𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭!

I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January and fell in love with Alix E. Harrow writing style, I knew this story would be special and I wasn’t wrong. It was magical, captivating and spectacular. A gorgeous Gothic love story that will capture your heart. All the stars.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 by Alix E Harrow releases October 3, 2023.

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲?

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Alix just keeps getting better. This is the perfect fall read! I just reviewed Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I liked the concept of this book and have even seen it listed on a lot of upcoming "horror" release lists. This one unfortunately ended up not being for me, as I found the story a struggle to get through and I didn't love the writing.

Things were drawn out more than they needed to be, especially for how predictable I found this story. I seem to be an outlier for not absolutely loving this book but it didn't move the needle for me as an audiobook.

Check this one out if you like gothic romance, light horror, and spooky houses!

**Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this title!**

This book was absolutely incredible. It just hit the spot for me this season in that it's hauntingly eerie without being scary or gory. It's definitely a spooky season winner for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

I didn't end up loving this book as much as I wanted to but it was still a good book. Starting off with the narration. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed the narrator and felt like it really brought a lot to the story listening to it.

First the bad: The writing of this book was good but a little flowery for me. If that's your thing I think you will really enjoy this author. The main character was a little bit annoying and the character arc felt a little bit forced. The book dragged on at times. It felt several hours too long and I would find my self drifting away from the story at times. It didn't completely grip me and I was not constantly wanting to pick it up to jump back into the story.

All that said it was a very good story and concept. Very eerie and had a lot of heavy emotion involved. The imagery was well done and Eden really came to life and the characters were well developed. There's a lot of depth to the storyline and, while I wouldn't say there are twists, I couldn't exactly predict where the story was going to go. Developing the lore and the story at the same time takes talent and that held through the entire book.

Overall I would read more from this author and I think this book is well done and would definitely be a five star to the right reader but it had some issues for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Meet Opal. Orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier. She’s determined to make a better future for her smart brother, Jasper. So when she lands a gig as a housekeeper for the eccentric man who lives in Starling House, she’s wary, but also can’t say no to the money. Also, she’s obsessed with The Underland and its msyterious author, E. Starling, who went missing over a hundred years ago. Winwin, right? But as she digs deeper into Starling House and finds sinister forces at work, she’ll have to fight.

I LOVED Once and Future Witches, and nothing can really live up to that for me. With that in mind, I really enjoyed Starling House. The narration was fantastic, and it made my walks with the dog I as pupsitting last month way more interesting. I love the pacing and the way the plot unfolds. The supporting characters shined just as brightly as Opal herself, and I loved discovering all the secrets with them. It’s definitely the quality I’ve come to expect from Harrow, and as usual, made me want to read whatever she comes out with next.

The print version is out on Tuesday, and the audiobook will definitely follow shortly, so check it out wherever you get your books.

This was absolutely amazing from Alix E. Harrow's beautiful writing to Natalie Naudus's phenomenal narrating. Starling House gripped me from the very first chapter and the audiobook let me really sink my teeth into the main story and the stories within the story.

Opal is a wonderful main character, determined and willing to do whatever she needed to take care of her little brother. Including take a job in a probably haunted house she's been having creepy dreams about. Arthur is a kind of pathetic disaster of a man. I love them both dearly. I am a bit obsessed with them to be honest. Starling House itself was probably my favorite character. I really loved the way it was trying to take care of the characters, even when Arthur didn't want to take care of it or himself,

Alix E. Harrow's writing never fails to pull me deep into her stories. Her books are always beautiful and atmospheric and Starling House is no different. I highly recommend for anyone looking for gothic fantasy that's horror- adjacent. And definitely check out the audiobook!

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a fantasy, gothic mystery perfect for your fall TBR. In true spooky fashion, this title is being released on October 3, 2023 and the audiobook will be available October 31, 2023 🗝️👻🧡

I was so intrigued by the description of this one and I’ve had The Once and Future Witches by this author on my TBR for far too long that I just had to request an ARC…only to get nervous and psych myself out about it being tagged as horror. I’m happy to report that this one is tame in that department, and more focused on the mystery of the house and the surrounding town. But if this ever became a movie it’d certainly scare me more than I care to admit 🙈The town felt like it belonged in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Starling House is also tagged as a romance, which lightens things up considerably. There are references to mythology and classic English literature.

I highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by Natalie Naudus. To me, it had the pace of a thriller type mystery, which is easy to consume and hard to put down. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and spooky all at the same time. No spoilers here, but I loved Arthur Starling- the intrigue surrounding him is intense for our main character- Opal and it’s easy to get sucked in alongside her.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars/ 5 stars)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Tor Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced audio version of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is quite the peculiar tale of an old magical gothic house and monsters and curses and how the worse monsters are actually and a town that might deserve to be cursed. It’s about Opal desperately trying to take care of her brother and Arthur desperately trying to keep the monsters and his guilt at bay. And it’s about the legacy of a woman that the world did wrong. Mostly it’s about find home I suppose... it’s about a lot of things it’s kinda mysterious there’s not much suspense or horror sure there are plenty of monsters some supernatural but mostly humans.

Opal is rather irritating and listing to this in audiobook form made the random footnotes were kind of annoying. It wasn’t a bad story just odd.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I have mixed feelings about Starling House. There were several elements I enjoyed and there were some elements I did not enjoy. There will be a lot of people who enjoy this book as I think it is a great title for getting into fall.

What I liked:

- The beginning! Starling House starts off with the mysterious elements that let you sink your teeth into the narrative. We’ve got a rural town that’s cursed by a haunted house. What’s not to like? I enjoyed the way the mystery of Starling House was set up.
- Jasper, Opal’s younger brother. Jasper is the most interesting character in the book and I wish we could have explored his character more. He’s easily the most fleshed out character with the most personality. It’s a shame he didn’t get more page time.
- Opal’s love for her brother and her determination to get Jasper out of Eden. Her love for him was very endearing and reminded me of the love I have for my younger brother.
- The audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus! Natalie is one of my favrorite audiobook narrator and I thought her performance was amazing.

What I didn’t like:

- Starling House feels underdone. The pacing was all over the place. Especially when Opal’s first person POV was interrupted by Arthur’s third person POV. It made the book feel like a 500 page book when in fact it is just over 300 pages.
- The gothic vibes? Starling House is marketed as a contemporary gothic (some even say horror?) and that is just not what the book was giving. The themes of Starling House were surely gothic but the atmosphere is more akin to a darker fairytale. The gothic themes and the fairytale atmosphere really impacted my enjoyment of this book.
- The “romance” between Opal and Arthur. Their relationship felt so unnecessary and didn’tt have a real impact on the story at large. There is no tension between Opal and Arthur due to some spoilers events I won’t include here but just know their romance doesn’t feel earned. It feels like it was written just for the sake of saying this book had a romantic subplot, albeit not a good one.
- Opal is a boring main character. She doesn’t have much of a personality beyond being cynical.

Right now I’m feeling like this book is sitting at a 3.5/5 but my rating might change upon further reflection. I feel like there were more interesting stories that could have been told about Starling House than the story we got.

This audiobook was absolutely perfect for another long drive this summer! The narrator (Natalie Naudus) nailed the balance between engaging enough to keep me entertained for 12 hours and soothing/level enough not to wake me if I nodded off. And although Harrow has said she intended the book to give spring/summer, I'm getting in the line of folks insisting it's giving autumn 😄 I mean, how could it not, considering one of the main characters is a spooky house with its own personality? It's also got a strong-willed, back-talking woman and a self-sacrificing disaster bi of a man — what more could you want?

Starling House is haunting and vulnerable and beautiful. I flew through the audio and when the book releases on October 3rd I will be tempted to take another journey through the pages with a copy of the physical book.

I stayed up all night finishing this.
I'm totally fangirling here.

Southern Gothic meets fairy tale

Opal loving and snarky red headed gal is raising her brother in a motel with very little income , she will do anything for her brother. She works double shifts and occasionally "borrows" things to get by.

Opal has crazy dreams, nightmares. Nightmares but familiar and cozy drawing her to the Starling house. With a sense of foreboding and intrigue she asks the owner if she could clean the house. He's not too keen on anyone coming in however the house likes her....

This is another one of my new favorites and favorites of the year. I'm going to read allll of Harrows books now.

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.

Grim and gothic is a perfect description of this book. I would most certainly not call this story scary however. A story about the lengths we would go through to save the ones we love. I enjoyed this story but it did remind me of another that I recently read. I do wish the author would have not have obsessed with Opal's crooked teeth ect. The house was my favorite character in this whole story. I would not call it sinister. It was a house alive and loved. Capable of loving. Overall, I was thankful for the chance to experience Starling House and all it's wonder.

4.25/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

This was exactly what I expected for the wonderful Alix E. Harrow - atmospheric, unique, horror-adjacent, and just spectacularly weird. The characters were interesting, the plot captivating, and you never really knew what was going to happen next. It drew you in with the mystery and kept you interested with the excellent writing and the need to know if your guesses were right.

Was I super surprised by how it ended? No - I don't think it was intended to be a great puzzle. It is an excellent example of a story laced with vibes and atmosphere, balanced with a fascinating urban legend and realistic characters. You could almost imagine this was a real town and a real house and that this really did happen in KY. You know people like those in this book and what makes it most shocking and creepy is it could be real - it's perfectly balanced and written and just an excellent read.

I really enjoyed this one, even if it isn't my normal sub-genre of fantasy. I think anyone looking for a fall time, Halloweeny read that thrives on vibes and atmosphere is going to LOVE this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an early copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Starling House by Alix E. Harrow will be released on October 31st, 2023.

Why haven't I read more of Alix's books? Starling House was such a good book to listen to, it entirely captivated me. There weren't a ton of huge plot twists, but the characters were so easy to connect with. You really want to see these characters succeed. The narrator was beyond amazing and was so easy to listen to.

This book has all the elements of a great 'haunted house' story. It has the outcast character who everyone fears, it has the unlikely girl defying all odds in her life and giving the outcast a chance. It has a house that communicates, that is haunted but not in a scary way.

And, of course, there is a bit of romance thrown in.

I didn't want the book to end, and will more than likely reread this one after it is released.

Fans of Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House and Hell Bent, meet your next must-read.

Honestly, I don't know why I sat on this one for so long. From the description alone, it has everything I want in a contemporary fantasy: Southern Gothic stylings, Children's books about portal worlds, surly narrators at the edge of society. Black Birds (/Stephon voice). I finally grabbed just around the time it was featured on the cover of the October Bookpage.

Prepare to be pulled in by the lush, descriptive prose, the mysterious and possibly nefarious characters, Opal's tragic backstory and opportunism; her utter disregard for (almost) everyone in her life except her brother, Jasper. I started reading this as a book, then grabbed the audiobook because I couldn't bear to put it down while driving or cooking, and then finished it late into the night in a marathon read session. ("Well, I'm at 73%, I can't stop now")

This is a fantasy that's built on common tropes yet bends it in a way that feels new. Different bits reminded me of so many of my favorites, from the aforementioned Bardugo titles to Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle to Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children to Kelly Link's Faery Handbag . And, NGL, at various points I pictured Arthur as Adam Driver. (Thanks, Ali Hazelwood!).

An new book becomes a favorite because it approaches you like an old friend. This felt familiar and fresh at the same time, and I hope it finds its niche with modern contemporary fantasy readers.

Perfect autumn dark vibes book. I love magic houses they're so fun. This book is full of creepy and mysterious

First of all, as a Kentuckian, I really appreciated the setting of this book. The geographical descriptions and locations mentioned were perfect. The author was able to perfectly encapsulate the small town KY feel.

The writing itself was very eloquent, but I did not love the storyline. It gave me vibes similar to that of a more grown-up version of Beautiful Creatures. My main issue with the characters is that they felt much younger to me than their given ages. The romance did not feel believable to me either.

It wasn’t my cup of tea, but I am in no way discouraging anyone who is interested in this book from reading it.

I found the story a bit meandering at times which is on brand for a Harrow novel.

I thought the premise was interesting and I wish the magical realism had been fully explored and expanded, rather than dialogue focused.