A review by erin0999
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

Ok, this book took me a long minute to get into but then I read 70% of it last night and stayed up til 1:30 AM to finish it which I haven’t done for a book in a long time. I just had to know what was going on and to see the characters end up alright in the end. I really loved the messaging in those book, the way we can hold onto our generational trauma and have that consume our lives as well as the desperation to completely avoid it. I love the message that your family is something you can find and make for yourself and that it doesn’t have to shackle you. It had me very weepy at the end. I love the setting, Starling House feels like a version of Howl’s Moving Castle, and Eden, Kentucky feels so real. You can tell Harrow loves Kentucky. I love the fabricated history that feels so close to real life and the way stories pass through oration. There were so many elements that helped with the immersion. 

Also, I gotta say, I personally don’t like the male protagonist who is broody and quiet with a heart of gold, but Arthur Starling really got me swooning and kicking my feet and I kinda resent that lol

I definitely need to keep reading Alix E. Harrow, this was my first full length novel by her (her short story, Six Deaths of the Saint, is one of the greatest short stories of all time to me) and I loved it.