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maggieoc_x's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Gaslighting, Medical content, Cursing, Stalking, and Self harm
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
korikam's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Medical content, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Cursing, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
3.5
“I’ll come right out and say it,” Mercy told them. “Strange noises, bad vibes, your mom and dad recently passed— Your house is haunted and I’m not selling it until you deal with that.”
➽ How to Sell a Haunted House was my first Grady Hendrix book! It's about Louise who has to go back to her home town and sell her childhood home after her parents died in an accident. She's not thrilled to be working with her lazy, irresponsible brother Mark and is creeped out by all the dolls her mum kept. What I liked most about the book was the Horror element. There's something unsettling about the house, as it gives off such bad energy. The dolls and puppets are genuinely creepy. I'm not afraid of dolls, but the book did a great job of making them as sinister as possible. There's also a doll called Punkin who used to be the mother's favorite. The audiobook narrator had such a creepy voice for it!
➽ The reason this book didn't 100% work for me was Mark and the sibling dynamic. I have to admit that Mark's behavior drove me up a wall. Louise has her faults and can be a bit snobbish, but Mark isn't much better. He's very irresponsible and flighty, behaving more like a man-child than an actual adult. When he gets control over the house, he keeps bullying and gloating to Louise all the time. It was SO annoying. Their fights and arguments honestly made me glad that I don't have any siblings 🙈 I just found Mark incredibly unlikable and hated how much he enjoyed having power over Louise. We later get his POV but it was far too late and also didn't fit within the story at all.
Graphic: Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Body horror, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, and Violence
glutenfreemaggie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical trauma, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Vomit, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Abandonment, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
readerfromtheblacklagoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Drug use, and Child death
karmapen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Grief, Body horror, and Alcoholism
rowancdewit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Warning, there are a few bits of the book that were a liiittle too much for me. (Violence, weird descriptive spooky things) But everytime those scenes happened, I’d get a tight “oof” in my gut, thinking to myself “Okay, I gotta skim this.” And then the next scene would be something absolutely so dramatic that would just make me laugh and say, “is Hendrix even serious right now?”
It’s so dramatic, but it’s a story that feels like it KNOWS it’s dramatic and far fetched and presses into that. Truly, feels like an adult version (bcuz the characters are in their 40s) of a Goosebumps book.
I 100% could see this being made into a film. And the 4 stars is 100% for Hendrix’s writing, which is just fun and silly and comedic and truly good enough that I could FEEL every ounce of discomfort that Hendrix wanted me to feel in the tense moments. The pacing was amazing, the delivery of everything was so great, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
If anyone asked about reading this, I definitely would say “don’t take it seriously, just buckle in for the ride.”
Graphic: Self harm, Gun violence, Death of parent, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Cursing, and Grief
amirahazhar's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
ksuazo94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Medical content, Vomit, Mental illness, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Murder