You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lauren_dots 's review for:
Starling House
by Alix E. Harrow
I’m normally not one to reach for a horror-themed fantasy, but I’ve always loved a good gothic mystery / haunted house story, so I wanted to give Starling House a try after hearing good things and liking the premise. I also adored the cover!!
Although the story itself wasn’t that original, there were bits and pieces of the book that made it unique. For example, I absolutely loved the artwork scattered throughout, I wish more adult books would do this. I also liked how there would be little footnotes at the bottom of the page correcting historical inaccuracies or adding “history” to the home like a nonfiction would that the reader could choose to engage with or not.
What started to lose me was the last half of the book, when I realized how much of the plot would be focused on the relationship between Opal and Arthur. I also thought for a relatively short book that it got pretty repetitive. I got bored of all the different retellings of the Starling story by the end, just in time for the most important one, and I lost count of how many times Arthur told Opal to leave the house, and then she’d come back, and then he’d tell her to leave, and then she’d come back. Lastly, I found the ending to be rushed.
I’d say I liked this more than Ten Thousand Doors, and a few small changes could have made this great.
Although the story itself wasn’t that original, there were bits and pieces of the book that made it unique. For example, I absolutely loved the artwork scattered throughout, I wish more adult books would do this. I also liked how there would be little footnotes at the bottom of the page correcting historical inaccuracies or adding “history” to the home like a nonfiction would that the reader could choose to engage with or not.
What started to lose me was the last half of the book, when I realized how much of the plot would be focused on the relationship between Opal and Arthur. I also thought for a relatively short book that it got pretty repetitive. I got bored of all the different retellings of the Starling story by the end, just in time for the most important one, and I lost count of how many times Arthur told Opal to leave the house, and then she’d come back, and then he’d tell her to leave, and then she’d come back. Lastly, I found the ending to be rushed.
I’d say I liked this more than Ten Thousand Doors, and a few small changes could have made this great.