Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

39 reviews

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, Alcohol, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Body horror, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Vomit

craftysnailtail's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This isn't a genre I'd usually be interested in because it's rather spooky and I scare easily. But this was more atmospheric and gothic rather than gory or scary. The main characters felt refreshing and flawed in believable ways. This was my first time reading anything by Harrow, but needless to say, I'm completely hooked on her style of writing. I wish I had this novel in time for Halloween, but I'm still glad I finally got my hands on it at the tail end of autumn! It was a fun, dark, and adventurous read with a splash of romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After I finished this book, I came across some reviews by people who hated the novel because they thought it was nothing but a Beauty and the Beast trope. This really surprised me because even though I understand why the comparison was made (despite neither of them being attractive), it didn't feel like a focus of the story at all. And it doesn't end in a way that's very Beauty and the Beast either. The fact a trope exists does not automatically discredit the entire book, in my opinion. I'm glad I didn't see these reviews before I read it, because it might have scared me away from what ended up being a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Car accident, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Mental illness, Violence, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

bkwrm1317's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful 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

4.5

Expertly written (lines I considered jotting down or snapping a picture of, but which would lose their meaning outside their context of course). My second read by Harrow. 

Loved the motley crew of characters (a creaky old house that loves attention, Arthur and his broody little self-sacrificing self, Opal and her hard knock upbringing that has her thinking of her brother Jasper before herself after the death of their mother; Bev who runs the motel where they live - the sweet grumpy old lesbian that she is; Charlotte, the librarian who loves her for it and loves Opal’s reading; Jasper, who is exasperated by Opal’s need to care for him, and ultimately is most concerned when she isn’t even reading (gods forbid!) because of her dark mood. 

A town haunted by the betrayal of one of its own early daughters (hey Eleanor!), and the destruction her vengeance wreaks for more than a century afterwards. 

Love Opal and Arthur together 💜 because duh. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Racism, Death of parent, Death, and Classism

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence

theladydetective's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Overall I enjoyed this gothic, Beauty and the Beast type book. I didn't find it scary, which for me is fantastic because I'm a wimp.

General Thoughts:

I loved Arthur and wanted to protect him at all costs. I understood Opal's choices but didn't quite like her. I didn't like how the author focused a lot on Arthur's apparent physical ugliness; it felt mean. The main characters are in their late 20s but read a bit younger.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Racism, Body shaming, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery and Child death

mkwoods's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved it, definitely recommend. This book has a lot of aspects that appeal to me - female main character, a small town ravaged by the coal industry and the people who get and stay rich and powerful off it, working through family trauma, dark but not too dark fantasy. I haven’t read much gothic stuff but I plan to explore it further.

Listen to Paradise by John Prine and look up Paradise, Kentucky.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident

Minor: Child abuse

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Black Crow PR for granting me a physical copy of this title and to join in on the book tour. All opinions remain 100% genuine.

This oozed rich, gothic atmosphere from the start. It felt like a dark and twisty fairytale, with fantastic similies that brought the writing ever more to life.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some illustrations were included, especially when learning about E. Starlings uncomfortable and eery art.

I like that when reading from Arthur's perspective, it switches from first person narrative to third person, which I found greatly emphasised this detached, recluse lifestyle he had.

This was reminiscent of Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood, with the theme of a reclusive author, that wrote one book, mysteriously disappeared and has sinister fairytale that may be steeped in truth. There were moments between Opal and Arthur that reminded me also of The Secret Society for Irregular Witches. 

It was quite nice to read this alongside Heroes by Stephen Fry, as Starling House has some beauty symmetry and mention to the Greek myths.

The character growth of Opal, Jasper and Arthur was beautifully depicted as were the details on their desires and nightmares and how trapped they felt in Eden. You really got a strong sense of how deep the rot of the town was; despite the citizens believing they were good in every way that counted, they were often complicit in so much corruption, cruelty and neglect of those vulnerable.

The mirroring and rewriting of stories, lonliness, homelessness and desperation for vengence were such strong themes in this. They were so harrowing and devastating, but it swept me away perfectly into another world whenever I picked Starling House back up.

This was such a moving tale, of lies woven into truth and truth woven into lies and begs you to ask yourself what your story will be. Where will you choose to burrow your roots down and make a home? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Blood, Torture, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Racism, Slavery, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Child death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Incest, Misogyny, and Death

turrean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Car accident

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, and Blood

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Slavery

kaitplusbooks's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

if you want a book about the difference between wants and needs, about what's right and what's wrong and all the things that fall somewhere in between (and all the things that definitely do NOT fall in between), about home and family and legacy; and you want it all framed in fairy tales, folklore, and mythology, crafted by a master storyteller- then I have some fantastic news.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Classism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Grief, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Cursing, Death of parent, Abandonment, Car accident, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Incest, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gaslighting, Racism, Cursing, Death, Blood, Car accident, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Police brutality, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, and Slavery

stijlwaters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Beautifully and emotionally written, although sometimes it felt like she got a little caught up in waxing poetic. I love the premise and the characters, and the writing creates such a sense of place!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Incest, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury