3.5 ⭐️

I’ve been a fan of Alix E. Harrow ever since The Ten Thousand Doors of January and would absolutely consider her an auto-read/buy author. The plot of this book sounded perfect for autumn and I read it a bit early, trying to chase off the summer scaries with a cozy gothic fantasy. And it absolutely delivered on the vibes! There’s something so beautiful about magical realism, and I loved the house as a character almost more than our FMC Opal. But as has been a pattern lately in a lot of my reads, I feel the middle of the book didn’t fully hold up the weight of a strong beginning and ending. That is what ultimately made me lower my rating. I don’t think I’ll reread this one as I will with January. But it was an enjoyable experience and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone wanting those vibes!

The narration was top tier, 5/5.

I'm always in for a Southern Gothic story but include a haunted house with a curse or a fairytale and I'm all in! One thing is for sure, what people think is behind the gates of Starling House is nowhere near what is actually lurking beyond the gates and below.

I truly loved Opal as a character, she was flawed but she chased growth in ways that mattered. Arthur was so mysterious and I couldn't figure him out until one particular scene and then well, my heart kinda just melted.

A small town, secrets upon secrets, family curses and magic. A read that leans a little creepy that often leaves you with chills. If there is one thing I've seen first hand its the warring of large families within a small town. This book captures that perfectly. Whether you are a Starling or a Gravely, this town and this house have a hold on you.

Releasing in October, Starling House will be a perfect addition to the chilling spooky vibe.

A gripping and moody tale about a girl and her quest for answers and uncovering the truth. Fabulous narration, interesting web of storylines and great ending! Highly recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#StarlingHouse by @alix.e.harrow is my most recently finished audiobook. Many many thanks to @macmillan.audio & @netgalley for making this FANTASTIC story available early for review!
It will come as NO surprise to those that know me or have followed my feed that I have been a big fan of #alixeharrow from her very first debut. I’m finding it hard to put my feelings into words, but I’ll try:
This story takes place in the small southern town of Eden. The story is revolving around a young woman Opal and her younger brother who were orphaned at a young age and are barely scraping by, living at a local motel since Opal was just 16…after the tragic drowning of their mother. Opal dropped out of high school to work and keep under the radar of local family services to keep her brother with her. But from there, the story really becomes about Starling House, a mysterious elusive mansion, whose inhabitants are always reclusive and mysterious as well. In her sleep, Opal cannot stop dreaming of Starling House. Its somehow calling to her in her dreams and she becomes almost obsessed with the thought of it…until one day, she decides to go there - her curiosity and drive beyond her control. There she meets Arthur Starling, who lives in Starling House. She finds him ugly and rude and yet when he asks her to work at the house to clean do some light restoration, she feels so welcomed by the house itself that she accepts. The story goes from there to include a dark fairytale story of revenge from the past, a revenge that brings monsters from the mist. Many wrongs of the past are discovered and Opal finds herself and her family tied to that past, as possibly one of the only wardens of the house that can break the curse placed on their town, one that in its climax, threatens to destroy everyone in its path.
That’s all I’ll say of plot, but let’s talk a moment about the beautiful prose of the story. It truly takes on this otherworldly, mystical, magical flow. And the narrator of the audiobook could not have been more perfect: @natalienaudus YOU embodied this story! Your voice with Alix’s words was magic incarnate!
Thank you @mauraaa.811 for creation of this magical reel!! You rule!!

Thanks to Netgalley for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review. Opal and Jasper are named for precious materials but as the story starts, they are barely holding on to a room in a hotel in a depressed small town in Kentucky. Opal is the big sister trying to feed and protect her brother and she takes a job cleaning the spooky Starling House. Arthur lives there and warns her away, but she ignores him because she needs to pay tuition for Jasper to go to private school. Spooky things happen, there are greedy rich villains, Opal and Jasper find out more about where they came from and why the spooky stuff seems to be happening more often now.
The story is really compelling and the mystery is not the whole story here. Starling House takes you back in time to find out what happened to previous people who lived there and why the entire town of Eden is in danger if the energy company owner gets his way. Opal's journey is frustrating and familiar, but also gives you hope and courage.

Thank you to Alix E. Harrow, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy of "Starling House" for an honest review.

I love, love, love everything that Harrow has written and produce, so I had to jump on this story the moment it popped up in Netgalley. It was just as new, fresh, and brilliant as everything I've come to expect of her writing, no matter the genre she'd thrown her hat into with her pieces. Starling House is a lovely gothic horror novel set in a small backwater town in Kentucky, with mysteries and tragedies running back centuries that need unweaving. It's also delightfully going to drop to publication on the 31st of October.

This book has a little bit of everything. Desperately holding close to family, forging found families, what it means to have a home and to claim one, the power of names, and that of choosing for yourself. There is a magical house, monsters, a hero's sword, an endless array of helpful footnotes, a children's book that is anything but, and characters whose edges have never been blunted no matter how hard that world tries, who will move right into your heart.

Cross your fingers that mist doesn't rise, and let yourself in through the gates of Starling House.

Netgalley was kind enough to provide an early access Audiobook.

3.5*
This is a book where the Goodreads rating format kinda blows. Yes, I enjoyed this story. Yes, the writing by Alix E. Harrow was great. Yes, I would recommend this to others. There was just an ingredient missing to make this a 4 star read for me.

Starling House: A mysterious town, with a mysterious house, with a mysterious care keeper. All with a dark history that propels the story forward.

***Spoilers*** Not TOO many because the book isn't out.

Starling House started off as a great spooky atmosphere read. It gave me a nostalgic feeling of a nice October day. (It really is crazy how the human brain works, how smells and thoughts interconnect and essentially transport you to a time in your life). A story that felt part horror/fantasy/fairytale was sometimes disrupted with romance. Scenes where I was invested in learning more about the intertwined history of Eden about the magical elements of Underland, I was smacked with Opals growing desire for Arthur. The descriptions of our monsters and Underland felt lacking. I was really expecting more of spooky atmosphere that the story started off with and less of the growing passages of romance.

Opal, who has been essentially exiled by the people of Eden because of who her mother was, finds herself orphaned and guardian of her younger brother Jasper. Doing anything she can to make sure Jasper gets out of Eden and a better life, she finds herself working at Starling House for Arthur. Arthur is the heir of Starling House but nobody knows much about him. Starling House itself felt like a character and one that would be important as the story progressed. But in my opinion it wasn't used to its full potential. The middle chunk of this book was just not coming alive like I think it could have been. Towards the end we got to meet Elanor Starling and learn about the Dark history of Eden and some of its occupants; the Gravely's (spelling? listened to audiobook). Underland is now center stage. The end is where the atmosphere that Starling House started off with returns. While I was still underwhelmed with the execution on some of the fantasy and horror elements, I still enjoyed the ending. I believe the same type of risk/reward/sense of duty to Arthur from Opal could have been achieved through different means other than it having to be romanticized. Where the author put effort and so much time building desire between the characters, they could have filled that space with more history, fantasy, and horror of Eden, Starling House, and the Underland. I wish it was able to keep me in the same nostalgic trip throughout the whole book.

The Narrator for Starling House was great though. Helped me push through the parts that weren't holding my attention.

If you like stories like Saturday Night Ghost Club, Ninth House, Ocean at The End of The Lane I think you'll be able to enjoy Starling House.

I adored this. I’m pretty sure I could listen to this again right now and enjoy it just as much as the first time if not more.

Alix E. Harrow writes with such raw imagination it’s impossible not to be whisked away by her stories. This is no exception and is easily my favorite book of hers by far. I refuse to spoil the twisty road of this book for anyone, it’s far too good for that. So if you’re looking for a gothic haunted house In Kentucky plus a little Alice in Wonderland with some found family, just go for it. The whole thing was perfection!

Just a girl in a small town... One that seems to be cursed with bad luck, and people who always look the other way. Opal's tough though, and she's been making her own way since she was 15, when her mother died in a car crash. Stealing, lying, and cheating, she's kept her little brother with her by any means necessary. Then... one day a house seems to call to her, and the man inside offers a job too good to be true - a job with enough money to get her brother out of this retched town. Starling House has a sinister reputation, with so many stories about it that no one really seems to know anything. Eden, Kentucky, is a dying town, full of bad luck, few jobs, and a power plant. It has a history that most turn ignore, pretending it doesn't exist. But that attitude might just be what got them to current situation. As Alix begins to realize that perhaps Starling House, and it's last heir Arthur, are really her home, she also finds that if she wants it... she'll have to fight for it.

I'm from Edmonson County, KY. A small town - though with no coal mines. I live near and work in Bowling Green, KY. So first off, I have to say that there were so many things in this book I smiled at, just to hear it in such a wonderful, fantastical, gothic story. Cemetery Rd, Greenwood Mall, and more - it made it all that much more real to me.

That, and the fact that I am from a small town. I know what's it's like to grow up poor, to be hungry, to see others have what you want and cannot afford. I understand Opal's list of needs, and her burning up all her wants. I understand the dark side of small southern towns that no one wants to acknowledge - that people shove to the side or under the rug. We glorify our small communities in country songs, singing their praises, and ignore the fact that what once was is barely anymore, and even then... it wasn't always pretty.

For me, this book managed to highlight that life, that world, without beating it to death. It was a part of who Opal was, of what Eden is. It was a look into a life that so many deal with, and look into the past so many want to forget. And even with all that, it was a beautiful tribute to those who do care. Who help when they aren't asked. Who love when they are needed. It managed to show both the good and bad in a way I've rarely read or seen.

The story itself is intricate, made of layers of stories as told orally and written down. Taking in accounts of folks who were around when events occurred, and those told after. It's a way to look at fiction, and see the truth buried within it. The characters are complicated and fun, witty and brash. I do have to say I have never liked miscommunication, so when two of the characters aren't really talking to each other (Opal and her brother), it about drove me a bit crazy. But that's a personal preference - I still loved the story.

Oddly enough, Starling House was perhaps my favorite character in the book :)

I could go on, but for now I'll leave it here. Trust me - get a copy. And the narrator is amazing if you like audiobooks too.

*Thanks to Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of the Audiobook!

(Note: I'll be writing a review for the Bowling Green Daily News as well)

Delightfully dark and brutally honest, Starling House is leaps and bounds ahead of anything I have read this year.

In the small town of Eden,Kentucky sits Starling House. A home thats origins are both mysterious and eyebrow raising. Opal simply doesn't have time to worry about the old folktales though, she has a brother to raise on very little means and virtually no support. There's a problem though, Opal dreams of Starling House at night and feels an unexplainable pull to its dark intricate gates. When an unsettling chance encounter with the mysterious heir befalls her, she is sent down a path that will change everything she's ever known!

There are so many things to love about this story, I hardly know where to start! Harrow gives us a truly addictive and entertaining story but she's woven it with biting commentary on poverty and it's effects on the human psyche. Its just so dang honest and that honesty makes the characters delectable. Unreliable and deeply flawed, each character felt real in a way thats rarely achieved on page. This is a book that will break your heart with all it's nuanced observations of small town America but it never feels preachy or overdone. The story itself is masterly paced and stands up nicely to the strong character work. Just read this dang book folks!!!!

I experienced this story via audio-book and the narrations is top notch! The narrator has a haunted quality to her voice that lends itself well to Starling House. The characters are distinguishable from one another but not so drastically different that you get pulled our of the story. I highly recommend listening to this one!

Trust me, this is worthy of your spooky season TBR!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Advanced Reader Copy review] I'm torn - I'm a HUGE fan of Alex E. Harrow but this one was a tough read. There were parts and passages that I adored that really resonated with my mind and heart -- others, not so much. The storyline was difficult to follow -- it's really a mystic, dark, moody narrative around many subjects. I almost felt like the author was tackling too many subjects at once: home, origins, family, community, greed, coverups -- not unlike most other books. However, the main character is really a house and the haunting elements of each of our lives are portrayed with beautiful language and storytelling. I may need to read this one again in a printed book to really capture the book as a whole, though the narrator did an excellent job!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMilan Audio for this opportunity to listen rage and review this arc which is available October 31,2023!

The narrator Natalie Naudus did a pretty good job narrating a story that was twisty turns gothic horror goodness. The story was creepy. It had me anxious the entire time. It is a haunted house horror book that reminds me of the Haunting of Hill House. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it was a listen once and done kinda book for me.

I powered through to finish this book. It wasn't great. I hated the narrator and the storyline was just kind of dumb and predictable.

Starling House
by Alix E. Harrow
Narrated By Natalie Naudus

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this audiobook through Netgalley.

First: I absolutely LOVE this book!

Starling House is a magical house - and I love magical houses!

List of magical house books I love:

- Moonheart books by Charles de Lint
- Beechwood Harbor series by Danielle Garrett
- Magical Midlife series by K.F. Breene
- A Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness
- Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling
- Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews

This book has all the hallmarks of an awesome magical house book:
- Romance, check
- Malcontents, check
- Bad Guys, check
- Monsters, check
- Good Guys, check
- Battle Scenes, check

What makes this book stand out is that it does something very few other books do - it brought me into a deeply imaginative state.

Other times that has happened are when I read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, & watching Pan’s Labyrinth and The Wizard of Oz.

It’s kind of like those optical illusion paintings where you need to look slightly out of focus to make what you’re seeing make sense.

I go from being solidly in this world into a state where it’s easy to believe another world exists. For Example: The Stranger Things TV series.

The main character has many negative qualities, but I overlook them, because she is a hero. She’s not your leaps tall buildings kind of hero, but is the older sister kind of hero instead.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of romance, urban fantasy, and to people who love to indulge their sense of adventure by delving into an off kilter perception of reality!

Another home run for Alex Harrow. Ive been living her books and I couldn't wait to read this. I'm so glad I had an opportunity to delve into a new world.

I loved this. I may have loved it too much. Our homegirl is broke and doing what needs to be done in order to survive and care for her brother. She lives in a hotel, eats ramen, and steals. That is real and relatable.
Then we get to the house. The house is magical and romantic and also creepy.
The romance was perfect. I loved the librarian, the hotel owner, and the brother and sister relationship.
The book keeps getting better and better until the end.
The narration was perfect. I mean there is no one who could have done this better.

Starling House is a modern gothic fantasy with a compelling plot centered around Opal’s determination to unravel the mysteries of the eerie mansion and her pursuit of a better life for her younger brother Jasper.

I enjoyed this story filled with dark secrets, haunting elements, and the allure of the unknown. Opal has been entranced by a story, The Underland, since she was a child written by the home’s original owner and nineteenth century author, E. Starling. Opal dreams of this home she has never been inside of and becomes obsessed with discovering its secrets. She finds herself entangled deeper and deeper into the mansion and its mystery when she inserts herself as the housekeeper working for the reclusive heir, Arthur.

Harrow’s writing draws you into a world where ominous forces lurk, and the characters’ struggles feel real. I loved how the house felt like its own character. While Opal’s journey is engaging, I wanted a deeper exploration of her character and motivations. The supernatural elements felt like they were just on the periphery and left me craving a more thorough understanding of their role and significance.

This was a gripping story and the atmosphere created was captivating with suspense that is hard to resist. If you enjoy gothic fairytales, add this to your list to pick up.

Starling House follows Opal, a young woman taking care of her brother in a small town in Kentucky. There is a house that is allegedly haunted that everyone tends to avoid - until Opal can't.

This book was very fun. I was almost instantly hooked, and I kept wanting to listen. Until I got about 75% in and there was a part that felt like it could have been an ending. I think the aspects that didn't work for me were mine personally, as opposed to negatives of the book. The house was very interesting and I kept wanting to know WHY it was acting the way it was. Once we got toward the end and the focus was a lot more on the house, I lost interest, which doesn't seem to make sense to me.

If you're a fan of haunted houses or Alix E Harrow, I would definitely recommend this book. I think it was great in those aspects. It feels a lot less gothic than I anticipated, and much more fairy tale-esque, which worked for me, but may not for you.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

I was excited for this book after enjoying the author’s previous book Ten Thousand Doors of January and loving The Once and Future Witches. While this book didn’t hit the same as those for me, I still really enjoyed myself reading it. The vibe was great, I just felt a bit unmoored by the narrative. I think I would have preferred it to be entirely in third person POV, though I understand the narrative style due to the explanation in the epilogue. I would have liked to spend more time in the house and if the relationship Opal had with the Underland book was more vivid. My experience of being a superfan of a book looked very different. It felt like we were told she was a huge fan a couple times but it really didn't play a huge part-- she could have had art prints on her walls or a tattoo of something from the book. Also there were a few times information we already new was being repeated as if we hadn't been told it which felt odd to me. Over all I did enjoy the vibe, but sometimes the purple prose felt as a distraction from the plot being less clean.

This was such an amazing atmospheric book. I loved that the house was the main character of the book. Arthur and Opal were great character and I loved the sexual tension between the two. Opal was used to doing everything and anything to just get by in life. Arthur had almost everything handed to him, but together the relationship worked. I also loved how brave Arthur was for Opal. This book was perfect for audio and I can’t wait to relisten during spooky season. This was a great “light” gothic horror