Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Starling House

I just finished a really good one. “Starling House” by Alix Harrow is a glorious onion of a Southern Gothic. Although linearly told, it masterfully tangles myth, dream, reality, past, and present. There are family abandonments, small town dramas, an evil coal company, and a haunted house that may be the gateway to the underworld. The main character is fierce, funny, scrappy, traumatized, and deeply loyal. It is beautifully written and not at all a cozy, but it was a wrench to let the characters go at the end. Read it. #book.

Content Warnings

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

My first reaction upon finishing this book is that it was way longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed the second half, which is where most of the plot occurs, but I was bored during the whole first half of the book, to the point where I was considering not finishing it.

Once the plot picks up around the 50% mark, it gets interesting and I began to get invested in the mystery of the house and the people surrounding it. I was entertained as Opal unraveled it but I must admit it was pretty frustrating that she withheld so much information from her brother with no real explanation. If it came from some sort of desire to have something for herself, it might have been nice for the author to have alluded to that, but without explanation it was almost infuriating that she wasn’t sharing this information she was finding out.

I liked all the secondary characters and I wish we got to spend more time with them, perhaps seeing more interaction with them in the first half to invest the reader a bit more.

Ultimately, the end was more or less rewarding as everything was revealed, but I wasn’t rooting for Opal as much as I was rooting for everyone else around her.

Read if you don’t mind slowly paced dark mysteries with light mythological elements.

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megnut's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was wondering how a dark story with a living house, nightmares and a love story would weave together... but I love the way it did. And at the same time didn't? Because it's not really about any of that at all. It's about finding a home and the power of dreams.

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jessicarenz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This would make a good movie.

Content Warnings

darkdahlia9's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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