poppyseedromance's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit and Child death
nwellington'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
Minor: Vomit
syellico's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, and Vomit
jaedia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Wow, I could not put this book down. How to Sell a Haunted House follows Louise as she returns home following the sudden death of her parents, only to find herself feeling frustrated by her brother Mark who has already taken control of all of the funeral arrangements and she's not happy. The entire book is about grief and family, and just happens to include a haunted house as its backdrop, although this one is not exactly as you would expect. And I will say no more because the way this story unwinds is so good. As I said, could not put it down. All this did was remind me that I need to pick up his other books because this is the second time I have fallen in love with his writing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Blood, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Self harm, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
Minor: Fatphobia, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Gun violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
lunaviolax's review
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
4.0
Hendrix does not disappoint. Slow start but if you keep going the second half of the book is brilliant, and filled with great commentary on generational trauma and the impact of family secrets. It’s the author’s usual combination of horror, some comedy and great analysis of human behaviour and relations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Body horror
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child death
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Vomit, and Mental illness
breacommelafromage's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WE HAVE OUR FIRST 5-STAR READ OF 2023
Y'all this book fucking slapped. It was so damn good. There is a reason I keep going back to Grady even if one of his previous books doesn't land just the way I expected it to. This book was brilliant, horrific, absurd, and hilarious all wrapped up in one. It was PERFECT.
At its core, this isn't just a ghost story this is a story about grief, generational trauma, dysfunctional families and people's inability to process difficult emotions and therefore they repress them and allow them to fester within. But at its surface, this is a campy paranormal haunting novel about Lousie and Mark Joyner, who are just trying to sell their parents' house after their passing but can't seem to escape the killer puppets and creepy dolls that lurk within.
Things to know going in:
Y'all this book fucking slapped. It was so damn good. There is a reason I keep going back to Grady even if one of his previous books doesn't land just the way I expected it to. This book was brilliant, horrific, absurd, and hilarious all wrapped up in one. It was PERFECT.
At its core, this isn't just a ghost story this is a story about grief, generational trauma, dysfunctional families and people's inability to process difficult emotions and therefore they repress them and allow them to fester within. But at its surface, this is a campy paranormal haunting novel about Lousie and Mark Joyner, who are just trying to sell their parents' house after their passing but can't seem to escape the killer puppets and creepy dolls that lurk within.
Things to know going in:
- If body horror isn't your cup of tea tread with caution. There is a bit of that in there. I'm not squeamish and there was even a scene in here that had me full-on PACING as I read.Spoiler
I don't fuck with garbage disposals for this reason
- If you're already in the midst of some heavy grief this might not be the right book for you or at least maybe not right now. I don't think this book was written to intentionally be emotional or poke at grief, but having just lost someone so recently there were a lot of scenes that really hit me hard and quite literally felt like a gut punch. I do not think that was Hendrix's intention, and the average reader wouldn't think twice about those scenes -- so again, just tread with caution ♥
I cannot stress how much I loved this book, and while we're not even 10 days into the new year, I know this is going to be one of those books that just STICKS with me, so I am confident to say that it will end up one of my favorite reads of 2023. It's giving me the same emotional energy as Such Sharp Teeth -- I love authors who have the ability to tackle deeply personal and serious topics with blood, guts, and humor.
Thank you, Grady, for this delightfully deranged book I didn't know I needed!
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publishers for early access to this title for review purposes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Car accident
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
bambooboy's review
dark
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of Hendrix's great strengths in writing is his ability to both horrify and entertain. While reading this book I was on the edge of my seat, afraid to turn the page; all the while chuckling here and there at his whip-smart talent for dialogue. The characters are thoughtfully written, and their development over the course of the novel is organic and raw. Family secrets have a way of eroding as they drip down. Can these two siblings put aside their differences and rebuild the trust that was lost, before it's too late?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Self harm, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, and Car accident
Minor: Vomit
MANY SPOILERS, any possibly triggering items I could remember under spoiler cut.Spoiler
--A child dies by drowning; another child almost dies by drowning.--Dolls, taxidermy squirrels, and puppets come to life.
--A needle is poked into an eyeball.
--A character thinks they are hallucinating/losing their mind.
--A hand is amputated by a chainsaw.
--There is an attempt to exorcise an assumed demon from a child and puppet.
--A child is possessed.
--A severely dysfunctional family is portrayed in detail.
--There is a traumatic car accident.
--A child is made to self-harm during a possession; technically a puppet is doing it, but it's on her hand.
--An intentional house fire kills two people.
--Implied pet death and consumption; you only see a collar and bones.
--Injuries and death from a car accident are described, though not in complete detail, and after the fact.
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