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rhines76's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
cait_henry56's review against another edition
4.5
Far better than A House with Good Bones. I was concerned it wouldn't be since my first T. Kingfisher novel left me less than enthused to pick up another of her publications, but I had already purchased this one. And I'm glad I did! The folk horror is phenomenal and the MC isn't nearly as annoying, plus the surrounding cast of characters are well fleshed out in their Twisted little ways. I wouldn't consider this a perfect book, but I do think it's a great, fun choice to get out of a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping, Body horror, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, and Infertility
psyco12_2000's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
ellie_klemm's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
chelseatm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jully_bean's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
stepriot's review against another edition
3.0
I knew I'd read this one. Its basically the Hollow Places but slightly different. I kept getting the two mixed up. Still fun though!
jet_nebula's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rereader33's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the average rating, I had a lot of fun reading this! While I adore horror, I have a hard time finding horror novels that fill me anything other than disappointment. Either the stories are too convoluted, the characters are annoying, or it just wasn't entertaining. Notice I haven't mentioned their scare factor and that's because I've given up on thinking any of them can keep me up at night. And while this one didn't do that for me, I enjoyed reading it and I definitely think it's one of the creepier recently published horror novels.
I'm going to leave this review spoiler free mainly because I didn't have any real gripes with any of the reveals and I want readers to experience this novel with pure eyes. Not that I'm saying any of the reveals or twists were mind-blowingly incredible, but I want to be respectful nonetheless.
Anyway, what I liked about this novel was the way it was written. I know people don't always like the "narrator is recounting a tale" trope, especially in horror, because it gives away a lot of the tension, but I'm of the mindset that as long as the story is interesting I'm fine with a little less tension/suspense. And trust me, there was a lot of suspense left to keep you entertained (at least in my opinion). Our narrator, Mouse, was fun and I think her job as a freelance editor helped a lot of the more "self-aware" moments in the novel. Yes, I'm sure a lot of people are going to be annoyed by the constant references to horror movie tropes and the like, but I was fine with it because her reasons made sense and truthfully, if someone was recounting a horrorific event in 2019, you KNOW they'd make horror movie references left and right.
As for the other characters, Foxy was fun and I loved her almost maternal feelings towards Mouse. She wasn't the deepest characters, but she was funny and kick-ass without being the stereotypical "strong female character". The other characters, like Tomas, Skip, and Enid, were nice but fairly underdeveloped. Then again, horror isn't exactly a genre known for its phenomenal characters so I'm willing to let that slide.
And now, let's move on to the horror elements. I'm not going to lie, what drew me in was the setup; I love me some "isolated home in the middle of a woods" storylines and while I think it could have been darker and more intense, I think it worked well overall. The monsters were so FUCKING disturbing and I will tell you right now this would make an awesome horror movie just from the monsters and the locations alone. That final confrontation in the house was FUCKING INSANE and I loved how Kingfisher tied everything told to readers at that point together into a terrifying final showdown. That and the ending itself was awesome, but I won't go into greater detail than that.
However, now I need to discuss the problems that I had that knocked off two stars. First and foremost, I am not Southern in any way, shape, or form. I have never lived in the South and have very few friends that have. The reason I bring this up is I have no idea whether the representation of Southerners was accurate or not, but I found it kind of insulting. It was mentioned multiple times that the reason why they couldn't tell anyone what was going on was because (and I'm paraphrasing here) "no one would believe a bunch of hillbillies". I get that Mouse is in that territory, but why was there such a heavy emphasis on the hillbilly aspect? Couldn't it have just been because it was so absurd no one would believe them? It seemed unnecessary and after the fourth or fifth time it was mentioned I was thoroughly uncomfortable. Also, Skip is bipolar and I don't understand why it was necessary to characterize him as that because a) he shows little to no symptoms of it and b) it is barely discussed or brought up again. Seriously, it could have been cut entirely and nothing would have changed. Authors, if you're not going to do anything with the representation, then don't add it at all.
The second less egregious problem was the middle section where something is revealed (no spoilers). The problem was that it was super info dumpy and really dragged down the pacing of the story. Yes, it was important for the final act, but it took me out of the story and was kind of boring.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on this novel. I do recommend it because I think it has some genuinely creepy parts and the final third is totally worth it! I enjoyed it a lot and hope more people give it a try!
I'm going to leave this review spoiler free mainly because I didn't have any real gripes with any of the reveals and I want readers to experience this novel with pure eyes. Not that I'm saying any of the reveals or twists were mind-blowingly incredible, but I want to be respectful nonetheless.
Anyway, what I liked about this novel was the way it was written. I know people don't always like the "narrator is recounting a tale" trope, especially in horror, because it gives away a lot of the tension, but I'm of the mindset that as long as the story is interesting I'm fine with a little less tension/suspense. And trust me, there was a lot of suspense left to keep you entertained (at least in my opinion). Our narrator, Mouse, was fun and I think her job as a freelance editor helped a lot of the more "self-aware" moments in the novel. Yes, I'm sure a lot of people are going to be annoyed by the constant references to horror movie tropes and the like, but I was fine with it because her reasons made sense and truthfully, if someone was recounting a horrorific event in 2019, you KNOW they'd make horror movie references left and right.
As for the other characters, Foxy was fun and I loved her almost maternal feelings towards Mouse. She wasn't the deepest characters, but she was funny and kick-ass without being the stereotypical "strong female character". The other characters, like Tomas, Skip, and Enid, were nice but fairly underdeveloped. Then again, horror isn't exactly a genre known for its phenomenal characters so I'm willing to let that slide.
And now, let's move on to the horror elements. I'm not going to lie, what drew me in was the setup; I love me some "isolated home in the middle of a woods" storylines and while I think it could have been darker and more intense, I think it worked well overall. The monsters were so FUCKING disturbing and I will tell you right now this would make an awesome horror movie just from the monsters and the locations alone. That final confrontation in the house was FUCKING INSANE and I loved how Kingfisher tied everything told to readers at that point together into a terrifying final showdown. That and the ending itself was awesome, but I won't go into greater detail than that.
However, now I need to discuss the problems that I had that knocked off two stars. First and foremost, I am not Southern in any way, shape, or form. I have never lived in the South and have very few friends that have. The reason I bring this up is I have no idea whether the representation of Southerners was accurate or not, but I found it kind of insulting. It was mentioned multiple times that the reason why they couldn't tell anyone what was going on was because (and I'm paraphrasing here) "no one would believe a bunch of hillbillies". I get that Mouse is in that territory, but why was there such a heavy emphasis on the hillbilly aspect? Couldn't it have just been because it was so absurd no one would believe them? It seemed unnecessary and after the fourth or fifth time it was mentioned I was thoroughly uncomfortable. Also, Skip is bipolar and I don't understand why it was necessary to characterize him as that because a) he shows little to no symptoms of it and b) it is barely discussed or brought up again. Seriously, it could have been cut entirely and nothing would have changed. Authors, if you're not going to do anything with the representation, then don't add it at all.
The second less egregious problem was the middle section where something is revealed (no spoilers). The problem was that it was super info dumpy and really dragged down the pacing of the story. Yes, it was important for the final act, but it took me out of the story and was kind of boring.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on this novel. I do recommend it because I think it has some genuinely creepy parts and the final third is totally worth it! I enjoyed it a lot and hope more people give it a try!
jessicake1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0