Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

125 reviews

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

bookforthought's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I read this book all the way back in June when the sun was shining and spooky season was definitely not on my mind, but with Halloween upon us, it's finally time to share a few thoughts on this!

I discovered Kingfisher's books last year, when I read the amazing Nettle and Bone, and I decided to catch up with a few more of her books: so, enter A House with Good Bones. Right from the beginning, I realised this would be quite different from my previous read and I wasn't really sure what to expect but one thing was certain: that house was well and truly haunted.

I warmed up almost immediately to Sam as a main character. For starters, she's an archeoentomologist, something that immediately set her apart and allowed her to share fascinating tidbits on insects throughout the novel. Sam's quirky and extremely funny, providing a humourous commentary throughout, which somewhat tempered the creep and chills evoked by the book's events. The book is narrated entirely from Sam's POV, and much of it is just her inner monologue so by the end I felt as if I knew her pretty well, even though I couldn't say the same of the other characters.

While recovering from her most recent dig, Sam decides to visit her mother, but immediately realises that something is wrong. Sam's relationship with her mum was another element I really appreciated, since it seemed to be very genuine and based on true love and care for one another. I also enjoyed the sharp contrast this made with the relationship they both had with Sam's grandmother and her (very difficult) character.

All the elements to the story are very carefully laid out, slowly but surely drawing the reader in thanks to the author's masteful storytelling. Still, despite this, something felt missing for me to feel the truly haunting side of this story, the ending leaving me somewhat unsatisfied. I felt as though there were at once too many elements colliding and, at the same time, things were rushed along to reach the conclusion swiftly. The build-up felt definitely far too long compared to the final shenanigans, switching from Sam's sarcastic monologue to pure horror in a very short time, giving the impression of a much-too-fast tonal shift and a serious pacing issue.

Even though this book didn't fully hit the mark for me, it's still a pretty engaging and quick read to get you in the spooky mood this Halloween. I'll definitely be reading more from the author in the future!

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

samburkhouse's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

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.

theinkwyrm's review

dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

A really solid short horror novel, even when it lost me a little at the end. I absolutely loved Sam and her sense of humor and way of thinking; I just really enjoyed (almost) all the characters if I’m being honest and would it again just for them, if not for the horror part. Also, loved the ladybugs and vultures and the twist on common perception of them. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

emilywemily6's review

dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so fun- is cozy horror a thing? The main character was hilarious and relatable, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. There were definitely creepy elements, and I really didn’t know where the story was going, though in retrospective it was a well-thought-out storyline. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their depth. I wish that there was more horror, especially for the first 3/4 of the book, but there were horror elements throughout, I just hoped for more. I think more horror earlier in the book would have helped the pacing a little bit. This is a great intro to horror, though I could see that some people may still be really spooked by it. I listened on audio and loved the narrator *except* for their Phil voice. Overall, this made me excited to read other stuff by the author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racism, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Cannibalism

emmonsannae's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such an excellent quick read! The plot was a catch from minute one, the pace is quick but not rushed, and the characters are a delight. What really makes this story is the narrator’s voice and personality—she is so real, deadpan, and well rounded as a character, and she really sells the story. It was so refreshing to have a narrator for whom being fat is a prominent characteristic while not being a consuming or a worrying one (her being an entomologist was a huge bonus).  If anything, I feel like the book could have been a little longer with a little more lead-up to the ending—I wasn’t completely sold on the resolution, but I think I might have been with some more buildup. This is a minor qualm. A great spooky October read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Blood, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

ezwolf's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was…interesting? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I loved have a fat main character and having her fatness and the way that change how she interacts with the world and the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

purplepenning's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

bones_the_baker's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia and Blood