Starling House

 Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, 309 pages.

Eden, Kentucky is a dying coal town, just like any other. But if a town could be cursed it was a good candidate for it, full of bad luck and choking on it's own poison. The only real claim to fame Eden has is the reclusive 19th children's author E. Starling, who vanished and left her creepy house behind. Opal knows better than to get involved with that kind of trouble, and no matter that she's been dreaming of the house since her mother died and left her taking care of her little brother on her own. But when Starling House's heir, the shunned and surly Arthur Starling, offers her a cleaning job for a frankly ludicrous salary she has to take it. It may be her only chance to get her brother out of Eden. Soon Opal develops a fascination with the strange house she can't repress, a fascination that starts to feel more and more like the dangerous feelings of comfort and belonging, despite all signs that Starling House is not a safe home.

This was a phenomenal novel, and has finally secured Harrow's place on my list of favorite authors. The prose is unbelievably lush, and grabbed me from the first page. Even with fantasy elements that are uncommon in the genre I would still consider this a true Southern Gothic novel, and it really leans into the rich symbolism common to the genre. I also loved both of our protagonists, who were both deeply flawed and very compelling. Overall I think I would recommend this spooky, atmospheric book to most people.