The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
readabookortwo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
"Its easier to fall apart when no one is watching you"
I really enjoyed this book. I've never read any of the authors previous works but have always been interested in them and this one just called to me as soon as I got it in my illumicrate box. And I really liked it. I didn't know much going in apart from the fact it was some kind of fantasy and boy I was not ready for how scary parts of this book was. It was definitely a fantasy horror! But I really loved how atmospheric it was, I really felt like I was in that house with them. I loved all the metaphors and the messages of you can make anywhere a home if you try hard enough. This book overall was just super beautiful and I really enjoyed it.
I loved Opal! Yes she absolutely was super stubborn a lot of the time and you sometimes wanted to shout at her but throughout the whole book she was just trying to do what she thought was best for everyone. She was trying so hard to keep herself and Jasper happy and cared for. She was constantly carrying such a burden and my heart just absolutely broke for her but she was strong and she knew what she wanted and I really enjoyed her character a loved her character a lot.
My favourite character of course, turned out to be Arthur. My god, I loved him. He was so snide and a little bit of a dick so much of the time but I loved watching him warm up to Opal, I loved watching him with that cat and how much she warmed up to him. He again was carrying such a heavy burden and such a heavy weight constantly on his shoulders that I just wanted to give him a hug. He had such a great character development and I just loved him a lot.
The house I loved the house so much. It definitely was a character in itself, I loved how whimsical and of course a little scary too, it was. I loved how it changed and how it obviously loved the wardens it was such an interesting concept that I think was executed here so well.
I loved Bev so so much, the hard exterior but she cared and loved those kids so much that you knew she was never going to let anything bad happen to them. I really grew to love her more and more by the end.
I wish we had seen more of Charlotte but I loved what I did see of her !!
Jasper was a character I really liked. I did get frustrated with him at times just because Opal was trying to hard to help him and trying so hard for both of them but I loved that he wanted to be and was his own person and I really hope he gets all the happiness he deserves.Â
I really liked the worldbuilding, this creepy house that everyone hated, is this town cursed or not, all of the fairytales, folklore and creepiness is so interesting and is all kept consistent throughout. I thought it was built up really well and all of the imagery was so vivid that I felt like I was living it with all of the characters!
Overall, I really loved this book!! I didn't think I would and I did almost give up on it very early on but I'm so happy I stuck with it, it was one of the most interesting fantasies I've read in a long time and I hope it gets read by more people!!
I really enjoyed this book. I've never read any of the authors previous works but have always been interested in them and this one just called to me as soon as I got it in my illumicrate box. And I really liked it. I didn't know much going in apart from the fact it was some kind of fantasy and boy I was not ready for how scary parts of this book was. It was definitely a fantasy horror! But I really loved how atmospheric it was, I really felt like I was in that house with them. I loved all the metaphors and the messages of you can make anywhere a home if you try hard enough. This book overall was just super beautiful and I really enjoyed it.
I loved Opal! Yes she absolutely was super stubborn a lot of the time and you sometimes wanted to shout at her but throughout the whole book she was just trying to do what she thought was best for everyone. She was trying so hard to keep herself and Jasper happy and cared for. She was constantly carrying such a burden and my heart just absolutely broke for her but she was strong and she knew what she wanted and I really enjoyed her character a loved her character a lot.
My favourite character of course, turned out to be Arthur. My god, I loved him. He was so snide and a little bit of a dick so much of the time but I loved watching him warm up to Opal, I loved watching him with that cat and how much she warmed up to him. He again was carrying such a heavy burden and such a heavy weight constantly on his shoulders that I just wanted to give him a hug. He had such a great character development and I just loved him a lot.
The house I loved the house so much. It definitely was a character in itself, I loved how whimsical and of course a little scary too, it was. I loved how it changed and how it obviously loved the wardens it was such an interesting concept that I think was executed here so well.
I loved Bev so so much, the hard exterior but she cared and loved those kids so much that you knew she was never going to let anything bad happen to them. I really grew to love her more and more by the end.
I wish we had seen more of Charlotte but I loved what I did see of her !!
Jasper was a character I really liked. I did get frustrated with him at times just because Opal was trying to hard to help him and trying so hard for both of them but I loved that he wanted to be and was his own person and I really hope he gets all the happiness he deserves.Â
I really liked the worldbuilding, this creepy house that everyone hated, is this town cursed or not, all of the fairytales, folklore and creepiness is so interesting and is all kept consistent throughout. I thought it was built up really well and all of the imagery was so vivid that I felt like I was living it with all of the characters!
Overall, I really loved this book!! I didn't think I would and I did almost give up on it very early on but I'm so happy I stuck with it, it was one of the most interesting fantasies I've read in a long time and I hope it gets read by more people!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, and Vomit
Minor: Incest and Slavery
miraclesnow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This holds a piece of my heart, and reminds me of my roots being my choice. I cannot thank it enough for being in my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Sexism, Death of parent, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Vomit
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
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
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Love Opal and Arthur together 💜 because duh.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Love Opal and Arthur together 💜 because duh.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Racism, Death of parent, Death, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
ashhearddwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Vomit
cavallonee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit
bkschwartz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Vomit, Car accident, Racism, and Homophobia
Content warning: Drowningsariereads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Colonisation, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
rpremo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was enchanting and mystical. Opal was frustrating throughout the whole book but Arthur and the house really held the story together and we’re very likable.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Slavery, Pregnancy, and Incest
eleanor_r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
As an Alix E. Harrow fan I had high expectations for this release, and it still blew me away!
Built on the skeleton of Beauty and the Beast, but told slant, Starling House has everything I've loved in Harrow's past books: dark fairy tale power, rich resonant writing, and twists that feel both unexpected and inevitable. But Starling House also feels more taut and focused than 10K Doors of January or Once and Future Witches, with the plot centering on two main characters and one cursed house in a bad-luck town.
I really felt Opal's struggles to suppress her wants and dreams so she has a chance at what she needs, and how her drive for survival has blinded her to truths around her. The layers of story surrounding Starling House were so satisfying to peel away, like a folklorist comparing variants of an oft-told tale.
I also loved the slow-burn romancebetween Opal and Arthur, and how we get insight into Arthur's motivations and Opal's attraction drip by drip . This felt like a new element from Harrow, and I love what she did with it!Â
As a midwesterner, I appreciated the Kentucky history that peeked through the story at times, and the real sense of desperation in a town where all the jobs are precarious.Â
Built on the skeleton of Beauty and the Beast, but told slant, Starling House has everything I've loved in Harrow's past books: dark fairy tale power, rich resonant writing, and twists that feel both unexpected and inevitable. But Starling House also feels more taut and focused than 10K Doors of January or Once and Future Witches, with the plot centering on two main characters and one cursed house in a bad-luck town.
I really felt Opal's struggles to suppress her wants and dreams so she has a chance at what she needs, and how her drive for survival has blinded her to truths around her. The layers of story surrounding Starling House were so satisfying to peel away, like a folklorist comparing variants of an oft-told tale.
I also loved the slow-burn romance
As a midwesterner, I appreciated the Kentucky history that peeked through the story at times, and the real sense of desperation in a town where all the jobs are precarious.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Chronic illness, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit