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A review by readabookortwo
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
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.
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.
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: Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Incest and Slavery