Reviews with content warning for Death - A House with Good Bones

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

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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

cranshrooms's review against another edition

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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

bloodyknight15's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

ceredonia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

zuzuvukovic's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nikrib's review against another edition

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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

3.0

Content Warnings

aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was soooo creepy and 110% a horror book, all the bug stuff!! Eek!! Obsessed with how such a complete novel was started and ended in such a short amount of time, this author is slowly becoming a fave (I also love the new covers that have come out)

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