Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

414 reviews

alicroz34's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.0

This was the closest I came to a DNF in many years. The first third was a bit of a slog for me, but I'm glad I stuck with it overall. The last third almost made up for the infuriating start. 

Little to no applicable advice or information about to sell haunted houses, wth

 I'm all for character flaws, but going from physically fighting your idiotic brother to LETTING HIM PLAN YOUR PARENTS' FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ENTIRELY BY HIMSELF IN THE SAME DAY BECAUSE HE SAID HE LIKED YOUR MOM'S FRIED CHICKEN IS FUCKING INSANE. Parts of it felt campy on purpose & parts of it felt cringey by accident. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Death, Animal death, Abandonment, Child death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Ableism

bowlsofpasta's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

tabea1409's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Car accident, Gaslighting, Gore, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Child abuse, and Violence

copiani'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief

kristenkrae's review against another edition

dark funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Child death and Car accident

witchofthemountains's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Death, Body horror, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Car accident

Moderate: Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Animal death

Minor: Cursing, War, Genocide, and Fatphobia

bookishmillennial's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

I think it’s safe to say that Grady Hendrix’s work is just not for me. I really tried & read a lot of his backlist. There’s something about his writing that is just not that compelling or enticing to me. I know some books have been optioned and are being adapted for film or tv, so maybe that form of media will be better (for me)? 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Child death, Self harm, Death, and Animal death

adorabubbles's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Car accident

sighclopss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

Rounded up from 3.75 ⭐
I liked this a decent amount. 

I found the beginning very slow and I almost dnf'ed but I'm glad to have pushed through the initial chapters. I found the family dynamic very interesting and slightly triggering in how some parts mirrored my own dysfunctional family. Louise's complicated relationships with her mother and brother were very relatable. I think the book did great at portraying grief and the human experience. 

The horror elements were overly cliche, I did guess at plot twists before they happened and didn't feel like there was a tonne of creativity. But the author definitely nails suspense and overall creepy vibes.

To be honest I'd probably have enjoyed the book more if it downplayed the horror and focused more on the siblings, their pasts and how they are going through the motions of mending their relationship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, and Death

kaywhiteley'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Probably one of the most fun books I’ve ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, and Body horror