Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

38 reviews

booksandbabble's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

Review of A House with Good Bones

By: T King Fisher

            Samantha receives a call from her brother asking her to visit their mom in North Carolina, because he is worried about her.  Sam learns her brother is right and their mom is acting weird. She seems to be worried about saying anything bad her grandmother and has made the house exactly how Sam’s grandmother had it, 5os and racist décor.  Also, unsettling things are happening like pictures falling, lady bugs, and weird images like ghostly hands appearing in pictures, but Sam is a rational explanation kind of person.

            This is my second T King Fisher I have read (I listened to the book on audio book via Libby app.) and I enjoyed it.  The setting got my attention first and the premise intrigued me.  A story about generational trauma also got me interested, especially with a southern family.  Most people would probably argue for rational explanations in a situation like this, like our man character does, but when I know there will be a supernatural angle, I get frustrated when the main character argues that every time something weird happens.   I liked that we had a main character that was considered fat, but in the present of the story, she accepts that and isn’t insecure about her weight.   It does come up when we learn that her grandmother would call her piggy and point out that’s why she was alone. The grandmother is racist and bully, who thinks she doesn’t owe anyone and that just because she’s the mother that automatically means she’s right all the time.  She’s also a perfectionist. We see the racist mentality of her generation through her and one of the other’s neighbors.  I liked Phil and Gale’s characters.  Phil is easy going and will be supportive, not dismissing things as crazy right away.  He goes with the flow and tries to help in whatever way he can.  This probably isn’t a fair of me to say, but the narrator’s voice for Phil made me think he was an old man, but there’s a funny moment when Sam notices how “ripped” he is, and I realized he’s supposed to be her age.  A couple of other funny moments were when she first meets Phil and threatens him, because she thinks he's a burglar.  I also thought the scene when she has to talk to his father/grandfather so she can talk to Phil. Gale is the grandmother Sam should have had.  She’s wise, nurturing, and supportive of Sam and her mother. I also stories that include a character that’s a Wiccan.    A lot of us can relate to generational differences causing us to have divides between children, parents, and grandparents.  It wouldn’t call this scary just suspenseful, creepy, and unsettling.  There are a creepy elements such as images of a hand in a photograph, voices whispering in Sam’s ear, and vultures.   There also bugs particularly lady bugs.  I like the moments when Sam is learning her family history about her grandfather.  I had a good time with listening to this story and I was good with the narrator, despite my petty quibble with her male voice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

ribbenkast's review

emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Hold out for the ending! It's good.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Racism, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

ktv's review against another edition

dark 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? No

3.5

The ending was so weird. The middle section up until she finds the teeth was slow. I don’t even remember what happened then. I didn’t like the voice for Phil. It sounded too much like his grandfather. I couldn’t visualize him as someone close to Sam’s age. Everything happened in the last third of the book which wasn’t bad but it could’ve been more interesting. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism

aedoran08's review

dark funny hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Death of parent

axel_p's review

adventurous challenging dark funny informative medium-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

I love bugs.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Dementia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

leeghlee's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Cursing

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, and Stalking

vixenreader's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

An unsettling yet enjoyable read, this Southern Gothic story reflects on how nasty traditions and rotten ideologies can be lurking beneath the sweet-smelling rosebushes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

Be warned that this book addresses generational trauma, C-PTSD due to abuse from a parental figure, abuses with the occult, parental neglect, swarms of insects, and one mention of semen in the occult ritual.

emilywemily6's review

dark funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so fun- is cozy horror a thing? The main character was hilarious and relatable, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. There were definitely creepy elements, and I really didn’t know where the story was going, though in retrospective it was a well-thought-out storyline. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their depth. I wish that there was more horror, especially for the first 3/4 of the book, but there were horror elements throughout, I just hoped for more. I think more horror earlier in the book would have helped the pacing a little bit. This is a great intro to horror, though I could see that some people may still be really spooked by it. I listened on audio and loved the narrator *except* for their Phil voice. Overall, this made me excited to read other stuff by the author!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racism, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Cannibalism