Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

76 reviews

karly_ackley's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

lex_is_bookish's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Medical content

boundforinfinity's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child death, Car accident, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

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!)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Death, Violence, Gore, Medical content, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Car accident

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Hendrix has a masterful way of combining truly terrifying horror with comedy and relatable life themes that always hit you a little too hard. 

Louise and Mark are two siblings that absolutely hate each other but need to come together to handle their recently deceased parents’ estate which may or may not be haunted depending on who you ask.  My main warning would be to not go into this one expecting it to be your traditional haunted house story. This is not about ghosts or evil puppets, this is about family and generational trauma. About how to move on after your whole life is turned upside down, and how to reconnect with someone you thought you hated. 

If you’re up for complex characters, childhood trauma, grief, and dysfunctional families with a haunted puppet overlay then How to Sell a Haunted House could be for you!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Grief, Self harm, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, and Gore

katiereadsbooks23's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Car accident

Minor: Fatphobia

ashconklin's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Medical content, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

nightowl_cherry's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Violence, and Death of parent

maimy_santiago99's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, and Death

Content warning, puppets and dolls

kshertz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

What a weird wild ride? I guess that’s Grady’s specialty. It gets really twisted with dolls, clowns, and puppets. I almost threw up once. I had to put the book down a few times. Im very happy my house had none of these things. Read it if you want to be grossed out and horrified by puppets and dolls and clowns. I liked it but also, probably something i’m going to need to bring up in therapy next week🙃

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Body horror, Cannibalism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Medical trauma