Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - A House with Good Bones

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A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

56 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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archaicrobin's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is probably one of my favorite Kingfisher books so far! She has a way of mixing humor and terror so well, you’re chuckling one minute and cringing the next.

Sam is staying at home with her mother in their childhood home after her archaeology dig was postponed. Unfortunately, the house seems to have changed and the dead are not at rest.

This novel is fast paced, humorous, and filled with magical realism giving it a cozy feel. I don’t usually like humor
mixed with horror, but the way Kingfisher writes, I find myself greatly enjoying her stories. This novel is part haunted house, part ancient magic, and part comedy with the overarching theme of familial trauma underneath all the roses.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something a little lighthearted but that still packs a punch with horror.

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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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ashlyndiane's review

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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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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nrogers_1030's review

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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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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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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