Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Starling House

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

35 reviews

steph_weigle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

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lmcclel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny inspiring 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

4.75

This is not a book I would ever think of reading if I knew more about the plot going in, however I am SO GLAD I decided to read this and not find out more information about the story first.

I loved the the main characters (Opal, Arthur, Starling House) and most of the supporting characters (Bev, Charlotte, and the Hellcat [who has a happy ending]) other than Opal's brother Jasper who was a snotty, stubborn teenager but who loves snotty, stubborn teenagers? The baddies were bad and I hated them.

I did not think Opal was immature for 26, I thought she was written very well and her choices reflected the upbringing and life experiences she had. I also do not think the author repeatedly focused on how "ugly" Opal and Arthur were- it is refreshing to not have stunningly beautiful/handsome/striking characters.

I'm not a big romance person and was glad that there was minimal Romance (with a capital R); limited to two fairly small parts, in the last 25% of the book.

This is not a 5 star book for me, only because I am very stingy with 5 star ratings - I think I have rated less than 10 books as 5 stars in my +/- 35 years of reading adult novels. But this is a book I wholly recommend.

Reasons I would not normally read a book like this are

this is very much horror with phantoms and horrible beasts, I prefer more "realistic" Gothic mysteries/thrillers.

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kelisabeth's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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kmoz's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.25

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_david_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book reminds me of Life is Strange 3: True Colors. If you enjoyed either, you will also enjoy the other.

I thoroughly enjoyed the logic used by the characters in the book. If they're acting irrational or making assumptions, they're aware of it and/or it's challenged later on. For a second I thought a cliché (key location hidden in plain sight) would be dragged out, but then a main character just plainly said "of course I already looked there, duh" a few pages later.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the house. It reminded me of Encanto's house but in a horror setting. You'll probably enjoy the characters if you like YA's. They have a lot of growth to do with big impacts of their lives. At certain moments, the main character's self-pity annoyed me and

she never seemed to get that it was selfish to push so much of her own identity and values onto her brother

. Some of the antagonists are just almost pure evil without nuance, so you'll have to be okay with that.

The big lessons are a bit obvious in the book, but the main character actually points it out and sounds like she needs it, so I don't mind it as much.

A warning to people with trauma related to drowning or corruption (e.g. being blackmailed). Both are big themes in the book.

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tessamariee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this read. It had an interesting storyline and I love the house so so much. The resolution felt a little rushed compared to the rest of it. It had some dark, emotional events but all of the commentary and relationship dynamics lightened the mood of it. Very much (like exactly) a chosen family novel.

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit. Harrow is a magician with words and I am legit blown away every-time I read a book of hers. This is a (very) slow burn but it's worth it. Opal works in a small town trying to support her little brother but she keeps having these dreams about the local historical house. As Opal tries to work out the history of the house she meets Arthur Starling, owner of the house, who offers her a job. It's too good for Opal to pass up, but as thing's grow stranger Opal struggles to determine truth from fiction. Alix E. Harrow is one of those storytellers who surprises you with every book. This book make me laugh, cry, and love. It was twisty, fun, and beautiful. Another Harrow banger!

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