Starling House

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow                            Fantasy/Horror/Gothic/Fiction

(from Goodreads) Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.  Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.  As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares. If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

 (My Review)

This was so atmospheric.  If you want dark academia, this is the book for you.  Opal goes to work in the haunted mansion of the author of her favorite book, which is now inhabited by Arthur Starling.  Together, they fight supernatural forces threatening the house.  I really enjoyed the relationship between Opal and Author - it gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes.  It also kinda reminded me of Ninth House.