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lady_bountiful's review
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
aparker89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
zeroshi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Alcohol
tabookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Dementia
dev921's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
arkwen452's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's told in first person and Margaret's nonchalant approach and perspective for her time in this odd, creepy and clearly haunted house filled with "pranksters" as she likes to call them is clearly not of a person who scares easily. Readers get to know Margret and learn about a lot of the hard times she's endured. But we also learn about the previous souls who lived there. And as described through her eyes, the "pranksters" actually really aren't all that bad.
And the manor of which the author humanizes them led me to believe the intention of the book was meant to be on the dark humor more than horror.
I think that the pacing of the book is done very well, and each chapter ties into Margaret, and Hal's marriage and their relationship with the new house really came together well. Made it an enjoyable read.
A lot of the time in each chapter I I found myself questioning Margaret's sanity and her control over reality. She said that Hal also noticed things in the house BUT since the POV is in first person I can't fully trust her interpretation of everything; there were also moments when it felt like the events of the house with the pranksters of the house that, as Margret calls them, made everything seem like it was actually happening.
Like the actions/events were concrete. Therefore the author will keep the readers questioning until the very end of the book whether it is real or the September house is just a figment of Margaret's imagination.
I don't think the horror element really kicks in until the last fourth of the book and I think that , there are more creepy elements that happen in the book overall. Especially with the use of the phrases "he's down there" in reference to Master Vale and how Margaret saw notions of that outside of the house.
Again, with it being in first person, readers cannot trust if what Margret's seeing is actually reality or just figment of her imagination. Without giving spoilers, I will say that I was very pleased with the way the ending is tied up because , it got to a point in the narrative where the word "crazy" was being tossed around and signs were pointing to Margret being commItted. I didn't like the angle of it being a psychosis issue rather than something factual. Not only because this is a red flag trope for me and it is never really done well when it comes to individual having some sort of psychosis leading to them having erratic behavior.
But
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
nerdydeathwitch's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Abandonment
This is a horror novel so there should be no surprise that it contains lots of blood and murdered ghosts. But FYI, the writing is very descriptive. You will be told about wounds and the experience of being murdered in graphic detail.rknitss's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Difficult because of how heavy this felt tone wise. Enjoyable because the book pulls it off so well. I took down lots of quotes from this one even as I found myself shutting it every few pages so I could get a break.
The story is about a married couple who buys a house. Every September the house gets like SUPER haunted. One day the husband leaves. The wife chooses to stay because there are rules to these things, everything is survivable.
The story is also about So Much More. It's heavy in places, be emotionally prepared for difficult subject matters.
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death
wlreed312's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
jourdanicus's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Otherwise, this was almost a perfect 5 star read for me. I love horror that mixes psychological thrill with physical horror, and an unreliable narrator is one of my favorite tropes. In fact, this book made clever use of a few recognizable horror tropes without them being too obvious or heavy handed. I heard elements of The Shining, and several horror movies of which I can't think of the names.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological horror, mother/daughter relationship themes, stories with unreliable narrators, fans of classic horror, and Stephen King fans. Don't read while eating if you're sensitive or have a vivid visual imagination... Lol.
Mind the triggers, but everyone including the children get
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Suicide and Vomit