I had a hard time with this audio because of the narrator reading the footnotes which disrupted the plot a bit. I’m not one for reading footnotes in general and I get distracted easily if the audiobook isn’t entertaining with a vivid plot. By having the narrator read these during the plot, it distracted me too much to enjoy this and I DNF’d at 40%. I will try to read a physical or ebook copy instead. But if you like audio, mind the footnotes being read too.

Starling House was a delight! I've absolutely flat-out ADORED Harrow's short fiction, but I came away from my first encounter with a long-form work of hers (Ten Thousand Doors of January) mostly liking it but with some mixed feelings. Starling House coheres better and the pacing works better for me than it did in TTDoJ. I had trouble putting this one down and I really relished the mythic elements. I appreciated that while there is a relationship that might become romantic, it isn't insta-love and it doesnt become the sole focus of the main character's world; her close relationship with her brother gets equal billing. She also comes to appreciate a relationship she hadn't realized was found-family parental until the events in the book. (Speaking of whom, I was quite invested in / touched by a relationship between two side characters and would love to read a spin-off story about them.)

I liked the highlighting in the story of what living with poverty and barely getting by looks like, with the one caveat being that at some point lines like "not for someone like me / for people like us" got a bit repetitive.

The narration for the audiobook is excellent!

Alix E. Harrow is one of my favorite authors of all time. How does she just keep getting better and better?!

Starling House was probably my favorite book she's written so far. Combine a small town with a big Evilcorp and an old ghost story, the big sister who will do ANYTHING and cross any line for her sibling, with an enemies to lovers romance that just makes sense? Alllllll the things I love. Seriously, the big sister trope is MY JAM.

Unfortunately this dreaded app deleted my longer review, but suffice to say this is in my top 5 books of 2023.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a story set in Eden, Kentucky; a town with a dark, haunting history complete with a forbidding mansion, meddling corrupt town members, and deliciously real characters. Harrow is able to blend gothic horror, modern fantasy, romance, and fairytales into an almost familiar yet classic feeling story.

The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus, who did a fantastic job. With wonderful pacing and character distinction, she really brought the story to life.

You may like this book if you enjoy found family, stubborn protagonists, and all the fall spooky vibes.

Unfortunately Starling House, for me, goes in the "I'm never going to finish this" pile.

I found the characters to be so surface level, the mystery of the house is equally surface level to me, and the pacing just felt very off. I made it roughly 25% of the way into the book and it feel like it was just dragging on. At that point there still was not enough for me to hook my interest into continuing with this story so I put it down and after two weeks I still had no desire to continue.

Additionally, there was nothing significant enough to hold within my memory either? only two weeks had passed (and I remember stories very well) and I honestly could not have told you what had happened in the first 100 pages if you paid me.

Starling House was an unfortunate no for me but I really did enjoy this others other book The Ten Thousand Doors of January! So if gothic mysteries aren't your vibe I would certainly check out her other works.

Thank you Netgalley for the ALC

This is a beautiful story. The layers of this plot, the gothic elements, the depth of the characters all create an atmospheric novel. The premise of this novel is also one that I've never encountered before. Great read!

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillion Audio for an ALC copy of this much anticipated novel!

First, as this is an audiobook, I need to comment on the narrator. I'm almost positive I've had her narrate several things in the past and she's one of my favs! She's so easy to listen to and is an all around excellent storyteller.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORED IT. I loved the world building, the humor (I giggled quite a few times), the banter, the relationships between everyone....

It's truly going to be a favorite of 2023, no doubt.

This was an overall miss for me. I wanted to like it and I tried extremely hard to get into it (I read the first several chapters 3x), but it fell short of enjoyment. First, the audiobook had absolutely no business being 12.5 hours long when the physical copy is only 320 pages, no matter what speed you listen. Second, the not all of the footnotes add direct value to the present narrative so it’s very irritating to be pulled out of the story because the audio forces the reader through them. Third, it continuously flipped between interesting and unbearably boring so the pacing was off. Last but not least, it would have been a better read without the romance subplot—and that’s coming from an avid Romance genre reader.

I liked the setting but questioned why no one had any drawl to their accent whatsoever? The reveal keep reading to the end but honestly I’m a bit disappointed in it for the eons it took to get there. I wanted more gothic atmospheric vibes, more from the house, more from the monsters… everything was a good idea but the execution left me wanting.

This was such an unusual read. I think another reviewer described it as a “gothic fairytale,” which sounds on point. The narrator and her brother live in a motel in a a sad little town. The mysterious Starling House is the cause of most rumors in town. As with rumors, there is always a little truth in these. As the story progresses you find out more about the Starling and Gravely families and a history of bad behavior that has haunted the town for hundreds of years. It was such a unique, refreshing tale. Bravo!!

What an absolutely beautiful, hilariously narrated, low key spooky but not scary book with found family, a self-actualization journey, a slight hint of romance, a haunted house, and multiple forms of representation in the cast of characters.

I loved Opal's narrative voice (and the audiobook narrator did a great job!) and having the chance to read from her mind, but also getting some POV of the MMC was really cool!

I can tell you right now, I don't ever want to step foot inside Starling House, but I will read this book again and again just to remind myself of it.

I devoured this. I am a huge fan of southern gothic vibes in books and this had everything I need to give just those vibes.

Every time I thought I had it figured out, I didn’t.

Recap:

if you like
- found family
- haunted houses
- lightly spooky southern gothic vibes
- peace by taylor swift

then i recommend this book!

Thank you SO much to Netgalley & Macmillan for providing me this early review copy!

I loved parts of Starling House.

The story starts strong, with all the spooky vibes of a gothic novel. I felt the tension, and the questionable activity within the house had me on edge.

Then we veered into a lot of drama with a YA vibe, as well as a budding love/hate romance. I wanted more of the claustrophobic gothic feel, more about what was going on within the house, and less of the dramatics.

The final quarter ramps up the pace and creepiness, providing a wild ride to the end.

The overall focus was on elements of family, belonging, and finding your place in the world, which was fine, but not the gothic tale I was expecting. I’m not sure it all quite fit together for me.

Natalie Naudus, the narrator, did an excellent job and kept me fully engaged throughout.

*On a side note, this story incorporates footnotes, which jarred me out of the story each time and didn’t add enough substance to make a difference.*

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free download!

This is a well written book full of pathos, a bit of mystery, some supernatural dealings, and a main character who is neither stupid nor helpless. The action flows smoothly and all the characters have realistic motivations for what they do. I especially appreciated that no one was overidealized and that the romance had a good pace.

Story: Opal lost her mother when young and now, in her late 20s, does whatever she can to raise her much younger brother alone. It isn't easy being from the wrong side of town and living in a motel under the charity of one of her wild mother's friends. But what is important to Opal is that she gets her brother out of their small town of Eden, Kentucky, to a place his talents can shine. But Opal has always been haunted by the car accident that took her mother's life and nearly cost her her own. Worse, she always dreams about the mysterious Starling House. When fate brings her a chance to make more money by working there, she will find that there is much more to her dreams than she ever suspected.

I really liked the main character, Opal. She is nuanced - not a perfect person and with a past of doing what it takes to survive: whether shoplifting, fast talking, and scrabbling to find funds for food and necessities. The characters around her are similarly nuanced with both good and bad traits that make them human. Romance interest Arthur is more periphery in the story and is not there to save Opal. He is dealing with his own past and demons (literal and figurative) and has a hard time relating to tough as nails Opal as a result. There is no instaluv here and we can understand fully what draws the two together.

The book is nicely atmospheric and everything you would expect from a Southern Gothic. There is a bit of the horror but not so much that it is terrifying or gory. The supernatural elements are reserved more for the end of the story and therefore don't upstage the characters at any point. The pacing moves well and the ending is satisfying. Both Opal and Arthur are characters for whom you want to cheer and root. Arthur gets some POVs but for the most part, this is really Opal's story.

In all, a great read. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did an excellent job of fleshing out the story. I would have wished she had a Kentucky accent but in all it was a quality narration well worth the listen. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a hauntingly beautiful gothic fantasy with a unique world with the right balance of wonder and eerie. This world beyond a world is navigated by a unique heroine that is vulnerable and honest in a relatable way, that you cannot help but imagine her flaws as your own. Harrow’s unique narrative structure goes hand-in-hand with her prose, allowing for the reader to trust her on this journey to unlock the questions of the enigmatic Starling House. Natalie's narration style and pitch was perfect for this story, adding to the gothic aesthetic of Starling House.

Opal and her brother, Jasper are a couple of orphaned kids from the wrong side of the tracks. Opal has raised her brother ever since their mom died in a car accident and she's been working hard to save enough to get Jasper into a good school to have a better life.

Starling House is a place surrounded in mystery, town lore, and dark mists. Opal has been obsessed with it her whole life. Then one night she sees a young man behind it's gates who gives her the opportunity to change things.

Gothic and atmospheric, this book was full of all the things I like about the genre: ghosts, monsters, brooding men, and an angsty protagonist. I loved the Lore surrounding Starling House, and the creepy children's book written about it (reminiscent of Shea Earnshaw's A History of Wild Places).

For the most part I liked everything pretty well. Opal's angst wasn't too petulant, the broody Arthur was very dramatic. It was good moody fun.

Unfortunately in having to listen to this by audiobook, the intimacy scene wasn't so easy to skip over. It also occurs to me that it was entirely unnecessary to the plot or romance of the book to have the main players sleep with one another. .

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in advance.

I felt the production quality was outstanding, the narrator did a great job keeping clear who was speaking. I was impressed that the inclusion of footnotes in this book didn't detract from the narration, and pleasantly surprised at the mild academia vibes it inspired in the general atmosphere of the novel itself.

I don't feel this accomplished horror, but I don't think it was necessarily meant to either, in the same sense that vampire novels aren't horror novels at their heart. It had spooky elements, and paranormal inclusion, without pushing to be horror. A nice blend of YA tropes in a gothic backdrop. I loved the characters and how central this "haunted" house was to the story, to the point it felt like its own character.

I look forward to adding more by this author into my rotation.

Not a perfect five star for me, but very close. I have a hard time relating to a character who is intended to be very strong willed, but who consistently flounders when making choices. If she can't leave, and fears drawing attention to her false identities, why risk such petty crimes so often?

Even so, I enjoyed the harmless criminal part of her personality to not be overly put out by it.

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.

4 out of 5⭐ for a riveting plot that would have been better suited had the setting been elsewhere.

Starling House is a gothic fantasy novel that centers around two siblings doing their best to stay afloat in a fictionalized Eden, Kentucky--a community that does not want them there.

The citizens of Eden are submerged in a world of keeping up appearances; the misery of life is ignored, forgotten, or outright erased from the minds of the public at large.

Opal and Jasper, constant reminders that the tragedies of life exist in Eden as much as anywhere else, are pariahs of their own making: Opal refuses to blend in and Jasper can't. Orphaned when Opal was a teenager and Jasper a wee child, Opal's entire life beyond that point has orbited around the need to take care of Jasper on her own--at the expense of her reputation and the luxury of moral fiber. When she sees the opportunity to fully pay for Jasper's admittance to an out of town private school, she barely hesitates to take up on it even though it's money from someone with a reputation more notorious than hers.

Since childhood, Opal's barely restrained an unseemly obsession with the notable Starling House, a property everyone in Eden wishes would be swallowed by a sinkhole, and when desperation pushes her to unleash her curiosity, she lands herself a job there as housekeeper for its sole occupant, Arthur Sterling. If she can manage to keep it, the job will provide Jasper a way out within months, and, despite the prickly nature of her boss, Opal's obsession blooms into full on love for the house as she brings it back to life bit by bit--lulling her into the sense that maybe she belongs there.

But Starling House, and its owner, has deep secrets. Secrets that could destroy Starling House. Secrets that will destroy the town of Eden if Opal doesn't help Arthur Starling bring the truth to light.

And you can't have a home if it's gone.

I really enjoyed the story and found myself invested in it immediately. The audiobook was an utter delight to listen to and made the 4th Wall bending footnotes very entertaining and more poignant.

Love, and the lack of, it is a central theme to the novel; love, in all of its manifestations, enhances the plot and moves it forward in delicate, winding fashion. The romance between Opal and Arthur Starling is a tender slow burn filled with sparks as it goes from matchstick flame to a well lit fireplace that will make your heart skip while the love of the found family with in the novel will warm it. Starling House is a prime example of how intricate to life love, in any form, is.

The only critique I have for the novel is that it would've been better served being set somewhere in Europe rather than the Southern US due to the complex mixture of the active presence, and the lack of it, of racial diversity in relation to its historical precedence within the narrative.

I’ve never read this author, but I was looking for an audio to listen to and review and this cover is gorgeous, so, I requested it and ended up really enjoying it. It’s not like gross horror… I could definitely visualize Starling House and it’s filth, I could certainly feel the tension in this town and the love between Opal and her brother. I enjoyed the lesser characters like the librarian and motel owner and I felt very connected.
And, while the house itself and the misters are scary, that small town energy of gudginess and disgust toward poverty and outsiders is what REALLY felt gross and accurate to me. The villains of these big companies out for greed instead of helping small town America is REAL. And those aspects are what really sold this book for me.
This audio is well done and this book def has some good vibes for a fall release. Spooky and mysterious but not like overly horror.

Starling House was riveting and magical! Perfect for spooky season or any time life could use a little creepy magic, sarcasm, and a eerily haunted house.

Opal needs to take care of her brother. What she wants isn't important. It can't be.

But she also dreams of Starling House, an eerie house surrounded by rumors and an iron-clad gate. When Starling House becomes her path to getting what she needs, could she also get what she wants?

The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus, my absolute favorite narrator! She breathes life into every character, especially Opal.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alix Harrow for providing an advanced audiobook version

Eden, Kentucky is not a lucky town for anyone. It's even unluckier for Opal, a cynical orphan who works part-time as a cashier and attempts to raise her baby brother Jasper. But Eden, Kentucky has more than just bad luck, it has the Starling House. Former home of morbid children's author E. Starling, the Starling house is far more than just an imposing Southern Mansion. It's a current resident Arthur is a mystery into himself. Opal has dreamed of the Starling House for most of her life, and when given the opportunity to work at it, she jumps at the chance to see inside, and the money it will provide. Unbeknownst to Opal, Starling House is far more than a vaguely decrepit mansion and has its own host of nightmares seeking the light.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Starling House, it's the southern gothic fairytale that I have been craving. Filled with complicated and often morally grey characters. Opal is a fantastically complicated character, filled with an incredible amount of sarcasm, and a surprising amount of compassion. Compared to Arthur who is mysterious to his core, and makes for a brilliant gothic romance companion. Bonus points for having a Hellcat in the story too. And I would be remiss if I did not mention Starling House itself, no good Gothic story is complete without a mansion. This one just happens to be sentient. The whole story oozes with atmosphere, and I can almost smell the hot summer nights in Eden, Kentucky. Nights filled with an eerie, unexplainable mist with hints of honeysuckle. An excellent read for the spooky season. Filled with the perfect combination of the unearthly and moments of coziness, the Starling House should immediately go on your TBR for October.

Starling House is a beautiful gothic fairytale. The moments in the mansion were dark, somewhat cozy, and atmospheric. I didn’t expect to love this novel as much as I did. I have enjoyed Harrow’s previous works but this is definitely the author at her best. The dual points of view, both from Arthur in third person and Opal in first, were masterfully used, with both of them being incredibly addicting for the reader.
Harrow’s world-building was also best it’s been. She has taken her craft, which was elevated in a Splinted Spindle, up a notch crafting a creepy and mythical Underworld with Gaiman-esque nods.
If you were a fan of V.E. Schwab’s Gallant or Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, you need to pick up this book for the perfect fall-themed fantastical read.

All Opal wants its to ensure that her 16 year old younger brother, Jasper, can get out of their deadbeat town Eden, Louisianna. To help make additional money to send him to private school, she starts working as a housekeeper to Starling House and its sole inhabitant, a gaunt young man, Arthur Starling. Arthur is a gaunt, sullen, young man who the town has always gossiped about as a troubling and unfeeling human. It’s rumored he didn’t even cry when he found his parents, dead, when he was only a kid.
But if she’s being honest with herself, it isn’t just the money that drew her there. It was the never-ending dreams about the mansion she’s been having since she was 12. As she starts her work, she feels the mansion come to life under her care.
In a parallel perspective, Arthur isn’t sure why he let Opal start to work for him. Maybe it was his ever-ending loneliness. Maybe he didn’t have much of a choice as the House seemed to be calling to Opal. Regardless of the reason, Arthur is barely staying alive as the Warden of Starling House, who is tasked to slay the creatures that come at dusk in order to keep them from roaming into town.
As Opal and Arthur spend more time together, the stakes start heightening. The Gravely family, which owns most of the town, is trying to get onto the Starling House acreage to expand, blackmailing Opal for her cooperation. Meanwhile, the mist brought on by the creatures is increasing. Together Opal and Arthur are working to keep the house functioning and the creatures from coming in. Despite the Underworld having some other plans.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced audiobook copy for my honest review