Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

96 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I actually really fucking enjoyed this???? Funny, sad, tense, mystical, with a smigde of vengefulness… delicious book 

Opal was a funny as shit protagonist, and Arthur was so sad and pathetic in a very cute way. I love when men are described as ugly and annoying at first sight but by the end of the book your heart is like vVvVvV. do you get me 

I also loved the narrative style; things were kept from Opal, but not from the reader; Arthur’s chapters were deliciously revealing while Opal still went 100mph towards answers. Loved it.

Jasper was sweet and made my older sister heart grow 3 sizes. your baby brother that you spent so long protecting becoming a protector in his own right is so !!! the sibling relationship was everything 

Eleanor… my unhinged queen and ally white woman… incredible work 

the funky little lesbians also made my day, Opal being the most oblivious straight to ever het only added to her charm lmao

10/10 read, buying this is print but thank you to BCPL for the ebook <3

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, Car accident, Alcohol, Blood, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

Minor: Xenophobia and Racism

lianaet's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, and Slavery

Minor: Vomit and Incest

aseel_reads's review against another edition

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 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Racism

vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Blood

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Slavery

szuum's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Incest, Sexual content, and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Slavery

lue_moon's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism and Racism

Minor: Incest and Slavery

trying_ceratops's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

This book was very slow, I feel like the same story could be told with a quarter of it taken out and nothing would be lost. The pacing was very slow and it felt like a lot more should have and could have happened. That’s the reason for two stars being taken away. Otherwise, it was written well and I liked the characters. The romance felt a bit forced and the male love interest reminded me more of an awkward teen than a grown man.

There are a few people I’ll likely recommend this to—those who like slow, laid back paced stories with a bit of dark intrigue. 

I can see why this was popular, mostly because it was fairly predictable and an easy read, but I like a faster paced stories. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Child abuse

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Slavery

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

hannnah_besss's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Racism

Moderate: Slavery and Incest