4.5 Stars

It took be just a bit to get into the story. I'm not sure I can pinpoint why. After a few ups and downs, I kept at it and by the time Truly figures out how to open a door (as the Turnkey) I was invested.

Lots of action in this story. A very fresh look at the land of Fae and humans. Wonderful magical house and caregiver. Very strong female lead. Loved Westvane and all he represents. I enjoyed watching the friendship build between these two. I loved learning about all the castes in the land of Azlandia and all the creatures there as well.

These two can sure get in to trouble but I think they know their mission going forward. I look forward to the next step in the plan.

The synopsis of the book sounded amazingly intriguing but unfortunately, I felt like it was missing something.

We follow Truly into her life altering journey. We have other worlds, legacies, and I difficult background for our main character. Truly and Westvane chemistry and bickering was a highlight for me. I adored their interactions through the story, and it was a fast-paced book until half of it. However, it kept me hooked until the very end.

I felt like the story was missing a little more world-building and character development that I hope will happen in the sequel. I’ll definitely read the sequel because overall it was a pleasant read and I enjoyed the story and I’m curious to know what it is to come.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review

I was interested in this book because the plot seemed really unique and interesting. However, once I started it, it took everything in me to continue reading. It was just so difficult to proceed because there are too many details that don't make sense, plotholes with no resolutions, and honestly very one-dimensional characters throughout.

This was such a fun read I loved it so much I couldn't put it down and was completely hooked from the first page

I received this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.

I think that this book has a lot of promise. I enjoyed following Truly on this journey. I do think the editing needs a lot of work as some words were not in the proper place. I look forward to seeing and reading the final copy!

I don’t know man I really enjoyed some parts of this book but it felt really underwhelming and I actually expected more from the story and characters
But i am excited to read the next book tho
Thanks netgalley for the arc

This book for sure feels like a mix of a lot of things that strangely work. Other worlds, family legacy and a surprise inheritance that throws our main narrator Truley into a mind altering journey.
Truely is such a fun character to read about. Following along on her unexpected journey with her witty humor and a so so sense of self preservation had me cracking up more than once. Especially when she comes into contact with The Slayer(Westvane). Sparks fly when she meets him blow for blow with sarcasm and attitude.
The main thing that carried this book was the chemistry between its two leading characters Slayer and Truley. Their bickering and sniping at each other but also kicking but made this an enjoyable read. The side characters were just as enthralling. I absolutely adore the Chef of Truley’s inherited estate. Even tho he didn’t have much scenes I would love to see to more of him. The story was pretty epic,at times hard to keep up with, but it all came together at the end. I will be picking up the sequel and can’t wait for more adventures from these cast of characters. Would for sure recommend.
Thanks to the folks at NetGalley for a copy of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.

Thank you to Net galley for providing a digital arc! The premise of this novel was so intriguing. Truly, really down on her luck working a dead-end job for a crotchety boss, discovers there is a magic realm after a Wendigo escapes to Earth. She soon learns that she is the last remaining Door Master, the only one capable of opening portals between Earth and magical Azlandia, and is the reason the monster escaped in the first place. Forced to team up with Westvane, a skilled warrior of an abominable bloodline, the duo works to return the Wendigo to its own realm before it can wreak too much havoc while Truly figures out how to wield her magic.

I genuinely enjoyed Truly’s take-no-shit, pragmatic attitude. Her name is dumb, but her character was absolutely believable and I could resonate with her. I was rooting her her throughout the book. Westvane was described as a primal, lethal killer whose emotions often take charge. But from the moment he meets Truly, he's all smirks and soft smiles. There's no hint of the passionate warrior he was set up to be and no character development showing him slowly opening up. The spice didn’t factor into my rating, but I was still disappointed at the lack of connection and teasing romance. The side characters were fine. Not annoying, but not particularly memorable or scene-stealing.

The pacing was fine. The first third of the novel was awesome, the second third felt slow, and I had to force myself to read the last third. Instead of the characters doing things, things kept happening to them. It seemed like they ended up in some situations for no reason other than to provide some kind of plot. The book is also a dual POV which I really liked, but the chapters didn't clearly define which POV l was reading, leaving me to wait until pronouns or names came up to figure it out.

The biggest turn-off for me is the racist rhetoric. The Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality/systemic racism that happened in the US were unfavorably described as an event so violent only magical influence could explain the protestors’ actions. Are we for real? Is this really what we're writing in 2023? This was in no way integral to the plot. She could have come up with literally anything to demonstrate unhinged hate and violence, and THAT is what she chose?

Overall, a book with a solid idea and an intriguing premise that started strong but unfortunately fell apart in the second half.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The beginning was great, with the protagonist inheriting a mansion and discovering her power to open doors to other realms. I particularly loved the raven that transforms into a tattoo, which was incredibly cool. However, I was disappointed by the main characters' names and how one of them didn't meet my expectations when he arrived on Earth. The inclusion of mantipede as an attempt at humor felt out of place and made me put the book down. The time constraint given by the queen seemed too short, and I wished there was more development in their relationship during that period. The boss being a gargoyle was a good addition, but I would have preferred more focus on that rather than mantipede. There were strong moments, like when they were running from rock creatures and exploring the forest, and I adored it when he called her "princess." There were areas that stood out, but also weaker aspects such as excessive focus on the 'Couda car and less exploration of the Wendigo creature.

I wanted to love this book. I have tried and failed. I started reading this book before the release date to guarantee a review on or before October 31st. I struggled to get into the story. I'm not sure if it's due to editing, which I know is not always perfect with an advanced copy of a book, but the storyline left me lost several times. I have restarted the book once, and have had to backtrack several times to find, if I could, information that was missing. The flipping between Truly's POV and Westvane/the mirror world felt disjointed and unexpected. It was very hard to grasp what was happening and "how we got here".

There are fantastic pieces in this storyline, that made me want to keep reading, but the truth is there was a lot of it that didn't. I'm still only 16 chapters in, and I'm just not interested in finishing the story because of how jumbled and unfinished this e-copy appears to be.

I would like to read the finished, completely edited edition in my own time, to see how the story compares as I was so intrigued when I requested and would love to know how Truly's story ends.

I hate that I had to DNF this, as it sounded so much like something I'd love, but at this time, I'm not doing anyone any favors by trying to continue to pull myself through this.

I really enjoyed The House of Starlight and Shadow. It was a bit of an Underdog story which saw the lead protagonist endure a tough life with secrets of her parents kept from her and it turned out she was involved with fae and has the power to unlock doors to different worlds.

Engaging with a variety of characters. Definitely a good read if you’re into magic.

Thank you Coreene Callahan and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book.

This is a fast and easy read. I trully enjoyed it. It is a mox of modern world and fantasy.

This book was a joy and I am excited to add it to my collection. The character development and story line are original and the title doesn’t boast a lot of cliques. I think I found a new favorite author to add to the list.

The premise of this book was intriguing. Unfortunately I found the story to be lacking. After reading about 40 percent of the book I still felt like not much was going on. The development between the mcs was nice and built on throughout the story. Some moments seemed like they were just randomly thrown into the story and don’t make sense to me. With some more editing I think this could be great.

First, thank you to the author, Oliver Heber Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Second, I want to say that this ARC was VERY messy. This was the messiest ARC I've ever received and it made it very hard to stay in the story. That being said I'm going to try my hardest to separate the technical errors of the writing from the story. However, the general style of writing was not the best for me. There is an odd truncated-like run-on description that happens again and again that really pulled me out. Example:

"Angry.
Frustrated.
Murderous. Priestly wanted to..."

"His reaction was maddening. Confusing. Annoying."

It happens dozens of times. Also an exuberant amount of ellipses are used. It felt lazy and didn't paint the world like it deserved

The story concept is insanely interesting but not enough to hold the attention of the reader for me. The multiple POVs didn't add anything. The action sequences were confusing. There is zero flirting/tension/romance. I am well versed in ignoring plot holes but a fair amount of situations made me scratch my head. We also don't get enough bread crumbs to be invested in the future of these characters.

Overall, I think this concept needed more time and some solid Beta readers.

Brief Summary: “After being forced out of her dream job, [Truly is] working a dead-end one when a mysterious stranger arrives with proof she's heiress to a Victorian mansion in a ramshackle neighborhood. But upon entering her new home, Truly accidentally unlocks a door to a magical realm, releasing an ancient evil from its prison-along with a dark family secret.”

If you enjoy fast-paced books set in both modern and fantasy worlds, with some humor and unique characters then this book is for you!

This was a fast, fun read. I loved the characters of Truly, Westvane, and Montrose and the banter between them. There are lots of magical creatures that make an appearance, including Wendigos, rock badgers, yetis, evil octopuses, and a “Man”-tipede. There is no romance in this book, but could occur in the next book. I also appreciated how the book began to explore current issues such as the impact of climate change and how a caste system is unjust and oppressive.

The reason for my rating comes from the lack of world-building and several plot holes. This book felt like a teenager who really wants to be an adult, but isn’t quite there yet. Several points in the book just don’t make sense, such as how Truly just allows a homeless man to live in her new home and doesn’t question why he is a magical creature that has been watching over her. Or, why Westvane knows how so many things in the Earth Realm work despite never having been there. I’d love more backstory on how Truly’s house was made and how it can speak to her.

While overall I enjoyed this book, it was hard to let some of the glaring issues go. With more fleshed out world-building and character development, the next book in this series has potential to gain a higher rating from me!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All reviews and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
If I'm being completely honest I wasn't a fan of this book personally. I just didn't connect with the main character or anything of going on. Initially, I was intrigued of the synopsis and the gorgeous cover art. However, part of me just felt like the story was all over the place and it was difficult, again for me, to connect with what was going on. I'm sure someone will enjoy this book more than I did, but for now I'm gonna have to give it a 2 out 5 star rating.

This was iffy for me. The idea was there but the execution wasn’t the best. The plot point of earth polluting azlandia through the ecotone was cool but it was mentioned once and never brought up again. It also had issues with pacing - too much of the book was the group accidentally stuck in azlandia. Also, the names in this book really threw me for a loop. Truly is not a good human name, azlandia is a bad name for a kingdom, and westvane and eastbrook are bad names for a supernatural duo. The magic system is wholly unexplained and sure truly has no idea what’s going on but we need *some* information on how it works.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧
Truly Langford-Bardot has spent her life pretending to be normal. No one knows about the monsters that stalk her sleep, or that she was left inside a cardboard box on the steps of a church as a newborn. After being forced out of her dream job, she’s working a dead-end one when a mysterious stranger arrives with proof she’s heiress to a Victorian mansion in a ramshackle neighbourhood.

But upon entering her new home, Truly accidentally unlocks a door to a magical realm, releasing an ancient evil from its prison, along with a dark family secret. Hunted by those who rule the mirror kingdom, Truly meets Westvane, the queen’s slayer, and is given an ultimatum: help him recapture the monster she set free and kill the queen, or be executed for opening a portal to another world.

A spellbinding novel about a woman born to stand in the breach between parallel worlds where revolution is imminent, honour means littler and the stakes are life and death. A book fulled with dark family secrets, parallel worlds and magic beyond your wildest dreams. But sometimes those dreams can only take a second to turn into nightmares. An epic read that will keep you up at night.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯

I loved the premise of The House of Starlight & Shadow and was so looking forward to reading it but sadly it didn't work for me and I DNFed at 11%. I didn't like the way things were explained that were self explanatory. It had potential but I felt like it was trying too hard to be something that it wasn't.