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rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When Sam comes to stay with her mother in her grandmother's old house, she senses something is off. Her mother is a kind woman but suddenly she is starting to mimic Sam's grandmother, an overbearing woman with high expectations for her family. As more and more strange things start to happen around the house, Sam suspects that something more is going on.
Kingfisher does a great job of creating a creeping sense of unease that slowly permeates the story. We quickly come to understand Sam as a person as well as her mother and her grandmother. It's clear that their relationship with the grandmother was fraught and that same energy is returning to the house. The unease continues to increase throughout the book until we reach some more startlingly revelations. Ultimately, I think Kingfisher does a great job of exploring familial expectations and trauma through a horror lens but without getting too gory.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Fatphobia
Moderate: Body horror and Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
theebster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
liornessa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
yappuccino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Bugs, teethpeytont12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood
magikorbert's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Murder
kaneebli's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
mlkshks's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
wardenred's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
A great cruel power, doing almost nothing. Like a dormant volcano. All she did was grow roses.
This didn’t quite beat The Twisted Ones as far as my favorite horror books by T. Kingfisher go, but it’s coming as a very close second! I just absolutely dig the entire thing: the plot, the escalation of tension and horror, the sense of setting, the characters, the vibes. There wasn’t a single dull moment for me here. Just. The way the narrative unfolds? How bad it gets toward the end? How then it gets so much worse and more complex? Chef’s kiss.
I knew rather little about the novel going in, besides the basics like “haunted house horror with southern gothic vibes and family stuff.“ The cover, alongside the first couple of pages, led me to think this would be, at least in some part, bird horror. Without going into spoilery detail, that conclusion was debunked in a really fun way. I mean, the vultures are definitely around a lot and very important for the story! It’s just that there are much scarier things around. Like roses and ladybugs. (Fun fact: I love roses and ladybugs. Both scream safety and sunlight to me. It’s truly a testament to Kingfisher’s talent that she managed to make me fear both for the duration of reading this.)
My favorite part about the book was the relationship between the MC and her mother. Apparently, I’m really interested in exploring dynamics between independent adults and their parents, and I’m not getting enough of it. Edie—the mom—is my favorite character here, in fact. I really admire how she’s done her best to stop the cycle of abuse in her family and be a good parent to her kids. Yes, she wasn’t able shield them from her own mother completely, but she stood up for them and made sure they knew when things weren’t okay rather than normalizing those things. She really did her best to heal that generational trauma, and I admire her so much for that.
All in all, I loved this for the atmosphere, the twists, the humanity of the characters, and the great writing. Definitely goes on my “best of 2024“ list.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Dementia
whatkatyread87's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail