Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - A House with Good Bones

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

84 reviews

whatkatyread87's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

earl_grey_without_lemon's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I was really excited to read this book because a lot of friends have recommended me T. Kingfisher before, and I am trying to read more books in the horror genre, but I really didn’t enjoy this one, sadly. Read this on audiobook from my library.
To start with the good parts, I really liked the info dumping about insects and plant varieties. The book’s initial premise was also interesting to me (love a good haunting and the line between house and home), although I think where the book really shines is in the middle-end when there’s more action. I found that the most chilling scenes were

the ones where the Gran May rose puppet was seated at the dinner table and talking to Sam and her mother. I wasn’t expecting the rose puppet twist at all, and I thought it was delightfully horrifying imagery!

.
Unfortunately, for a horror book, there is not a lot of tension, or sense of dread. One of my issues with the book is its pacing. I felt like the twist was fairly obvious from the beginning, and I really couldn’t connect with the characters at all. Props to T. Kingfisher for making Sam a fat intelligent woman who loves her job and is passionate about bugs and the ecosystem, because those parts of her felt so real and refreshing to me! But my god, I found her insufferable as our POV character. I can’t remember the exact line, but it’s after

she’s standing in the garden devoid of all the insects, and I thought (as someone who used to keep outdoor plants)

that was such a heartfelt sad moment, and then she immediately ends the scene with some sort of quippy response. I just personally don’t like that sort of snarky POV, it felt like watching a 2010s comedy sketch. Or there’s a line about a goth girl who looks like she cries black eyeliner, and how Sam is OBSESSED with coffee - the humor just feels dated, and Sam talked like that pretty much throughout the entire book.
The

plot line with the homunculi

was bizarre to me, as if the book was in two separate genres at once (family trauma horror vs

fantasy horror

), but I DID really like the way the Underground Children were integrated and foreshadowed.
Overall, A House With Good Bones had an awesome title and intriguing premise with some interesting action scenes, but just didn’t end up being my cup of tea.
(On a much lighter note, I may have missed a lot of cultural references, too, not being from the south myself, but Sam is so wrong about Cheerwine, it’s really yummy)

Content Warnings

growintogardens's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This is not one to read/listen to before sleeping, found that out the hard way lol. It's a little scary.

Content Warnings

otterforce's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It’s a solid read with an interesting cast and an ending that while mostly telegraphed is worth sticking around for.

Content Warnings

cranshrooms's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I love T Kingfisher's books! I have to admit, this one went a very different direction than I expected, and it contained a few more mystical elements than I expected in a souther Gothic. That being said, it was a delight and an easy read. As I said to a friend, it was almost like listening to a Tumblr mutual tell a story.

Content Warnings

angryoppossum's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny mysterious 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? No

3.0

Content Warnings

nonnyfullofmoose's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Ghosts in the suburbia of NC, with all the passive aggressive oppression we're famous for. Delightful

Also I love how kingfisher matches horror with humor.

Content Warnings