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chaptersofchase 's review for:
Starling House
by Alix E. Harrow
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Unpopular Opinion Alert || Starling House
Genre: Fantasy
Trope: Horror
Format: π§π
Audiobook Narration: ββββ
Pub Date: 10.3.2023
Star Rating: βββ.5
"They averted their eyes from evil and, in doing so, became complicit in it."
If only I could review this book solely based on the gorgeous cover π€© But, unfortunately, I'm reviewing the story between.
For me, Starling House started so strong! I was hooked and loved the way the author was telling the story. Usually, footnotes are just not my thing - but these added to the book and gave it more of an air of mystery. I had no idea Starling House was set in Kentucky (in a very real town), so the bits about the area really stuck out.
It was interesting how the author took pieces of the state's history and twisted them just the tiniest of bits to make them fit her story. For example, a John Prine song is mentioned, but Harrow changed the lyrics just a fraction and then a few pages later mentioned the actual lyric in passing. It was unique; only someone familiar with the area would pick up on that change.
However, what lost me was that the author paid too much attention to detail, leaving me feeling like I needed to reread because I had missed something important. There was more of a focus on creating a complex story than a complex one that made sense. There were a lot of things that became lost in the weeds as I read. I opted to switch to audio about 65% of the way through, hoping it would pull me out of the funk. The audio did help, but I never found the connection to the story I had found at the beginning.
π« Too much detail
π Based in Kentucky
π Interesting footnotes
π Slow
I'm definitely in the minority on this one, but The Starling House wasn't for me for some reason! I'm glad I gave it my all and switched up reading formats because I was happy with how the ending turned out. Overall, I need to avoid the horror genre because I always feel this way.
_
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Genre: Fantasy
Trope: Horror
Format: π§π
Audiobook Narration: ββββ
Pub Date: 10.3.2023
Star Rating: βββ.5
"They averted their eyes from evil and, in doing so, became complicit in it."
If only I could review this book solely based on the gorgeous cover π€© But, unfortunately, I'm reviewing the story between.
For me, Starling House started so strong! I was hooked and loved the way the author was telling the story. Usually, footnotes are just not my thing - but these added to the book and gave it more of an air of mystery. I had no idea Starling House was set in Kentucky (in a very real town), so the bits about the area really stuck out.
It was interesting how the author took pieces of the state's history and twisted them just the tiniest of bits to make them fit her story. For example, a John Prine song is mentioned, but Harrow changed the lyrics just a fraction and then a few pages later mentioned the actual lyric in passing. It was unique; only someone familiar with the area would pick up on that change.
However, what lost me was that the author paid too much attention to detail, leaving me feeling like I needed to reread because I had missed something important. There was more of a focus on creating a complex story than a complex one that made sense. There were a lot of things that became lost in the weeds as I read. I opted to switch to audio about 65% of the way through, hoping it would pull me out of the funk. The audio did help, but I never found the connection to the story I had found at the beginning.
π« Too much detail
π Based in Kentucky
π Interesting footnotes
π Slow
I'm definitely in the minority on this one, but The Starling House wasn't for me for some reason! I'm glad I gave it my all and switched up reading formats because I was happy with how the ending turned out. Overall, I need to avoid the horror genre because I always feel this way.
_
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebookend.diner/
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thebookenddiner
Follow me on StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thebookenddiner