Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

231 reviews

larareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

eileenbrooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

I really appreciate and enjoyed this book. Incredible mix of historical, supernatural, storytelling, family and friend relationship-building, etc. 
Honestly the romantic relationship was the least compelling part to me. Really enjoyed the level of world-building and context — felt real and expansive enough to be real without being overwhelming. Loved the historical and supernatural aspects in a story primarily about a young woman figuring out life and family. 
And the epilogue is beautifully clever. 

Not too dark either — enough to feel a little spooky but not draining or a sense of dread or anything. I wouldn’t call it light-hearted, just a nice middle ground. 

A great read!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

Go to review page

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
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alicelalicon's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

queenbookbuff's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What beautifully dark story with a flood of healing and redemption. The main character Opal is a fighter and life hasn't been kind. Then Starling House starts to call her and soon she finds herself entranced by the owner and a house that is alive. This book follows a supernatural bend. It is carefully done. By the end you ask yourself is a nightmare really a bad dream. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

agnesonutter's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lauramcc7's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

literarystrawberry's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious medium-paced
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

annamorgan27's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lianaet's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings