Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The house being a character in itself is always fun. There was a good blend of ""I want to live there"" and ""this place is scary."" Naudus always does an excellent job but there were some subtle mic changes/volume changes here and there. I'm not sure the average listener would even notice them.

I wanted to love this book but I found that it was not for me. I tried so hard to get into it. This one was dragging on and on. I wasn't connecting with any of the characters. I found the story a bit confusing.

For fans of modern gothic, the audiobook of Alix E. Harrow's Starling House delivers a captivating experience. The narrator beautifully brings to life the eerie atmosphere and complex characters, particularly Opal and Arthur, as they navigate the secrets of the mysterious Starling House. The pacing keeps you hooked, perfectly balancing moments of suspense with poignant character development. It's a truly immersive listen that will transport you to the heart of Eden, Kentucky, leaving you eager to uncover every last one of the house's dark whispers.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This wasa great read, would recommend and even reread or buy

I have loved everything that I've read from Alix E. Harrow. This particular book took me a little bit longer to get into than usual, but by the end I was hooked. The audiobook is excellent.

I know it's wrong to judge a book based on what you expect instead of on it's own merits. But in the world of backpage summaries, that rarely tends to be the case. I desired something a little scarier, and much less YA feeling. That is not what this delivered.

This is a well written book. The similies were clever. The characters were interesting and multi-facited. The setting was interesting because you didn’t want to go there, but it still felt well crafted. Considering how important it became in the end, the romance was underdeveloped. The pacing in the middle felt slow. Yet, when I was finished listening to the audiobook, I felt the book was lacking the spark to make me all in love and as I write this review, I don’t know what it was lacking.

Natalie Naudus does a fantastic job narrating.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for my honest thoughts.

This book is incredibly atmospheric. It would make for a great discussion book because I found myself wanting to discuss with others. It had that magical appeal, but yet grounded.

I have complex feelings about this book. I feel like it was very much unsure if it wanted to be gothic or fantasy, so it did a poor job trying to do both simultaneously. I feel like this could've been a great found family narrative, but the romance spoiled it for me like putting one thing too much in an already bloated narrative. Any time it had any sense of pace things slowed glacially and it felt like it took forever for anything else to occur. The characters all think they're smart, but really they're pretentious and narcissistically self-serving - especially Opal who thinks she knows what's best for everyone with no input from them (especially Jasper). Everything was told not shown, so much I was getting beat over the head by repeated inane descriptive phrases that told me jack shit. I hated the resolution with the Underland and Opal's interaction with Eleanor was soooo goddamn cringey. I didn't like pretty much any of these characters, wanting to shove them all off a cliff at one point or another. Overall, the idea of a cursed sentient house was neat but executed so badly I almost DNF'ed numerous times. At 45% through the book I was thinking, "how is this still going?!!" Enough said.
On that note, the audio is why I finished and the narration is phenomenal.

Thank you to Netgalley for a review copy of this audiobook, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc of this novel!

Firstly, the audio production and narrator were incredible for this audiobook. They did a great job!

Secondly, I was thoroughly entertained, creeped out, and in love with all the workings of this story. Starling House is such an interesting house & setting. The atmosphere is beautiful. And the characters are relatable. I really enjoyed the fantasy elements interwoven with the harsh reality of being human. Definitely recommend!

What a great audio of this book! I really liked the house and the spooky vibes, great for a fall read. I liked the gray characters, but the end felt to rushed like a drop off.

This book had plenty of potential - gothic house, cursed family, strange deaths, the vibes are on point and it has nice writing! For me, the pace of this book was much too slow and I wish things had more space to breathe/were more fleshed out. There was a lot going on and yet I felt like so many things were left unexplored. Ultimately, great ideas but the execution left a bit to be desired for me. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it - this is a great spooky season read and honestly, I'm in love with the house itself... It has such character! I just think this book didn't reach its full potential. I listened to this as an audio and enjoyed the narration!

Rating: 3.5 stars/5

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I want to love fantasy/magical books. I want that so much!! Especially each year in the fall. Unfortunately it just isn’t for me and I decided to DNF. However it’s very much about the wrong reader and not about the book.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for granting me access to Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.

This is quite the dark, atmospheric fantasy with strong Southern Gothic vibes. Opal, a tough young woman stuck in a dead-end life takes a job as the caretaker of a creepy old mansion in a run-down town. The house itself is mysterious and alive in ways she doesn't expect, and it's tied to the strange history and secrets of the town.

The book really hit the mark for me in terms of the moody, eerie atmosphere, and the house feels like a character on its own. Opal is a relatable and gritty protagonist, and as she uncovers more about the house and its owner, Arthur, you get pulled deeper into the mystery.

My issue is the pacing can feel a bit slow at times, but the suspense and emotional weight make it worth it. If you're into gothic mysteries and stories with haunted houses and dark secrets, this one's definitely for you. The narration was on point for this book. The pacing issues were truly a writing style complaint for me.

I so enjoyed this grim read! I wasn't planning on this being the first book of Alix E. Harrow's that I actually read - I own the other two and haven't read them yet, like a weirdo - but this came up for a book club and seemed like the perfect start to get me into the autumnal mood! Spooky, gothic, the house is a character - everything up my alley. Harrow takes a mirror to the underbelly of a town very well. I had a little bit of sighing over some stereotypical characterization but I loved the house and vibes so much that I really didn't mind.

Beautiful and perfect. This one was written for me.

I absolutely adored this story and the audio version was both eerie and beautiful. My only complaint is that it was simply too short - I wanted more story.

The haunting peculiarities of a dying town and the famously uncanny Starling House simply sound better from Natalie Naudus. The famously reclusive 19th-century children’s book author E. Starling disappeared from Eden, Kentucky, and the town has not been right since. The last heir, Arthur Starling, is just as mysterious as his family line, but Opal cannot say no to a job offer that can get her brother out of their motel room and into a private boarding school where the town’s smoke won’t irritate his health. As Opal returns to clean the house daily, things get stranger. So strange that Arthur is forced to disclose a terrible truth about what really haunts the Starlings. Opal must confront Arthur’s demons with him if they both want to make it out of Starling House alive.

Wonderful dark gothic story. Starling house is a harrowing journey from start to finish. Interesting fantasy story.

I liked this book, though it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be a straight gothic horror, and while that is definitely present, it's not all that's there genre-wise. It did still have a spooky house, I just with we got MORE of the spooky house.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I do recommend it to fans of the genre.

First of all, I thought the narrator was great! I just didn't love the story that much. It didn't really pick up until around halfway through, and the ending felt very rushed.
I do think it's a great read for those who aren't normally into the spooky or horror genre as kind of a "light spooky" book, but for big fans of the genre, I think they will be underwhelmed.