Starling House

I admit I’m a little disappointed, since I wanted Starling House to lean more into the Horror/Mystery aspects of the story, but it works in this case. It’s not a typical haunted house mystery – the house itself is far from being a hostile entity. It’s more of a small town mystery with heavy focus on romance and family drama. I liked Opals character a lot though. She’s a well-written, flawed and complex heroine. But since I expected this story to be much darker in tone, it still kind of missed the mark for me a little. Still a good read.

The writing is gorgeous , lyrical prose , perfect for those who wants creepy haunted house gothic fantasy but with small town romance subplot. Vivacious howl of a story indeed. I will be looking for more of the authors work !

Dieses Buch hat meine Erwartungen übertroffen! Das Englische Original hat es mit der mystischen Atmosphäre und der poetischen Sprache geschafft, mir Gänsehaut zu machen. Und das bei Wartezimmerromantik :D Kann jemand sagen, ob das in der deutschen Version gut rüberkommt? Am Rande der Kleinstadt Eden steht ein altes Haus. Den einzigen Bewohner bekommt niemand je zu Gesicht. Es ist als „haunted House“ bekannt, und alle machen einen großen Bogen darum. Opal ist mit den Horror-Geschichten rund um das Haus groß geworden, aber eine seltsame Faszination zieht sie immer wieder dahin zurück. Dichter Nebel zieht um das Haus - immer öfter- und mit dem Nebel, sagt man, kommen Ungeheuer und Albträume. Auch als Opals Mutter gestorben ist zog Nebel übers Land. Seitdem träumt Opal jede Nacht von Starling House. Und warum beobachten Menschen in schwarzen dunklen Autos das Anwesen? Viel mehr möchte ich gar nicht zu dem Buch sagen. Mich hat es absolut mitgenommen, vor allem die mystery vibes gehen unter die Haut. Aber man muss bereit sein anderen Realitäten offen zu begegnen. Wo ist die Grenze zwischen Realität und Traum? Gleichzeitig ist das Buch eine Hommage an alle, die sich nirgendwo zu Hause fühlen - an die Streuner unter uns. Im Buchclub gab es einen Kritikpunkt, den ich euch nicht vorenthalten möchte: Es gibt einige Nebenhandlungsstränge, die nicht zum Hauptplott beitragen und nirgendwo hinführen. Das kann von den Ereignissen, die auch durch verschiedene Hauptstränge führen ablenken. Für mich persönlich hat es der Story aber nicht geschadet! Fazit: Das Buch ist aufgrund seines speziellen Charakters sicher nicht für jeden geeignet. Aber auf alle, die sich trauen, und mehr über Starling House und seinen mystischen Ursprung erfahren möchten, wartet ein wundervolles, wenn auch ungewohntes, Leseerlebnis.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of romance-heavy books, especially not of the current wave of ‘romantasy’ stories where the spice level often overshadows the actual plot (my opinion, sorry). But Starling House struck the right balance for me: just a bit of romance, without losing the main plot, and not tipping into territory I’d rather skip. Sure, the plot might sound familiar: an outsider growing up in a small, struggling town, trying to help her brother escape that place and dealing with personal loss, only to get drawn into the orbit of another equally haunted outsider and the strange world surrounding him (quite the mouthful). Still, Harrow’s storytelling turns the familiar into something immersive. Her writing pulled me in and the gothic undercurrent running through the story gave it the moody vibe I was hoping for. A special mention has to go to the beautiful, sporadic artwork scattered through this book and the footnotes. Small touches, but they added so much to the read. This isn’t the kind of fantasy packed with world-ending battles or back-to-back cliffhangers (stretched through multiple books). It’s kind of quieter, packed in one story (book): a dark, gothic journey through a fantasy world that feels deeply rooted in the grim realities of the one the protagonists (and also we) live in. Even though the pacing slowed here and there, Starling House is a solid standalone for anyone who wants a self-contained, beautifully written fantasy without the commitment of a sprawling series.

This book kept me on my toes until the very end with its dark haunted house and the cursed small town in Kentucky where people have turned a blind eye on injustice and many "bad luck" incidents for decades. Our main character is Opal, a stray that fell through the cracks, and who only survives on odd jobs, stealing, lying and her refusal to dream of things she can't have. Ironically, it is her dreams of a better future for her younger brother Jasper and her reoccurring nightmares that one day lead her to the doorstep of Starling House where she meets Arthur - whose hostile and distant behaviour seems to confirm every scary rumor surrounding the Starling property and residents. With both, Opal and Arthur being depicted as ugly, betraying and unfriendly cast aways, I worried that I would not relate enough to either of them to enjoy their story but luckily, that was not the case. The book is written beautifully and alternates between Opals and Arthur's perspective, unwrapping the many versions of how and why the town and its inhabitants were cursed. The story clearly falls into the realistic fantasy genre and is packed with the town's dark history, family lies and legends, some corporate villains and the wonderful haunted house and its creepy shadows. I wonder if the author tried to fit in too much but then again, I wouldn't know which part to skip or shorten (certainly not the slow liking of Opal and Arthur!). At the same time, I perceived the ending as a bit rushed and, at least when it comes to Opal, out of character (too soft, too patient, too understanding). Still, the book truly deserves all its praise and is a great read for every fan of gothic, realistic fantasy. (4,5/5 stars)