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wardenred's review against another edition
- 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
A great cruel power, doing almost nothing. Like a dormant volcano. All she did was grow roses.
This didn’t quite beat The Twisted Ones as far as my favorite horror books by T. Kingfisher go, but it’s coming as a very close second! I just absolutely dig the entire thing: the plot, the escalation of tension and horror, the sense of setting, the characters, the vibes. There wasn’t a single dull moment for me here. Just. The way the narrative unfolds? How bad it gets toward the end? How then it gets so much worse and more complex? Chef’s kiss.
I knew rather little about the novel going in, besides the basics like “haunted house horror with southern gothic vibes and family stuff.“ The cover, alongside the first couple of pages, led me to think this would be, at least in some part, bird horror. Without going into spoilery detail, that conclusion was debunked in a really fun way. I mean, the vultures are definitely around a lot and very important for the story! It’s just that there are much scarier things around. Like roses and ladybugs. (Fun fact: I love roses and ladybugs. Both scream safety and sunlight to me. It’s truly a testament to Kingfisher’s talent that she managed to make me fear both for the duration of reading this.)
My favorite part about the book was the relationship between the MC and her mother. Apparently, I’m really interested in exploring dynamics between independent adults and their parents, and I’m not getting enough of it. Edie—the mom—is my favorite character here, in fact. I really admire how she’s done her best to stop the cycle of abuse in her family and be a good parent to her kids. Yes, she wasn’t able shield them from her own mother completely, but she stood up for them and made sure they knew when things weren’t okay rather than normalizing those things. She really did her best to heal that generational trauma, and I admire her so much for that.
All in all, I loved this for the atmosphere, the twists, the humanity of the characters, and the great writing. Definitely goes on my “best of 2024“ list.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Dementia
whatkatyread87's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
earl_grey_without_lemon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
To start with the good parts, I really liked the info dumping about insects and plant varieties. The book’s initial premise was also interesting to me (love a good haunting and the line between house and home), although I think where the book really shines is in the middle-end when there’s more action. I found that the most chilling scenes were
Unfortunately, for a horror book, there is not a lot of tension, or sense of dread. One of my issues with the book is its pacing. I felt like the twist was fairly obvious from the beginning, and I really couldn’t connect with the characters at all. Props to T. Kingfisher for making Sam a fat intelligent woman who loves her job and is passionate about bugs and the ecosystem, because those parts of her felt so real and refreshing to me! But my god, I found her insufferable as our POV character. I can’t remember the exact line, but it’s after
The
Overall, A House With Good Bones had an awesome title and intriguing premise with some interesting action scenes, but just didn’t end up being my cup of tea.
(On a much lighter note, I may have missed a lot of cultural references, too, not being from the south myself, but Sam is so wrong about Cheerwine, it’s really yummy)
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Terminal illness and Dementia
The protagonist does call out racism, and it is not directed at any characters in a detailed manner.growintogardens's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Dementia
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Racism
Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
otterforce's review
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism and Murder
cranshrooms's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
rooblidoo22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
tiredcreature's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Racism, Dementia, and Cannibalism
asmei's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cannibalism