Bookseller Reviews
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Intense and haunting
I am OBSESSED with this cover, first of all! Let's take a moment to applaud it please!
I did struggle to get into this to begin with, I have to admit, b... READ MORE
A Magical Journey
"Starling House" by Alix E. Harrow is a truly enchanting tale that swept me off my feet from the very first page. This book is an exquisite blend of magic,... READ MORE
The perfect Halloween read
Thank you to BlackCrowPR for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Starling House is a gothic, atmospheric novel following Opal as she tries... READ MORE
Hooked from page one
This book had me hooked from the first page. If you’re a fan of Gothic literature, this is an absolute must read. It’s not often I say I could re read a bo... READ MORE
An exquisitely dark gothic romance!
Starling House is a hauntingly beautiful novel that it is wonderfully dark and unflinching in its descriptions. The main character Opal has always been dra... READ MORE
Mesmerising!
An intrguiging read, well built with a refreshing layout. I really really enjoyed this one! Characters are grumpy humans with crooked teeth, relatable and ... READ MORE
Unlock the Mystery of Eden
Starling House follows Opal, our fierce protagonist, as she tries to uncover the mystery around Starling House and the book ‘Underland’ that was written by... READ MORE
Alix E. Harrow never disappoints!
This is my third Alix E. Harrow book and I haven't been disappointed in the slightest by her work.
This book is an amazing slow-burn urban fantasy/horro... READ MORE
A superb creepy haunted house story
Opal is in need of work to look after her little brother, but she is stuck in a dead end town dominated by a mine which posions the air and contributes to ... READ MORE
Delightfully Dark
Very much sitting in the fantasy genre rather than horror, this is a gothic delight.
The characters Opal and Arthur are alive through their building, d... READ MORE
Slowburn Supernatural
This felt like a dark, twisted fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but with a gothic grittiness that worked really well.
I liked the grim realit... READ MORE
A Haunting beauty of a book
I sat down to read this book on a Friday afternoon in September. I am a bookseller, Halloween is approaching and this book has been sitting on my shelf for... READ MORE
A perfect gothic tale
Starling House is a place for those without a home, for those who feel like they don’t belong. It draws in the strong willed and the hungry. It provides a ... READ MORE
Beauty and the Beast through the dark mirror
What a brilliant October read this one was - a darkly gothic tale about a mysterious haunted house, a cursed wealthy family and a small town that has more ... READ MORE
Intense, Gripping and perfect for Autumn
I absolutely adored this book, which I’m so happy about as I had no idea if I would like it going in as spooky isn’t usually my vibe. From start to finish ... READ MORE
Gothic mystery and much more
Immersive, startling and complex, this appears to be a horror/Gothic mystery and is so much more. Eden, Kentucky is a bad luck town with a cursed history ... READ MORE
A fantastic autumn read!
3.75 ⭐️
“It has no heart, but it feels; it has no brain, but it dreams.”
I’ve read two other books by Alix E. Harrow, thoroughly enjoyed them, and so... READ MORE
Starling House
This was another book club pick that I unexpectedly adored
You will think about it for days!
Saw someone saying this was a novel you either got or didn't, and I do believe I agree. I was stressed and on high alert for most of it, but Starling House... READ MORE
Sharp, Emotional, and Beautiful
I might be a little biased when reviewing this book, because I feel as though it catered to a lot of the things I specifically LOVE in a modern gothic read... READ MORE
Perfect for October
This is probably my favorite book by Alix E. Harrow. It's all the magic and strangeness of The Ten Thousand Doors of January with all the righteous feminin... READ MORE
Synopsis
Step into Starling House, if you dare . . . Alix E. Harrow reimagines Beauty and the Beast in this gorgeously modern Gothic fantasy, perfect for fans of V. E. Schwab and Naomi Novik.
This paperback edition includes a bonus short story that reaches beyond the house's gnarly, tangled gates.
Opal is a lot of things – orphan, high-school dropout, full-time cynic. Most of all, she’s determined to find a better life for her younger brother. One that gets them both out of Eden, a town renowned for bad luck. So when Opal gets the chance to earn a good wage at Starling House, Eden’s very own haunted mansion, she can’t resist.
Her new workplace is uncanny and full of secrets – just like Arthur, its brooding heir. It also feels strangely, dangerously, like something Opal never had: a home. As sinister forces converge on Eden, Opal realizes she might finally have found a reason to stick around. But now she’ll have to fight for it.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Pan Macmillan
- ISBN: 9781529061147
- Number of pages: 448
- Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 29 mm
- Weight: 302g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allGloriously gothic
“Dreams are just like stray cats. If you don’t feed them they get lean and clever and sharp-clawed, and come for the jugular when you least expect it.”
... READ MORE
Not the horror book I was expecting
Halloween is fast approaching, and I do love to curl up with a good horror when it comes to my October TBR list! Starling House promises a haunted house th... READ MORE
Luscious Gothic
Starling House is the creepy story you were looking for - or that you should have been looking for - this Hallowe'en. But it's much much more than that. In... READ MORE
YA
I heard many good things about this one and was excited to get stuck in but I have so many questions now I have read it... Why is it not branded as YA? Why... READ MORE
Gorgeous Gothic Tale
I loved the atmosphere created. by this book from the get go. It was the perfect amount of eerie and intrigue that pulled you in and then proceeded to take... READ MORE
Just brilliant
How do I capture in this review how I feel about this book? - without spoiling the story for anyone who hasn’t yet had the privilege and joy of reading thi... READ MORE
Gothic Fairytale Dreamland
A cursed town, stalked by monsters and tragedy is revealed in this gothic fantasy centred around a creaky old mansion that gave me Yaga Hut vibes and our h... READ MORE
The perfect book for the spooky time of year!
Friends, this is the book to read for all the spooky October feels. It's the book I've been wanting to read for a while but nothing else has quite hit the ... READ MORE
Stunning and Captivating story
Opal lives in the town of Eden with her brother Jasper. Since their mother died, they have been living in a motel. Eden and her brother just get by scrappi... READ MORE
Gothic fairy-tale
Having read two short stories by Harrow, I was prepared for a snarky heroine with a modern, twisty, fairy tale setting. I kinda got that but so much more!
... READ MORE
It has a great mystery to be solved and unwilling heroes.
I didn't read the blurb on this, I just saw Alix E. Harrow had out a new book and I instantly wanted to read it.
There is a dark atmosphere the whole bo... READ MORE
A luscious Southern Gothic fantasy
Alix E. Harrow remains one of my favourite authors of all-time. I'm obsessed with how each of her novels is so different, while still often exploring simil... READ MORE
Dark, nightmarish and super creepy!
Starling House is everything you want in a gothic horror fantasy novel. I haven't read anything from this author before but Alix E.Harrow is now firmly on ... READ MORE
Gothic Fairytale Dreamland
A cursed town, stalked by monsters and tragedy is revealed in this gothic fantasy centred around a creaky old mansion that gave me Yaga Hut vibes and our h... READ MORE
Southern gothic served fresh
The burning desire, the tender warmth, the exquisite throbbing of hearts and heads as the emotional waves crest to a frothy bless in every scene of this bo... READ MORE
Satisfyingly spooky
A fabulous gothic fantasy horror novel set in the bleak rundown industrial down of Eden. It has all the classic elements for a successful novel - small tow... READ MORE
Monsters and ghosts and villains, oh my!
A cursed town, stalked by monsters and tragedy is revealed in this gothic fantasy centred around a creaky old mansion that gave me Yaga Hut vibes and our h... READ MORE
full 5 stars to this mesmerising, gothic fantasy
I was a little nervous when I started to read 'Starling House', as there was a lot of hype around this book on social media and sadly, sometimes a book doe... READ MORE
A Beautiful, Chilling & Truly Unique Book
’Once there was a little girl named Nora Lee who had bad, bad dreams. The dreams were full of blood and teeth, and they frightened her very much, but I wil... READ MORE
A gothic, Fantasy & mysterious book!
"I figure dreams are like stray cats, which will go away if I quit feeding them."
Starling House is a lovely book that's a good mixture between fantasy,... READ MORE
Southern Gothic delight
Starling House is a triumph of Southern Gothic storytelling, filled with atmospheric prose, dark secrets, and a heartwarming yet eerie love story. Alix E. ... READ MORE
Brilliant
A brilliant read with well-sketched characters. A very atmospheric read. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Gothic fairy-tale
Starling House is the perfect read for the upcoming spooky season. It features haunted houses, sinister dreams, old family secrets, grumpy protagonists, an... READ MORE
A gothic fantasy perfect for autumn/winter
Starling House is a Beauty and the Beast retelling where Opal, the main character, is drawn to Starling House and its Heir through some unexplainable dream... READ MORE
An atmospheric Southern Gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast
“To every child who needs a way into Underland. Befriend the Beasts, children, and follow them down.”
My thanks to Pan Macmillan Tor for an eARC via Net... READ MORE
ok read
I find this author a bit of a hit-and-miss for me. This book was a bit messy to start with and I had a bit of a hard time trying to understand what was goi... READ MORE
A sweeping gothic fairytale
On the surface, this is a book about a haunted house that is trying to call a girl home, and the lonely boy trapped inside longing for an escape. But, bene... READ MORE
Home, hauntings and histories that crack
Opal drifts into Starling House, desperate to save her brother’s future, only to find the house might be desperate for her too. Harrow lives in the bones o... READ MORE
A haunted house - an adult fairy tale - a town struggling to redeem iitself from its past - and a cat named Hellcat !
The small American town named Eden, still upholds the rumour, that a Miner named Willie Floyd , dug so deep in the infamous coal mine owned by the Gravlly ... READ MORE
Couldn’t put it down
A beautifully dark story, when first reading I had an image of monster house in my head. It highlights how people in power try to exploit those who do not;... READ MORE
Fantastic book
I've bought the because I was curious about it and I enjoy it
Can I give it 7 stars?!!!
Wow. Just… Wow. This is some of the most beautiful prose I’ve read in years. Descriptions you can lose yourself in, every adjective shaded with emotion. T... READ MORE