Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

23 reviews

kaylokay_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

 I didn’t get *much* of a fairy tale vibe from this like many reviewers have said but it did hit all the gothic vibes I was looking for. I love how Alix Harrow writes and even at parts where the story dragged a bit, I was drawn to keep reading. One aspect that I LOVED was the different depictions of the lore of the Starling House Story and I really enjoyed how it all came together at the end. Harrow remains an autobuy for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

francesturpin's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Incest, Racism, Homophobia, and Vomit

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, Slavery, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, Homophobia, Deportation, Bullying, and Child abuse

Once again, why doesn't Storygraph have a "drowning" warning???

noblelandmermaid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Slavery, Incest, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

biome_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Slavery

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

cyndi1966's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Abandonment, and Car accident

Moderate: Violence

emetrock's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Gaslighting, Addiction, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, and Racism

sashahc's review

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I just finished a really good one.  “Starling House” by Alix Harrow is a glorious onion of a Southern Gothic.  Although linearly told, it masterfully tangles myth, dream, reality, past, and present.  There are family abandonments, small town dramas, an evil coal company, and a haunted house that may be the gateway to the underworld.  The main character is fierce, funny, scrappy, traumatized, and deeply loyal.  It is beautifully written and not at all a cozy, but it was a wrench to let the characters go at the end.  Read it.  #book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Incest

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Minor: Suicide, Racism, Car accident, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Child abuse, Bullying, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

megnut's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I was wondering how a dark story with a living house, nightmares and a love story would weave together... but I love the way it did. And at the same time didn't? Because it's not really about any of that at all. It's about finding a home and the power of dreams. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, and Incest