Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

109 reviews

cadence99's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I really really enjoyed this book- creepy and familiar all at once. First of all my heart was so full having a fat main character. I also felt as if the author did a fantastic job of capturing the way in which anxieties manifest themselves in these kind of family dynamics. My one complaint is that I wish the ending twist had been more clearly tied into the underlying themes of the book, it was still deeply creepy, but felt a bit detached from the spirit of the rest of the story. But despite that minor grievance, this book is still one of the best I’ve read this year. I’d definitely recommend it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Dementia, and Alcohol

letsgoghgirls's review

dark mysterious tense

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Blood

directorpurry's review against another edition

funny mysterious 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? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

breazy777's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Fatphobia

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

aileron's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

skeuomorphism's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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??????? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death and Racism

twistykris's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Dementia and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

hannanni41's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

It's no Hollow Places or What Moves The Dead, but it's still pretty good. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia and Gaslighting

daredeviling's review

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! :) 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming and Emotional abuse

Minor: Dementia

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Racism

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Stalking