Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - A House with Good Bones

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was wickedly funny and I just adore Sam and all her friends. But especially Sam. Sam forever! She is smart and funny and takes no shit and has a fun niche job.

There's some loving gentle teasing about southern social customs.

There's also some creepy unsettling bits.

But mostly this book just made me really, really happy.

My only small complaint is that it seemed very obvious to me that Edith was trying to appease the spirit of her mother, who seemed like maybe she was a poltergeist. But it makes sense to me that while I as a reader would immediately make that connection knowing I was reading a horror novel, Sam would think her mother's odd behavior might be a symptom of dementia.

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itsalina's review

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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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trzcuit's review

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dark funny mysterious reflective 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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blacksphinx's review

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funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I got this book because I've seen a lot of people talk about T. Kingfisher's work but hadn't read any myself yet, and this was her latest release. As someone who tried going to school for forensic anthropology and

has a strong interest in ceremonial magick

, it felt like it was written just for me? It is a deeply WEIRD book that didn't go in the direction I originally expected, and I loved it. I wish there was more of it, or that it was longer, perhaps the pacing being a little different? Maybe a touch more explanation to really take it to the 5-star finish line.

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ellarroz's review

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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nerodyne's review

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

It's been years since I've been able to read an entire book in one day, but this book was absolutely enthralling to me. I picked it up because being from North Carolina and named Sam, after seeing the premise I HAD to read it. But god, I really didn't expect for it to hit so close to home for me. It's one of those horror stories that really makes you confront your own family history. Even if nothing supernatural is in my family history, that doesn't mean the shadows of abuse don't still haunt you even when they are long dead. The slow creeping horror building up to the finale felt like watching an extremely disturbing puzzle come together. I absolutely recommend this book, but this book already feels so deeply personal to me I know I'm probably biased.

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dogearedbooks's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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constellation_library's review

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

T. Kingfisher is an auto-buy author for me. She has a huge backlist that I'd like to work through, but so far, I've read the following works:
--A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
--Nettle & Bone
--What Moves the Dead
--A House with Good Bones

I'm currently reading The Twisted Ones, and will likely follow that with The Hollow Places.

Anyway, I say all of that to say, that I hold Kingfisher's work in the highest esteem, so A House with Good Bones was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I'm pleased to announce that I enjoyed the story immensely. I gave it 4.5/5 stars. Kingfisher has a very unique voice and writing style, and you will always be able to spot a Kingfisher novel because of this. The characters are always quirky with humorous internal dialogue, and there are often animal companions or animal characters.

In A House with Good Bones, we are seeing a 32 year old woman having to live with her mother in her late grandmother's house. The house isn't old. It's in a pretty modern development comparatively, maybe only 40-50 years old. But something weird is definitely going on when vultures sit and watch the house. Her mother, normally a liberal, free-spirited lady, is acting unlike herself. There are so many bits and pieces to this tale, and it blends horror with weird fiction. I can't say much more for fear of spoiling it, but suffice it to say that this one did not go the way I expected it to.

My one gripe, and why I can't give it the full five stars is because the unexpected direction it took honestly felt like it belonged in a completely different story. It worked just fine, and I couldn't tell you a preferred way for it to go, but something about it just didn't click for me and took me out of the narrative. I'm curious to see if anyone else had a similar experience.

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