Reviews with content warning for Racism - Starling House

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

94 reviews

aseel_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was very fun, gothic, spooky, and just a great read overall. I loved having a semi sentient house, and the kind of beauty and the beast points. The ending was actually really good, sometimes these southern gothic novels can't hit the final notes of the story, but this one did

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vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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szuum's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lue_moon's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this book, but ended up really loving it (I'm a sucker for semi-sentient houses that can't help but meddle). It had many elements I really enjoyed: Fantasy and (sort of) mythology slipping it's way into modern day. Aformentioned semi-sentient house and a hellcat who bites as much as it purrs. Grumpy × grumpier relationship. Queerness as a normal part of existence (always lovely to discover as part of a book). Stories that intertwine and overlap until you find out which one is true. Dreams, found family, and figuring out what home actually means.

It also is not a perfect book and I'm sure not for everyone. It does have a slow build, some characters that I viciously hated (rightfully so), some potential plot holes, and a couple things left unanswered or that I wish got to be expanded upon. And still something about it struck a chord with me.

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trying_ceratops's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was very slow, I feel like the same story could be told with a quarter of it taken out and nothing would be lost. The pacing was very slow and it felt like a lot more should have and could have happened. That’s the reason for two stars being taken away. Otherwise, it was written well and I liked the characters. The romance felt a bit forced and the male love interest reminded me more of an awkward teen than a grown man.

There are a few people I’ll likely recommend this to—those who like slow, laid back paced stories with a bit of dark intrigue.

I can see why this was popular, mostly because it was fairly predictable and an easy read, but I like a faster paced stories.

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mpbookreviews's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kaylokay_'s review

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I didn’t get *much* of a fairy tale vibe from this like many reviewers have said but it did hit all the gothic vibes I was looking for. I love how Alix Harrow writes and even at parts where the story dragged a bit, I was drawn to keep reading. One aspect that I LOVED was the different depictions of the lore of the Starling House Story and I really enjoyed how it all came together at the end. Harrow remains an autobuy for me.

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hannnah_besss's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ksilvio's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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livlamentloathe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think both the beginning and ending of Starling House were strong, but the middle really dragged along. There was a lot of back-and-forth between Arthur and Opal that could've been pared down. Of the 2 weeks I spent reading this, the first 65% I read in a couple days. Then the remaining 35% took a week and a half. I do think the narrator was part of my issue though. I just wasn't engaged by her reading.

I also wanted more of the book to touch on the racism Jasper faced in Eden. I wanted Jasper to better scold Opal for the way she ignored about that part of him. She made a comment later on that alluded to her getting it in part. But she also definitely was very forgetful of his race. The book itself barely even acknowledged his race. It took until the middle of the book for me to determine his ethnicity - maybe that's my bad and I missed an early tell. But I think overall, this book wanted to hide details and it didn't always handle that well. It would be evasive and add extra page time instead of being a bit more upfront about things. Maybe that was purposeful too with Opal's personality. But it felt like it was just trying too hard.

The premise felt like a cross between The Hazel Wood and Book of Night. I thought it was meant to be horror, but it wasn't horror so much as gothic. More of a magical realism/low fantasy romance. This book could've been great but I think it needed further editing and less evasive plot points. I get it. Most details were meant for "reveals" later but it became excessive when I got lost wondering what the point of the book was. Or what was going on period.

P.S. I'd have loved more of a violent ending for the Gravely family and Elizabeth Bane.

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