Synopsis:
Starling House is a grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.
Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.
Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.
As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.
If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.
Awards & Nominations:
A Book of the Month Club Pick
An October 2023 Indie Next Pick
A LibraryReads October 2023 Hall of Fame Pick
Apple, Best Books of October
EW.com, Fall Book Must Reads 2023
Washington Post, Noteworthy Books for October
Paste Magazine, The Must-Read Fantasy Books of Fall 2023
PopSugar Best New Fantasy Books of 2023
BookPage, Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023
Observer, Must-Read Books of Fall 2023
Polygon, 12 Best New SFF for the Fall
LitHub, October’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
Bookish, October’s Most-Anticipated Books
Gizmodo, October’s Huge List of New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books
Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Fantasy 2023
Edition:
Barnes and Noble exclusive hardcover
My Thoughts:
I really like Alix E. Harrow’s work. I’ll start by saying that, just so it’s out of the way. So far I have only reviewed one other of her books, but I have also read The Once and Future Witches and loved that (review to come). So, this was an auto-buy for me. And it did not disappoint. Starling House is a really wonderful Southern gothic horror/fantasy. Opal is a disarmingly normal character. She’s an impoverished young woman doing her absolute best to take care of her incredibly bright, and severely asthmatic brother in a dead end town. She’s not overly nice, or pretty, or really overtly special in any way. But she is special. At least Starling House thinks so!
And honestly, so do I. It’s nice to read stories centering characters that are so relatable. They aren’t really remarkable in any way beyond the whole ‘resilience of the human spirit’ sort of way. That’s Opal. And I love her for it.
If you like stories that blur the lines between what is possible and impossible, real and imagined, Starling House should definitely be on the radar. It deals with themes of death, abandonment, poverty, greed, trauma, curses, and the seemingly impossible hope for a better future. There are also major Company Town vibes in Eden – although it isn’t technically, it really feels like it. The town is definitely beholden to their nasty corporate overlords (like so many hopeless little towns).
And the house itself. Ooh, Starling House seems like a trip. I want to go spend a day inside that weird-ass place! It seems so welcoming yet spooky, friendly yet terrifying. You know, like houses do. 🙃
Rating:
I really, really enjoyed my time in Starling House, and I think you will too. You should check it out!
Starling House By Alix E. Harrow Tor Published: October 3, 2023 ISBN: 9781250799050 Hardcover, E-book, Audio 308 Pages
I can’t wait to read this one!!