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hagwife's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
I love that the characters' flaws have rhyme and reason and the chance to change; morally grey characters are always one of my favourites, but neither Opal nor Arthur nor Jasper are flawed for the sake of being flawed. They're all aggregations of their lived experiences, of inherited traumas and expectations that they didn't ask for, even as they continue to perpetuate some of them.
I love that this is a haunted house mystery without the haunting necessarily being about the house. Harrow's Starling House is less in the company of Hell House or Hill House, but that of Mervyn Peake's Gormengast, Susanna Clarke's the "World" from Piranesi, Jeanette Winterson's Tanglewreck, Tilly Walden's castle in The End of Summer, and Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle.
Concerning the end of the book, I wanted perhaps just a bit more.
For those who liked this book, especially the gothic and horror elements, I highly recommend Cherie Priest's The Toll.
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death, Murder, Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Violence, and Child abuse
frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While the main characters are morally grey, I couldn’t help but root for them, for their ‘will they won’t they’ and for the house itself.
This book is exactly what I needed/wanted the book to be. And I do love a book with some footnotes and illustrations. I will most likely re-read and annotate in the future.
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood
aklovekorn's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, and Death
ciwanski's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Loved the homage to beauty and the beast in the story, love the found family aspect, and love a man who is constantly kneeling for a woman
Also the first book I’ve read where the two main characters are supposedly ugly??? Felt (surprisingly?) represented.
I feel like this review makes this book sound like a romance and, like, it IS a love story, but it’s definitely not a romance and I love it for that
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Slavery, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Death, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Alcohol
blacksphinx's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, Slavery, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, Homophobia, Deportation, Bullying, and Child abuse
Once again, why doesn't Storygraph have a "drowning" warning???noblelandmermaid's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Slavery, Incest, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
biome_'s review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
cyndi1966's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Abandonment, and Car accident
Moderate: Violence
allyareads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Personally I ate this up. A sentient house will get me <i>every. single. time!</i>
My other favourite arcetype in media: <b>The Angry, Hunger, Resourceful Woman™</b>
e.g. Alex Stern from Ninth House, Lila Bard for Darker shade of Magic, El from Deadly Education etc
The author's note at the beginning surmises it perfectly. This is a <s>love</s> letter about loving a place that doesn't always love you back and that it is.
4.5 ★ only cause I wanted a little more from the ending and it was a little over written in parts.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexism, Abandonment, Death, Blood, Grief, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Slavery
fairytales's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Car accident, and Blood
Minor: Slavery