house_of_hannah's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is 100 pages too long. We went through what 100% felt like the climax of the book, had a chapter tying up loose ends, a chapter that would have been a perfect ending, and instead there were 100 pages left. I put the book down for two days after that, because I just didn't feel like reading the same scenario all over again.
This is also a book where you have to get 100 pages in before anything happens. I was honestly thinking to myself, "Is this really a Grady Hendrix book ?" due to how serious and slow the entire beginning is. I was really struggling to care, especially with how unlikable the brother character was. I actually thought he was making the MCs unlikable so that
I'm one of the people who didn't know this was a doll/puppet book going into it. As a child I found porcelain dolls terrifying, and my mom had a clown painting I was afraid of. I should have been primed to be scared by this book, but I think it was too ridiculous to actually come off as scary. This author writes camp, so that's to be expected, but usually his books have some brutal scenes that catch you off guard and really lean into the horror. Unfortunately, there was only one scene that did that for me in this one.
Honestly, the puppet is my favorite character in this book. He is so fucking ridiculous and I love him. I read a sentence here and there to my husband as I was reading, and now we're quoting a freakin' puppet at each other.
Overall, I felt that this book was too long, repetitive, and I didn't care for the ~family~ aspect at all. The story is completely ridiculous, yet too serious at the same time. I think campy horror is a formula that's tough to get right, and for me this one was a bit of a miss.
Spoiler
badThis is also a book where you have to get 100 pages in before anything happens. I was honestly thinking to myself, "Is this really a Grady Hendrix book ?" due to how serious and slow the entire beginning is. I was really struggling to care, especially with how unlikable the brother character was. I actually thought he was making the MCs unlikable so that
Spoiler
we'd be rooting for Pupkin in the end. I honestly thought we were going to get a "bad" ending here.I'm one of the people who didn't know this was a doll/puppet book going into it. As a child I found porcelain dolls terrifying, and my mom had a clown painting I was afraid of. I should have been primed to be scared by this book, but I think it was too ridiculous to actually come off as scary. This author writes camp, so that's to be expected, but usually his books have some brutal scenes that catch you off guard and really lean into the horror. Unfortunately, there was only one scene that did that for me in this one.
Honestly, the puppet is my favorite character in this book. He is so fucking ridiculous and I love him. I read a sentence here and there to my husband as I was reading, and now we're quoting a freakin' puppet at each other.
Overall, I felt that this book was too long, repetitive, and I didn't care for the ~family~ aspect at all. The story is completely ridiculous, yet too serious at the same time. I think campy horror is a formula that's tough to get right, and for me this one was a bit of a miss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Child death, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Self harm
tspice24'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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent
njmenzel's review
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? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not sure any other "horror" book I've ever read can be considered horror after reading How to Sell a Haunted House. This is all of my nightmares and worst fears, bundled together. I hated reading it, and yet, I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Car accident, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
corpserevivers's review
dark
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
5.0
jesus fucking christ.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Car accident
danaaliyalevinson's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A woman and her estranged brother have to clean out their recently deceased parent's home in preparation for selling it... but complications arise when they realize the house doesn't just have "bad vibes"... it's hopelessly haunted. I don't want to say anymore than that! I did not expect it to be a one day read at around 400 pages and some change but I couldn't put it down. Like any good horror, the book deals with much bigger themes than the situation at hand. Really, it's about grief and the stories we tell ourselves to get by. It's funny, it emotional, it's scary, and most of all, it's fucking bonkers. The tone also has a good amount of pulpy Charlaine Harris style Southern Gothic in it without ever getting too broadly painted. Really enjoyed this one and immediately went and picked up one of this author's other books
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death, Grief, Child death, Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/injury detail
jadecorissamartin's review
emotional
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
This was fantastic. I’m really loving Grady Hendrix as an author. His quirky take on horror is so different to any other writer and I think that’s so impressive. It’s really difficult to find your own voice in a world of thousands of books but he’s doing an amazing job.
For me, this book wasn’t scary but it was definitely creepy. Puppets are always spooky but I’ll never look at them in the same way again.
For me, this book wasn’t scary but it was definitely creepy. Puppets are always spooky but I’ll never look at them in the same way again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Child death
danscoada's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.5
I've read most of Hendrix's fiction by now (I'm only missing We Sold Our Souls), and while they've been a fun time overall, they're all very same-y. Each of his books has a very different premise (and he has some fantastic premises), but they follow a lot of the same beats. The relationships were developed, but I knew exactly how they were going to play out. To be honest, I really didn't even care much for their relationship. To my disappointment, and despite the title, this wasn't exactly a haunted house story and I wish it was. There were enough unique elements to the story that kept me invested and the few moments of true horror were pretty good, but I felt like there weren't enough of them. It also felt like it went on longer than it needed to; there were a few moments that could've been shaved down a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Gore
allyem_reads's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
4.57 CAWPILE score
Well, that was...something. You know, I just don't think Grady Hendrix is the author for me after all. Which is definitely frustrating, because I've spent a lot of time reading his books and trying to like them. And I technically did enjoy this book the most out of all of the ones I've read - I like the haunted puppet angle (even though I'm absolutely horrified of dolls and puppets) and I think the execution was pretty cool, but there were just a ton of other things that gave me the ick in this story, like Mark's characterization and the rampant fat-shaming everywhere, and the overt religious undertones as well. So, yeah. I think I'm done with Grady Hendrix.
Well, that was...something. You know, I just don't think Grady Hendrix is the author for me after all. Which is definitely frustrating, because I've spent a lot of time reading his books and trying to like them. And I technically did enjoy this book the most out of all of the ones I've read - I like the haunted puppet angle (even though I'm absolutely horrified of dolls and puppets) and I think the execution was pretty cool, but there were just a ton of other things that gave me the ick in this story, like Mark's characterization and the rampant fat-shaming everywhere, and the overt religious undertones as well. So, yeah. I think I'm done with Grady Hendrix.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Gore, and Child abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, and Body shaming
laurenvoice's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Once again, Grady Hendrix has delivered a masterpiece.
How to Sell a Haunted House was not what I was expecting, I was expecting a creepy haunted house story, but I got a possessed doll story with an imaginary dog instead; I loved it! I don't know how Hendrix does it, but he balances creepiness with humour perfectly. And How to Sell a Haunted House was full of creepiness, fun, and a lot of family trauma.
At the start of the story, I was fully expecting to despise Mark; however, he turned out to be a decent person and brother. The big turnaround in character was due to the different perspectives Louise and Mark had experience growing up with a creepy doll. It was interesting to see how they saw their childhoods and certain events differently; if the family had a more open dialogue with each other, they might not have been so distant in the future. And it was perfect seeing Mark and Louise reunite and work together, finally building that sibling bond they needed.
Mark's backstory about his short-time at BU was an addition that shockiling brought this book together. At first, when I reached the BU backstory chapters, I was worried that it would drag the story; however, it added the layers we needed and developed Mark's character further.
Although Louise turned out to be a bit of an unreliable narrator at the start, she certainly was one resilient woman; despite all the physical trauma she went through, Louise still kept going. And like with Mark's BU backstory, Louise's early childhood backstory was necessary to help us understand why she was distant from her family; again, it added the layers that the main story needed.
The family dynamic in How to Sell a Haunted House was fascinating. It was nice to see Louise and Mark's extended family and how they fit into the Joyner family dynamic; Mercy added plenty of needed comic relief. Plus, the introduction of Barb was fun; we needed more Barb, even though, technically, she wasn't family.
The ending of How to Sell a Haunted House was faultless, and I am glad the main characters survived the events; okay, maybe someone lost an arm. I appreciated not having to experience the emotional trauma of losing a main character I liked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Blood, Child death, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
tlholmes's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Child death, Torture, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, Car accident, Body horror, Violence, Medical trauma, Gore, and Blood
This is the least gory of Grady Hendrix’s books, it’s more about the plot than the gore