A review by erinreadsbooks
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.5

My first reaction upon finishing this book is that it was way longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed the second half, which is where most of the plot occurs, but I was bored during the whole first half of the book, to the point where I was considering not finishing it. 

Once the plot picks up around the 50% mark, it gets interesting and I began to get invested in the mystery of the house and the people surrounding it. I was entertained as Opal unraveled it but I must admit it was pretty frustrating that she withheld so much information from her brother with no real explanation. If it came from some sort of desire to have something for herself, it might have been nice for the author to have alluded to that, but without explanation it was almost infuriating that she wasn’t sharing this information she was finding out. 

I liked all the secondary characters and I wish we got to spend more time with them, perhaps seeing more interaction with them in the first half to invest the reader a bit more. 

Ultimately, the end was more or less rewarding as everything was revealed, but I wasn’t rooting for Opal as much as I was rooting for everyone else around her. 

Read if you don’t mind slowly paced dark mysteries with light mythological elements. 
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