I’ve never been the biggest fan of romance-heavy books, especially not of the current wave of ‘romantasy’ stories where the spice level often overshadows the actual plot (my opinion, sorry). But Starling House struck the right balance for me: just a bit of romance, without losing the main plot, and not tipping into territory I’d rather skip.
Sure, the plot might sound familiar: an outsider growing up in a small, struggling town, trying to help her brother escape that place and dealing with personal loss, only to get drawn into the orbit of another equally haunted outsider and the strange world surrounding him (quite the mouthful). Still, Harrow’s storytelling turns the familiar into something immersive. Her writing pulled me in and the gothic undercurrent running through the story gave it the moody vibe I was hoping for.
A special mention has to go to the beautiful, sporadic artwork scattered through this book and the footnotes. Small touches, but they added so much to the read.
This isn’t the kind of fantasy packed with world-ending battles or back-to-back cliffhangers (stretched through multiple books). It’s kind of quieter, packed in one story (book): a dark, gothic journey through a fantasy world that feels deeply rooted in the grim realities of the one the protagonists (and also we) live in. Even though the pacing slowed here and there, Starling House is a solid standalone for anyone who wants a self-contained, beautifully written fantasy without the commitment of a sprawling series.
