Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Starling House

The genre of this book isn't something I'd normally pick up, but something about this book just drew me to it.

And weirdly in the nature of this book, that just makes sense.

The unsettling vibes of the writing were amazing and just sucked me right in all the way through. It felt slow to progress but never in a bad way. And Opal as a flawed woman protagonist was an amazing character.

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tspice24's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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nclausel25's review

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

This was very fun, gothic, spooky, and just a great read overall. I loved having a semi sentient house, and the kind of beauty and the beast points. The ending was actually really good, sometimes these southern gothic novels can't hit the final notes of the story, but this one did

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vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

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dark 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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szuum's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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lue_moon's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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 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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