Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - How to Sell a Haunted House

3.5 stars but rounded up

This is a book that I took time to really appreciate.
The first half of it (that’s the first 200 pages!) were just ok. It’s a bit slow and I did not care too much for the characters.
For a moment, I even thought about not finishing the book, because I felt that this was not what I expected from the story.

But then it becomes more intriguing and you feel that there is more to it.
When you enter the last third of the book, it becomes hard to leave it.
I wished the slow part of the begining was not that long, because it’s all well written and you feel the creepy atmosphere building up.

In the end, the book kept its promises, it’s a fun and creepy horror novel, with a good dose of paranormal, and a light touch of gory details (very light, but I guess it can be triggering for some people)

So I would recommend it, if you are ready to spend some time on the first part which is less exciting and a bit long to my taste.
The second half of it really deserves a good 4 stars.

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chatty_cath's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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time_dabbler's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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daffodilcherry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this horror book! It was a perfect mixture of family drama that leads into supernatural horror, the characters felt very grounded and real, I loved the twists of the plot. While some aspects were predictable, everything was written in a very pleasing way. It takes about 1/3rd of the book for spooky stuff to begin happening, but when it kicks off it kicks off. The narrator is amazing at doing a very spooky puppet voice.
How I would sell the book to someone: Single mother main character has to go back to her home town to fix up her parent's house after they suddenly die in an accident, arguing over everything with her estranged brother. Except her mother was *really* into puppets and dolls, and let's just say that the puppets aren't happy that the mother is dead. It deals with like family secrets and grief and motherhood .... And it has creepy as fuck puppets 🤡
Wheelhouse items: female main character with agency, family secrets, unreliable narrator, returning to small home town, puppet horror, doll horror, haunted houses.
Horror items (spoilers):

car crash, COVID symptoms, taxidermy animals, squirrel attacks, PUPPETS, dolls, possession, self-harm under possession, harm of others under possession, in-depth amputation gore, dog attack, exorcism, drowning, hallucinations, dead children.

no sexual violence (which is always a win for me!)

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syellico's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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laurenvoice's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Once again, Grady Hendrix has delivered a masterpiece.

How to Sell a Haunted House was not what I was expecting, I was expecting a creepy haunted house story, but I got a possessed doll story with an imaginary dog instead; I loved it! I don't know how Hendrix does it, but he balances creepiness with humour perfectly. And How to Sell a Haunted House was full of creepiness, fun, and a lot of family trauma.

At the start of the story, I was fully expecting to despise Mark; however, he turned out to be a decent person and brother. The big turnaround in character was due to the different perspectives Louise and Mark had experience growing up with a creepy doll. It was interesting to see how they saw their childhoods and certain events differently; if the family had a more open dialogue with each other, they might not have been so distant in the future. And it was perfect seeing Mark and Louise reunite and work together, finally building that sibling bond they needed.

Mark's backstory about his short-time at BU was an addition that shockiling brought this book together. At first, when I reached the BU backstory chapters, I was worried that it would drag the story; however, it added the layers we needed and developed Mark's character further.

Although Louise turned out to be a bit of an unreliable narrator at the start, she certainly was one resilient woman; despite all the physical trauma she went through, Louise still kept going. And like with Mark's BU backstory, Louise's early childhood backstory was necessary to help us understand why she was distant from her family; again, it added the layers that the main story needed.

The family dynamic in How to Sell a Haunted House was fascinating. It was nice to see Louise and Mark's extended family and how they fit into the Joyner family dynamic; Mercy added plenty of needed comic relief. Plus, the introduction of Barb was fun; we needed more Barb, even though, technically, she wasn't family.

The ending of How to Sell a Haunted House was faultless, and I am glad the main characters survived the events; okay, maybe someone lost an arm. I appreciated not having to experience the emotional trauma of losing a main character I liked.

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