Stranger Things meets gothic haunted house vibes. Add in a dash of enemies to lovers 🖤. I got choked up about 4 times while reading, and I laughed or guffawed out loud about 14 🥹. 5/5⭐️!
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Opal is a high school dropout with a part-time job as a cashier at the Tractor Supply store in Eden, Kentucky. Her only goal in life is to get her brilliant little brother, Jasper, out of this dead-end town. The town is known for its bad luck, and for being home to Eleanor Starling, the famous nineteenth century children’s author who mysteriously disappeared a century ago. Arthur is the current heir and caretaker of Starling House, the creepy Southern gothic mansion Eleanor left behind. Arthur hires Opal to work as a housekeeper, but she realizes the house is more than what it seems. She’s soon face to face with dark forces and generational curses. But will she flee, or will she stay and fight?
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I love Opal so freakin’ much. She’s a ride-or-die sister who would do anything for her brother. She’s surly and scrappy, and she’s done what she needs to do to survive. This is a story about identity, free will, and not being bound by the past. Harrow’s writing is honest, heartwarming, and atmospheric. This book will make you question the reality of your dreams, and your nightmares.
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Add Starling House to your spooky season TBR asap friends! I read and listened to this one. The narration by Natalie Naudus is gorgeous and haunting. Thank you to @macmillan.audio @netgalley and @torbooks for the ARCs!
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Starling House - Alix E. Harrow
5/5⭐️
🎉OUT NOW!🎉
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💜QUOTES💜
(I have so many tabbed, it was hard to pick the best ones. 😂)
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“It’s the kind of hate no natural animal has ever felt, a mad, howling, frothing fury, the kind that only comes from unrighted wrongs and unpunished sins.”
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“And I might be a liar and a thief and a cheat, but I’ll walk barefoot through Hell for what I need.”
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“…and I think dizzily that I know exactly why Icarus flew so high: when you’ve spent too long in the dark, you’ll melt your own wings just to feel the sun on your skin.”

I'm a big fan of Alix E. Harrow, so I was definitely looking forward to Starling House. Though I didn't like it as much as Once and Future Witches (an all-time favorite of mine), it was on a par with Ten Thousand Doors of January, though in very different ways. What I liked most about Starling House was the way it juxtaposed gothic and dark fairy tale vibes with the very real struggles of a young woman trying to hold things together for herself and her small family (she and her brother). Opal was a compelling character I could really get behind, even as she was making poor decisions. I was all in both with her struggle to make a better life and her developing feelings for Arthur and what those might mean for her relationship to the Starling House itself. In all, a well-written dark and magical book that definitely worked for me.

I may be slightly biased in this review because Harrow is one of my favorite fantasy writers and this book is just as excellent as her previous books. And despite featuring an Underland this book is less fantasy than Harrow's previous works.

Starling House is set in Eden, Kentucky and follows the down-on-her-luck Opal trying to make a better life for her brother. The town is overshadowed by the Starling House home of mysterious and perhaps sinister writer of The Underland, a collection of scary children's stories. The house is closed to visitor's at least until Opal takes a job as a cleaner and befriends Arthur the grumpy heir.

The book is mysterious and weird and deeply unsettling at times but Harrow ekes out all the details to paint a portrait of a messed up family in a messed up town. No spoilers but there is a happy ending that feels well deserved after everything the characters go through.

I would definitely recommend to new and existing fans of this author.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley

The Starling House by Alix E. Harrow follows Opal and her brother Jasper living rent free in the local motel since their mother died years before. Opal has always been fascinated by the Starling House, its past history and the chidlren book written by the previous owner, Elinor Gravely. Opal has always been drawn towards it and doesn't really know why until she meets Arthur Starling, the current warden of the Starling House. This is a modern gothic horror / thriller book that is a fast paced read. Alix E. Harrow paints a vivid picture of the Underlings and of Elinor's beasts that Arthur has been keeping away form Eden, Kentucky with all of will power. If you have read Ten Thousand Doors of January, you will definetly love this book with world with a world kind of way.

Alix E. Harrow’s Starling House caught me so thoroughly off guard. This story was spooky and beautiful and so very heart-wrenching. I can honestly say I laughed out loud (and then made my roommate come read particularly funny lines) and absolutely cried my eyes out.

“She wears the scars well—she’s made her life into an act of defiance, a laugh in the dark, a smile with bloodied teeth—but he refuses to add even one more.”


Starling House follows Opal, living in a small, nothing town where things go wrong too often. Orphaned young, Opal has had years of doing everything in her power to take care of her brother. She’s sly and angry at the world, but she’s also lonely enough to cling to the dreams she has about the old Starling House. When she sees an opportunity to help her brother and satisfy the pull the house has on her, she becomes embroiled in the house, its mysteries, and Arthur the Starling heir. Working there Opal finds out how very not normal Starling House is but potentially also the source of the town’s tragedies.


This is the first of Harrow’s books that I’ve read, but something about her writing just scratches an itch in my brain. She has this effortless kind of description that paints an absolutely bananas vivid picture without ever feeling heavy or clinical. I don’t know why I’m so deeply tickled by the way she describes people, but I wish people in my life would follow her lead. Remember Kevin from work, the one who’s the human equivalent of unsalted butter? Can you imagine? Truly the ideal world. The narration is presented like an article, with pithy footnotes off on tangents and quasi-monologues reading like interviews. While mostly the narrative follows Opal every few chapters we do get some of Arthur’s POV.

“He was born in the House, but Opal was called, and the House calls the homeless and hungry, the desperately brave, the fools who will fight to the very last.”

I love an FMC that’s scrappy and angry and not afraid to bare her teeth. It just makes it all the better when she’s able to grow and be vulnerable. It was lovely to watch Arthur and Opal circle each other over the course of this story, so much reluctant growth to route for. Ugh, I wanted these two to have all the good things in the world. I’m also not sure how Harrow managed to make a sentient house precious, but the house is the lovable sidekick somehow.


This book was the moody, gothic equivalent of that movie Monster House that scared the pants off me as a child and I loved it. I wouldn’t class it as horror, but there’s definitely a level of eeriness to make you want to swaddle yourself in a duvet while you devour it, and it’s twisty enough that you will be devouring it.

Have you ever wanted a retelling of Alice in Wonderland that felt new and original, dark and gritty, with the perfect amount of gothic horror and monsters? Well, you’re in luck, because you’ve just stumbled on the right book for you. Opal is not your typical protagonist, which I am pretty happy about in a lot of ways. However, she is also pretty hard to like as a person as well, though she seems motivated by some fairly strong convictions that constantly push her forward. She’s always been drawn to Starling House and when she walks by, sometimes it feels as though it’s calling to her. Even in her dreams it sometimes tries to reach out. However, something in the sleepy town of Eden is changing and Opal and Starling House’s soul occupant may have to work together to try to prevent something terrible from happening. I really do not want to give too much away about this book; even the summary on Goodreads does a magnificent job of giving just enough to keep the mystery shrouded in fog for the reader to uncover. I had a hard time putting this book down and have already recommended my podcast girls read this so we can bookclub it for an upcoming episode. I hope this becomes a phenomenal fall hit as I thought it was perfect for the spooky season.

4.5

“I know that part of the story must be made up, because there's no such thing as curses or cracks in the world, but maybe that's all a good ghost story is: a way of handing out consequences to the people who never got them in real life.”

I love when a book defies genres or mixes several of them up in a single book. When trying to come up with what subgenre I’d place it in, “medium spooky modern gothic” is what I came up with. I feel like the author’s own words on this sum it up better than I ever could, though: “a horror novel and a paperback romance, a contemporary comedy, a tragic historical, a classic coming-of-age story, a mystery, a memoir, and a pulpy gothic.”

I have loved all of Harrow’s full length novels and short stories, and this one was no exception. Excellent writing, unique plot lines, compelling characters, and social commentary that perfectly balances being strong enough without feeling like it’s being shoved into the reader’s face. I loved the sibling relationship and the found family, the desire to finally call a place home, and the value of a chosen name.

There were a few elements at the end that I felt didn’t get the resolution I was hoping for, but otherwise I absolutely loved it and will definitely revisit it in the past. I also really appreciated that the author’s newsletter had information on the real town and events that inspired this story.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the narration of this book! I had both the eBook and audio, and I loved being able to utilize both of them as I read. Natalie Naudus is one of my absolute favorite narrators, and she’s never let me down in terms of excellent narration!

Book of the year for me? Probably! This was everything a gothic fantasy should be. Beautifully written, extremely creepy, and unpredictable. I was pulled in from the start, nothing drags. It had a “The Haunting At Hill House” type vibe. I’ve already purchased copies as gifts. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read!

Alix E. Harrow burst onto the scene in the late 2010s with a blend of beautiful imagery, bingeable prose, and fabulist plots featuring sharp moral divides that earned her six Hugo nominations in five years. As a big fan of The Ten Thousand Doors of January and Mr. Death, I’m always up for giving her work a look, and October 2023’s Starling House promised the sort of “small town with a secret” story that I so often love.

Starling House takes place in a small Kentucky town ravaged by a coal mining company that would rather pay a fine than take meaningful steps to rectify their environmental crimes. Those who can get out generally do, but the heroine finds herself stuck working at Tractor Supply and living in a motel with her teenage brother after the tragic death of their mother years before. For years, she dreamed of the almost-certainly-haunted Starling House that she regularly passes on her way to work. And now it seems that Starling House has taken an interest in her as well.

Having read a fair bit of Harrow’s work before, I’m beginning to get a good sense of what to expect, for good or for ill. She’s certainly had some short fiction that leans a little more literary, but the books I’ve read (and even some of the short fiction) have all included small-town female protagonists, probably from Kentucky, and strong narrative voices. Invariably, I find the prose facilitates easy immersion and fast reading, despite a penchant for some beautiful and poetic imagery. The villains are usually rich white men whose identities are clear from the opening pages, and the themes are heavy but drawn with sharp moral lines that leave little room for ambiguity. Heavy fairy tale inspiration is typical, as are pointed asides drawing explicit connections to contemporary social issues.

That, as far as I can tell, is the book on Harrow. And if the obvious villains and straightforward themes don’t bother you, you’re likely to have a pretty good time. I certainly have in the past, and Starling House is no exception. It gestures in the direction of horror, with the opening chapters of a proper haunted house novel, but quickly moves in a more traditionally fantasy direction, with heavy inspiration from fairy tales and a Southern Gothic setting. The lead character voice is impeccable and makes her easy to cheer for, even when she’s being bull-headed. Contrarily, the men behind the (metaphorical) demons haunting her are eminently hateable from the start, even when the exact shape of their secrets is unknown. Harrow is an author who can signpost exactly which heartstrings she plans to tug and then make you feel it anyways, and that’s exactly what she did here, making Starling House a true pleasure to read.

There were some elements that I didn’t find quite as strong, though it’s hard to say whether they’re true flaws or just stylistic choices. I think the story would’ve had more power with a little more thematic complexity and less of a neat division into heroes and villains, but it’s hard to say it doesn’t fit within the author’s oeuvre or the fairy tale tradition that inspires it. And knowing the capitalist villains (or the romantic subplot) were coming from the get-go didn’t prevent the plot from having enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and prevent the individual beats from getting too predictable. I did find the asides jarring at times, with plenty of shade aimed at suburban white couples—including a wrongheaded swipe at foster parents—in a story that spends very little time in suburbia, but some of that may be on me as a reader. They fit well enough within the lead’s general attitude that it’s hard to say they’re out-of-place in a first-person narration, but once I noticed how often Harrow includes these asides, I started seeing them everywhere, to the detriment of immersion.

Overall, I expect reactions to Starling House to fall very much in line with reactions to Harrow’s previous work. Those who demand moral complexity or want to be surprised about who is good and who is evil will find themselves frustrated—as will readers looking for a true horror novel—while those who let themselves sink into the lead’s perspective and come along for a thrilling tale of a small town’s dark secrets will have plenty to love. But even if there were moments where I wanted a little more complexity or subtlety, I thought the rich setting, engaging narrative voice, and exciting plot were enough to make this an excellent read.

Recommended if you like: towns with dark secrets, villains getting comeuppance, scrappy leads, Gothic settings, romantic subplots.

Overall rating: 17 of Tar Vol’s 20. Five stars on Goodreads.

This was a fun spooky read. I enjoyed the world building and the past informing the present in the story. I could have used a bit more character development but overall, I liked it.

Starling House is a gothic fantasy story about a house and the people that come into its life. The main character, Opal, is a young adult trying to raise her brother and make ends meet in a small town. The town has never accepted her, or her brother. But all Opal cares about is getting her brother out and settled into a better life.

Except she dreams of the Starling House, a house that is empty except for its mysterious heir. Her dreams combine with a children’s storybook. The author built Starling House and then mysteriously disappeared. But Opal can’t seem to resist the pull and takes a job as a housekeeper in the house that never seems to stay the same.

Starling House is the perfect fall read. It is the right level of mystery and mysticism with a mild dose of romance that even I can get behind. I loved the writing and the solid characters. I was hooked from the moment that I picked up the book until the end. I’m not sure I liked the ending, but I do think it fit and was well written. The story really is more about the journey to reach the conclusion.

This is a book that I see myself picking up to reread next fall.

Starling House is the one house in Eden, Kentucky, that everyone avoids. There are many rumors about the house and its inhabitants, but no one seems to know what really goes on behind its doors. Opal knows something about avoidance, because people avoid her too. She is a high school dropout whose only goal is to take care of her brother Jasper and get him far away from Eden. When Opal is offered a job as a housekeeper at Starling House, she accepts, not only to make extra cash, but because she has dreamed of Starling House for as long as she can remember, even though she has never been inside. I really enjoyed Opal's journey in this story, which had many twists and turns. It was very atmospheric and moody and will stay with me for a while.

There is nothing better than a perfect blend of gothic fantasy set in an atmospheric small town plagued with mystery and drama rooted from its oppressive history; add to that a perfectly woven plot of family legacy and romance --- Starling House is a recommended book for fans of Mike Flanagan and Guillermo Del Toro's works.

Hugo-award winning Alix E. Harrow pens one of her best books to date, with a prose that pierces with unwavering honesty. If there's any book that captures her skills as an outstanding storyteller, it's Starling House.

Book Summary:

Opal has always been a little bit fascinated by the Starling House. Maybe it's because it felt like a kindred spirit. Both she and the house are looked down upon and shunned. Or maybe there's something more compelling lurking under those neglected shutters.

When given the opportunity to work within the house, Opal knows she can't say no. Not only will this be a chance to see inside – but she desperately needs the money. But by entering the grounds, she'll kick off a strange and deadly series of events.

My Review:

If you're looking for a spooky book to absolutely fall in love with, check out Starling House! I've been a fan of Alix E. Harrow's work for a while, but I was blown away by what unfolded within these pages.

Okay, I may be a bit biased. I'm a little obsessed with all things sentience house. By that, I mean I love it when a house (or building) has opinions. And boy, does the Starling House have opinions. Throw in two complex character backgrounds, and it's no wonder I fell in love.

Admittedly, getting to know Opal and Arthur takes some time. It takes a little bit longer to love them, but I was hooked by the end. I enjoyed reading their interactions and found myself trying to put the puzzle pieces together before the grand reveal.

Starling House had everything I was looking/hoping for. It's compelling, has strong dark academia vibes, and even a romantic fantasy element. It's perfect.

Highlights:
Gothic Horror
Living House
Buried Secrets
Romantic Fantasy

Trigger Warnings:
Classism, Racism
Slavery

"But Starling House was no longer just a house. What had begun as stone and mortar had become something more, with ribs for rafters and stone for skin. It has no heart, but it feels; it has no brain, but it dreams." —Starling House, Alix E. Harrow

I've read a lot of fantastic books this year and while I've found a myriad of new favorites, there is something to be said for the way this story has made itself a cozy little home in my heart, the way it's lingered in the back of my mind in the time since l've read it.

Starling House is the story of a girl whose life has been built on survival, stubbornness and spite, forced to grow up too soon. It is the story of a boy who wanted to grow flowers but was handed a sword instead, burdened by duty, plagued by loneliness. It is the story of how they found their way to each other. It is the story of a small town desperate to turn a blind eye to the horrors born of the sins of its past, and the lies they're willing to tell themselves to mollify the truth and alleviate their guilt. It is a story about generational trauma and bigotry. It is a story about desperation and perseverance, a story about anger, about daring to wish in spite of circumstances and in spite of yourself. It is a story about the family, and the home, we choose.

Outstanding in its duality, it is whimsical, atmospheric and achingly romantic, yet so brutal, monstrous and ugly in all its harsh, laid-bare-truths. With characters so raw and full-fleshed, a story so beautifully and cleverly written, a plot so delicately crafted, Starling House is truly a marvelous feat of storytelling.

I genuinely struggle to give words to the vast range of emotions that this story has coaxed out of me, but I hold on to the hope that the sincerity with which I share my love for this book comes across palpably clear.

I loved this book!
Alix Harrow is a great storyteller and she created an intricate and immersive plot with such lyrical sentences and descriptions. The gothic atmosphere was dark and mysterious and it drew me in. The pacing was slower but that led to a build up of tension that made the twists more impactful. The characters were interesting and Opal was a really complex and well developed main character.

This book was dark, magical, and perfect for spooky season!

Such a wonderful book, I enjoyed every second of Starling House. Gothic horror fantasy may now be my absolute favorite genre ever. I will be putting this on my list of books that I listen to on repeat over and over again, I don't think it will ever get old. The atmosphere that Alix E. Harrow created gives the perfect spooky fall vibes and this was exactly what I wanted for October.

I loved this book. It had just the right amount of gothic horror mixed with small town mysteries and touches of Underland.
This book really scratched the itch I needed for spooky season without being to gore heavy. To put it simply, this book was darkly enchanting.

I really enjoyed the writing overall. On a sentence level, the descriptions were very well done. Opal's character was also written well.

My only critique is the end; I would've liked more time/more information about Underland. Other than that, though, it was a great book. I love when books incorporate footnotes, so that was a pleasant surprise.

I ended up buying the book as well.

Alix E. Harrow’s Starling House is many things: A ghost story, a romance, a family drama, a haunted house saga, an exploration of rage and exploitation. It’s a perfect read for Fall, full of dark shadows and foreboding vibes, a story about the monsters that lurk in imagined places and those that exist in the harsh light of the real world. It’s about lost people and broken places, and the longing for a place to belong.

Its style is perhaps best described as a cozy horror—there’s nothing too scary about the book in terms of blood or gore, though several people are killed over the course of the story. The setting is perhaps its most disturbing aspect, mixing familiar everyday elements of dying former industrial towns across America with the unsettling sort of supernatural activity that hints at darker forces at work in the land than most of us would recognize.

Starling House is not only the name of Harrow’s novel, but one of its major characters, an occasionally sentient seeming dwelling that’s Eden’s most notorious residence. The stories and legends about the House, as well as its long string of owners and the various tragedies that have befallen them, are known to most in town, used as favorite ghost stories and cautionary tales, and often seen as proof of the wrong done by a variety of rich people who never truly fit in among the poverty-stricken community. Like many Southern-tinged Gothic tales before it, Starling House deftly uses its setting to explore the monstrousness of poverty, and the ways that those with means are willing to exploit those without the basic resources to resist them.