A review by daredeviling
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is pretty much everything I wanted Mexican Gothic to be, but wasn't. We get the gothic vibes (even though this was just a house and not a mansion), the creepy happenings, the secrets, and the hauntings. tbh, I actually liked that it was a house and not a mansion like in Mexican Gothic or Rebecca - it flipped the concept of a gothic book around, since we normally expect dark mansions with secrets. But this was just in a chill suburbian neighborhood.

Also the main character was *chefs kiss*. She was perfect for the story, so snarky and with a distinct, individual voice. I loved that her career ended up being really helpful for her in the situation, and it was just like ~character flavor text. It was super relevant. Have I mentioned that I love T Kingfisher's characters? Both in Nettle & Bone and in this book, they jump off the page. I want to be friends with all of them and just crack jokes and make sarcastic comments. And of course, just like in Nettle and Bones, the side characters were awesome. They were all such interesting people and I wish they (especially Phil and Gail) could go on further adventures with the main character.

The magic stuff was a little bit confusing, but I didn't even really mind that because the rest of the book was so good. I just sort of hand-waved it and went with what I could gather from the situation. Loved the creepiness of the underground children and the vultures. There's just such an ~atmosphere that the author is able to evoke that complements the gothic vibes within the house itself so well.

T. Kingfisher is definitely quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! I can't wait to read more of her books! :) 
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