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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Racism
Minor: Rape, Sexual content
dark
mysterious
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:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Car accident
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to like this book. I greatly enjoyed The Ten Thousand Doors of January and I was eager to jump into another of Harrow's books. If I had read this book first, I would not have given the other a chance.
There was so much to love about this book, but it just never actualized. Everything about the book was predictable, from the characters' journeys of self-discovery to the relationships to the ending, it all just felt like a let-down. I was waiting for that moment when something grand happened and Opal or Arthur had their epiphany, but it felt like it never came. Which, of course, isn't actually true. It did come. It just wasn't very...exciting.
The obvious parallel to Alice in Wonderland felt played out. Even Harrow acknowledged the parallel in the book as she wanted the reader to know she was, not just sampling, but directly pulling from the tale. Establishing that right off the bat left a bad taste in my mouth and jaded the rest of the story for me. I just kept thinking about the connection to Wonderland. And it was completely unnecessary to have pointed it out in the text. Mysterious underground worlds are such a common trope, that the parallel didn't need to be made.
The pacing of the book was awful. I just kept waiting for something more to happen and it just never did. The characters all plodded along at their set pace, the conflict just happened, and then it ended. I never felt excited to read this book because I knew if my mind drifted at all, I would be able to get back into the story and wouldn't have missed anything. I also did not enjoy the narrative perspective shifts, they seemed too sporadic and as if Harrow realized the reader needed to know something but didn't know how to show it after the fact. I also didn't like the jump between first and third person.
Overall, not an awful book. I did finish it, but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations.
There was so much to love about this book, but it just never actualized. Everything about the book was predictable, from the characters' journeys of self-discovery to the relationships to the ending, it all just felt like a let-down. I was waiting for that moment when something grand happened and Opal or Arthur had their epiphany, but it felt like it never came. Which, of course, isn't actually true. It did come. It just wasn't very...exciting.
The obvious parallel to Alice in Wonderland felt played out. Even Harrow acknowledged the parallel in the book as she wanted the reader to know she was, not just sampling, but directly pulling from the tale. Establishing that right off the bat left a bad taste in my mouth and jaded the rest of the story for me. I just kept thinking about the connection to Wonderland. And it was completely unnecessary to have pointed it out in the text. Mysterious underground worlds are such a common trope, that the parallel didn't need to be made.
The pacing of the book was awful. I just kept waiting for something more to happen and it just never did. The characters all plodded along at their set pace, the conflict just happened, and then it ended. I never felt excited to read this book because I knew if my mind drifted at all, I would be able to get back into the story and wouldn't have missed anything. I also did not enjoy the narrative perspective shifts, they seemed too sporadic and as if Harrow realized the reader needed to know something but didn't know how to show it after the fact. I also didn't like the jump between first and third person.
Overall, not an awful book. I did finish it, but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Violence
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Incest
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Deportation
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
I don't think about ghost stories or murder mysteries, sins or starlings, because none of that matters. I'm going back to Starling House, because I have to.
Starling House looms over the small town of Eden, Kentucky, a mysterious house with a secret, one that everyone in town would prefer remained buried. Opal doesn't have time to speculate, even if all her life she has been fascinated by the place. Raising her younger brother, Jasper, all on her own after the passing of their mother, she only has time to cheat, steal, and scam her way into a better life for him. It doesn't matter what she wants, and certainly not her obsession with Starling House and the dark children's book its first owner, Eleanor Starling, published. Until one day she's drawn into the house by an offer she cannot refuse: enough money to get Jasper out of town. But that's not the only thing that she's drawn too, there's also the last Starling heir: Arthur. As she's pulled more and more into the enigma that is the house and its inhabitants so are the dark forces surrounding the property, both supernatural and human.
This was entertaining and I had fun, but there were some issues. I'll start with what I didn't like. The pacing needed to be tighter, the first 10 or so chapters were more of the same to the point I had a bit of trouble continuing with the book. Once you hit around 25% or so it picks up steam, with the action being well written. There are two points of view in the book, one of them is in first person and the other in third person, I don't have a huge complaint about this but I'm certain not everyone will like it. There's also these footnotes throughout the book that were confusing and distracting, they didn't mesh well with the narration and were not explained. I feel like I understand what the author was going for but it didn't work. And my last complaint is more of a personal one regarding a trope I quite dislike: Miscommunication. Thankfully, not between the main couple, but
The plot itself was well thought out and had some interesting twists I didn't see coming. Loved how the house was described and the fact that it was a character that played an important part in the story. The writing was quite lovely, and the last 40% kept me glued to my Kindle. My favorite bit of the whole book was the romance and the developing relationship between Opal and Arthur. It felt real, yet magical and raw. It was a good last book of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Incest, Racism, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
I enjoyed this a lot - it's a creepy story with a fine little romance. The unveiling of the different layers of what happened through stories was really interesting, with the final layer suitably grim and unnerving.
That said, I've reached the end of the book and I find myself thinking not about Eden, but about Derry - King's Derry, specifically, the town where bad things happen and people either can't really acknowledge it or they just look away. The suffocatingness of it all. I wanted that here. Eden lacked that deep sense of horror - we were told it was there by Opal, but I never really felt it. Starling House was also not as gothicly described as I would have liked - or maybe this was all a bit too subtle for me. I'm mulling these over now not because I didn't enjoy reading this - I really did - its just that now I wish it had been more.
That said, I've reached the end of the book and I find myself thinking not about Eden, but about Derry - King's Derry, specifically, the town where bad things happen and people either can't really acknowledge it or they just look away. The suffocatingness of it all. I wanted that here. Eden lacked that deep sense of horror - we were told it was there by Opal, but I never really felt it. Starling House was also not as gothicly described as I would have liked - or maybe this was all a bit too subtle for me. I'm mulling these over now not because I didn't enjoy reading this - I really did - its just that now I wish it had been more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Racism, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Slavery
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Racism, Grief
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story about a somewhat haunted and temperamental house drew me in. And this is partly that story, but it's not really the main part. I do love the parts about the house (I love the house itself!), but it's more about stories and living in a small town; it's about perception and being percieved.
I did enjoy the story, but it was quite slow. There seemed to be three different part (main points) that peaked subsequently that kept the pacing slower. First there is the mystery of the Starling House itself (it sets and introduces us to the story and characters we'll follow), then you have the mystery of what happened with the accident, and lastly you have the mystery of where this is all going/how it will end.
I did like how everything was resolved though. All in all, I really liked the book and the story, but it took some effort to sit down and read it.
I did enjoy the story, but it was quite slow. There seemed to be three different part (main points) that peaked subsequently that kept the pacing slower. First there is the mystery of the Starling House itself (it sets and introduces us to the story and characters we'll follow), then you have the mystery of what happened with the accident, and lastly you have the mystery of where this is all going/how it will end.
I did like how everything was resolved though. All in all, I really liked the book and the story, but it took some effort to sit down and read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Slavery, Vomit
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Racism