What a delight. I absolutely adore when novels explore spacial themes or the concept of a house embodying a vital character in itself. The story follows a lost protagonist named Opal whose sole focus to survive and provide for her brother after the death of their mother becomes interfered by dreams involving trapdoors, mists and the mysterious Starling House that draws her to its presence. She is hired by the warden of the house to clean and over the course of the book learns of the various stories surrounding the original owner of the house, Eleanor Starling. Eleanor’s misfortune with the Gravely family, a well-known name in Eden, Kentucky, led to her bringing about vicious beasts of the “underworld”, a place she wrote about as a children’s story to voice her truth. Her mission to eliminate every generation of the wealthy, crooked family who exploited her and others brings a curse to any who inherits the house through the Gravely name. Opal endeavors to uncover generations of fraud, deceit, and abuse to subdue the threat of Eleanor’s curse and, in the process, claim home to a house that chose her to nurture it back to the life it craves.

I think what will stick with me for awhile is the idea of caring for yourself despite what others think about you. Starling House depicts the unfortunate reality of people whose families or communities have turned their backs to them out of fear, prejudice or carelessness. Often times, people look the other way from the ugliness of the world because it’s uncomfortable or they don’t want anything to do with it. This book confronts that issue, asserting that those who have experienced injustice or misfortune shouldn’t waste their time trying to make others suffer for their own complicit ignorance. At the end of the day, it’s not a single person’s responsibility to change a collective mind about anything. In the story, Eleanor sought vengeance on the town that turned their backs to her abuse. Some residents even invented stories that were easier for them to comprehend about her to justify their disdain. Opal insists that yes, maybe they deserve to face the consequences of their ignorance, but that a victim should never resort to the behaviors that made them victims in the first place. Opal teaches readers that change starts within. Anyone can quiet their inner turmoil by looking within, knowing themselves, owning their story, and stating their truth without being affected by the opinions of others. In that personal journey, one can find peace and home anywhere they may land- a safe haven to call home despite the hate that we can never truly extinguish from the world.

Overall, the book is extremely well done: beautiful writing, flawed yet believable and honest characters with intriguing plot points that kept me curious all throughout! Some parts were a little melodramatic, but what else should I expect from gothic fantasy? Love this book… highly recommend!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense