Book Review: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Starling House
Publisher: Tor Books
Pub Date: 3 October 2023
Genre: Gothic Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Grief, death of a parent (recounted), drowning (recounted), car accident (recounted), blackmail, fire, brief imprisonment, asthma attacks, poverty, racism, slavery, implications of sexual assault/incest/paedophilia, child marriage, gun violence (minor), implications of drugging, violence, blood

Why is it always the hardest to review a book you love? The words are swirling around in my head but they just won’t come out in the way I need them to! So sorry if this is a ‘mid’ slightly nonsensical ramble of a review.

TL;DR: Starling House is a hauntingly beautiful Southern Gothic with a rich fairytale-esque atmosphere. It doesn’t matter that I’ve probably read something similar-ish before because the combination of the author’s lush prose, relatable characters, and well-loved tropes mixed with the creepy foreboding vibe felt unique. I fell in love with Opal, Arthur, and the sentient House with its oddly endearing personality. I loved where Harrow took this story and what it turned into—from a slow beginning that steadily builds to an utterly explosive and ultimately satisfying ending.

This was a buddy read with Leslie and Julie and we had so much to gush about! It was a great group read and I’m so happy to say that all of us really loved it! 😍

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