Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Synopsis (via Goodreads): A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I started Starling House last January and didn't pick it back up again until a few days ago. I got really annoyed with the main character and how she justified her actions throughout the book. Did she have a rough childhood? Yes. Did she choose to lie and cheat and steal in order to take care of herself and her brother? Yes. I honestly don't even blame her for that. However, I did have a problem with how she treated the people in her life. Her past didn't absolve her from the choices she made in the present, nor did it give her an excuse to be a terrible person.

Opal's personality left a lot to be desired. The book repeatedly talked about her crooked teeth and mean smile, and she was content with lowering herself to other people's expectations. Opal had people in her life that accepted her for who she was, and she chose bitterness over their help and friendship. When she eventually bullies her way into a job at Starling House, she doesn't hesitate to snoop and steal from an employer that's vastly overpaying her for a job he didn't want to give her in the first place. She wasn't a good person but at least she didn't pretend to be one either.

Arthur Starling was only slightly less annoying. He kept his thoughts and feelings locked down and rarely showed any hint of emotion or concern for anything other than the house itself. Even that he neglected - and intentionally damaged - until reluctantly (and seemingly at the house's insistence) accepting Opal's offer to clean and repair it. A house that had done nothing to deserve his anger, he abused because he didn't know how to deal with his feelings like an adult. I also hated how Opal kept referring to him as "ugly." It wasn't a one-time thing I could look past, but something that was repeated over and over again anytime his physical appearance was described by someone in the book.

Starling House was easily the star of the story. It reminded me of the one from Encanto, only darker and with sharp teeth and claws. It and the hellcat were two of the only things I liked about Starling House. Although, I would have loved more interactions with the house itself, since its sentience was a huge draw for me as I was reading this book. I was *this close* to DNFing it but kept going because I was curious about the house's history and what role it played in the story. Sadly, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions and an unsatisfying ending. 

This book had a really interesting concept that I think was poorly executed. It also felt unnecessarily long. The middle of the book dragged on and on without really saying anything important. Most of what we learn about the house and its mysteries we get in the last 50 pages or so. If the story was cleaned up, and the characters were restructured a bit, I think I would like this one a lot more. Unfortunately, I only found it mildly interesting and it was a relief to finally turn the last page. (★★★☆☆)