A review by lmcclel
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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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