A review by laylareadsthings
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.25

Absolutely adored this ethereal, mythical stormy afternoon of a book. The writing is flawless, and the dialogue had me laughing out loud multiple times which was unexpected but most welcome. I really loved all of the main characters and their emotional arcs through this story. I’ve been craving standalones lately and this one hit the spot. Also, the tension!! Between Arthur and Opal was SO good. And can I also say how refreshing I found it to read a book where the looks/size/thinness of the FMC isn’t mentioned every chapter? I really prefer to always form my own image of who the characters are based on other descriptions and quirks, and this was SO wonderful to not have it be a focus. 

My one issue:
I really despise the ‘corporate entity/generic rich person shows up to blackmail you into doing whatever they want’ trope. I hate it in all forms of media, books, movies, tv shows. And I was surprised to learn this book features it heavily. I do think it’s done well, and there’s interesting developments… I just always find the resolution of this trope predictable so it took away from the mystery and mood a bit that was SO SO well crafted.
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