Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - A House with Good Bones

love the humor! plot's a little slow on the build-up but trust that it's worth the read. and the suspense.....entomologist's kiss....i cannot express the sheer joy that i felt as a insect lover reading about sam's thoughts on bugs
+ the hardcover edition of this book is so pretty???????

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twistykris's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

This is my first T. Kingfisher novel and I'm excited to read more.

A House with Good Bones is an entertaining, funny, creepy ride that I enjoyed very much! I really liked Sam, and her inner dialogue was inquisitive and funny. The audiobook narrator Mary Robinette did a fantastic job of voicing all of the characters and it was a delight to listen to.

My only real qualm is that the ending "resolution" seemed to be too abrupt. I would have loved to get a little deeper into WHAT happened and why it happened. Even something like,

a final discovered letter from the great grandfather explaining his creations and what went wrong.

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mshiiken's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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daredeviling's review

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

This book is pretty much everything I wanted Mexican Gothic to be, but wasn't. We get the gothic vibes (even though this was just a house and not a mansion), the creepy happenings, the secrets, and the hauntings. tbh, I actually liked that it was a house and not a mansion like in Mexican Gothic or Rebecca - it flipped the concept of a gothic book around, since we normally expect dark mansions with secrets. But this was just in a chill suburbian neighborhood.

Also the main character was *chefs kiss*. She was perfect for the story, so snarky and with a distinct, individual voice. I loved that her career ended up being really helpful for her in the situation, and it was just like ~character flavor text. It was super relevant. Have I mentioned that I love T Kingfisher's characters? Both in Nettle & Bone and in this book, they jump off the page. I want to be friends with all of them and just crack jokes and make sarcastic comments. And of course, just like in Nettle and Bones, the side characters were awesome. They were all such interesting people and I wish they (especially Phil and Gail) could go on further adventures with the main character.

The magic stuff was a little bit confusing, but I didn't even really mind that because the rest of the book was so good. I just sort of hand-waved it and went with what I could gather from the situation. Loved the creepiness of the underground children and the vultures. There's just such an ~atmosphere that the author is able to evoke that complements the gothic vibes within the house itself so well.

T. Kingfisher is definitely quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! I can't wait to read more of her books! :)

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unviincible's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

picked up towards the end, but I wish it had been like that for the entire book. like my last t. kingfisher read, I was always wanting more spooky and creepy, but it comes across as a lighter horror read, and that's ok; it's just a matter of personal taste, because it was otherwise very fun.

I enjoyed the mc a lot. she read as autistic to me, so combine that with being a scientist and you have a character who's very good at picking up patterns but able to rationalize her way through all the weird goings-ons happening at the same time, which is realistic.

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marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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