Pre-order

The Starving Bride

Name: The Starving Bride
Brand: Upstart Press Ltd
SKU: 9781776923199
Price: 31.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Catherine Chidgey

0.0 (0 reviews)

Brief Description

Format: Paperback

$31⁹⁹

Elsewhere:

~~$38⁰⁰~~

Pre-order

Releases 8^th October 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order "The Starving Bride" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

The Starving Bride

$31⁹⁹

Elsewhere:

~~$38⁰⁰~~

Shirl's Pick

Every book that I have ready by Catherine Chidgey has always blown me away. It amazes me how she comes up with such different, clever and refreshing books every time.

The Starving Bride is set in the near future with the main character Hazel Whitlock after being dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her job she decides to join a sideshow act as a Starving Bride.

It sounds so intriguing, I have no idea what I'm in for when reading this one but I'm sure it will be a book that will be hard to put down. How stunning is that cover as well!

Description

Look at her. How serene she is in her long white dress, eyes closed like a stone copy of herself. Perhaps she lives on air. We would like a little piece of her – a hank of hair, a pared fingernail slender as a new moon, a wisp of skin peeled from a sunburned shoulder…

England, the near future.

Dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job and estranged from her parents, Hazel Whitlock signs up for a sideshow act in Blackpool. The seaside resort has revived all the cancelled old favourites and she will be the Starving Bride.

On display in the iconic Blackpool Tower, with a ravenous lion prowling the enclosure, Hazel must lie in silence while strangers view her body.

As the days tick down, thousands are captivated by Hazel's transformation. Some are inspired. Some are obsessed. And some are watching far more closely than they should be.

Hazel's old friend Gilda becomes increasingly worried for her welfare. Councillor Frank Marsh warns that the Tower could collapse – but no one will listen.

As the spectacle spirals and the world outside grows increasingly unstable, Hazel must confront the truth: how far is she willing to go to be seen?

Cover artwork: Max Thompson
Cover design: Todd Atticus

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781776923199

Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press

Book cover type: Paperback

Genre: Thriller & suspense, Drama

Language version: ENG- English

Target audience: Adults

Format: Paperback

Date Published: 08 October 2026

Country: New Zealand

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 250g

Pages: 256

Collections

Catherine Chidgey Fiction General Fiction Hero Picks New Zealand and Australia Published New Zealand Published Pre-order Books Pre-order General Fiction Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

Also by Catherine Chidgey

View all

Ockham Shortlist

The Book of Guilt

In a sinisterly skewed version of England in 1979, thirteen-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Each day the boys must take medicine to protect themselves from a mysterious illness to which many of their friends have succumbed. Children who survive are allowed to move...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$31⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$38⁰⁰~~

(3)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Wish Child (B-Format)

I am the wish child, the future cast in water.Germany, 1939. Two children watch as their parents become immersed in the puzzling mechanisms of power. Sieglinde lives in middle-class Berlin, where her father censors books, cutting out forbidden words like ‘love’ and ‘mercy’. Erich tends beehives in the countryside near Leipzig, under the shadow of questions no one will answer.Watching...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$22⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$28⁰⁰~~

(1)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
On Sale
12% off

Axeman's Carnival (B-Format)

Everywhere, the birds: sparrows and skylarks and thrushes, starlings and bellbirds, fantails and pipits – but above them all and louder, the magpies. We are here and this is our tree and we’re staying and it is ours and you need to leave and now. Tama is just a helpless chick when he is rescued by Marnie, and this is...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$23⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$28⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Ockham Shortlist
On Sale
12% off

The Book of Guilt

Never Let Me Go meets Zone of Interest. A creepy, compelling novel that takes place in a version of our world where some lives are valued less than others. It will shock you with each new revelation. England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence, and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government's Sycamore Scheme....

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$28⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$38⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Pet

Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher, and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine's sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$28⁰⁰

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Pet

Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher, and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine's sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$34⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$38⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Pet

The new novel from the WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION longlisted and DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD shortlisted author of Remote Sympathy"Chidgey is a find."-TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT"A writer of formidable resources, a deft stylist possessed of uncanny imaginative acuity."-THE GUARDIANLike every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However,...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$39⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Pet

"FAULTLESS." —The Guardian "A SLY PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER." —The Observer Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine's sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$27⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Remote Sympathy: LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022

Moving away from Munich isn't nearly as wrenching an experience for Frau Greta Hahn as she had feared. Their new home is even lovelier than the one they left behind, and best of all - right on their doorstep - are some of the finest craftsmen from all over Europe, prepared to make for her and the other officers' wives...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

$32⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
The Axeman's Carnival

Everywhere, the birds: sparrows and skylarks and thrushes, starlings and bellbirds, fantails and pipits - but above them all and louder, the magpies. We are here and this is our tree and we're staying and it is ours and you need to leave and now. Tama is just a helpless chick when he is rescued by Marnie, and this is...

By Catherine Chidgey

Paperback

Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all

The Wedding People

'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...

By Alison Espach

Paperback

$23⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

(3)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Buy to Win

Dungeon Crawler Carl

The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...

By Matt Dinniman

Paperback

$31⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$38⁰⁰~~

(1)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)

Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...

By Sarah J. Maas

Set

$124⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$155⁰⁰~~

(6)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Pre-order

Big Little Truths

Parenting teens is not for the faint of heart but Madeline, Jane and Celeste have been through worse. It's been a decade since the school trivia night that changed their lives forever and now they're living blissfully ordinary suburban lives. But when an anonymous grisly package arrives at the local high school, and a man in a green Volvo is...

By Liane Moriarty

Paperback

$31⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$37⁹⁹~~

Pre-order
Out 25 Aug 2026
New Release

The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]

The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...

By Sarah A. Parker

Hardback

$59⁹⁹

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
The Goal

Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...

By Elle Kennedy

Paperback

$24⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Buy to Win

Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...

By Matt Dinniman

Hardback

$46⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$60⁰⁰~~

(1)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Crescent City Paperback Box Set

A beautiful box set containing all three paperback instalments of the Crescent City series from #1 bestselling global phenomenon Sarah J. Maas. BOUND BY BLOOD. TEMPTED BY DESIRE. UNLEASHED BY DESTINY. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced...

By Sarah J. Maas

Set

$54⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$70⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
Buy to Win
On Sale
17% off

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...

By Andy Weir

Paperback

$20⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$24⁰⁰~~

(5)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
On Sale
14% off

Red Rising

The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...

By Pierce Brown

Paperback

$19⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

(1)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
The Score

Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...

By Elle Kennedy

Paperback

$24⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships tomorrow
A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)

All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." —USA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...

By Sarah J. Maas

Set

$99⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$124⁹⁵~~

(4)

In Stock
Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.