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bookdingo's review
4.0
Brrrr...
It's so fascinating because this book is both a slow burn and yet fast-paced simultaneously. You'll bounce around and learn every bus rider's background but the short chapters lend themselves to a compulsion to keep going to the bloody, bloody end (and middle and middle third and...).
It's so fascinating because this book is both a slow burn and yet fast-paced simultaneously. You'll bounce around and learn every bus rider's background but the short chapters lend themselves to a compulsion to keep going to the bloody, bloody end (and middle and middle third and...).
oliviabrisebois's review
4.0
House of Sighs was crazy to read, definitely a 4.5 I was so into the plot that I didn't even notice when things started to go south. I had to go back and figure out where things started going wrong. This was a great book. I would round it up to a five if it hadn't been so crazy on the plot twist. I am actually kind of mad that the book ended the way it did. I really hated the villain in the end and wish it had been different.
theburningclem's review against another edition
No rating because it was written by a friend. But a friend whose horror prose is so disturbing and chilling if I wasn’t already friends with him I’d probably be a little frightened to meet him.
lee_readsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
If there ever was an underrated book House Of Sighs is that book!
This book has me blown away by the sheer violence and brutality. It definitely isn't a read for the faint hearted.
I cringed, I smelled the death and my heart broke for the family members that would have to witness the repugnant gore that is Liz Frost.
Rural Australia 1995. Liz Frost takes the gun from her mouth and decides to live for another day. She says goodbye to her brother and starts her bus route as a bus driver. There are eight souls aboard the bus that day. Liz has decided to build a new family. The bus leaves a trail of carnage, gore and destruction before reaching its destination.
This was a reread for me and I had forgotten just how brutal and chaotic this story actually got. House Of Sighs is full of monsters that that you'd least expect.
Fast forward 23 years and a bar fight leaves Danny not only physically injured but with surreal flashbacks of a time in his life he'd rather forget. Throw in a trip to Thailand and Danny begins to spiral out of control.
As much as I enjoyed the sequel, it was very slow paced and I found myself losing patience wanting to get to the end.
The ending all happened so fast I couldn't believe I was at the last page and I was craving more of the horror which was The Sound Of His Bones Breaking.
This book has me blown away by the sheer violence and brutality. It definitely isn't a read for the faint hearted.
I cringed, I smelled the death and my heart broke for the family members that would have to witness the repugnant gore that is Liz Frost.
Rural Australia 1995. Liz Frost takes the gun from her mouth and decides to live for another day. She says goodbye to her brother and starts her bus route as a bus driver. There are eight souls aboard the bus that day. Liz has decided to build a new family. The bus leaves a trail of carnage, gore and destruction before reaching its destination.
This was a reread for me and I had forgotten just how brutal and chaotic this story actually got. House Of Sighs is full of monsters that that you'd least expect.
Fast forward 23 years and a bar fight leaves Danny not only physically injured but with surreal flashbacks of a time in his life he'd rather forget. Throw in a trip to Thailand and Danny begins to spiral out of control.
As much as I enjoyed the sequel, it was very slow paced and I found myself losing patience wanting to get to the end.
The ending all happened so fast I couldn't believe I was at the last page and I was craving more of the horror which was The Sound Of His Bones Breaking.
ishtaralata's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
onetrackmind77's review against another edition
4.0
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Make no mistake, House Of Sighs is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. It is a headlong dive into madness and violence, and it pulls no punches. This was unrelenting horror... it was bleak and brutal, and a definite page turner as I could not wait to see where it was going to go next. An absolute soul crusher of a book. Enter at your own risk.
My copy of House Of Sighs also included the sequel, The Sound Of His Bones Breaking. While it was a shorter story, it took much longer to set up the story. It probably wasn't until the halfway point that it reveals the connection to House Of Sighs. This story dragged a bit here and there, and at times I just wanted it to get to the point. While not completely necessary, it was still a nice addition to the House Of Sighs story, and worth the payoff at the end.
My copy of House Of Sighs also included the sequel, The Sound Of His Bones Breaking. While it was a shorter story, it took much longer to set up the story. It probably wasn't until the halfway point that it reveals the connection to House Of Sighs. This story dragged a bit here and there, and at times I just wanted it to get to the point. While not completely necessary, it was still a nice addition to the House Of Sighs story, and worth the payoff at the end.
findingmontauk1's review against another edition
4.0
Aaron Dries writes with some of the most elegant language I have read in a while. I swear his sentences read the way smoothing hot butter on toast feels. I am completely entranced when reading. This is the second book of his I have read (the first was a collab called Where The Dead Go To Die) and he continues to wow me with his style.
This story follows Liz Frost, a bus driver going through some stuff, and the passengers and victims on a wild ride to hell. And she is pretty psychotic and unhinged. What's interesting is all I could think about was the scary bus driver and bus scenes in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 throughout most of this book - in a good way! But this book is far more brutal than that! The story is pretty fast paced and alternates between multiple POVs. My only struggle with this book was that, while it alternates POVs, it also alternates past to present with them all, and I had a difficult time knowing who or what was going on SOMETIMES. I was pretty focused on the present because - well - SHEER TERROR AND PANIC from Liz Frost in the present. But sometimes I just got a little lost - but again, his writing is just so nice to read with vivid descriptions and great details that I did not mind a bit.
Going to give this one 3.5 stars and round up to 4! Aaron Dries is a true talent and I am glad to have added him to my library of authors to be on the look out for. Now on to my next Dries book...! :)
This story follows Liz Frost, a bus driver going through some stuff, and the passengers and victims on a wild ride to hell. And she is pretty psychotic and unhinged. What's interesting is all I could think about was the scary bus driver and bus scenes in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 throughout most of this book - in a good way! But this book is far more brutal than that! The story is pretty fast paced and alternates between multiple POVs. My only struggle with this book was that, while it alternates POVs, it also alternates past to present with them all, and I had a difficult time knowing who or what was going on SOMETIMES. I was pretty focused on the present because - well - SHEER TERROR AND PANIC from Liz Frost in the present. But sometimes I just got a little lost - but again, his writing is just so nice to read with vivid descriptions and great details that I did not mind a bit.
Going to give this one 3.5 stars and round up to 4! Aaron Dries is a true talent and I am glad to have added him to my library of authors to be on the look out for. Now on to my next Dries book...! :)
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
3.0
"She had nowhere to go. All roads led home."
I liked the concept of House of Sighs much more than the execution. The prologue immediately grabbed my attention, and this book has some great gory scenes. However, they were few and far between until the ending when everything is crammed together.
House of Sighs is set up like a slasher story with a ton of characters that you know are going to get picked off. This book spends way too much time focusing on the backgrounds of all the characters, and it was difficult to keep anyone straight. I was frustrated with it after a while - I was intrigued by the present day story, but it kept jumping around to a bunch of different people's pasts.
It got pretty far-fetched by the end, but there were still several entertaining scenes. This is definitely not a bad book, and clearly many readers enjoy it. I just struggled to connect with it. Thank you to Tracy for buddy reading with me!
I liked the concept of House of Sighs much more than the execution. The prologue immediately grabbed my attention, and this book has some great gory scenes. However, they were few and far between until the ending when everything is crammed together.
House of Sighs is set up like a slasher story with a ton of characters that you know are going to get picked off. This book spends way too much time focusing on the backgrounds of all the characters, and it was difficult to keep anyone straight. I was frustrated with it after a while - I was intrigued by the present day story, but it kept jumping around to a bunch of different people's pasts.
It got pretty far-fetched by the end, but there were still several entertaining scenes. This is definitely not a bad book, and clearly many readers enjoy it. I just struggled to connect with it. Thank you to Tracy for buddy reading with me!
chemicalpink's review
Well, that was a book I finished and I'll never get that time back.
I kept wanting to care but I didn't.
I kept wanting to care but I didn't.
alanbaxter's review
5.0
This book is incredible. The original novel is brutal and intense. The included sequel novella is full of heart and equally brutal. Superb, harrowing stuff.