Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

13 reviews

livlamentloathe's review

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I think both the beginning and ending of Starling House were strong, but the middle really dragged along. There was a lot of back-and-forth between Arthur and Opal that could've been pared down. Of the 2 weeks I spent reading this, the first 65% I read in a couple days. Then the remaining 35% took a week and a half. I do think the narrator was part of my issue though. I just wasn't engaged by her reading.

I also wanted more of the book to touch on the racism Jasper faced in Eden. I wanted Jasper to better scold Opal for the way she ignored about that part of him. She made a comment later on that alluded to her getting it in part. But she also definitely was very forgetful of his race. The book itself barely even acknowledged his race. It took until the middle of the book for me to determine his ethnicity - maybe that's my bad and I missed an early tell. But I think overall, this book wanted to hide details and it didn't always handle that well. It would be evasive and add extra page time instead of being a bit more upfront about things. Maybe that was purposeful too with Opal's personality. But it felt like it was just trying too hard.

The premise felt like a cross between The Hazel Wood and Book of Night. I thought it was meant to be horror, but it wasn't horror so much as gothic. More of a magical realism/low fantasy romance. This book could've been great but I think it needed further editing and less evasive plot points. I get it. Most details were meant for "reveals" later but it became excessive when I got lost wondering what the point of the book was. Or what was going on period. 

P.S. I'd have loved more of a violent ending for the Gravely family and Elizabeth Bane.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Car accident, Stalking, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Violence, Grief, and Police brutality

Minor: Homophobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Incest, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Animal death

tamara_joy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Blood, Sexual content, and Car accident

Moderate: Classism, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Slavery, Abandonment, and Vomit

megnut's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, and Incest

ladyflash's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

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

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-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

4.5

I really liked this book. I think the message of "yeah this place sucks, the people suck, everything sucks but there are glimmers of hope and we can stay and make it better," is so powerful and done so well. The blending of fairy tale and southern gothic really works, and the use of what stories are and who gets to tell them is used so well. I loved the footnotes and bibliography. I also really liked that the characters were late 20s and ugly. Also Ms. Harrow will deliver for the gays and I love her for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Minor: Homophobia and Outing

sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gaslighting, Racism, Cursing, Death, Blood, Car accident, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Police brutality, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, and Slavery

bi_n_large's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Grief, Incest, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence, Police brutality, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia

dani_reis's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Sexual content, Medical content, Confinement, Grief, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Vomit, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Incest

Minor: Abandonment, Homophobia, and Slavery

kimveach's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Excellent narration added to this creepy horror novel.  Perfect for October.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic friendship