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bickleyhouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm a fan of Grady Hendrix, after reading two of his other books before this one. And, while I gave this five stars, it almost didn't make it. It was the ending that pulled it through for me.
The family drama in this book was almost so "cringe" that I threatened to put it down. I mean, it was bloody awful. The relationship between Louise and her brother Mark was so difficult to read. And I have to confess that Hendrix was quite masterful at making it awkward. Makes me wonder if he writes from experience.
At first, it seems as though it's not actually the house that is haunted, and I'm still not sure that that's the case. And, while there have been plenty of horror stories about "haunted" or possessed dolls, in this case, while there are a couple of dolls involved, the majority of the culprits are puppets. And the master of the puppets was one called Pupkin. You see, Louise's and Mark's mother had a church puppet ministry. And when their mom and dad died in a horrible traffic accident, Louise and Mark had to clean out the house. This is where the awkward drama starts, and it never stops. And when I say it was "cringe," I do not think I am exaggerating.
But, and I have found this to be the case multiple times, the last third or quarter of the book launches it into five-star-land. At some point, it becomes almost unputdownable. I definitely enjoy this in a book, too. I want to be eager to finish it because I want to find out what happens, not because I can't wait to get on to the next book in my stack.
I can't say a lot more about the content without spoiling. But I will say that there was a definite plot turning point on page 252 when someone says, "Why do you think they boarded up the attic? It's not squirrels up there."
Were the characters lovable? Absolutely not! Not any of them. Mark was probably the most annoying, but there were times when Louise was just as annoying as Mark. The rest of the family was right up there, as well.
Also, there is some pretty serious gore in the story, as well, particularly one scene late in the book. I almost couldn't read it, because Mr. Hendrix did such a "good" job of describing what was happening.
I have to throw this in, as well. Whenever Pupkin was described, I simply could not help envisioning puppet Angel. If you know you know.
The family drama in this book was almost so "cringe" that I threatened to put it down. I mean, it was bloody awful. The relationship between Louise and her brother Mark was so difficult to read. And I have to confess that Hendrix was quite masterful at making it awkward. Makes me wonder if he writes from experience.
At first, it seems as though it's not actually the house that is haunted, and I'm still not sure that that's the case. And, while there have been plenty of horror stories about "haunted" or possessed dolls, in this case, while there are a couple of dolls involved, the majority of the culprits are puppets. And the master of the puppets was one called Pupkin. You see, Louise's and Mark's mother had a church puppet ministry. And when their mom and dad died in a horrible traffic accident, Louise and Mark had to clean out the house. This is where the awkward drama starts, and it never stops. And when I say it was "cringe," I do not think I am exaggerating.
But, and I have found this to be the case multiple times, the last third or quarter of the book launches it into five-star-land. At some point, it becomes almost unputdownable. I definitely enjoy this in a book, too. I want to be eager to finish it because I want to find out what happens, not because I can't wait to get on to the next book in my stack.
I can't say a lot more about the content without spoiling. But I will say that there was a definite plot turning point on page 252 when someone says, "Why do you think they boarded up the attic? It's not squirrels up there."
Were the characters lovable? Absolutely not! Not any of them. Mark was probably the most annoying, but there were times when Louise was just as annoying as Mark. The rest of the family was right up there, as well.
Also, there is some pretty serious gore in the story, as well, particularly one scene late in the book. I almost couldn't read it, because Mr. Hendrix did such a "good" job of describing what was happening.
I have to throw this in, as well. Whenever Pupkin was described, I simply could not help envisioning puppet Angel. If you know you know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
jordankubz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, Drug abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Death
bkwrm1317's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When two siblings parents die in a car crash, it turns out there’s some weird family secrets and puppets that were connected.
Bit funny, fairly compelling, but a bit more disjointed than I’d have liked. Decent comedy horror.
Bit funny, fairly compelling, but a bit more disjointed than I’d have liked. Decent comedy horror.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Car accident
blackeyedraptor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
This book was... Weird, and not in a Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman kind of way. Tbh, I'm kind of disappointed.
The writing style was fantastic, I would definitely read the authors other works, but I find myself being disappointed in it.
It went from properly creepy to wannabe slasher fic in about a single chapter, and I hate slashers! They're needlessly gory and when a story has to depend on bloody shock factors, the writing is bad, which is sad because the author has style! I nearly dnf'd at least 3 times, but kept plugging on.
*Spoilers*
So turns out, it's not the house that's haunted, even though it initially comes off that way, it's her mom's creepy childhood puppet, who's haunted by her dead uncle who died young. Again, the whole thing felt like it was depending on the shock Factor too much, and was just weird. I love a good spooky ghost story, but I argue that this belongs in that category. If it were a movie, it'd be a slasher, but at least it would get marks for being unpredictable.
The writing style was fantastic, I would definitely read the authors other works, but I find myself being disappointed in it.
It went from properly creepy to wannabe slasher fic in about a single chapter, and I hate slashers! They're needlessly gory and when a story has to depend on bloody shock factors, the writing is bad, which is sad because the author has style! I nearly dnf'd at least 3 times, but kept plugging on.
*Spoilers*
So turns out, it's not the house that's haunted, even though it initially comes off that way, it's her mom's creepy childhood puppet, who's haunted by her dead uncle who died young. Again, the whole thing felt like it was depending on the shock Factor too much, and was just weird. I love a good spooky ghost story, but I argue that this belongs in that category. If it were a movie, it'd be a slasher, but at least it would get marks for being unpredictable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Child death, Death, Grief, Blood, Violence, Murder, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Self harm, Ableism, and Emotional abuse
calebmbuys's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Gore, Death of parent, Violence, and Child death
alicroz34's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This was the closest I came to a DNF in many years. The first third was a bit of a slog for me, but I'm glad I stuck with it overall. The last third almost made up for the infuriating start.
Little to no applicable advice or information about to sell haunted houses, wth
I'm all for character flaws, but going from physically fighting your idiotic brother to LETTING HIM PLAN YOUR PARENTS' FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ENTIRELY BY HIMSELF IN THE SAME DAY BECAUSE HE SAID HE LIKED YOUR MOM'S FRIED CHICKEN IS FUCKING INSANE. Parts of it felt campy on purpose & parts of it felt cringey by accident.
Little to no applicable advice or information about to sell haunted houses, wth
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Death, Animal death, Abandonment, Child death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Ableism
bowlsofpasta's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
tabea1409's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Car accident, Gaslighting, Gore, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Child abuse, and Violence
witchofthemountains's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Body horror, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Car accident
Moderate: Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Animal death
Minor: Cursing, War, Genocide, and Fatphobia
sighclopss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Rounded up from 3.75 ⭐
I liked this a decent amount.
I found the beginning very slow and I almost dnf'ed but I'm glad to have pushed through the initial chapters. I found the family dynamic very interesting and slightly triggering in how some parts mirrored my own dysfunctional family. Louise's complicated relationships with her mother and brother were very relatable. I think the book did great at portraying grief and the human experience.
The horror elements were overly cliche, I did guess at plot twists before they happened and didn't feel like there was a tonne of creativity. But the author definitely nails suspense and overall creepy vibes.
To be honest I'd probably have enjoyed the book more if it downplayed the horror and focused more on the siblings, their pasts and how they are going through the motions of mending their relationship.
I liked this a decent amount.
I found the beginning very slow and I almost dnf'ed but I'm glad to have pushed through the initial chapters. I found the family dynamic very interesting and slightly triggering in how some parts mirrored my own dysfunctional family. Louise's complicated relationships with her mother and brother were very relatable. I think the book did great at portraying grief and the human experience.
The horror elements were overly cliche, I did guess at plot twists before they happened and didn't feel like there was a tonne of creativity. But the author definitely nails suspense and overall creepy vibes.
To be honest I'd probably have enjoyed the book more if it downplayed the horror and focused more on the siblings, their pasts and how they are going through the motions of mending their relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, and Death