STARLING HOUSE by Alix E. Harrow – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Published by Tor Books on October 3 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric, eerie tale with a fairy tale vibe, Starling House will delight readers with its fantastical mysteries, subtle romance and heartfelt friendships.

“It’s something about the way the shadows fell in Eden, after Eleanor died. It’s the way everything soured: the river ran darker and the clouds hung lower; rich coal seams went dry and healthy children sickened; good luck went bad and sweet dreams spoiled. It’s the way Starling House crouches just out of sight, watching us all.”

Starling House is a beautifully written dark fantasy that feels almost like a fairy tale at times. In fact, it completely took me by surprise, with several elements that I wasn’t expecting, like a very sweet, low-key romance and an unusual house that is almost a character itself. It’s also fairly ambitious and felt a bit overcrowded at times, as the author didn’t always develop or explain certain plot elements to my satisfaction. Still, I ended up loving it with only a small reservation, so it was a win for me.

This is a hard story to sum up, so I’m just giving you the bare bones of the plot. The story takes place in a small, coal-mining town in Kentucky called Eden. Starling House, a mysterious and secluded house that was built by the late children’s author Eleanor Starling, is feared and avoided by many in town. Said to be haunted or cursed, it now sits empty, although now and then a light can be seen burning in an upstairs window.

Opal has lived in Eden her entire life and has weird dreams about Starling House, which is odd because she’s never been inside. One day she is drawn to its gates, and there she meets the current owner of the house, Arthur Starling. When Arthur asks Opal to come and work for him as a housekeeper—offering her a large sum of money—she immediately agrees. But getting to know Arthur is almost impossible. He’s grumpy and doesn’t seem to like Opal very much, and he’s obviously hiding something. Why is there a sword in Arthur’s bedroom? Where does the trap door in the floor lead to, and where is the key? And why does the house seem to be alive? The hallways change randomly, and Opal seems to be able to “communicate” with it.

When an outsider asks Opal to spy on Arthur and threatens her younger brother Jasper if she doesn’t, Opal knows she must protect Jasper at all costs. But the mystery of Starling House is calling to her, and the fate of Eden might depend on Opal and Arthur working together to save it.

Starling House is full of eerie ambiance, mostly due to Harrow’s skillful and descriptive writing. She has taken the fictional town of Eden, a sad, dying town that used to be famous for having the biggest power shovel in the world, and incorporated its history into the drama surrounding Arthur and Starling House. Part of that drama hinges on the owners of the coal mine, the Gravely brothers, and how their lives intertwined with Eleanor Starling and those that came after her. I loved the gothic tone of the book, especially the scenes that take place inside the house, and near the end of the story when things get a little weird, that gothic feel comes into play in a big way.

Harrow adds an interesting dynamic by making Opal and Jasper homeless, which gives the story an almost Dickensian feel. Opal is twenty-seven and Jasper is seventeen, and their mother died under suspicious circumstances eleven years ago. Opal’s minimum wage job at Tractor Supply barely pays for food, so the two live rent free in the Garden of Eden Motel, Room 12, courtesy of the owner, a brash but kind woman named Bev. Opal is determined to get Jasper out of Eden, so she’s been squirreling away money to pay for a private school, although surprise, surprise, that idea blows up in her face later on. When she meets Arthur, his reluctant kindness surprises her, and Harrow adds some sweet touches to the story that melted my heart (the wool coat!)

As for Opal, she’s sort of a tough cookie and not very loveable, although she’s tough because homelessness has made her tough. She shoplifts and even steals candlesticks and silverware from Starling House when she starts working there (to hawk on eBay), and despite her prickly personality, I felt for her and Jasper. Her two closest friends, Charlotte and Bev, are important to her, and even when they’re all sniping at each other, you can tell deep down they love each other. I really liked Opal despite the negatives, and I especially liked her when she interacted with Arthur.

Which brings me to the romance. Harrow’s story is almost a Beauty and the Beast retelling, because Arthur is described (multiple times) as “ugly.” But when they meet, you can almost hear the connection between the two crackle, it’s so well written. Arthur is a grumpy man with a lot on his plate (I won’t tell you everything because it’s fun to uncover the mystery yourself), but he meets his match in Opal, who refuses to do anything she’s told. Little by little, his defenses against her break down, and the resulting slow-burn romance is as sweet as anything I’ve read.

Then there is the mystery of what Arthur is doing at Starling House and the burden he’s put on himself to protect the town of Eden from what lies beneath the house. This is the part that felt like a fairy tale to me, the knight tasked with protecting his people, and it was very cool. Arthur’s “wardenship” is also tied to Eleanor Starling and her famous children’s book, The Underworld, and I loved the way the book and the house, fantasy and reality, are tangled together.

There are a couple of negatives, but first I want to say how gorgeous the finished hardcover is. There are illustrations throughout that remind me of the illustrations in the Wayward Children books, and that cover is simply stunning. Strangely enough, Harrow uses footnotes in her story, although there aren’t very many, thankfully. I’m still not sure why she included them, or if they were necessary at all.

I believe the author was trying to address racism, since she mentions slaves in the early days of the mine. Opal is described as a fiery red headed beauty, but Jasper is bullied because of the color of his skin, although I never caught specifics about his ethnicity. Did Jasper have a different father from Opal? If so I missed it, and I felt overall the remarks about race weren’t fleshed out enough to make a real impact. 

But those issues aside, Starling House was an immersive read that captured my imagination. It might not be my favorite of Alix E. Harrow’s books, but I’m so glad I had the chance to read it.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.