suspense. Really built it so powerfully.

Meh

Ashley Shuttleworth is highly creative. While I find the series falls into YA tropes, she clearly knows and loves these characters inside and out. They are a very lovable cast. The unflinching LGBTQ+ representation is as stellar as always, which is the reason I picked up the series in the first place. This book, however, needed some more time in the editing phase imo. A lot of telling instead of showing, many paragraphs spent rephrasing the same sentence over and over. It’s extremely character-driven which I normally enjoy, but the pages and pages of internal monologues/lore dumps makes the narrative drag. I find this to be the weakest entry in the franchise so far. It’s written like a tv show, not a book. That being said, I will listen to anything Natalie Naudus reads.