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Starling House

A Reese's Book Club Pick

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Starling House

Written by: Alix E. Harrow
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
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About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

“This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting—plus, characters willing to risk everything.”—Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’23 Pick)

Starling House is a gorgeous, modern gothic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen….

Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but above all, she's determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago.

All she left behind were dark rumors—and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway.

I should be scared, but in the dream I don’t hesitate.

Opal has been obsessed with The Underland since she was a child. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House—and make some extra cash for her brother's escape fund—she can't resist.

But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she might finally have found a reason to stick around.

In my dream, I’m home.

And now she’ll have to fight.

Welcome to Starling House: enter, if you dare.

A Book of the Month Club Pick

An October 2023 Indie Next Pick

A LibraryReads October 2023 Hall of Fame Pick

Apple, Best Books of October

EW.com, Fall Book Must Reads 2023

Washington Post, Noteworthy Books for October

Paste Magazine, The Must-Read Fantasy Books of Fall 2023

PopSugar Best New Fantasy Books of 2023

BookPage, Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023

Observer, Must-Read Books of Fall 2023

Polygon, 12 Best New SFF for the Fall

LitHub, October’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Bookish, October’s Most-Anticipated Books

Gizmodo, October's Huge List of New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2023 Alix E. Harrow (P)2023 Macmillan Audio
Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Gothic Scary Haunted Dream Paranormal
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What the critics say

"As knife-edged and sharp as its protagonist...A smart, spectacular contemporary Gothic that will leave its roots in you and linger in your dreams."—Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians

"Alix E. Harrow is an exceptional, undeniable talent, and Starling House, with its gentle reassurances of the homes we make and the love we deserve, is more than satisfying. It’s pure loveliness in book form."—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

"Gorgeous, poignant, and honest—an unforgettable read."—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

What listeners say about Starling House

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  • Overall
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Great story !

Enjoyed this creepy adventure and getting to know the characters. Looking forward listening to another book by Alex.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome!

I loved this one! Couldn’t stop listening! Well worth the credit if you like fantasy that stars regular people.

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  • Overall
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Spooky read perfect for October

Loved this story! Spooky, chilling, humorous and very addictive. The narrator moved smoothly between characters and lent a perfect emotive quality to the story!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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great!

perfect October story. missing the characters already! another captivating title from this author!! dreaming of starting house

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Not usually a fan of gothic/spooky stories but I loved the characters and am genuinely a fan of the this author - two books down, more to go!!

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Great plot twist(s)!

It was a great story. A bit harder to get into than the author’s ‘three witches’ book but, worth the wait to truly connect to the characters and the storyline. It distinctly builds to a full comprehension and crescendo type moment. I enjoyed this novel thoroughly.

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my new favourite book

I wish I read a physical copy of this book so I could re-read favourite scenes, lines, chapters.... all of it. this was incredibly poetic, cohesive and captivating. my love for this book may be linked to how I can personally relate to it so easily. but that doesn't take away from the fact it's so well written. I cried, chuckled, stopped in my tracks to listen closer, I got angry and I got so happy. I also want a novella of details in how the family now spends their time just being and loving eachother. that is, if it's true what they say about the new Starlings.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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The main character is shockingly immature and insufferable

The main character suffers from “I’m the main character syndrome”. She thinks the world revolves around her and she treats everyone poorly. Having a tough life does not justify her reactions and how she talks to the people closest to her. She acts like a spoiled teenager with a bad attitude.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Not what I expected

Not sure I’m a fan of this genre after listening. Great narrator and story had me for a while but lagged in the end. Probably wouldn’t recommend.

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Atmospheric, haunting and delicious!

Enjoyed this audible book immensely! Very inventive story (which I love about the author). At times I wanted to shake Opal, but her story meandered and weaved through life in Eden so you couldn’t help but root for her! The narrator’s voice evoked such atmospheric emotions that I could feel the terror, pain and relief in all the characters! In my top three of books I have read in 2023.

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