Reviews with content warning for Grief - Starling House

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this book, but ended up really loving it (I'm a sucker for semi-sentient houses that can't help but meddle). It had many elements I really enjoyed: Fantasy and (sort of) mythology slipping it's way into modern day. Aformentioned semi-sentient house and a hellcat who bites as much as it purrs. Grumpy × grumpier relationship. Queerness as a normal part of existence (always lovely to discover as part of a book). Stories that intertwine and overlap until you find out which one is true. Dreams, found family, and figuring out what home actually means.

It also is not a perfect book and I'm sure not for everyone. It does have a slow build, some characters that I viciously hated (rightfully so), some potential plot holes, and a couple things left unanswered or that I wish got to be expanded upon. And still something about it struck a chord with me.

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mpbookreviews's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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swilli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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greatgreyowl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was great up until the last chapter. It really disappointed at the end.

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jowiththetbrshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A welcome addition to the gothic haunted house trope, it reminded me of if Alice in Wonderland blended with Starless Sea. Utilizes the gothic trope to delve deeper into themes including class in rural Kentucky, inheritance both fantastical and literal, and family. Creepy and funny and satisfying.

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nicolemhill's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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livlamentloathe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think both the beginning and ending of Starling House were strong, but the middle really dragged along. There was a lot of back-and-forth between Arthur and Opal that could've been pared down. Of the 2 weeks I spent reading this, the first 65% I read in a couple days. Then the remaining 35% took a week and a half. I do think the narrator was part of my issue though. I just wasn't engaged by her reading.

I also wanted more of the book to touch on the racism Jasper faced in Eden. I wanted Jasper to better scold Opal for the way she ignored about that part of him. She made a comment later on that alluded to her getting it in part. But she also definitely was very forgetful of his race. The book itself barely even acknowledged his race. It took until the middle of the book for me to determine his ethnicity - maybe that's my bad and I missed an early tell. But I think overall, this book wanted to hide details and it didn't always handle that well. It would be evasive and add extra page time instead of being a bit more upfront about things. Maybe that was purposeful too with Opal's personality. But it felt like it was just trying too hard.

The premise felt like a cross between The Hazel Wood and Book of Night. I thought it was meant to be horror, but it wasn't horror so much as gothic. More of a magical realism/low fantasy romance. This book could've been great but I think it needed further editing and less evasive plot points. I get it. Most details were meant for "reveals" later but it became excessive when I got lost wondering what the point of the book was. Or what was going on period.

P.S. I'd have loved more of a violent ending for the Gravely family and Elizabeth Bane.

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hagwife's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Starling House holds a special place in my heart among Alix E. Harrow's books. I love that she keeps some of her trademark elements (faerie tales, vibrant and flawed characters, fuck you's to the patriarchy, etc.) and this time mixes it with Southern Gothic and horror elements. The result is a brooding fantasy novel that combines family, monsters, the House, and the all-too-real violence of small-town nastiness into something biting and beautiful.

I love that the characters' flaws have rhyme and reason and the chance to change; morally grey characters are always one of my favourites, but neither Opal nor Arthur nor Jasper are flawed for the sake of being flawed. They're all aggregations of their lived experiences, of inherited traumas and expectations that they didn't ask for, even as they continue to perpetuate some of them.

I love that this is a haunted house mystery without the haunting necessarily being about the house. Harrow's Starling House is less in the company of Hell House or Hill House, but that of Mervyn Peake's Gormengast, Susanna Clarke's the "World" from Piranesi, Jeanette Winterson's Tanglewreck, Tilly Walden's castle in The End of Summer, and Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle.

It has a life of its own, but it's not really a haunted house. The haunting is separate and the House merely does its best to contain it.

Concerning the end of the book, I wanted perhaps just a bit more.

I understand that part of the healing process here is that while "angry gets shit done", in order for Opal, Jasper, and Arthur to move on with their lives, they, along with Eleanor, have to put down what they can. The finale allows for the main characters to get the time they need to carve out a life for themselves and dream about a future that has hope and not despair. I just wish that perhaps those who had it coming had a little more actually come to them.

For those who liked this book, especially the gothic and horror elements, I highly recommend Cherie Priest's The Toll.

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