This week Hazel reviews Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. Hazel says:

“I picked this book up from the library not entirely sure I would like it. Reviews online had led me to believe it was more of a gothic romance than a gothic horror (and romance isn’t really my thing) but they were entirely misleading and I ended up loving the book! It’s a Southern Gothic set in a small town in Kentucky that’s under a curse. It had a lot of elements I enjoy in this kind of story: local legends and superstitions, townspeople that all know each other’s business but turn a blind eye to the wrongs being committed by those with power, a scrappy underdog protagonist, and supernatural forces.

But what really blew me away was the writing style. The prose was absolutely gorgeous, lyrical without ever becoming purple, and I found myself reading it slowly to savour every sentence. I think the author’s other novels are quite different in tone but I’ll definitely be picking them up regardless.”

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