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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First off, one thing that really worked for me about this book was the writing style. The author has this way of describing things that is both succinct but also really evocative.
(On the topic of descriptions, I will say I got a bit annoyed at the sheer number of times we had to be reminded that the protagonists are like REALLY ugly, but, that’s not a super big deal I guess.)
Secondly, I just thought the premise was really interesting. I love stories that center around houses, and a creepy, almost-sentient, potentially cursed house? I’m all in.
What didn’t necessarily work for me: often I find that when I’m reading fantasy/fantasy-adjacent YA stories, I have to remind myself over and over “these are children,” because they’ll be like, crime bosses and speak like adults (*cough* six of crows *cough*), but this story I had the opposite experience: for some reason, I kept having to remind myself “this isn’t YA; these are adults” again and again.
I think it was the plot elements. An impoverished, smart-mouthed, scrappy young criminal that has to do what it takes to raise their sibling on account of dead/absent parents reads very YA to me. (And I feel like Opal speaks a lot like a teenager too.) It was just something that took me out of the story every time I was reminded “oh that’s right, they’re meant to be in their mid-late 20s!”
Overall, if I was rating the like, first 60-70% of the book, I’d give it a solid 4.25/4.5 stars. The pacing was admittedly really slow, but idk, I liked it (especially the slow-burn romance with the broody man alone in his old house; that’s my kryptonite).
But the last quarter of the book I’d probably only rate like a 2.75/3. The part that was meant to be the most thrilling/climactic moment seemed to stretch on for way longer than it needed to and I just kept thinking “is it really not over YET?” which was disappointing.
The big reveal is sort of just one long info-dump, but at the same time I also see WHY it was done that way given how everyone’s different partly-correct versions of the truth get peppered throughout the story. It was like at the end the actual truth had to be laid out in a similar manner. But it still felt a bit… idk, lazily tacked on?
So… mixed feelings! Lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Vomit, and Stalking
Minor: Incest, Self harm, and Slavery
gondorgirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
guybrushtmp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The burning desire, the tender warmth, the exquisite throbbing of hearts and heads as the emotional waves crest to a frothy bless in every scene of this book. I am quenched.
Starling House is a beautiful storm of emotions I must applaud Harrow for the captivating writing. As well as amazing quips and comedic turns of phrase that made me laugh. It has all the modern hallmarks of a modern southern gothic, reminding me of a House with good bones by T Kingfisher.
Opal is the right type of frustrating stubbornness that makes you want to keep reading because you want to see when she stops lying to herself when her walls will break down.
Arthur is wonderful, making my list of brooding paladins even though the modern setting. He is the reason I mark this as queer because I looked through so many reviews and no one mentioned the openly bi POV character.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Starling House is a beautiful storm of emotions I must applaud Harrow for the captivating writing. As well as amazing quips and comedic turns of phrase that made me laugh. It has all the modern hallmarks of a modern southern gothic, reminding me of a House with good bones by T Kingfisher.
Opal is the right type of frustrating stubbornness that makes you want to keep reading because you want to see when she stops lying to herself when her walls will break down.
Arthur is wonderful, making my list of brooding paladins even though the modern setting. He is the reason I mark this as queer because I looked through so many reviews and no one mentioned the openly bi POV character.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness and Incest
Minor: Racism and Slavery