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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Characters: 4.5⭐️
Setting: 5⭐️
Plot: 4⭐️
Themes: 4⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 5⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Overall rating: 4.25/5⭐️
This was everything I wanted from Starling House. It’s giving Coraline weird girl vibes and I loved every second of it. A dark atmospheric fairytale with a parallel world. Gimme gimme gimme.
I’m not quite sure why no one talks about this and it isn’t more popular for VE Schwab fans. Her prose and writing is still absolutely beautiful. Maybe because some readers think it’s slow? But I found it to be intriguing and fast paced. It’s also a shorter book and the plot twists were epic.
The physical book has beautiful illustrations letting the reader be fully immersed into the story. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the naked hardcover is red and the book itself is built like a journal. Putting the reader into Olivia’s shoes and going down the rabbit hole with her.
Olivia grew up thinking she had no family. Abandoned by her mother and left at an all girls school with only her mother’s journal. She becomes fascinated with the idea of how her mother disappeared. Reading and rereading her journal entries filled with madness. Then a letter arrives inviting her to her mother’s old home at Gallant.
I love VE Schwab. I will read any and everything she writes. This book was no exception. She writes the kind of gothic weirdly beautiful shit that I love. It just itches my brain just right. This book was no exception. I would recommend this to VE fans and anyone who enjoys a YA gothic fantasy with a side of mystery.
Setting: 5⭐️
Plot: 4⭐️
Themes: 4⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 5⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Overall rating: 4.25/5⭐️
This was everything I wanted from Starling House. It’s giving Coraline weird girl vibes and I loved every second of it. A dark atmospheric fairytale with a parallel world. Gimme gimme gimme.
I’m not quite sure why no one talks about this and it isn’t more popular for VE Schwab fans. Her prose and writing is still absolutely beautiful. Maybe because some readers think it’s slow? But I found it to be intriguing and fast paced. It’s also a shorter book and the plot twists were epic.
The physical book has beautiful illustrations letting the reader be fully immersed into the story. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the naked hardcover is red and the book itself is built like a journal. Putting the reader into Olivia’s shoes and going down the rabbit hole with her.
Olivia grew up thinking she had no family. Abandoned by her mother and left at an all girls school with only her mother’s journal. She becomes fascinated with the idea of how her mother disappeared. Reading and rereading her journal entries filled with madness. Then a letter arrives inviting her to her mother’s old home at Gallant.
I love VE Schwab. I will read any and everything she writes. This book was no exception. She writes the kind of gothic weirdly beautiful shit that I love. It just itches my brain just right. This book was no exception. I would recommend this to VE fans and anyone who enjoys a YA gothic fantasy with a side of mystery.
a lot of the reviews for this book talk about how it’s great but there’s something missing. and i mostly agree? i really enjoyed this, it wasn’t at all what i was expecting- despite having a lot of the same themes as a lot of schwab’s work- and i was pleasantly surprised as i’d never read any of her young adult stuff before.
a few people mention the ending being unsatisfying and i only partially agree with that. it definitely rushes in that third act, but i think the actual end point of the book is really good and represents everything this story is about. there’s a whole lot of middle in here- and i enjoyed reading it so my complaint i guess isn’t that it should but cut but that i wish the book was 50-100 pages longer to flesh out the end as well? it’s not a long book by fantasy standards- even ya fantasy standards- so i think that would’ve been doable.
i have other thoughts on other aspects of this book but it’s three in the morning so i will just leave it at this: i thoroughly enjoyed this, think it adds a unique story to the young adult fantasy genre, and also it wasn’t perfect and there are things i’d change- or not change so much as add to.
i also greatly appreciate that this is (i’m pretty sure) a young adult fantasy stand alone! not everything needs to be a trilogy!!! and not everything needs a romance!!! i really liked that the big relationships in this book are familial
a few people mention the ending being unsatisfying and i only partially agree with that. it definitely rushes in that third act, but i think the actual end point of the book is really good and represents everything this story is about. there’s a whole lot of middle in here- and i enjoyed reading it so my complaint i guess isn’t that it should but cut but that i wish the book was 50-100 pages longer to flesh out the end as well? it’s not a long book by fantasy standards- even ya fantasy standards- so i think that would’ve been doable.
i have other thoughts on other aspects of this book but it’s three in the morning so i will just leave it at this: i thoroughly enjoyed this, think it adds a unique story to the young adult fantasy genre, and also it wasn’t perfect and there are things i’d change- or not change so much as add to.
i also greatly appreciate that this is (i’m pretty sure) a young adult fantasy stand alone! not everything needs to be a trilogy!!! and not everything needs a romance!!! i really liked that the big relationships in this book are familial
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
a good start to creepy season
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-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
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh boy this was a ride and I wish I had read it during spooky season but the ending was so melancholy and sad in a beautiful way!