I love Alix Harrow's books, as a rule, and when I saw _Starling House_ on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it.

She doesn't disappoint. She is a beautiful writer, and paints a picture with words in a way I aspire to.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this fantastic alc!

4.5/5 stars rounded up!

I loved this! Creepy monsters? Check! Mysterious storybook? Check! A sentient house? Check! Surprise romance?! Double check!!

I've been wanting to read Alix E Harrows books for some time and I'm so glad I finally got to read one! This was just such a good story. The characters were all so rich and unique, and the character development that took place was also fantastic! I love the fantasy elements in this. Fantastic read!

Peak spooky season read! I really liked the concept of this book, and the character growth for Opal and Arthur. A mystical house that chooses its owner, underground beasts, an eerie mist, corrupt people, and grown up lost kids looking for a place to belong. Count me in.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I both loved and was frustrated by this book. I love descriptive language, but there was 60% too much in this book, to the detriment of the plot. I found myself wishing for more forward momentum and character development over floral language. All in all a fun title, but really could have used some trimming.

4.5 stars rounded up

A character-driven gothic tale about money, power, small town secrets, older sisters having to grow up too fast, and environmental damage in middle America, Starling House is at once disturbing and hopeful. And the titular Starling House is something like sentient, haunted not by ghosts, but by monsters and dark secrets. It is also a love story about two broken people finding home.

I'm a bit hit and miss with Alix E. Harrow, but I really liked Starling House. It's atmospheric with interesting secrets, but the foundation of the story is the main characters Opal and Arthur. The novel is set in small-town Eden, Kentucky where coal mines and the mysterious Starling House (former home of a reclusive author of a creepy children's book) are its only claim to fame.

Opal is 18 (maybe 19?) and living in a hotel room with her asthmatic teenage brother, struggling to make ends meet since their mom died and desperate to make a way for him to get out of town and have better opportunities. Which is why she takes a job cleaning at Starling House where only the young and brooding heir to the property now resides. But there are strange things about the house, dangerous secrets, and polished blonde businesswoman who will do anything to get her hands on them...

This was thoughtful and well-paced with characters who feel real even if the things happening around them might not be. A great book heading into fall. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Content warnings include grief, death, abuse, incest (attempted, not graphic or involving main characters), bloodletting, depressive episodes including with use of alcohol, drugging

Opal has lived a hard life in a decaying town in Kentucky. Through determination, work, and stealing, she kept things going for herself and her younger brother after her mother died. But in her dreams, she keeps seeing things in Starling House, a mansion in the town she’s never actually seen. Until one night when she goes by the gates and the house invites her in. This was a wonderful fantasy about dreams, life, and the longing for home, told in the prose that Alix E. Harrow is known for. I enjoyed it

Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

This dark gothic story was wrapped in a shear scarf of whimsy thanks to the love developed between Opal and Arthur. I loved the description of the house and the magical draw it has on Opal. I love that it took actual monsters from a girls imagination to allow her to see the love and kindness that has blanketed her hard life. The lesson of creating your own happiness to change your surroundings is key for Opal and Arthur to both learn.

There were some things that confused me through out the book. I didn’t understand the beasts or the mist that Arthur kept fighting until the very end. And I was really lost on the whole “entering the Underworld”.

I still enjoyed the book and am so glad to have read it!

4 stars

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Well isn't this just the perfect read to get you ready for spooky season! STARLING HOUSE is just creepy enough to keep readers on the edge of their seat anticipating what's going to happen next - especially when more information about The Underland is exposed. And the house? Oh Starling House is a beautiful gothic sentient being that I would give almost anything to explore.

Side note - I LOVED the brief Little Shop of Horrors reference early on in the novel and that one of the few people in Opal's corner is the local librarian (which isn't giving that character quite enough credit but I don't want to include any spoilers).

Speaking of Opal, she is scrappy and is fiercely protective of the few people she cares about. I thoroughly enjoy when our "hero" is morally gray. Arthur is an interesting recluse as is how and why he's tied to Starling House.

The mystery is interesting and the conclusion of the conflict is satisfying. While this is perfect as a standalone, I wouldn't say no to a novella giving readers an update on what happens next. Overall, Harrow has done it again with a compelling read seeped in the traditions of the gothic novel.

Natalie Naudus does a good job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Strange, deep and hopeful- a story where the real horror is provided not by the monsters, but by men.

Starling House is one of my new favourite stories 💙 it's a perfect autumn read, so go preorder it so you can enjoy it in the first days of October! Besides, isn't it gorgeous?

Opal quickly became one of my new fictional friends. Or at least I became hers, she would definitely not warm up easily to a stranger. She has learnt to separate wants from needs, and pours her every waking moment into her goal, to save her brother from the life they got stuck in. Well-meaning but clueless, it takes literal monsters to make her open her eyes to the glimpses of kindness all around her. Random thing I loved about her: Opal's reaction to people's attacks is not fight or flight, it's fawn. She's very aware of it, but it's still coming out as an armour against the world. Did I mention I think we could be friends?

I listened to the ARC and I want to go back and read it slowly to soak in every word. I absolutely loved the narration- Natalie Naudus is simply fantastic and she makes the characters' voices truly come to life 🤎

ALL the stars and a permanent rent-free spot in my brain 🖤

The audiobook format enhances the storytelling feel, and I highly recommend it!
_____
"He is a ghost, a rumor, a story whispered after the children have gone to bed, and she was cold and hurt, all in the rising dark—and yet she hadn't run from him until he told her to. The House has always had a taste for the brave ones."

On the surface, STARLING HOUSE is a tale about a boy and a girl striving to keep the monsters at bay, but there are layers that go far deeper than the story itself. Touching on themes of mental health, abuse, privilege, and family, Harrow simultaneously offers a compelling tale while encouraging readers to think about all of the messy emotions that make us human. The writing was stunning and poignant, filled with beautiful passages.

Starling House emerges from the dark like a vast animal from its den: a gabled spine, wings of pale stone, a tower with a single amber eye. Steep steps curled like a tail around its feet.

I absolutely loved how the story of the house evolved throughout novel, bringing the reader closer to the truth with each iteration. I wanted just a tad more from the horror element, but overall, I was impressed. STARLING HOUSE is the perfect read for anyone looking for spooky, Gothic vibes, and its release times perfectly with the season. Thank you, MacMillan Audio, for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. As one of my highly anticipated reads, this one did not disappoint!

"It's difficult for predators to imagine teeth closing around their own throats. They don't have the right instincts".

"Can you imagine it? A world that bent to your every whim, where any story you chose to tell became the truth, simply because you said it?"

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio and Tor Books for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this book prior to release in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve recently been diving into gothic stories, having first gotten a delicious taste via Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and Hell Bent. This definitely scratched a bit of that itch for gothic hauntings and demonic dealings.

Starling House is the story of Opal, an orphan whose entire life seems to be one string of back luck after another. But along side the constant bad luck, there is another constant in her life: Dreams. Dreams of a house that calls to her, hallways and staircases she’s never seen. And a yearning… an itch deep in her soul that seemed to only be scratched by the curious and supposedly haunted, Starling House. When she begins to work there as a cleaning lady, her search for truth reveals answers she never expected.

Starling House is told from two point of views, mostly from Opal, our heroine, but also from Arthur - the current warden of Starling House. Scattered through out the story are footnotes and comments, as if the book we are reading is not a work of fiction but historical novel, laying out the true story of a cursed town. This little detail is slightly lost in the audio version of the book, however the narrator handled the footnotes and commentary well by changing her voice a bit, slipping out of character to read them like a professor reading from a textbook.

The characters are rich and believable. Opal herself is multidimensional and is written to undergo a beautiful transformative character arc. From an orphan who literally does anything and everything to ensure her brother wants for nothing to a Starling who expands her need to protect to encompass the whole cursed town. Arthur is introduced to us as a grumpy curmudgeon who is aged from carrying the weight of his self appointed task - to be the last warden of Starling House. He also, blossoms and opens up to Opal, giving us a beautiful slow burn that gently flows beneath the mysteries that lurk around every corner of the story.

And what mysteries they are. Everyone has secrets. Her brother Jasper has them, the lady who owns the inn has them, the history of the town has them. Every where she looks, there are secrets and truths that keep her moving forward towards the truth at the heart of Starling House, the town, and the curse that seems to hang over the town.

The atmosphere of the book is eerie, matching with the mist that births strange tales. It was delicious and kept me listening, hanging on to every word the narrator spoke. The plot kept moving on at a fair pace, picking up when needing to, slowing to allow the reader time to process new truths and more questions - but of course, not too much time. There is much more the tale is eager to unleash on us.

The ending was a glorious culmination of all the rumors and half-truths and fairy tales hints we had been given over the course of the book. A grand revealing that was unexpected and yet, made incredible amounts of sense. Overall well written and a strong finish to a strong addition to Fall TBRs.

Starling House is a wonderful gothic thriller, perfect for the upcoming spooky season. I greatly enjoyed it, especially as a fresh mind easing into the world of Gothic Horror/Thriller.

A scary children’s story. A creepy old house. A dying town. Some corrupt businessmen. A homeless brother and sister. A weird young man. Two intertwined families. Oh, and monsters from deep underground that rise with the mist to wreak havoc and kill. That is “The Starling House” in a nutshell.

I can’t decide if this is more horror or fantasy, so I’m going to call it forror, or maybe horrasy. No matter, I picked this book solely based on the author and her previous novel “The Ten Thousand Doors of January” (which I highly recommend, btw). I’m not much of a horror person, and this had just the right amount, let’s say a heavy pinch.

Did I like it? Yes. Did it live up to my expectations? I think so??? Would I recommend it? Yes.

Themes: 🏚️👻😈📖🗡️

My thoughts: 🤓🫣😬😵‍💫👍🏻

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I’m so glad I got the audio version of this book along with the electric version. It was long but kept my attention.

Picture this, a nowhere town that seems lost. There’s that creepy house at the end of the road that everyone detours around, but to one young lady it seems to beckon. Opal lives in a motel and works at a menial job, but she does what she has to do so her bright and talented brother can get out of town and have a better life. As Opal starts to research the creepy house, her research reveals more about the house’s past and her own as well. Follow Opal as she tries to make sense of it all and have a happy ending…or will she.

Starling House is a story about homes - how we make them, find them, defend them, and lose them. Bad luck is a permanent (and creepy) resident of Eden, Kentucky and the Opal and her little brother are not exempt - in fact, they're kind of magnets for it. Starling House has been pulling at Opal for years, and when she finally caves to the call, she finds a grim young man and an eccentric house (who is truly the best character of the whole book!). I remain staunch fan of Alix Harrow, and this latest book is no exception. It's a perfect, slightly dark read/listen for the summer or fall months. My only qualm is that, as with some of the author's previous books, I actually found the climax a bit... flat. I couldn't help but feel that I would rather have some of the words used there to be reallocated - do more, or use less. For example, there was a whole character/story line that was just sort wrapped up as a simple plot device that didn't have enough depth. But all in all, it's a riveting and darkly whimsical story and recommend it highly!

It's giving Winchester Mansion vibes but with monsters instead of ghosts and I'm here for it.

After much deliberation, I believe this to be a rounded up to four stars book. It wasn't quite what I expected--I wanted more haunted house to be very honest with you--but the story and the characters at its heart are truly wonderful. Some details were lost to me in their delivery, but the mystery that unravelled at the core about Opal, Arthur, and Starling House was well done and I really enjoyed it.

ooooOOoooOoohhhhh the absolute atmosphere of it all!

Starling House has a sordid history and a reclusive heir. In Eden, Kentucky it’s a local legend and in a small town, stories travel. Opal has always been fascinated with the house and when she takes a closer look at it one day, her world changes. She finds herself entranced in her own gothic fantasy story full of monsters, fairy tales and a living house.

The perfect book for fall – just a lil spooky but nothing to keep you up at night. There was a lot of heart, a great cast of characters and the perfect amount of action. Starling House is a book to read on a fall day with wet leaves on the ground and a chill in the air. Perfect for fans of gothic horror, classic novels (think Rebecca and Wuthering Heights), and small town stories.

This was my first book by this author and I was hooked from the very beginning. It was creepy, mysterious, and intriguing. I had no idea where this book was going, but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this as an audiobook and think it really added to the whole vibe of the story. I will definitely be reading/listening to more by Alix E. Harrow!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Everyone in town knows to avoid the Starling House. Rumored to be haunted and with only reclusive Arthur Starling living there, Opal knows to stay far away. Yet strange dreams draw her to the house and soon she is working for Arthur. If Opal can earn enough money, she can afford to send her younger brother to a better school. Yet as strange people from the power company start sniffing around Starling House, it soon becomes clear that they want something from it. Opal and Arthur must uncover the secrets below Starling House before the vultures close in.

Alix E. Harrow has the gift of telling a story in a sentence and somehow also making it hilarious. She excels at witty banter between Opal and Arthur as they struggle to understand the intricacies of Starling House. The House itself felt like a character to me! Opal and Arthur are one of my favorite duos and I really enjoyed how their relationship developed. I enjoyed that Arthur wasn’t the stereotypical love interest and instead described as a gargoyle! Amazing. I loved the sibling relationship between Opal and Jasper. Opal will do absolutely anything for her little brother and their bond was very strong.

Starling House is another excellent example of Harrow’s immersive and witty writing style. Along with the captivating fantasy elements, Harrow raises real issues of a power-hungry company, pollution, cancer, asthma etc. Yet even when dealing with serious issues, Harrow’s humor and wit shine through. Opal is such an incredible heroine. She is strong, loyal, and willing to do anything for her brother. Most of all, whether she knows it or not, Opal wants a home. In Starling House, Harrow muses on what home means and what the cost of one is. I already know that this is a book I’ll be rereading many times. I listened to the audiobook, which was beautifully narrated by Natalie Naudus.

I would highly recommend Starling House to anyone! I think readers who enjoyed Roshani Chokshi’s The Last Tale of the Flower Bride will especially enjoy this one. Readers who seek haunted houses with dark secrets, fantastic characters, and witty writing will love Starling House. I can't wait to see what Alix E. Harrow writes next!

Thank you so much to Alix E. Harrow, Macmillan Audio, Tor Books, and Netgalley for a free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

I was really excited for this book but it fell flat on a lot of different fronts. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook prior to release in exchange for a very honest review.

Spoilers spoilers spoilers. Don't read unless you want spoilers. You've been warned.

The plot is kind of barely plodding along for the majority of the book. We hear a lot about Opal and how much work she has to do to keep her and Jasper alive - the many sacrifices which lead her to be a cleaning lady at Starling House. She's very drawn to the house for reasons that become clear later. The home is sort of alive but not really because it basically does nothing. There's secret monsters that the home owners have to fight off. Why? Idk. They're just there. Idk why no one just abandons the dang house after a while. She meets up with the current dude homeowner and instalove ensues. I found the romance super boring. I also was convinced that the guy was 80 years old for part of the book (I blame the audiobook. The narrator was super nasally for all the male characters so I immediately thought everyone was an old person gasping for breath or fighting off a severe upper respiratory infection). Most of what she is working towards could have been avoided if she bothered having an actual conversation with her brother, which is one of my most despises tropes in books. TALK TO EACH OTHER CMONNN. We find out more things about the house, opal's mothers death, and her family's origin, but none of it was interesting. There's barely a whiff of a fantasy element in this story. If you like vague gothic vibes in boring towns, this book is for you.