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A review by afaerytale
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I won’t lie, I should’ve finished this at 30% but my goal this year is not to DNF a book and I was so tempted to by this one.
First off the bat, Opal is one of the most insufferable characters I’ve read in a while - angsty, woe is me through the book. I cannot stand her brash, rude attitude towards those trying to help her and a seemingly reckless abandon towards her little brother. A brother who just seems to be trying to escape the miserable af world his sister has created for him. Yes, she has sacrificed some aspects of her life for her brother but do we really need to complain about it forever?
Secondly, Arthur’s character is horrifically awkward to the point reading his POVs or Opal’s descriptions of him make me uncomfortably physically cringe. Yes, he’s got a huge secret to keep from Opal and the rest of the world but his whole character could’ve been replaced by an antique vase and it would’ve had more personality. I felt like Harrow was trying to portray a mysterious handsome character but all I could picture was some grim basement dweller with mommy issues.
Arthur and Opal’s romance - I’m sorry, was the spark in the room with us or did this wet wipe of a “relationship” extinguish it? There was zero chemistry and even less “love” shown through the progression of their relationship, one minute Opal detests the sight of him and the next minute their necking on? The whiplash I got from that I swear! The whole romance added nothing to the story and was boring beyond belief.
The shining graces from this tale were Jasper, a character with a decent attempt at bettering himself despite his sisters choices and the world building which was pretty good, although at times rambling, especially when discussing Underland. However, the footnotes which disappeared just before half way through and gave next to no input to the story? What was that all about? I picked this up as it was marketed to me as a gothic horror, neither of which I got the vibe of throughout this.
This book was just a whole lot of maybes, almost and nothings. It maybe could’ve been good with better characters, we almost got a plot resolution but nothing really made me want to pick up this book day after day except the urge to get it out of the way for a better read. I don’t know how one book feels like you’ve wasted a year of your life but this was it.
First off the bat, Opal is one of the most insufferable characters I’ve read in a while - angsty, woe is me through the book. I cannot stand her brash, rude attitude towards those trying to help her and a seemingly reckless abandon towards her little brother. A brother who just seems to be trying to escape the miserable af world his sister has created for him. Yes, she has sacrificed some aspects of her life for her brother but do we really need to complain about it forever?
Secondly, Arthur’s character is horrifically awkward to the point reading his POVs or Opal’s descriptions of him make me uncomfortably physically cringe. Yes, he’s got a huge secret to keep from Opal and the rest of the world but his whole character could’ve been replaced by an antique vase and it would’ve had more personality. I felt like Harrow was trying to portray a mysterious handsome character but all I could picture was some grim basement dweller with mommy issues.
Arthur and Opal’s romance - I’m sorry, was the spark in the room with us or did this wet wipe of a “relationship” extinguish it? There was zero chemistry and even less “love” shown through the progression of their relationship, one minute Opal detests the sight of him and the next minute their necking on? The whiplash I got from that I swear! The whole romance added nothing to the story and was boring beyond belief.
The shining graces from this tale were Jasper, a character with a decent attempt at bettering himself despite his sisters choices and the world building which was pretty good, although at times rambling, especially when discussing Underland. However, the footnotes which disappeared just before half way through and gave next to no input to the story? What was that all about? I picked this up as it was marketed to me as a gothic horror, neither of which I got the vibe of throughout this.
This book was just a whole lot of maybes, almost and nothings. It maybe could’ve been good with better characters, we almost got a plot resolution but nothing really made me want to pick up this book day after day except the urge to get it out of the way for a better read. I don’t know how one book feels like you’ve wasted a year of your life but this was it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Car accident