My Five Word TL:DR Review : Love Me, Love Me Not

Well, I will start this review by saying that Starling House is a beautiful written gothic fantasy story with a fairytale feel and a house that actually steals the show a little.  I did have a few issues here and there but nothing that stopped me wanting to pick the book up, just little things that kind of worry at you as you’re reading.  But, those little miscreants aside this truly is a thing of beauty.

Lets begin.

The titular Starling House sits in it’s own extensive grounds in the small town of Eden in Kentucky.  Eden, once made prosperous by its extensive mining operation, is now a town fallen on hard times.  It’s inhabitants seem downbeat and it’s hardly surprising given the high number of accidents that seem to occur there.  A number of tall tales circulate about Starling House – none of them quite tally although all have cross over elements – and everyone stays away from the place believing the house is cursed and at the root of Eden’s downfall.

As the story begins we meet Opal.  A 27 year old young woman who has suffered loss and really struggled.  Her mother died in a terrible car accident and she and her younger brother have lived in a motel room since then (barely escaping the notice of children’s services by bare faced lies on the part of Opal).  For many years Opal has been fascinated by Starling House.  She owns a copy of the fantasy book penned by E Starling, who mysteriously disappeared shortly after the book was published, and she also has dreams of the house itself, elaborate dreams that beguile and fascinate her (although she has never stepped inside the place).  One night, on her trek home from work, she stops to look beyond the gates and is surprised to be spoken to by the current owner, Arthur – who, with not a little annoyance instructs her to RUN.

Long story short Opal eventually finds herself working for Arthur – much to his consternation – and from then on things start to spiral.  The house seems to have it’s own agenda and on top of that there are others who are interested in knowing the secrets of Starling House and will stop at nothing to find out.

So, what I really loved about this.

Well, I’m an absolute sucker for beautifully written stories, and should these stories have a fairytale quality, a house that feels alive, a cat straight from hell and the most delicious gothic-y vibes – then you’ve pretty much got my attention.

That being said I did have a few irritants and maybe I’ll discuss them before going further.  Opal, 27 going on 17.  Considering her life experiences I think she would have been a much tougher nut to crack.  I totally understand many of the issues that she was going through and her overpowering desire to protect her brother but, at the same time how about trying to talk to your brother, it sometimes felt like the two barely spent two minutes together which I  found a bit annoying, particularly given that Opal is making a lot of assumptions about what he does and doesn’t want from life – ask him.  Also, like I said, even given all the terrible events that Opal has suffered through, and I totally understand her need to have a tough outer shell and to focus just simply on her own small family unit, but she felt too gullible – maybe it would have worked better if she’d been a little younger.  Now, I’ve said all that and it probably seems like I didn’t like Opal – but I did.  She’s feisty.  She’s hardworking.  She loves her brother and wants to get him out of Eden.  She is curious and stubborn and although she has a great capacity for telling fibs and being sometimes a little sticky fingered she really does have a heart of gold – it’s just surrounded by many prickly thorns.

Let’s talk about Arthur.  I confess I found myself having a great deal of sympathy for his circumstances.  He was the last inhabitant of Starling House and although he didn’t ask or want this onus he takes it on board –  even after losing everything he holds dear.  I liked Arthur, and I liked him even more after the Hellcat took a liking to him – the two seemed so good together.

This brings me to the house itself.  I loved this house.  It has a character of its own, turning on and off lights, interfering and engineering circumstances so that Arthur and Opal would be thrown together.  I just loved Starling House.  And it’s brought to life with such finesse that I could picture wandering through the rooms and, in fact, becoming lost in it’s labyrinthine layout.

Which leads me to the fairytale feel.  I love a dark and twisted fairy story – and okay, there are no fae in this story but there are strange monsters and hauntingly creepy goings on.  I wouldn’t call this horror to be fair but it makes a great read at this time of year when the nights have closed in and the weather has taken a drop.  And this is so clever.  There’s a number of tales surrounding E Starling and Starling House and in true fairytale fashion none of them are the same although all of them share similarities.  The most famous fairy stories have changed over the course of time, some with much harsher originals than those we are now familiar with. In Starling House the author has created a story that feels like it’s foundations started with Beauty and the Beast but which then grew into a story of it’s very own and I really like that.

Overall, I loved reading this, I had a little bit of a pacing issue at one point and I felt irritated with Opal every now and again, but my overriding feeling was a simple love for the written word and turn of phrase and I will say that Harrow is a genius in that respect.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars