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waywardskyril's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I read a book by T. Kingfisher called The Hollow Places. It was my jam; it was my flavor. I soaked it up and savored it. Since then I've read the mediocre The Twisted Ones and, now, A House with Good Bones, chasing that good storytelling with relatable heroes and indescribable, cosmic horror that The Hollow Places gave me. And I haven't really found it.
Yes, Sam Montgomery, the MC, IS relatable and a decently-crafted character, which is how this book gets its second star. Unfortunately, for me, anyway, that's where the quality ends. Honestly, that second star barely scraped by anyway because Sam is, at times, an enormous idiot.
A House with Good Bones has a painfully slow moving story in which very little happens for an actual 75% of the book. There are occasional strange occurrences, but these are too unrelated, far apart, or simply dismissed to grow in me any kind of lurking horror or dread. If I think back on the book as a whole, there were two scenes in the entire book that made me feel any type of that good-horror dread.
One lasted a couple of pages and before being dismissed and leaving me disappointed that the creepy horror I was hoping for from Kingfisher wasn't "finally starting" like I had thought.
The second was in the final climax in the last 15%ish, but again, only lasted briefly before falling away because, as I said, this book had failed to grow a creeping dread before now, so whatever I felt briefly in the final climax had no legs to stand on. It almost transformed into silliness instead and a lackluster push to get the book over with.
Overall, the plot followed the mechanics of the other two Kingfisher books I read but with fewer scares, a stupider main character, and much less mystery-horror building to make me excited to finally discover all the answers in the end.
I'd call A House with Good Bones a watered down The Twisted Ones and a flavorless stone soup compared the The Hollow Places. Will I read another Kingfisher book? I don't know. I've been asking myself that question since finishing this book. Part of me still wants to try to find something of hers that thrills and excites me as much as The Hollow Places did, but, truth be told, had I read this book first I doubt I'd ever have picked up another by her.
Let's just say I'm glad I borrowed this book from my library's digital system. Perhaps The Hollow Places was a one-off for me, and I should quit before Kingfisher and I continue disappointing one another.
Yes, Sam Montgomery, the MC, IS relatable and a decently-crafted character, which is how this book gets its second star. Unfortunately, for me, anyway, that's where the quality ends. Honestly, that second star barely scraped by anyway because Sam is, at times, an enormous idiot.
A House with Good Bones has a painfully slow moving story in which very little happens for an actual 75% of the book. There are occasional strange occurrences, but these are too unrelated, far apart, or simply dismissed to grow in me any kind of lurking horror or dread. If I think back on the book as a whole, there were two scenes in the entire book that made me feel any type of that good-horror dread.
One lasted a couple of pages and before being dismissed and leaving me disappointed that the creepy horror I was hoping for from Kingfisher wasn't "finally starting" like I had thought.
The second was in the final climax in the last 15%ish, but again, only lasted briefly before falling away because, as I said, this book had failed to grow a creeping dread before now, so whatever I felt briefly in the final climax had no legs to stand on. It almost transformed into silliness instead and a lackluster push to get the book over with.
Overall, the plot followed the mechanics of the other two Kingfisher books I read but with fewer scares, a stupider main character, and much less mystery-horror building to make me excited to finally discover all the answers in the end.
I'd call A House with Good Bones a watered down The Twisted Ones and a flavorless stone soup compared the The Hollow Places. Will I read another Kingfisher book? I don't know. I've been asking myself that question since finishing this book. Part of me still wants to try to find something of hers that thrills and excites me as much as The Hollow Places did, but, truth be told, had I read this book first I doubt I'd ever have picked up another by her.
Let's just say I'm glad I borrowed this book from my library's digital system. Perhaps The Hollow Places was a one-off for me, and I should quit before Kingfisher and I continue disappointing one another.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Fatphobia
Minor: Animal cruelty
"Child abuse" TW is from in the past by a grandmother, and is mostly verbal/emotional abuse with one recalled instance of physical abuse. "animal cruelty" TW is for insects and is more accidental than intentional. The MC actually loves bugs but does, inadvertently, kill some a couple of times, though she tries not to.ezwolf's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Animal cruelty
dokushoka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
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