Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - A House with Good Bones

I read this book all the way back in June when the sun was shining and spooky season was definitely not on my mind, but with Halloween upon us, it's finally time to share a few thoughts on this!

I discovered Kingfisher's books last year, when I read the amazing Nettle and Bone, and I decided to catch up with a few more of her books: so, enter A House with Good Bones. Right from the beginning, I realised this would be quite different from my previous read and I wasn't really sure what to expect but one thing was certain: that house was well and truly haunted.

I warmed up almost immediately to Sam as a main character. For starters, she's an archeoentomologist, something that immediately set her apart and allowed her to share fascinating tidbits on insects throughout the novel. Sam's quirky and extremely funny, providing a humourous commentary throughout, which somewhat tempered the creep and chills evoked by the book's events. The book is narrated entirely from Sam's POV, and much of it is just her inner monologue so by the end I felt as if I knew her pretty well, even though I couldn't say the same of the other characters.

While recovering from her most recent dig, Sam decides to visit her mother, but immediately realises that something is wrong. Sam's relationship with her mum was another element I really appreciated, since it seemed to be very genuine and based on true love and care for one another. I also enjoyed the sharp contrast this made with the relationship they both had with Sam's grandmother and her (very difficult) character.

All the elements to the story are very carefully laid out, slowly but surely drawing the reader in thanks to the author's masteful storytelling. Still, despite this, something felt missing for me to feel the truly haunting side of this story, the ending leaving me somewhat unsatisfied. I felt as though there were at once too many elements colliding and, at the same time, things were rushed along to reach the conclusion swiftly. The build-up felt definitely far too long compared to the final shenanigans, switching from Sam's sarcastic monologue to pure horror in a very short time, giving the impression of a much-too-fast tonal shift and a serious pacing issue.

Even though this book didn't fully hit the mark for me, it's still a pretty engaging and quick read to get you in the spooky mood this Halloween. I'll definitely be reading more from the author in the future!

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

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samburkhouse's review against another edition

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dark 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? No

5.0

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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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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ezwolf's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was…interesting? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I loved have a fat main character and having her fatness and the way that change how she interacts with the world and the story.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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laelolou's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I'd read Nettle and Bone earlier this year and loved it, so I wanted to read more by the author and this didn't disappoint. T. Kingfisher is so good with the imagery like you really feel uncomfortable reading it.

especially the part with the ladybugs all over the house and the underground children

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livlamentloathe's review against another edition

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funny informative mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

Really funny in ways I didn’t expect! Sam was a great protagonist. Her logical scientist brain struggled so hard to process the bizarre reality of a haunted house. I think the insanity of it all was what made this story more cohesive. If the protag had been more credulous, the nature of the happenings of this book would’ve blistered and fallen apart. But because she was going step-by-step researching and attaching meaning to illogical things, when really wild stuff happened, it was fun rather than silly.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a sense of creepy and horror to it all. Definitely got tense. But Sam’s narration was a joy. It made the whole book so much funner than it needed to be. I especially loved the running bit about her phone trying to get service.

Bonus points for the strong, fiery, fat protagonist who had no qualms about her body. And ruthlessly mocked those who did have a problem.

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hexedmaiden's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced

3.75

I really appreciate the fat representation and that our main character, Sam, is in no way described in a way that sounds disgusting. I definitely connected with her as someone who not only is fat but grew up chubby.

I also enjoyed seeing a character with an interesting job as an archeologists entomologist! The entire cast of characters were so interesting.

I also found the ties to Thelema and Alister Crowley so fun!! I feel like we don’t see them used that often in horror books.

I enjoyed the Southern Gothic vibes this had too. I definitely would rec this to anyone who was looking for something like that with some magic tossed in.

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