Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

125 reviews

ghostingarden's review against another edition

5.0

this is actually my books, sorry guys. Like Harrow actually specifically wrote this for me. This book changed my life so badly I made playlists for it... it was that serious. I spent weeks thinking about Opal and Arthur. It has everything I love: sentient house, small southern town with ~~secrets~~, gothic atmosphere; all cultivating to create my perfect book. I have no notes. I knew this was going to be my favorite book of the year 50 pages in. And I get it might not be for everyone, but it's absolutely for me and I can't praise it enough. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Death of parent, Classism, Slavery, Cursing, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

acethirtynine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book grew on me - it took me a minute to really get into it, but once the story picks up it really gets going. I found Opal both challenging and sympathetic in a good balance based on her life and experiences. Not my favorite of Alix. E. Harrow's but still very enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit

Minor: Slavery, Child death, Murder, Incest, and Racism

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

I really really enjoyed this Southern Gothic horror. I’ll try to write a full review on my blog tomorrow but for now..wow!
The descriptions were vivid and beautiful in a haunting kind of way. The characters were uniquely flawed to the point where you couldn’t help but empathize with their pain. The sins in the book were atrocious, and the themes of identity, belonging, and mercy crawled across the pages, igniting the words into some higher morals. And of course, who doesn’t love a sentient house? 
I also thought it was super unique to include footnotes and a fictional bibliography! What a way to add voice. 
The only reason it’s not five stars is because there are parts of the ending I wasn’t thoroughly satisfied with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

aliiloue's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

loved everything about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Classism, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit, Slavery, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

seaton44's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Blood, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Slavery, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Sexual assault

jerseynoonatic's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

What a disappointing book. The idea could have been good, but the characters were so awful and the story fell sort of flat. The romance was poorly done, and the smut was unwa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, and Death of parent

frankiefield's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Slow start, but well worth sticking to it. Very lush, evocative writing. Delightfully anti-capitalist without bashing you over the head with it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Incest, Slavery, and Racism

judassilver's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, Car accident, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, Vomit, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Incest and Child death

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Incest, Racism, Vomit, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery

browniebby's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

0.75

This book was not good. I went in expecting something completely different from what I got. The main character seemed much younger than her age, the love interest was really just boring (oh he gave her a coat and over payed her must be true love)and the side characters just felt like they were there because the author needed more people.

Also...the author kept mentioning how people treated the brother due to his race, which is vaguely implied to be Latino although it's never said from where. And she had a whole section about slavery told from the perspective of a descendant, but...it had a very magical negro type ending so any credit I might have given was immediately lost. It felt like she wanted YOU to know that she's aware of Kentuckys racism but she's not gong to delve too deep into it.

As an aside that audiobook narrator was a poor choice. This book is supposed to be set in small town Kentucky but from the narrator you'd never know that. Even the characters born and bred in the areas don't really have an accent. It was very odd because the location is a HUGE part of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault