Reviews

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

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jrobison's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

I couldn't put this down! I've been reading lots of horror recently and this one is the most genuinely frightening I've encountered in a while. The imagery and language is on point, economical and impactful. I really came to care for the characters and the villains were formidable. The final confrontation reminded me a little bit of Pet Sematary, but ultimately I was pleased with how everything wrapped up.

nygirl976's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

bookscheckemout24's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious 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

4.5

An excellent, scary story. I enjoyed going along for the ride!

lucashearn1's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this. I was very hesitant going in because I haven’t read any of Hills books and I was afraid it would be nepo baby tier writing. I’m happy to be proven wrong and he actually is a strong story. Very fast paced and I didn’t find any part a slog to get through.

Content Warnings

emilybriano's review against another edition

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3.0

Twisted and creepy and well-written. Not quite my cup of tea though

kristalb_old's review against another edition

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3.0

Starts out slow and flat. The story gets much better once some background is filled in and the characters are finally developed a little. It turns into a pretty good ghost story.