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browniebby's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.75
This book was not good. I went in expecting something completely different from what I got. The main character seemed much younger than her age, the love interest was really just boring (oh he gave her a coat and over payed her must be true love)and the side characters just felt like they were there because the author needed more people.
Also...the author kept mentioning how people treated the brother due to his race, which is vaguely implied to be Latino although it's never said from where. And she had a whole section about slavery told from the perspective of a descendant, but...it had a very magical negro type ending so any credit I might have given was immediately lost. It felt like she wanted YOU to know that she's aware of Kentuckys racism but she's not gong to delve too deep into it.
As an aside that audiobook narrator was a poor choice. This book is supposed to be set in small town Kentucky but from the narrator you'd never know that. Even the characters born and bred in the areas don't really have an accent. It was very odd because the location is a HUGE part of the story.
Also...the author kept mentioning how people treated the brother due to his race, which is vaguely implied to be Latino although it's never said from where. And she had a whole section about slavery told from the perspective of a descendant, but...it had a very magical negro type ending so any credit I might have given was immediately lost. It felt like she wanted YOU to know that she's aware of Kentuckys racism but she's not gong to delve too deep into it.
As an aside that audiobook narrator was a poor choice. This book is supposed to be set in small town Kentucky but from the narrator you'd never know that. Even the characters born and bred in the areas don't really have an accent. It was very odd because the location is a HUGE part of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault
bookswithbethx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
logantea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I guess this is what I get, buying a book on cover alone.
This book was alright. And by the end it had goaded me into actively wanting to see the end. But I spent a ton of my time with this book feeling like it was excruciatingly long and slow. The writing is so overwrought with flowery descriptions and repetition of the same scene setting and background.
There’s also some really weird style choices in this book I don’t understand at all. Like the mockumentary footnotes, which never added anything to the storytelling and get randomly abandoned a quarter of the way in.
I didn’t mind reading this, but I’m glad to be done with it.
This book was alright. And by the end it had goaded me into actively wanting to see the end. But I spent a ton of my time with this book feeling like it was excruciatingly long and slow. The writing is so overwrought with flowery descriptions and repetition of the same scene setting and background.
There’s also some really weird style choices in this book I don’t understand at all. Like the mockumentary footnotes, which never added anything to the storytelling and get randomly abandoned a quarter of the way in.
I didn’t mind reading this, but I’m glad to be done with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Thank you Netgalley and Tor/McMillan for access to an audio arc of the Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.
It's Eden, Kentucky. It's a southern town with mining roots and lots of secrets. Opal has been raising her brother since her mother died in a car accident years ago. Opal is 26, had to grow up young, and struggling to ensure her brother can leave Eden and pursue his dreams. On her way home one night, she's drawn by a glow in the window of the town's "haunted" house and meets Arthur, its current care taker. What follows is a story of betrayal, loneliness, longing, and redemption.
I loved every minute of it. It has a lot to say about poverty, family/generational trauma, healing, and realizing what you have before it's too late. The characters are well thought out, the story well-paced, and the setting riveting.
This book is a gothic look at family and hope. It starts slow and then builds to a fast-paced climax. This was my first Alix E. Harrow, and it will not be my last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Incest
sarahyjackson's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
An incredible, atmospheric contemporary Southern gothic triumph.
Unreliable, sharp edged, tenacious heroine? ✅
A sentient house whose walls and eaves and panes strain and warble and tend? ✅
A boy who wants to tend flowers but chooses to wield a sword? ✅
A story which asks questions about what it means to be from somewhere generally but from the Upper South specifically? ✅
I’d follow Alix Harrow just about anywhere - Underland included.
Unreliable, sharp edged, tenacious heroine? ✅
A sentient house whose walls and eaves and panes strain and warble and tend? ✅
A boy who wants to tend flowers but chooses to wield a sword? ✅
A story which asks questions about what it means to be from somewhere generally but from the Upper South specifically? ✅
I’d follow Alix Harrow just about anywhere - Underland included.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
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