Welcome to Litsy!

I hovered between soft Pick & So-So but ultimately the love story at the crux of this felt a bit needless in my opinion. The originator of the “curse” on the other hand was very compelling and the final quarter made me like the book infinitely more. This is ultimately a story of family (both found and inherited) - I wish that was the focal point throughout. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Overall, was a quick read with a great setting.

This book was atmospheric and reminded me a bit of a southern gothic. I liked Opal as a flawed, yet scrappy main character who only wanted the best for her brother and was a survivor. I also love sentient house stories, and this did not disappoint. The OwlCrate version is gorgeous!

The tagged *finally* came off hold for me! So on to a belated #AuldLangSpine pick 💖 @DGRachel @monalyisha

#BkClubPick 📖 #SpringSkies 🌺🌸🌼🌻🌨️☀️

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

This is very good. I really appreciate this author.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Next up on #kindle

I had to spend a few days thinking about how I wanted to review this book. There were things I loved and didn‘t like. I had really high hopes when I began. I enjoyed the premise, the descriptive details, and beautiful writing and wording. But as the story developed I felt a little let down! I really wanted a bang of an ending or something and it just didn‘t give that, went with a more predictable plotline. Another 3.5 stars from me.

Okay I'm half way through. We know what's up at the house so.... Is the story about to totally change? I hate thinking it's not going to be as atmospheric as the first part.
Tell me but don't tell me! No spoilers!

"??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???'? ????" ??????? ?????? ?? ?????????, ? ????? ???? ???. ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ???????, ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????."

Having a sick day! Plans are to stay in bed most of the day and finish the tagged book.

This will be a contender for my favorite book of 2024. I love Harrow's style, characters, and voice. I often find myself stopping to appreciate sentence construction, description, and diction. Add that to a loveable protagonist and an imaginative Gothic story and this is a can't miss add to your TBR.

Loving the footnotes! Such a surprise.
Doing the audiobook and the narrator is great. So atmospheric.
Only 2 hrs in to a 12 hr read.
#hauntedhouse #gothic #footnotes

🙌 Thank you for these amazing footnotes, Alix. 😅

Happy Monday ☀️

This Gothy goodness was just what the doctor ordered for a sick day. Opal is my fave kind of heroine: gritty, tough, and morally ambiguous. Don‘t cross her, don‘t curse her, or you‘ll be MORTALLY sorry.

Up next.

I'm not usually one for haunted house books but this was the perfect amount of spooky, not scary. The mystery of the small town and the house is perfectly drawn out through stories and folk tales that all have a grain of truth. The characters were well written, flawed but likeable. Overall this was a bit magical and a smidge romantic. I enjoyed reading it.

4⭐️ I love flawed characters, I love light horror, I love twists and turns. But something about this one left me wanting more, and not in the usual “I thirst for more and need to read every book ever written”, but more of the “something is missing” or “why wasn‘t this added!?”. Still would recommend- beauty and the beast mixed with Alice in Wonderland & Narnia.

Decent month. Working on being a Hilderbrand completist. Did complete my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin. #BookSpinBingo

I'm determined to finish crocheting my blanket today and then starting the tagged book for a buddy read!💖📘
✨️Ⓗⓐⓟⓟⓨ Ⓕⓡⓘⓓⓐⓨ✨️

It‘s an entertaining read, but I‘m not sure if I was just in a different space while reading this one as I can‘t say it‘s my favorite book so far or highlight it as much as other reviewers. The story takes place in Eden, Kentucky. There‘s a bit of everything in the story from romance, mythical, tragedy. It takes a few chapters to reel you in, but I did enjoy the use of footnotes in the story. If you‘ve read it let me know your thoughts.

Characterization is super. I could almost see them in my mind. The setting, ditto. Atmospheric, creepy, horror done right IMO. The plot and the progression is great, kept me glued to the book. Best book so far this year.

It kept evoking something I already read years ago. I'm not a big horror reader, so enjoying this so much was a surprise.

Excited for these two! #bookspin #doublespin

I finally finished Starling House after over a week. I had a migraine for about three days so I didn‘t read very much. I really liked this book. I received it in my OwlCrate box in October and I‘m glad because it is a gorgeous edition. I liked that this book was fantasy mixed with a little romance and it definitely kept me reading.

Reading during a pedicure this morning #selfcaresaturday
Loving this book! I'm not usually one for spooky haunted houses but this one has sucked me into the story. And I love the use of footnotes in a fiction book, it really adds to the world building

February ebooks to read:

#ReadMyKindle
@CBee

Just starting this book today. It is so atmospheric and intriguing. This line made me chuckle because it's exactly how I feel reading these first chapters 😅

I loved reading this so much that I had to buy a copy for myself - and while researching prices, I saw that Barnes & Noble had an exclusive edition with a bonus epilogue… so obviously had to have that one (after I talked myself down from buying an illumicrate edition with sprayed edges).

I dunno how I feel about this book. It was s-l-o-w to read. It was all vibes. For the most part, I enjoyed the writing, and the relationships between the characters, but I didn't finish it with an opinion one way or the other. We'll be talking about it when I host book club on the 30th. I can't imagine that the ladies in my group will have enjoyed it

Day off because of winter weather. I would like to say snow day but it is more ice on the roads. Here is south Louisiana we don‘t have the equipment to deal with it. We also have a LOT of water and bridges which makes it difficult.

Just finished my first book of the year! Starling House by Alix E. Harrow was such a good book! It was spooky yet cozy and everything I wanted to start my year off solid 4 star read!

Just finished my first book of the year! Starling House by Alice E. Harrow was such a good book! It was spooky yet cozy and everything I wanted to start my year off solid 4 star read!

Just finished my first book of the year! Starling House by Alice E. Harrow was such a good book! It was spooky yet cozy and everything I wanted to start my year off solid 4 star read!

Book 1🎧 4⭐️

A haunted house. A romance. A family lie.

Starling house has it all!

A great start to 2024!

I think this could have been a pick for me, had it been shorter. It dragged in the middle.

Southern Gothic story featuring a sentient manor house on top of a nexus which the MC has been dreaming about ever since her mother died.

#52bookclub24 - A grieving character

A gothic, epic tale that caught me off guard. My favorite genre started as historical fictional then some rom-com and is morphing into fantasy magic. Cozy and grim, I could picture and feel everything as if I were there with Opal. Book #88 in 2023

That was not what I was expecting, though I am not sure what I was expecting beyond the "haunted house," likely due to a lack of imagination on my part. The writing was simply delicious.

This may be my favorite Alix Harrow yet. I really loved this mix of realism and fantasy Harrow painted into the story. This author is so good at that. There‘s really not much that I can say that wouldn‘t be spoilery. If you like modern magical fantasy set in our world and time, maybe give this a go!

Harrow has a way with prose that sinks into you. If you like Gaiman‘s Sandman for the layering of stories and myths, you might like this. If you like House of Leaves cause houses that are really labyrinths are cool, you might like this. If you‘ve ever looked up on a hill to see a light in a window and wished that was home, this is the book for you.

So excited for my first #AuldLangSpine with @DGRachel ! Your list is filled with a few titles I‘ve had on my TBR which is a fun jumping off point (the tagged, Vera Wong, Divine Rivals) but the rest are new to me and all seem super interesting! ✨🥳💖 I‘m unsure where I want to start first (unless you have suggestions?) but my gut says the tagged. 🥰

Thank you so much @monalyisha for this epic way to kick off the year!

To be fair I'll automatically read this author and this title is a perfect example of why. I love getting lost in her writing. Add this one to your must read list!

#MMDBookClub 2023 Fall Book Preview

fantasy • dark-gothic • haunted-house • mystery • thriller • 5-Stars

Starling House is a gothic fantasy novel that tells the story of Opal, a young woman who takes a job cleaning the haunted Starling House -- a mansion where the mysterious author, E. Starling, wrote a children‘s book about a dark and magical world called The Underland. ⬇️