Starling House

A solid 3.5 stars! I had originally picked this book up because the book cover and title had drawn me in. After glancing at the author, I knew I had to snag it because I had truly loved “The Ten Thousand Doors of January.” I had just completed her book “The Once and Future Witches,” which I had also fallen in love with. So I decided to pick up and immediately jump into “Starling House.” While I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the previous two books I mentioned, I did enjoy it enough to speed through it in 4 days. The book takes place in the fictional town of Eden, Kentucky; which was once thriving due to the coal industry driven by the Gravely Brothers, and soon turned to desolate & heartbreak for those who were too poor to flee town when the coal dried up. The story in particular follows 26 year old Opal, who along with her younger brother, Jasper, became orphaned at the age of 15. Since she was 15, she became a thief, liar, and a cheat who excelled at forgeries so that she could keep her brother with her. Life hasn’t been easy for those two, who has lived in a motel for most of their lives. Opal has made a lot of poor decisions in the name of keeping it all together for her brothers sake. Eden seems to be a pretty standard “down on its luck” town that we often see swept across America, once the coal industry dried up. We see those types of towns all up & down Appalachia and I have driven through them in real life. While I’m sure nearly all of those towns have their own versions of bad luck and ghost stories, Eden has something even more strange and unusual — The Starling House. Now what’s particular about the Starling house is that it isn’t just any old house who has some typical rumor-esque ghost stories floating around but that it seems to literally draw people in. Or at the very least, it draws in Opal. You see, Opal has been dreaming about that house for as long as she can remember. Or rather, having nightmares of that house. She has to constantly walk past it when she’s on her way to and from work. And one day while walking by, she meets the young owner of the house, who eventually offers for her a housekeeping / cleaning job with a substantial amount of a pay increase from Tractor Supply. It should come as no surprise that Opal pounces at the chance. She tells herself that it’s because the pay is good and it will cover her brother’s tuition and board at a private high school that sets kids up for a better trajectory in life…. But is that really the reason? Or are the reasons outside of her own understanding and more because the house is haunted and it calls her personally to enter as her own risk? While this book was marketed for adults, it did read more as a young adult ghost/haunted house novel. Again, it was not my favorite of the three that I have read of Harrow’s, but being that I enjoy haunted house/ghost/horror genre books, it was still a quick read that I’m glad I picked up.

I can see Reese buying the rights and turning it into a mini-series. One issue I have is that the storyline of the slick folks investigating the paranormal wasn’t fully resolved for me.

I enjoyed every page! I loved the characters. I envisioned it in my head it was so descriptive. I always trust Reese’s book club recommendations.

Gorgeous writing, period. This story frames incomprehensible grief and the unexpected corrosive effects of retribution (here,righteous), and social fears among Kentucky wisteria, coal kings and the hardscrabble genteel. Alix navigates generational wrongs and the multiple realities they create in a luminous and immensely satisfying way. A great chronicler of this interior life.

Good story but I could have skipped all the monster fights.

It was a good read.

I’d rate it 3.5 stars but not an option. It’s good I had a fun time reading it, I love books that have cleaning in them lol. Main characters could get pretty aggrevating in the middle chunk there, a lot of repetitive thoughts and conflicts. Wish the romance was slower burn. I really like the ending though. All in all nice read

Slow, mired in details and odd!

Truly could not put it down. Captivating story.