Perfect read for spooky season. It’s got magic and mystery like lightening in a bottle. It’s so nice to be able to read a fantasy novel for a change. I’m extremely excited to see what’s next.

Alix Harrow is an auto-buy for me because I absolutely love her writing and characters. This book was unlike other things she wrote in a few ways. Some of those ways I liked and other I didn’t.

The concept of the living house with its secrets and mysteries was fun and spooky and fit right in the gothic vein I love. However these books tend to be a tad on the slower side which means the characters usually have to do the heavy hitting in the beginning. I didn’t love the characters. They didn’t feel as unique as Harrow has been able to capture in her other books. There were a lot more of the stereotypical gender dynamics that show up in a lot of other mainstream books. In the past, Harrow’s books have stood out to me because those dynamics are NOT present. It made the book a little less compelling because I was as invested or in love with the characters as much.

Overall still a good read. I did the audiobook which was fine, but the narrator now narrates so many books that it also made it less of an individual experience. Probably 7 of the books I’ve listened to in the last year have been narrated by her so it becomes difficult to see this as a separate story. She does a fine job. But I think reading instead of listening would have made this experience more enjoyable.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was so so so good. The right amount of eerie and poetic, it is very low level thriller/spooky, but still meets exactly what you need from it. It was a mix of genres and toed the line easily between fantasy, thriller, and gothic horror.

This is going to be the PERFECT book for this Halloween season! I can’t wait to read it again!

I went into this book totally blind, only knowing I adored The Once and Future Witches a few years back. Looks like I need to read all of Harrow’s backlist now because Starling House was delightful. A perfect book for autumn! It is also the October pick for @reesesbookclub.

Harrow has written a gothic tale about small town secrets, greed, love, real life monsters, and a haunted house, of course. Opal and her younger brother are living in a motel room, trying to make ends meet after the death of their mother and do whatever it takes to get out of Eden, Kentucky. A too good to be true opportunity arises for Opal to clean Starling House, the mysterious estate with an even more mysterious caretaker, Arthur. The more time she spends at Starling House, the more secrets are revealed and against her better judgement, it begins to feel like home. Despite this feeling of home, Opal and Arthur are tasked with keeping the outside world safe from the house…or is it the other way around?

This reads like a dark fairytale and is perfect for those who don’t want anything too scary, but still crave a creepy atmosphere with some monsters thrown in. Harrow’s prose reeled me in right away and I truly loved all the characters, especially Bev and the moody Starling House itself.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric, eerie tale with a fairy tale vibe, Starling House will delight readers with its fantastical mysteries, subtle romance and heartfelt friendships.

Starling House is a beautifully written dark fantasy that feels almost like a fairy tale at times. In fact, it completely took me by surprise, with several elements that I wasn’t expecting, like a very sweet, low-key romance and an unusual house that is almost a character itself. It’s also fairly ambitious and felt a bit overcrowded at times, as the author didn’t always develop or explain certain plot elements to my satisfaction. Still, I ended up loving it with only a small reservation, so it was a win for me.

This is a hard story to sum up, so I’m just giving you the bare bones of the plot. The story takes place in a small, coal-mining town in Kentucky called Eden. Starling House, a mysterious and secluded house that was built by the late children’s author Eleanor Starling, is feared and avoided by many in town. Said to be haunted or cursed, it now sits empty, although now and then a light can be seen burning in an upstairs window.

Opal has lived in Eden her entire life and has weird dreams about Starling House, which is odd because she’s never been inside. One day she is drawn to its gates, and there she meets the current owner of the house, Arthur Starling. When Arthur asks Opal to come and work for him as a housekeeper—offering her a large sum of money—she immediately agrees. But getting to know Arthur is almost impossible. He’s grumpy and doesn’t seem to like Opal very much, and he’s obviously hiding something. Why is there a sword in Arthur’s bedroom? Where does the trap door in the floor lead to, and where is the key? And why does the house seem to be alive? The hallways change randomly, and Opal seems to be able to “communicate” with it.

When an outsider asks Opal to spy on Arthur and threatens her younger brother Jasper if she doesn’t, Opal knows she must protect Jasper at all costs. But the mystery of Starling House is calling to her, and the fate of Eden might depend on Opal and Arthur working together to save it.

Starling House is full of eerie ambiance, mostly due to Harrow’s skillful and descriptive writing. She has taken the fictional town of Eden, a sad, dying town that used to be famous for having the biggest power shovel in the world, and incorporated its history into the drama surrounding Arthur and Starling House. Part of that drama hinges on the owners of the coal mine, the Gravely brothers, and how their lives intertwined with Eleanor Starling and those that came after her. I loved the gothic tone of the book, especially the scenes that take place inside the house, and near the end of the story when things get a little weird, that gothic feel comes into play in a big way.

Harrow adds an interesting dynamic by making Opal and Jasper homeless, which gives the story an almost Dickensian feel. Opal is twenty-seven and Jasper is seventeen, and their mother died under suspicious circumstances eleven years ago. Opal’s minimum wage job at Tractor Supply barely pays for food, so the two live rent free in the Garden of Eden Motel, Room 12, courtesy of the owner, a brash but kind woman named Bev. Opal is determined to get Jasper out of Eden, so she’s been squirreling away money to pay for a private school, although surprise, surprise, that idea blows up in her face later on. When she meets Arthur, his reluctant kindness surprises her, and Harrow adds some sweet touches to the story that melted my heart (the wool coat!)

As for Opal, she’s sort of a tough cookie and not very loveable, although she’s tough because homelessness has made her tough. She shoplifts and even steals candlesticks and silverware from Starling House when she starts working there (to hawk on eBay), and despite her prickly personality, I felt for her and Jasper. Her two closest friends, Charlotte and Bev, are important to her, and even when they’re all sniping at each other, you can tell deep down they love each other. I really liked Opal despite the negatives, and I especially liked her when she interacted with Arthur.

Which brings me to the romance. Harrow’s story is almost a Beauty and the Beast retelling, because Arthur is described (multiple times) as “ugly.” But when they meet, you can almost hear the connection between the two crackle, it’s so well written. Arthur is a grumpy man with a lot on his plate (I won’t tell you everything because it’s fun to uncover the mystery yourself), but he meets his match in Opal, who refuses to do anything she’s told. Little by little, his defenses against her break down, and the resulting slow-burn romance is as sweet as anything I’ve read.

Then there is the mystery of what Arthur is doing at Starling House and the burden he’s put on himself to protect the town of Eden from what lies beneath the house. This is the part that felt like a fairy tale to me, the knight tasked with protecting his people, and it was very cool. Arthur’s “wardenship” is also tied to Eleanor Starling and her famous children’s book, The Underworld, and I loved the way the book and the house, fantasy and reality, are tangled together.

There are a couple of negatives, but first I want to say how gorgeous the finished hardcover is. There are illustrations throughout that remind me of the illustrations in the Wayward Children books, and that cover is simply stunning. Strangely enough, Harrow uses footnotes in her story, although there aren’t very many, thankfully. I’m still not sure why she included them, or if they were necessary at all.

I believe the author was trying to address racism, since she mentions slaves in the early days of the mine. Opal is described as a fiery red headed beauty, but Jasper is bullied because of the color of his skin, although I never caught specifics about his ethnicity. Did Jasper have a different father from Opal? If so I missed it, and I felt overall the remarks about race weren’t fleshed out enough to make a real impact. 

But those issues aside, Starling House was an immersive read that captured my imagination. It might not be my favorite of Alix E. Harrow’s books, but I’m so glad I had the chance to read it.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I was so excited for the vibes in this book, and when it came to the house they didn't disappoint. I didn't love the romance or the character-work, which was a bit shocking for me. I know I'm in the vast minority here, and I'm glad so many others are finding the Autumnal/wintery haunted house book of their dreams in this.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is one of my top 10 favorite books of all time, which for a bookseller is a big deal. I ultimately didn't connect with Harrow's followup book, so I was cautiously optimistic about this one.
I loved it.
I ended up listening and reading via an ARC and ALC and I throughly enjoyed both formats. The story is rich and complicated and sad and sweet and a dozen other things that will leave you feeling achy and entranced. Once again Harrow does a good job of acknowledging issues like racism and classicism, going as far as to include them as a crucial part of the mythology of the story.
It feels a tiny bit like The Hazel Wood (book) meets The Resort (tv show).

What I liked: THIS STORY, oh my goodness. This is just going to be incoherent rambling, and I can confidently say Alix E. Harrow has gained a fan for life. I absolutely loved the sentient house at the heart of this story. I loved Opal and her stubbornness, her perseverance, and her desire to find a place that felt like home. I loved Arthur and his commitment to do right by the people around him, even when it felt impossible. Harrow’s construction of the town of Eden was complex and oftentimes terrible, the kind of horror that roots itself in reality and is truly terrifying. From start to finish, the atmosphere of this book was flawless: eerie and suspenseful and mysterious. And I am DYING to see what The Underland’s illustrations would look like. I am simply in awe.

What I didn’t like: ??? N/A

Overall: All of the stars, I highly recommend this for the love story, the important commentary, lovable main characters, and of course, Starling House itself.

Content warnings: racism (challenged), mentions of slavery, homophobia (challenged), classism (challenged), murder, death by car accident, death of parents

This gothic tale from Alix E. Harrow is now probably my favorite book written by her. Truly atmospheric, truly gothic, and such a human story of connection and compassion and love. I couldn't put it down.

The story follows Opal, a young person who hasn't had the easiest life. She lives with her young brother in a motel room her mother secured for them before she died. Opal tries her hardest to make ends meet by taking odd jobs and working at the Tractor Supply, eating gas station pizza and packets of instant ramen, lying and cheating and stealing as much as she can without getting caught, and saving each and every penny she made to give her brother a better life. For Opal, there was no room for dreams, for laughter, for ease. It was work hard or starve.

That is, until one day she walked by the Starling House; an old 19th century mansion in the middle of town with tall brick walls and an iron-barred gate. It's a very famous house where the famous author, Eleanor Starling, lived and wrote her children's book, The Underland. It also happens to be a house Opal has dreamed about since she was a kid.

From there starts the story of Opal, Arthur, and this house. The characters of this story are probably the main component that pulls you in. Yeah, the house is atmospheric with its gothic details and a resident that reminds you more of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. There's the mystery of what could be crawling out from the house, the mist, the way people end up dead or missing from the town, and the questions of how everything connects to each other.

You definitely get the answers for those questions and along the way you get this creative backstory told through the stories of the people who grew up in the town, who's families were affected by the house. The book has a few footnotes spread throughout, which just gives you an idea of the dedication Alix E. Harrow has to her story; to blur the lines between real and fantasy and make you wonder if perhaps there really was a children's book author named Eleanor Starling and that perhaps the things she wrote were real.

But Opal and Arthur are the main components here and they share that deep connection of growing up way too soon and throughout the novel learn to heal those old childhood wounds. Which is what I loved about this book. I've read Alix E. Harrow's stories in the past and they've all been fine. But something about this book felt different. It was mature with a true grasp on the human condition and resonated so deeply in my bones that I nearly cried by the end. It's about the resentment we harbor for the things that caused us harm in the past and the strength to let them go in face of something worth fighting for. It's about finding the ability to dream again after years of living in reality and how some dreams never truly leave us. It's about finding home when you're physically homeless, but also emotionally and mentally homeless and it's about finding your people in the most unlikely of places.

I truly and absolutely loved this story. It had so much depth and so much to think about. It made you wonder if this is real or a fantasy. It brought that element of spooky and it made you care so deeply for these characters. It truly was such a delight to read. Can you say that about a gothic story?

A haunted house with secrets. A cursed town full of corruption. Monsters hiding the in mist. And a no nonsense dreamer searching for a home.

Harrow once again effortlessly creates characters and a world that pull you in from the first few pages. I found this take on the southern gothic horror story just the right amount of fantasy, romance, and spookiness. I did find one major plot line seemed unresolved at the end of the book, but I enjoyed my time spent in the pages of Starling House enough to forgive it… mostly.

Reading Starling House was truly a magical experience and if this doesn't end up staying my favorite book of 2023 I will be very surprised. I finished this a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it - seriously, I'm already itching to reread! Part haunted house story, part fairy tale with a bit of romance, Starling House is the perfect book to read this autumn, especially if you're looking for something that isn't too spooky.

Opal finds herself stuck in Eden, Kentucky, an old mining town with few opportunities and plenty of bad luck. She has little hope for herself, but has big dreams of helping her brother escape the town that looks down upon them. One night on her way home from work she passes by Starling House, the former home of E. Starling, a reclusive writer whose dark children's novel is still talked about to this day. Only tonight Opal glimpses a pale, ugly boy - Arthur, the current warden of Starling House.

I've read from Alix E. Harrow before and while I've loved her other works, nothing hooked me like Starling House did. She really brought this world and these characters to life with her writing. Opal wasn't a particularly lovable character and she made plenty of questionable choices, but I couldn't help but root for her. I thought the actual monsters of Underland were well done and the ending tied things up nicely.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for a review copy.

In a gothic novel centered around home, dreams, and revenge schemes, Starling House is more than just the crumbling mansion hidden in the woods of Eden, Kentucky. It also haunts the dreams of people without a home; in this case, those of an orphaned young woman doing her best to keep her brother safe, no matter how many illegal acts it takes. With the House haunting her dreams, she ends up in a housekeeper role for Arthur Starling, the strange lonely heir of the home.

I was drawn into the story immediately. Harrow's prose is evocative and Opal's voice is immediately clear to the reader. This book is a perfect spooky season read that kept me on edge waiting to see how the story would shake out.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.

If you’re looking for a spooky read for the upcoming spoopy season, but have a low tolerance for horror or anything that will actually scare you or keep you up at night, STARLING HOUSE is just the thing. Because it’s all mystery, it’s all eerie vibes, but never actually chilling or fully ominous. And yet I loved it anyway. Maybe it was the house? Maybe it was Opal’s jagged edges. Or Arthur’s reticence and loneliness. No, it was all of that.

So, like, I definitely forgot most of the synopsis — if I had even ever read it in full to begin with which is very much a thing I do (or rather, don’t do) — so I was a little surprised how this was actually playing out. But that made it all the more fun to experience.

This has stories within stories, myths surrounded by rumour, uncertainty and magic, monsters both human-shaped and otherwise. It had gorgeous family dynamics, both through blood and otherwise. It had Starling House (yes, worth the capitals) itself. It features a town with a history of skeletons in its closet (does this work? go with it) as well as present day tragedies — from the greed of men, from ignorance, from neglect — too. And so much more. This was romantic and sad and sweet and devastating and hopeful. It features the kind of characters who are underdogs, misfits, overlooked and trampled on, but who are more than the prickly protective layers they show to the outside world.

This was the first book to fully take me out of my head, to make me forget my phone, and lose track of time in.. I don’t even know how long. And though the ending is what is keeping this from a higher rating, I’m not really all that mad about how it wrapped. I maybe just wanted a little more. And maybe I wish I had been a little scared, too.

All that to say, STARLING HOUSE is absolutely a book I will come back to and I hope you give it a chance, too.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

I have no words. Alix Harrow knock it out of the park again. I am speechless and shall be processing this book for days. Everything about this book was amazing from the characters to the writing to the plot. The magic and the mystery woven together tell an amazing tale.

I couldn’t help but fall for this cleverly written, cozy horror-type novel that had chills running down my spine in one chapter and chuckling at the main characters and their complex relationships in the next. (And it made me 100% want to read all of Harrow’s books and add her as an auto-buy author! I absolutely adore her incredible writing and storytelling!)

In the small, isolated town of Eden, a large mansion overridden with forestry and sinister tales cautions outsiders from stepping past the gates of the infamous Starling House. No one goes in and no one comes out except for the mysterious family looking after the lands. When one lost girl crosses the threshold, dark horrors, buried secrets, and haunting tales from the past arise from within the walls of Starling House.

Part gothic horror tale, part contemporary coming-of-age story, and part investigative mystery, this book was everything I loved and didn’t know I needed in a story! I was wholly absorbed by it and the alluring enigma of Starling House.

I enjoyed how Harrow balanced the more spooky and unsettling aspects with light comedy and lovable characters. From the adorable, heartfelt sibling relationship to the memorizing, angsty love story (that grumpy and sunshine aspect!) to the sweet moments of friendship and self-discovery, I found this story quite endearing. It added to the overall feeling of cozying up on a dark fall night, reading a festive, spooky book, and falling into the story without it being too scary.

The symbolism of fables, fairytales, and folklore was also an aspect I loved! Harrow tied it in so well to the story, and I was completely enamored by its mystery.

I can’t help but gush about this book and how PERFECT it is for spooky season!

4.5/5

*Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A truly excellent read and the October release date for spooky season is so perfect. The magic system was unique and really well thought out and made a lot of sense to the reader. The characters were complex and likable and drew you into their world, life and problems very easily. The pacing was solid. Really is the perfect formula for a great read, which is exactly what this was. It was a great level of spooky for fantasy, especially as I am not a horror girl. Truly a nice, slightly dark gothic fall read. I personally really liked that it was heavier on the cozy and fantasy vibes than it was gothic and horror, but I know others didn't feel the same way.

This was fun the entire time and I truly had a great time. One of those books you can't book down and enjoy every minute of it.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

THIS is your spooky fall read!!! The perfect mix of Southern Gothic, horror, and romance, I loved every second of Starling House.

It is the story of a haunted house with a family of guardians that have guarded it and the land it's on for years. The small town where the house sits has all types of stories about the family that has lived there - none of them good. A chance encounter with the last heir of this mysterious family results in a job offer that our main character, Opal, cannot refuse and a series of events that leave her wondering if maybe she can forge a home for herself inside this eerie house.

This book is part Gallant, part The Inheritance Games, part Wolfwood, and a dash of Beauty and the Beast...maybe????? I mean, come on, Arthur is basically beast, right?!?!?!

Read this book if you like:
- spooky not scary
- family secrets
- sentient houses
- characters you want to root for

Starling House will be released October 3rd and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to Macmillan for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Welcome to Eden, Kentucky-a small, haunted town that is just bad luck. The town is only known for one thing: the legend of E. Starling. E. Starling was a reclusive author who disappeared in the 19th century and who was famous for writing as well as illustrating "The Underland." However, right before E. Sterling disappeared, the Starling House appeared which now lays in rot thanks to its last heir Arthur Sterling. But when it comes to our FMC, Opal, she finds an unexpected job offer that could get her brother out of Eden even though she knows she shouldn't mess and deal with haunted houses and brooding men.

Back in early 2021 I discovered Alix's books when I picked up The Once and Future Witches (I rated it 45 Stars) and ever since then I have picked up her books and have enjoyed them. So, you all can definitely imagine why I requested Starling House from NetGalley.

I have always found Alix's books to set a very atmospheric tone that draws you in. Alix does this with Starling House, which I really appreciate since she made me feel transported into an eerie and slowly dying town. You can just feel the bleak, eerie, and the something is not quite right vibes.

However, I did struggle with the pacing of the book and the plot. For me the hardest part was staying engaged with the story and that was because I really did not care that much about the characters since there was no connection between me and the characters.

With the plot, I definitely think it was interesting but due to the slower pacing it just made me overall become disengaged.

I do question myself over if I would have enjoyed starling House if I physically read it instead of listening to it on audio...

Many people will definitely enjoy this book more than me. I know that I gave this a 3-star rating, but it does not mean I loved it, nor does it mean I hated it. I just feel indifferent about it even though I had high hopes about loving this book.

But like I said many people will love this and this is definitely a perfect fall read. Pick up Starling House if you enjoy: creepy/eerie atmospheres/settings, gothic or horror books, beautiful prose, a mystery, and good world building.

Wow! Alix E. Harrow is really growing on me! Talking about fascinating and ominous plot that’s entirely eerie, grim, haunting yet very catchy!

Starling House was a story of a known haunted house- yes! Surprise! Surprise! - that was located in a small town of Eden, Kentucky. Opal was a high-school drop out and struggling young adult and knew that success and dreams were not for her who happened to grow up relying to only the talent of wit, lies, and stealing skills. She was raising her younger brother Jasper who on the other hand has dreams of going to college. By hook or by crook, Opal is going to make it happen. The small town gossip, folktale and other scary stories about the StarlingHouse told to kids and adults, always fascinated Opal wild enough to draw and lure her to trespass the forbidden and locked confines of the property and eventually met the warden Arthur who against his better judgement hired Opal to become the housekeeper. And yes, the door has finally opened for Opal and all the mystifying, dark, inauspicious and foreboding events that lead to unearthing long, hidden, ghastly and direful secrets.

This was a long book but so worth all the time to read! I enjoyed everything it offered. Perfect for a good Halloween vibe as it has all the fun we expect for a haunted house story with extra bewilderment to keep curiosities over the edge!

Special thanks to TOR Publishing/TOR Books via Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the review copies!