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sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Animal death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Police brutality, Self harm, and Suicide
Insect/bug contentminimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
🇺🇸 Set mostly at a Victorian home in Ohio (I think), USA.
🍂 Set in autumn with all the vibes.
🐺🐕 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
🫨 I usually don't like action/fight scenes in books because I imagine them in weird slo-mo. The scenes here worked...creepy, descriptive, but (without spoiling anything) read fast-paced without having to be imagined as fast-paced...
🥰 I loved the exploration of unconditional love and why people stay in abusive relationships, without victim blaming.
🥹 Even the bond between Margaret and the house was giving me feels. I bonded with my home and feel protective of it, I can almost relate with Margaret's stance on just letting your home bleed and be creepy for a month!
👌 The suspense comes from the poltergeist and haunted elements, but also from the characters themselves. There was a bit of a yo-yo effect for me, where I would side with one character and get so frustrated with another, then flip as I found out more about what let to that dynamic, then flip back as we get more reveals.
😯 Some of the mysteries are predictable, even obvious, but as mysteries are solved new ones are generated and that continues throughout the book. It reads snappy and well-paced because we aren't relying on villain monologues for reveals - we get answers through story telling, evidence, and interactions of different characters without it feeling long-winded or rushed.
😨 The body horror is descriptive, on-page, and involves children in the past. However, despite the tough subject matter, it didn't feel too heavy or dismissive.
🤞 The humour in this story is quick-witted without breaking the scares, and not overdone or cringey. I think it would make a unique horror movie if done right (so the depth of the story isn't lost in the dark comedy aspect).
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Grown up Goosebumps dark cozy horror + dark comedy
- Body horror and historical paranormal/poltergeist horror with fight-for-your-life elements
- Clever, witty, slightly unhinged, possibly unreliable narrators
- House-like-a-character with symbolism and themes about resilience, perfectionism, surviving, and thriving through trauma
Content Heads-Up: Murder. LGBTQ rep (good). Emotional and physical abuse (on page; relationship, domestic). Alcoholism. Mental health (anger, rage). Body horror (dismembering, injury, vomit, blood). Child abuse (kidnapping, violence). Forced institutionalization (threatened). Dementia. Suicide (off page, mentioned). Animal death (wild).
Format: Library Digital via LIbby
🥰 This was one of my Favourite Books of 2023
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Suicide, Dementia, and Animal death
chezler24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
(Read an uncorrected proof)
Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Suicide and Forced institutionalization
mtnest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Dementia, and Pregnancy
amaranth_wytch's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide and Self harm
nerdyprettythings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Suicide
reading_under_covers's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
easyqueenie's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Gore, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Body horror
bambooboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Murder, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Child abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Bullying
Minor: Stalking, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Detailed description of content warnings below--Father is emotionally and physically abusive to mother; attempts to be abusive to daughter so mother removes her from home
--Multiple child murders, graphic descriptions of torture and murder
--Gaslighting protagonist as to existence of ghosts
--Many graphic descriptions of bodies being twisted and deformed, tortured
--Protagonist is abused emotionally and physically for many years and the ways she copes are covered
--Multiple people commit suicide in the house, deaths described
--Multiple descriptions of vomit, especially vomiting flies
--One character is murdered in a fireplace, attempts made to burn entire house down
--Daughter attempts to institutionalize mother