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hopeful
mysterious
tense
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: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Suicide attempt
Minor: Body horror
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
I think the strongest thing about this novel is the specificity of the sense of place. This reminds me strongly of Demon Copperhead and the video game "Night in the Woods" in the way it evokes a particular sort of American city: an Mideast, working class mining town where the large corporations with mineral rights have extracted and exploited everything they can from the land. The mining operations are winding down, the jobs are scarce, and the air and water quality are shit. But the only people left to breathe the air and drink the water are poor and disempowered politically, so the best thing they can do is leave town. Of course, leaving either requires a good education (hard to come by at underfunded schools) or money, but usually both. The characters living in Eden are mostly decent or normal people stuck in a place with few opportunities, and the idea of Starling House, its legacy of guardians, and the story its a part of all fit pretty well within a town like this. It was satisfying the way the story kept digging deeper and deeper into the greater history of the whole region, especially reading it in 2025 when there's such a strong aversion nationally to grappling with unpleasant histories and difficult truths.
The weakest thing about this book for me was the prose style. I don't always mind ornate or decadent writing, but this just missed the sweet spot. I found myself reading rather quickly to cut through the stylisitc writing to move forward in the plot. I guess it just didn't charm me as much as it was trying to. But I liked Arthur and Opal and Jasper. The pacing was a little uneven at times, I suppose, but overall it was an interesting read.
The weakest thing about this book for me was the prose style. I don't always mind ornate or decadent writing, but this just missed the sweet spot. I found myself reading rather quickly to cut through the stylisitc writing to move forward in the plot. I guess it just didn't charm me as much as it was trying to. But I liked Arthur and Opal and Jasper. The pacing was a little uneven at times, I suppose, but overall it was an interesting read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Murder
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Classism
Minor: Slavery
dark
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Incest
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
so freaking good!! alix e harrow has a way with words and the twists in her books always leave me speechless. she is honestly in my top 5 authors list. this novel is so amazing!! thank you alix for gracing us with your eloquent wordsmithing. <3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After reading Once and Future Witches, I was very hopeful that Starling House will give me the feelings and storytelling I wanted. Alix Harrow does a fantastic job of weaving relatable characters and messages into a fantasy/historical world. It is something I believe is crucial to a solid fantasy book: maintaining emotional depth real-life struggles amongst all the fantastical elements (dragons, magic, fairies, etc).
I did not connect with this book as much as OAFW, but I still thought it was a great read. The FMC and MMC felt well-rounded and fleshed out, which I find impressive to do within 400-ish pages. This book included some big themes that I love exploring: parentified oldest daughter, familial expectations, generational trauma and wealth, classism, racism, and the exploitation of women throughout history. If Ms. Harrow keeps writing historical fantasies like this, I fear I will read nothing else besides them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
I really loved this story. It does start out a bit slow but I loved the mystery of the town and house and the “foot notes” throughout it. The imagination of how the world works with “real life” is fun. I listened to it as an audiobook and think it was perfect for that. It is not very scary or horror-esque but has some mild elements of that. I think it’s a nice blend of mystery, mild romance, fantasy and horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Abandonment
Minor: Slavery, Deportation
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Incest