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A review by casstalksbooks
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
4.0
This lush novel combines elements of the Gothic, fantasy, romance, and folktale, and the result was a story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Starling House follows Opal, a young woman who lost her mother in a tragic car accident and now has to support her younger brother so that he can, one day, escape from the clutches of Eden, Kentucky. Eden is a working-class town haunted by the legend of E. Starling, the nineteenth century writer of ‘The Underland’ and occupant of the uncanny Starling House. Now, Starling House houses its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling. The people of Eden like to pretend that he doesn’t exist, yet they remain watchful and mistrustful of both Arthur and Starling House. Opal knows she shouldn’t go near the haunted house, which has been appearing vividly in her dreams for quite some time. But when she is offered a job at Starling House, the pay is too good to pass up. Especially if it means she can get her brother out of Eden quicker. But as Starling House begins to feel like home, Opal and Arthur are left with no choice but to work together to save the house and the town, though they will both have to confront their nightmares in order to do this.
I really enjoyed the premise of this novel. Modern day Gothic with elements of fantasy and romance? I was all in! And (mostly), it did not disappoint.
The descriptions of Starling House were truly beautiful, and really added to the overall gothic feel of the text. Arthur was such a fascinating character, and Opal was an incredibly brave and strong protagonist. I enjoyed their interactions and seeing how they shifted throughout the novel.
I also loved the plot. It was so interesting, especially with all the history behind it. I thought that the footnotes worked really well in this type of story, they added necessary context to some of the storylines without disrupting the flow of the novel. Also, I love a sentient house! However, and I’m not sure if this is just because I listened to the audiobook, I found the ending to be slightly confusing. Particularly in regard to Eleanor’s character and Starling House, I was like, “What just happened? What did I miss?” Again, I’m not sure if this was an error in the writing or just because I’d missed something in the audiobook, but it was definitely a tad confusing. Although, I did really enjoy the Epilogue!!
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this novel, even though the ending confused me a little bit. The gothic descriptions were incredible and I loved how the main characters were all multifaceted.
Starling House follows Opal, a young woman who lost her mother in a tragic car accident and now has to support her younger brother so that he can, one day, escape from the clutches of Eden, Kentucky. Eden is a working-class town haunted by the legend of E. Starling, the nineteenth century writer of ‘The Underland’ and occupant of the uncanny Starling House. Now, Starling House houses its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling. The people of Eden like to pretend that he doesn’t exist, yet they remain watchful and mistrustful of both Arthur and Starling House. Opal knows she shouldn’t go near the haunted house, which has been appearing vividly in her dreams for quite some time. But when she is offered a job at Starling House, the pay is too good to pass up. Especially if it means she can get her brother out of Eden quicker. But as Starling House begins to feel like home, Opal and Arthur are left with no choice but to work together to save the house and the town, though they will both have to confront their nightmares in order to do this.
I really enjoyed the premise of this novel. Modern day Gothic with elements of fantasy and romance? I was all in! And (mostly), it did not disappoint.
The descriptions of Starling House were truly beautiful, and really added to the overall gothic feel of the text. Arthur was such a fascinating character, and Opal was an incredibly brave and strong protagonist. I enjoyed their interactions and seeing how they shifted throughout the novel.
I also loved the plot. It was so interesting, especially with all the history behind it. I thought that the footnotes worked really well in this type of story, they added necessary context to some of the storylines without disrupting the flow of the novel. Also, I love a sentient house! However, and I’m not sure if this is just because I listened to the audiobook, I found the ending to be slightly confusing. Particularly in regard to Eleanor’s character and Starling House, I was like, “What just happened? What did I miss?” Again, I’m not sure if this was an error in the writing or just because I’d missed something in the audiobook, but it was definitely a tad confusing. Although, I did really enjoy the Epilogue!!
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this novel, even though the ending confused me a little bit. The gothic descriptions were incredible and I loved how the main characters were all multifaceted.