Dina
Oh, man, did this book grab my insides and twist them all around.
I went through a whole plethora of emotions while reading this. It is so raw, it hits the nail in the head every time. Sometimes it leaves you with a satisfied feeling, sometimes it rips your heart out and stomps on it.
I can't remember the last time I read something like this, but I know without a doubt that it'll stay with me for a long while.
Honestly, this author's writing hasn't yet failed to drag me down into the atmosphere created in each book, and Starling House was no exception.
I had a great time with it. I like that it was quite eerie at points, but there was still that underlying feeling of coziness.
I liked how we had all these versions of the story until we finally got to the truth, and, man, was it dark... it highlights the worst bits of society, how we see wrongs being done, but don't intervene, sometimes in fear that it'll turn against us.
I don't know, I'm sick, but the story made sense to me on a deeper level and I enjoyed it immensely.
Highly entertaining.
Between the mystery of what in the holy hell is going on and the fun (and sometimes cute) interactions between the main characters, the constant ups and downs of their successes and the extremely high-strung life-or-death situations kept me on the edge of my seat all the time. I couldn't put it down.
I also loved the format in which the story is told.
4.5 stars
I like the humor, I like how it tells you the real truths no one wants to face (because they're often uncomfortable), I like how it puts things into perspective and tells you about all the different ways you can have faith, and I also like how it gives you a “real ending”, because things don't always happen the way they show you in the movies (did part of me want it to give me exactly that? Yes. However, I am capable of appreciating it for what it is).
I don't know.
Maybe it's because I read this book over two months (though I had to put it down for a few weeks in between, because life), but it felt like the weirdest mix of really compelling stuff and sections that seemed too preachy.
Although I get the point of some of the subplots and the twists and all the different bits with privileged characters sort of reassessing their lives and trying to see things from different perspectives (even mentally clapping at some moments where the main character could not really deal with her friend's “blindness” to these issues), some were sooooo shoved in my face that kind of took the focus away from the actual story happening behind all of this.
So I'll settle for a three-star rating because, even though I couldn't give it any more than that, it also feels wrong to give it any less, seeing as I can never truly understand the struggle that the main character (and others around her) lives with constantly and that's one of the points this book is trying to get across.
3.5 stars
I like Gaiman's writing. I like that it's a special kind of weird that doesn't make fantasy look too Disney-like, but also doesn't gross me out every single page.
Still, something felt off about that ending to me. I didn't like nor dislike it, it just... I don't know how to explain it. It may have been because I read it just as I was about to exit the train to go to work, so it may have felt rushed because I was rushing as well.
I do have to say that the Portuguese translation is not the best I've read before. I had to read and re-read multiple sentences to actually understand what was happening, and some were so confusing, I actually had to go to the original English version to understand.
All in all, it was a short and entertaining story.
3.5 stars
I... Where to even begin?
I feel like the initial idea was good, don't get me wrong because I definitely enjoyed reading it, but there were things in it that I just... Hmm.
In the beginning, it felt like the author was trying to make it so hard for the heroine, always pushing her back against a wall, and that ended up with the author leading the story towards endless dead-ends. So, then, obviously, the author had to come up with the wildest solutions for these pickles, and that's how we ended up with some sort of vampire-zombie-dementor hybrid as a way to score some sort of “happy” ending.
Hey, it was original in a way, I guess. I didn't completely dislike it or anything. It just threw me for a loop there and took a while to get my head wrapped around the idea. Still, it was quite a ride from beginning to end, for sure.
My heart is full.
I love Jude and all her strengths and weaknesses.
I wish every family dealing with what hers and Layla's have could have a happy ending somehow, but I fear humanity can be too irrationally cruel for that. Still, I love the hopeful tone of the story and I want to hug it and never let go.
4.5 stars
Has some cheesy moments or bits that made me roll my eyes a little, but it was overall a very emotional ride. From feels of lack of self-worth, to family complications, mentions of suicide, and trauma due to past violence and other messed up stuff, I can honestly say I went through the whole spectrum of emotions.