Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

29 reviews

jackie_marion's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

crumpledpapersheep's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gore and Violence

kbsumms's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Minor: Gore

princesspumpkinhead10's review

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Cannibalism

cwerber's review

adventurous 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming and Terminal illness

I liked this book.the first 3/4 felt slow but ramped up in the last quarter of the book. I enjoyed it and would like to see more of Gail, Hermes, and Edith.

crownoflaurel's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

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

whimsicalish's review

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Sadly I did not enjoy this one as much as T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead.

This one felt lacking the mystery. You figure out early on what is happening in the house. The set up with the main character and her family is appreciated but it's a slow pace in the first half. Before any hauntings have happened, you're learning more about Latin names to insects than anything else.

I did enjoy most of the characters. They felt like real people. I'm not sure why the book had to flirt with the idea of a budding romance. It didn't have anything to do with the story or characters. It's just kinda there.

The thriller was the climax at the very end. Bummer that it ends so quickly when you get a taste of the creepiness.

It's not a bad book. It didn't enthrall me like her previous one. I'm still interested in her future stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body horror and Child abuse

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

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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. 

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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.

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

funny informative mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

Really funny in ways I didn’t expect! Sam was a great protagonist. Her logical scientist brain struggled so hard to process the bizarre reality of a haunted house. I think the insanity of it all was what made this story more cohesive. If the protag had been more credulous, the nature of the happenings of this book would’ve blistered and fallen apart. But because she was going step-by-step researching and attaching meaning to illogical things, when really wild stuff happened, it was fun rather than silly.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a sense of creepy and horror to it all. Definitely got tense. But Sam’s narration was a joy. It made the whole book so much funner than it needed to be. I especially loved the running bit about her phone trying to get service. 

Bonus points for the strong, fiery, fat protagonist who had no qualms about her body. And ruthlessly mocked those who did have a problem.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism