Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

32 reviews

kurumipanda's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

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. 

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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

shadowspinner's review against another edition

funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent

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

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Content Warnings

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

naomidanae's review

dark 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Violence, and Blood

sarahmiller98's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Violence

gr3yfoxhound's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Slow-ish start, getting faster as it goes along

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Gore and Violence

nrogers_1030's review

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

T.K. always entertains me. This book is creepy and funny.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Classism

booksthatburn's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

In A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES, Sam is visiting her mother in the home they once shared with her now-deceased grandmother. However, most of the ways Sam's mother had decorated to make the place her own have been undone, and she doesn’t seem to understand or acknowledge why this would be disturbing. Little things start to add up, eventually going beyond what’s merely bizarre - transforming into something downright creepy. 

Because as a reader this is my introduction to Sam’s mother, it’s harder to immediately know how she ought to be acting, but Sam’s thoughts provide that context in a way that feels natural. It feels like Sam working through it in her own mind, and not just for the benefit of me as a spectator. This is one of those cases where the things that I like best about the book are the ways that my understanding of of what's going on suddenly shifted as new information became available. It's short enough that to discuss most of what I loved in the latter half of the book would spoil many of the best parts of the experience. In general, I like the way that this played with my expectations of what a horror novel could or should be. There were several layers of revelations that didn't really feel like plot twists, as much as they involved realizing the meaning of information that had been said previously, but was transformed by new events. 

I love the ending, that ramps up the pace and the stakes to be suddenly exciting just as everything looked like it was going to wrap up more calmly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Vomit, Dementia, and Alcohol

itsalina'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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism

Minor: Body horror, Death, Racism, and Murder