Reviews

A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll

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gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A thoroughly haunting and captivating story, that delivered peak eery atmosphere through the entity of the tale. I was genuinely frightened multiple times and had to stop reading, especially at night time.

The story was much more complex than I expected, but for the most part I think it carrier through it's themes and general plot exploration really well. Where it falls down for me was the ending; the plot twist was shocking and left me with so many questions, but then the ending just confused me. I didn't really understand what had happened. I feel like this is how I felt back in the day when I had read Carroll's Through the woods short story collection, but generally speaking, A guest in the house had a more satisfying layout.

Abby was a very non-assuming protagonist but her inner world was rich and whimsical. I loved the scenes of her imaginary knight and how she wanted to be in spirit, but it was interwoven with this dark and sinister entity and environment that I began to wonder if that was coming from Abby herself.

Carroll really had me second guessing characters and although I'm left perplexed by those last few pages, I enjoyed the beauty of the details of the art and the story overall.

Content Warnings

alehahandrita's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

girlbosslindsey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

loved the reveal that the supposed neighbor was sheila. but personally would love some more clarity on the ending like the lake monster huh????? also crystal live or die?????

joannalumpia's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

htoo's review

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dark 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

Love E.M. Carroll’s artwork as always, especially the contrast between the colors and black/white portions of the book. I just wish the ending was different. I’m not a fan of grand reveals that leaves the reader with more questions than answers. It’s definitely a noteworthy take on domestic horror tho.

xabbeylongx's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Spoilers Ahead:

Once again, Carroll has blown me away with her book. The illustrations, perfect, and the storyline, even more perfect!

We follow Abby as she is with her new husband, a dentist, left widowed from his previous marriage, and his child from that marriage, Crystal. They all live together, and Sheila, the ex-wife, had supposedly died from cancer. However, when she starts being haunted by ‘Sheila’, and is told that she was actually murdered by him, she starts to feel a little weird, like everything is not as it seems.

And when she lets someone into the house to look after Crystal, after an accident with her husband that leaves him dead, when she finds out that someone is not who they say they are, everything kicks off.

Honestly, my explanation does not do the story justice at all. It’s one of the best, most intriguing and most chilling books I’ve ever read.

The ending was so ambiguous. There were so many theories, and it’s one of the only books, thus far, that I’ve had to look up because I have no idea how it ends. One part of me thinks that it’s a bit of copout, the ending not being clear, but the other, more correct part of me loves the ambiguity. The reader is free to make up their own theories as to how the story ends. Personally, I don’t know what to think, and I like there not being a typically ‘correct’ ending to it, it makes it a very unique book, even though I know a lot of people didn’t like how it ended. I, having personally thought about it a bit more since I last read the book, think it’s insanely impressive to write and illustrate a novel like that. And it’s queer, which makes it all the better!
The only thing is I didn't bond with the characters too much, and I thought Abby was quite bland, but I think that also helps with the story, so I'm not too mad about it. And the less said about Abby's husband the better, because he is an awful man, and I think he deserved what happened to him.

One of my favourite reviews ever: “Girls be like ‘I’m fighting demons’ and the demons be homosexuality”.

Content Warnings

graceg's review

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3.5

The premise was intriguing and I enjoyed the black and white vs color illustrations. The characters felt a little flat but that may be because this was a shorter story (or just because I’m not used to graphic novels). I enjoyed the sapphic background vibes but wish it was focused on a bit more. I really enjoyed the plot twist! I did not see it coming and

liked how the mom was seen at the beginning without us realizing

efischer87's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

virgilsinferno's review

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mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

joetatum24's review

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5.0

4.5- Love me and ambiguous banger with gorgeous art. Is it gay? Maybe. Is it horror? Probably. Is it gorgeous? Definitely. Does it answer all your questions? Not at all. Really great and cinematic storytelling where every word and image counts.

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