Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - A House with Good Bones

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A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

109 reviews

lipstickitotheman's review

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dark funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

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kaitieg97's review

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challenging 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

4.0

T. Kingfisher is such a good visual writer, I've read "What Moves the Dead" as well, and they are both incredibly immersing, which is why I'm so sad to give this book such a low rating. The ending felt weird with

Gran Mae the Rose Monster, The Underground Children, Gail and Hermes being angel/vulture/witches

, too many twists that I felt were unnecessary. I don't think Kingfisher knows how to write endings.

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sarahmiller98's review

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dark funny tense

4.0

It's funny that I read this book so close to How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, because the two books share a number of themes: family, trauma, inheritance, child abandonment. This book though is pure T. Kingfisher, which means a very specific type of comfort read for me. When I read this author, I know I'm getting warmth, humour, practicality, and kindness. Sometimes that comes with a side of romance, or fantasy, or - in this case - horror. Often it contains a mix of all three. It takes a special writer to balance those elements - to make you smile one minute and genuinely creep you out the next - while still leaving you with an overall feeling of steady hope and goodwill.

In other words, I've read and loved the author's other horror novels, and this book is no exception to the trend. The protagonist is typically smart, level-headed, funny and relatable. Her relationship with her mother, which is central to the story, is likewise funny and endearing. As with all T. Kingfisher books, I cared instantly about the characters, which made me deeply invested in their situation as the horror gradually unfolded. Although the plot is a slow burn compared to some of the author's books, it never feels like the pacing drags. Structurally, it's a very well-balanced, well-crafted story that comes to a satisfying conclusion without sacrificing any of the little details of character and setting that make the author's books such a pleasure to read. Highly recommend, as usual.

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bibliophilicjester's review

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mysterious medium-paced

3.5

I think my expectations were a little too high for this one. Although I did enjoy it!! What moves the dead was one of my very few 5 star reads last year, so I didn't necessarily expect that again; maybe I just expected a solidly creepy read.

The storygraph synopsis is lovely, but the Goodreads one/on the dust jacket gives away something that doesn't happen until over halfway in. It also starts with her brother calling her to say mom seems off...which makes you think said brother will be in it a lot. He is not. Just some phone calls.

Honestly, most of this just reads like a story about Sam visiting her mom, and mom being increasingly worried/paranoid/careful about *something*. The very end is when it gets weird. Other than learning way too much about insects and seeing Sam talk to random vultures...it's pretty ordinary. She's likable. As is her mom (and their relationship), the neighbor Gail, and handyman Phil. They were fine. It was fine.

I thought the dinner (trying to be vague) would be the culmination of creepiness and maybe where explanations would happen but wow it took a turn. I'm not sure I was entirely on board. Maybe it just got too weird too fast, because I'm usually 100% on board for weird. In general. I even read the last 50 or so pages when it was dark out. Something about this story just didn't work for me, and I'm not sure I know what it was.

There were a lot of funny moments that made me laugh, but my favorite moment was toward the end when Sam proudly declared that she didn't want kids and wasn't sure if she even wanted to get married. *loud cheering* you fucking tell them, Sam!!

I don't feel confident about the rating, but I think I'll go 3.5. Though I give the full 5 stars to Hermes!! (I swear there used to be a vulture emoji)

Also...spoiler:

I'm not a fan of the portrayal of magic users/witches etc. I wasn't sure if kingfisher was going for real-world witchcraft or something of her own creation, but meh. Gail also became an entirely different character once "magic" came into it...then went back to normal at the end. Idk, it just doesn't sit right with me, except for the bit about protective circles, which made sense as a real-world thing, but what it was keeping out just made it weird all over again.
Also, did Phil *have* to be "ripped"? Cringe.

Also also, why is "helluva" a word I keep seeing?? Why am I just now noticing it? What's wrong with just saying "hell of a"? Why does it bother me so much?! Lol

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tigger89's review

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mysterious tense 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

4.0

Anything by T. Kingfisher is an auto-request for me, at this point. I love that woman's imagination. A creepy southern gothic, while less fantastic than her previous stories I'd read, is still right up my alley. And I loved the narrator! She was a joy to ride around with, whether she was snarking about the wifi or nerding out about bugs. As someone who's around the same age as Sam, I could relate heavily to her anxieties regarding her aging mother. The finale was also incredible, keeping tension high from the moment Sam stepped back into the house until the matter was resolved.

Unfortunately, overall I didn't like this book as much as Kingfisher's other two. Perhaps it was the genre shift, the addition of teased romantic tension between our intrepid protagonist and the sexy gardener, or the fact that a large part of the story's build-up could have been skipped if the protagonist and her mother had just had That Conversation at any point before the story was two-thirds of the way over. But that doesn't mean it's bad! The bar was just set very high, is all.

Now, the most important question: do the vultures and/or ladybugs die?

There is a committee of vultures, one named and many unnamed. All survive to the end of the story. There are also many, many ladybugs. Unfortunately, some of the ladybugs get squashed in the course of the story, but the majority of them survive.

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dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely the kind of book I've been looking for! I'm also an entomology lover and have been looking for books that are in the SF/F and speculative genres that have bugs in, that aren't viewed negatively.
I also love the vultures and how they tie in.
The story and the plot twists aswell are so creative, and T Kingfishers writing is so comical and made the characters really relatable.
Overall, one of my all time favourite books I think, and I'm excited to read more of her work!

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