Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

19 reviews

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

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This book and The Hollow Places felt a bit like they were fraternal twins, or perhaps alternate reality versions?  There was a lot that was similar in the setting (small town hoarder house vs small town oddity/curiousity shop), the goth coffee barista, the job that can be done from anywhere with a laptop (or maybe that one was a house with good bones with the insect identification project?, same with the partner that cheated and so they needed a refuge?, the crazy grandma?), the lack of wifi/cell signal, the side character that insists on going with you to the scary place because you can't let someone go alone, the drinking of coffee and alcohol to cope...

Anyways, I think the writing is fun, but the reuse of circumstances makes it less original so if you like reading the same kind of thing with different veneers then I think the trio of The Twisted Ones, The Hollow Places, and A House With Good Bones has that locked down.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

mblanke's review against another edition

2.75

dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Dementia, Stalking, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail

pinaforestethoscope's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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: Complicated

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This was a fun read/ listen! I genuinely loved Mouse & Bongo. I think Foxy is one of my favorite characters of all time. I could read about her just being her sassy self for hours. I thought the story was cool & really liked the fantasy elements. I appreciated the fact that the majority of the characters were kind. Kingfisher is genuinely funny and I'm a sucker for a good horror comedy. There were some decently creepy parts & great atmosphere. I'm looking forward to checking out her other books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Dementia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy

briarcrawford's review against another edition

2.0

dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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If you like cold-case style mysteries (such as looking for clues in diary entries), and minorly spooky folklore shenanigans, you'll likely love this book.

Personally, I thought it was too slow paced and I don't much like stories that are heavy with focusing on what happened before the story (backstory dumps and diary entries). However, this is just my own personal reading preference.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry

cardaisy's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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A T. Kingfisher story is not complete without: a lovable animal companion; a large, kind man, who does some kind of manual labour; a badass, no-nonsense older woman; a well meaning, but somewhat unhelpful parent; and, of course, an evil grandmother. I'm joking, but also I'm not

Really enjoyed this, the narration was great and easy to listen to, and the plot embodied the cozy creepiness that I've come to expect from a T. Kingfisher book. Also, props for making it clear near the beginning that the dog lives, ngl I did appreciate that a lot, especially when it came to some later plot points

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Pregnancy

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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“And I twisted myself about like the twisted ones, and I lay down flat on the ground like the dead ones…” 

If your fight or flight instinct is to laugh, then this one is for you. 

 

A great gothic read featuring spooky woods with a changing landscape and the terrifying things contained inside, all while the mc ponders her tumultuous relationship with her grandmother as she cleans out her house. 

This is now my third T. Kingfisher book I’ve read and I’ll be now going through their whole backlist. 

Not a spoiler, the dog lives so you can put away that fear when reading and just enjoy Bongo’s antics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Alcohol

whatkatyread87's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Really slow. Most action takes place in the last 3 hours of the audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility

meganpbell's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This is a downright disturbing and deliciously atmospheric work of folkhorror, from hoarder’s house to haunted woods, narrated with unexpected humor by a woman who just wants to keep her dumb dog safe. What I didn’t know until the very end is that this book is inspired by a 1904 classic horror short story by Arthur Machen, and while you can definitely enjoy this book without knowing the story, I felt like I was missing something once I knew!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy

aparker89's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Everyone knows that a hoarder's home is a nightmare in and of itself, but what if that hoard was hiding something even more devilish. When Mouse's grandmother finally passes away and her house needs to be dealt with, she doesn't know what to expect. She also doesn't know that there might just be monsters awaiting her arrival. Between reading her dementia addled grandfather's journal and dealing with a mountainous mess- what could possibly be worse. Well Mouse finds out... but thank goodness for hwr coonhound to keep her grounded through an adventure that can't quite be understood but definitely is a doozy! 

I still can't get over the fairy monsters in pure hillbilly fashion... they will be haunting my dreams for years to come!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

megwilli's review

4.0

dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Fire/Fire injury