Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

33 reviews

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

An unsettling yet enjoyable read, this Southern Gothic story reflects on how nasty traditions and rotten ideologies can be lurking beneath the sweet-smelling rosebushes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

Be warned that this book addresses generational trauma, C-PTSD due to abuse from a parental figure, abuses with the occult, parental neglect, swarms of insects, and one mention of semen in the occult ritual.

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was so fun- is cozy horror a thing? The main character was hilarious and relatable, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. There were definitely creepy elements, and I really didn’t know where the story was going, though in retrospective it was a well-thought-out storyline. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their depth. I wish that there was more horror, especially for the first 3/4 of the book, but there were horror elements throughout, I just hoped for more. I think more horror earlier in the book would have helped the pacing a little bit. This is a great intro to horror, though I could see that some people may still be really spooked by it. I listened on audio and loved the narrator *except* for their Phil voice. Overall, this made me excited to read other stuff by the author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Medical content, Grief, and Sexual content

analea_lucille's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse

zghutcheson01's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a fine book but a little slow at the start and then very fast at the end. Everything made sense and I don’t think anything needed to be explained more necessarily but it felt like the speed didn’t match the tone always and there could’ve been more added to make it feel less like a cool idea clunkily fused to an obvious metaphor. Phil also didn’t really feel like a character as much as an object but eh it didn’t bother me that much. That all sounds bad but I legitimately enjoyed it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Cannibalism, and Child abuse

cadence99's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.25

I really really enjoyed this book- creepy and familiar all at once. First of all my heart was so full having a fat main character. I also felt as if the author did a fantastic job of capturing the way in which anxieties manifest themselves in these kind of family dynamics. My one complaint is that I wish the ending twist had been more clearly tied into the underlying themes of the book, it was still deeply creepy, but felt a bit detached from the spirit of the rest of the story. But despite that minor grievance, this book is still one of the best I’ve read this year. I’d definitely recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, and Gore

Minor: Dementia, Alcohol, and Child abuse

libbykerns's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

3.5

as a non-horror reader, this was fun! creepy-ish at the end, but i don’t think it’ll leave a negative impact on my psyche. :)

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cannibalism

skeuomorphism's review against another edition

funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

love the humor! plot's a little slow on the build-up but trust that it's worth the read. and the suspense.....entomologist's kiss....i cannot express the sheer joy that i felt as a insect lover reading about sam's thoughts on bugs
+ the hardcover edition of this book is so pretty??????? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death and Racism

twistykris's review against another edition

dark funny 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? No

4.25

This is my first T. Kingfisher novel and I'm excited to read more.

A House with Good Bones is an entertaining, funny, creepy ride that I enjoyed very much! I really liked Sam, and her inner dialogue was inquisitive and funny. The audiobook narrator Mary Robinette did a fantastic job of voicing all of the characters and it was a delight to listen to.

My only real qualm is that the ending "resolution" seemed to be too abrupt. I would have loved to get a little deeper into WHAT happened and why it happened. Even something like,

a final discovered letter from the great grandfather explaining his creations and what went wrong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Dementia and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Death, and Fatphobia

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Stalking

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Cannibalism, Death, and Fire/Fire injury