Reviews tagging 'Violence'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

295 reviews

go2hellstephanie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

I really loved this book, and it really caught me off guard.

I've read a couple of other of Hendrix's books and usually I see more comedy that balances out the horror. How to Sell a Haunted House had moments where I could feel my heart racing from terror. And I don't even really find puppets, dolls, or clowns scary.

Hendrix did an amazing job with this story. This story about grief and about family and about secrets. Highly recommend anyone looking for a good horror book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Violence

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Child death

marleyjade123's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

skersnick's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Death, Blood, Gore, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Body horror

sierrajhansen's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

i did not expect this book to be amazing.

i tried to force myself to stop reading this book after dark (because i kept getting scared) but i was so drawn to reading this book at all hours of the day that i failed miserably.

i loved that this book was goofy while also scaring the shit out of me and making me cringe

(shout out reading about someone getting attacked with a hammer)

. i also loved (somehow) that this was centered on a creepy puppet. it really worked for some reason.

and oh my god the relationship between louise and mark! sibling redemption arc! i can now die happily.

this book was much better than the other grady hendrix book i read (the final girl support group) which i did not enjoy. i 100% see how this one almost beat stephen king to the 2023 goodreads choice award for horror. i felt like i was really in the house with mark and louise, and the interludes in other locations (ESPECIALLY WAFFLE HOUSE) were so well written and immersive. 

i highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

skyestorme's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

justaddwater's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The first 100 or so pages felt extremely slow, a lot of annoyingness I find common in Grady Hendrix novels. However, after that it ramped up and just kept getting better. As an avid horror lover, it’s been a while since a book kept me up at night, but I couldn’t get the image of

Pupkins pointed hat sticking up over the end of the bed

out of my head. Also felt like the theme of accepting death and teaching children about death was handled very well, with obvious emphasis and mirrors without being heavy handed. 
 If you can make it through the beginning, it definitely worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Stalking, Self harm, Abandonment, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Gaslighting, and Gore

wymzie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Violence

sparticle's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident

alxisrae's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book for it being my first “horro” genre book. The ending was just perfect, to me, and the entirely wrapped up the “house” and Louise’s history and trauma coming to a close. 5 stars because Pupkin was too scary good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Cursing

Minor: Child death