Starling House The perfect dark, Gothic fairytale and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Modern haunted house story

Mar aus - am 31.12.2024
Bewertungsnummer: 2375211
Bewertet: eBook (ePUB)

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)

Gorgeous , Poignant writing

Bewertung am 20.02.2025
Bewertungsnummer: 2417978
Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

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 !