Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Будинок Старлінгів by Alix E. Harrow

188 reviews

sarah_ellie's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Incest, Racism, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury

allielkweg's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent

Moderate: Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit

javafenn's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is an interesting Alix E. Harrow book. Opal and her brother are outcasts of Eden, Kentucky but not nearly as much as any resident who has ever cared for the Starling House where gossip and legend have turned all former and current residents into mysterious evil doers. Opal is pulled to the house by a mysterious force as the town’s wealthy family insists on taking control of the Starling House’s property for their own gain. Opal is self deprecating but loves her teen brother, whom she took of care for after their mother died, and she is helpful to a fault. I really enjoyed how this wove fairy tale with the dark and mysterious creatures of such stories. The narrator did a really good job too at adjusting her voice for the various characters which I deeply appreciate! All in all, this one is a pretty good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Medical content, Pregnancy

emmmaustin's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Gaslighting

Moderate: Incest, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Death of parent

someryarns's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Murder

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury

angorarabbit's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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Context: I read Ms Harrow’s The Autobiography of a Traitor and a Half-Savage a few weeks ago and now I want to read all her stories and books. Why did we never get to read anything that good in American Lit classes? 

 

It seems that January is a little early to state my favourite book of 2025 but here we are. If this isn’t the best book I read in 2025 it had the most impact of any book I’ve read in the last few years. 

 

The story is mainly told in one character’s first person narrative with occasional omniscient third person interjections. At first the fmc is pretty unlikeable but as the story unrolls you begin to see why. There is also a small US town and a creepy house with a creepy person. 

 

The plot is good but it is Ms Harrow’s careful and detailed descriptions of her characters that really makes this book. She really gets how generational trauma is passed down and how it affects people, making them reject wants and hopes because the have been let down so many times before. How an entire town can turn away from something because it doesn’t fit the fantasy that someone has decided they all have. All I can say is that if you think this is just a romance horror novel you are missing the point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry

Minor: Child death, Vomit, Alcohol

poverty

jmariejones's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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This was an interesting gothic fantasy revolving around a haunted house and buried secrets.

I felt as if the first half of the book was slow moving, but about halfway it picked up and got really interesting.

• Dual POV
• Hints of a romance, but not the main focus
• Family secrets
• Curses, ghosts & magic haunted houses

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death

Minor: Incest, Police brutality, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

nixoneshoe's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt

jasperw's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I really liked elements of this book, but there were other places where it fell flat for me. I thought the characters were interesting, the set up and premise of the book was really cool, and the conversations it had were incredible. The atmosphere was also really well done. Where it fell more flat was in the relationship developed between characters. I wanted to see more of it on page, to understand their motivations in relation to each other. For me I didn't feel like I saw enough of that, which left me less invested in them as a team. I also thought the very very ending (not including epilogue) was a little off in pace. It felt like a lot was wrapped up pretty quickly, and then it was just over. I did really like the epilogue and how the story concluded in that way.

I can see why people really love it, but I can also see why people are disappointed. For me it was alright, but some elements just left me wanting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Death

Minor: Incest

The incest is not romanticized, it's criticized and there is nothing too graphic on the page.

kaydeechy's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I really liked this book, but if atmospheric reads aren't for you, you might consider skipping this one. 

This book tells the story of Starling House, Opal, and Arther and their connection to each other, each trying to answer the question of what it means to have a home and belong. It is slow-to-medium paced, but the author did manage to hold my attention even during slower points. 

The writing is beautiful and lyrical at times. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Incest