imstephtacular's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Medical content, and Car accident
Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Blood, Gaslighting, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual content, War, and Pregnancy
bakerhi's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Holy shit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Death, Child death, and Medical trauma
roemsy's review
dark
mysterious
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
We’re back in Charleston with haunted houses, creepy dolls/puppets, family drama, etc. Grady Hendrix knows how to do horror that can’t be denied. I do feel like the first half was a little too heavy on the family drama and wasn’t as action packed and spooky as I wanted it to be, but the last half really came through. Pupkin is the stuff of nightmares and I want nothing to do with him. I rebuke it lol.
I think this is a weird one though, that some people may find extremely creepy and horror-filled and others might be like “really?” In my opinion, it’ll rely heavily on your imagination and what you find scary. If movies like Dead Silence or Chucky are your jam, I have no doubt you will love this book. But since scary dolls are heavily used as the spook-factor I think if those don’t scare you or if the image you conjure of them isn’t scary, then you might just shrug at this one. This also might be why I think it would be more intriguing as a movie where your imagination is less heavily relied on. All in all though, this was a good read and while it’s not my *favorite* of his… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Grady could write a phone book and I would read it.
I think this is a weird one though, that some people may find extremely creepy and horror-filled and others might be like “really?” In my opinion, it’ll rely heavily on your imagination and what you find scary. If movies like Dead Silence or Chucky are your jam, I have no doubt you will love this book. But since scary dolls are heavily used as the spook-factor I think if those don’t scare you or if the image you conjure of them isn’t scary, then you might just shrug at this one. This also might be why I think it would be more intriguing as a movie where your imagination is less heavily relied on. All in all though, this was a good read and while it’s not my *favorite* of his… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Grady could write a phone book and I would read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Medical content
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Child death
Minor: Fatphobia
geogirl's review
challenging
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? Yes
5.0
Grady Hendrix knocked it out of the park with this title! I'm a long-time lover of their works and this one is peak horror! When Louise receives a phone call from her estranged brother about her parents' fatal accident, she packs up and flies home to settle their affairs. Unfortunately, their affairs are about as unsettled as they can get and Louise and Mark must battle their own issues, generational trauma, and family secrets to get back to their normal lives.
Normal is overrated and paranormal is par for the course. Creepy dolls, sinister puppets, an abandoned house, and disconnected reality all come to play in this delightfully disturbing take on a haunted house story. Grady Hendrix doesn't disappoint and it's a must-read for anyone dealing with loss - loss of a loved one, loss of innocence, and loss of control. Grab for your favorite stuffed animal, dim the lights, and don't look behind you!
I just reviewed How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. #HowtoSellaHauntedHouse #NetGalley
Normal is overrated and paranormal is par for the course. Creepy dolls, sinister puppets, an abandoned house, and disconnected reality all come to play in this delightfully disturbing take on a haunted house story. Grady Hendrix doesn't disappoint and it's a must-read for anyone dealing with loss - loss of a loved one, loss of innocence, and loss of control. Grab for your favorite stuffed animal, dim the lights, and don't look behind you!
I just reviewed How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. #HowtoSellaHauntedHouse #NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Grief, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, and Death of parent
chessakat's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
*Screams forrrreeevvvvverrrrrrr* This book was so hysterically terrifying and stressful, I could not stop thinking about it whenever I had to put it down! Extreme CW for body horror, injury, violence, terror, harm to children, etc. I am not a huge horror reader, but this did not feel tame to me, in my limited experience. Extremely entertaining and will cause you to lose sleep. What was that noise??? Someone go check. If you have anxiety, tread with caution!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Child death, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Animal death
fivecatsinacoat's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not sure what I expected going into this book, but boy was I wrong. Perfectly spooky and tense - Hendrix is fantastic at keeping the tension high. There was some very descriptive body horror, but it was not the whole book and was easy enough to skip if you don't like that.
My only complaint is that the ending got a little silly.
I'm not sure what I expected going into this book, but boy was I wrong. Perfectly spooky and tense - Hendrix is fantastic at keeping the tension high. There was some very descriptive body horror
Spoiler
an eye injury, an incident with a power saw, and general "beating up"My only complaint is that the ending got a little silly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Gore, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Injury/injury detail, and Body horror
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