craftysnailtail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
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
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- 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
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?
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
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic friendship
devynreadsnovels's review
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abortion, Incest, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Racism
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- 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
(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.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Chronic illness, Stalking, and Vomit
Minor: Incest, Self harm, and Slavery
bitternortherner's review against another edition
- 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 narrator was not my favorite, I would highly recommend physical format. The voice given to Opal felt more weak/whiney than I would imagine her being. Also not having a Southern/Appalachian accent reaaaallly irked me! -Although, bonus point for saying Louisville the correct way.
It was so cool to have representation from small town Kentucky in this genre! My family is from Cave City (specifically Mammoth Cave grounds) and I could realistically imagine each of these characters and locations. I really enjoyed this gothic tale- slow burn but intense romance, family secrets, social commentary, supernatural happenings, haunted mansion, found family and all the small town drama! I don't want to give any of the plot away, but watching Opal come full into power and self-agency was very satisfying. The character relationships grow and mature organically awkward, as traumatized and walled off people do. It was fresh, to see healing happen within a story so dark.
There were some moments of interaction that were a bit irritating and immature, that just felt a little off, but I'm not certain if it was influenced by my dislike for the narration, or if it was actually the content.
Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
aryexo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Car accident, Classism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence