Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

240 reviews

stacyaj's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Death of parent, Car accident, Blood, and Vomit

swilli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Car accident and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

kylosten's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Death of parent

ksilvio's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit and Slavery

Minor: Racism

jowiththetbrshelves's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A welcome addition to the gothic haunted house trope, it reminded me of if Alice in Wonderland blended with Starless Sea. Utilizes the gothic trope to delve deeper into themes including class in rural Kentucky, inheritance both fantastical and literal, and family. Creepy and funny and satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Classism, and Car accident

Minor: Vomit, Grief, Sexual content, Car accident, Alcohol, and Death of parent

gardens_and_dragons'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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

Very brief mention of incest by way of marriage in 1800s. Nothing graphic.

hwesta's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I haven't enjoyed the other gothic books I read, but I liked this one. Opal and Arthur are interesting characters, and I enjoyed the variations on the starling house story. Bev and Charlotte were great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

silversparkles50's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol and Child abuse

nicolemhill's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident

mairead_parade's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

I think I would have preferred this as a novella. I liked the outlines of the story and characters, but it felt somehow both too long and too short. The third act came quickly and didn’t feel entirely earned, but parts of the plot still dragged and I didn’t feel like I’d really spent enough time with most of the characters. It’s an engaging fairytale retelling and I liked the Edward Gorey aesthetic, but I just didn’t get the edit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse and Gore