Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

52 reviews

book_adjacent's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

jeynawill's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent

bakedbri's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

lithene's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment

sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

livnmoore's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

At its best, it’s a solid 4 star “thriller-lite” story for passing time, with really compelling characters that evoke a lot of emotion. My only problem is the pacing felt inconsistent. It would feel quite slow at times and then jolt along, and then slow up and then jolt ahead, before settling on a good steady pace. Maybe that works toward the thriller feel!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Torture, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing and Alcohol

bananavana's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An exciting, and yet heartfelt, horror novel of how failing to address the grievances of the past will come back to haunt generations to come. Plus if you are afraid of dolls and puppets, this book is nightmare-fuel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and War

Be aware that this book features estrangement within families, unstable sibling relationships, unresolved generational trauma, children drowning, cult-like behaviour, 9/11 and the Iraq War, bad exes, mother-daughter relationships, sewing needles as weapons, eyeball trauma, and killer dolls/puppets/imaginary dogs.

joxinabox's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

A mystery book with a strong premise, a rich and complex cast of characters, and incredible plot twists-- Just what I've been looking for! "How to Sell A Haunted House" is a masterclass in re-contextualization, presenting a reality to you only to completely shatter it later down the line. Each character feels alive and you can really bite into why they are the way they are. Not to mention the twist-- without giving anything away, a good twist is when you can guess a piece of the puzzle but NOT the full picture. The how, but not the why. The when, but not the who. The where, but not the what. Hendrix cleverly sets up your expectations and pays them off all while gesturing your attention away from the bigger truth underneath the truth you've already discovered. Nothing short of genius.

The only reason this gets a 4.25 and not a perfect 5 is because there's a moment near the end where the pacing REALLY starts to drag. It picks up after awhile, but there's a good handful of chapters in the final act where you'll be going "Oh my god, seriously? I thought this was over with already." It does ultimately end in a much more satisfying conclusion to this story with all of the arcs wrapped up in a nice bow, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't take some getting there.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Fatphobia

Tagging as fatphobia as there's a reoccurring bit where someone refers to a character as "Fatboy." Given this character is both an antagonist and a very young child, I assume we're not meant to find this humorous. It doesn't happen very often, but still I figured I'd point it out just in case. There is also extremely graphic eye trauma, Hendrix does not hold back when describing the injury. I can handle a lot but it made me have to take my headphones out while this was being read.

beccathewitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book. It kept me up at night, but probably because I’m a puppeteer and can relate to a lot of the content. I chose this book by accident, not realizing that the thing I love is the villain. I would wake up in the middle of the night and think that my puppets were going to come alive and turn against me. Chef’s kiss on making me terrified. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, and Blood