Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

14 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

this was pretty good but a little too silly to really scare me. i’ve never thought dolls were scary so this didn’t get to me that much, i also thought the ending was kind of out of nowhere?? idk. i do love Hendrix’s writing though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

mx_harpstar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Pregnancy, Self harm, and Alcohol

major CW for creepy puppets/dolls

magmck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This book FR terrified me I almost didn’t keep reading but I’m glad I did it was fascinating 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical trauma, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Vomit, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Abandonment, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

thatoneguyjm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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

3.5

Half Sam Raimi-esque spook-a-blast and half family drama about the secrets we keep and the thing we (mis)remember, How to Sell a Haunted House might be Grady’s most emotionally affecting book. Not that it’s all feelings and family - there’s also attacking taxidermied squirrels, puppets shoving needles where needles shouldn’t go, and emergency amputations. While you may or may not resonate with the characters, the moments of horror carry the book quite ably for those who are into that sort of thing. (And I am.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Violence, and Gore

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Alcohol, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, and Forced institutionalization

ritzandglamour's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

As far as horror stories go, it qas predictable, but still unnerving and some moments were definitely downright terrifying. 
I enjoyed it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Self harm, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence

gaiadances's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

brilliant horror writing - at some points i literally had to skim through the descriptions of gore and violence because i was too scared to picture it in my mind. i loved how the book was organised via the 5 stages of grief and it genuinely went in depth exploring how denial, trauma and grief can be carried across generations affecting families long after people have passed. the realism of the family drama made it slightly tough for me to suspend disbelief about the puppets and dolls coming to life but i thought this showed the strength of grady’s writing. i loved that we got to see two very fully fleshed out characters with great complexity and backstories. the first conflict with the dolls/puppets was expected but the second twist really shocked me. i thought the story was well wrapped up, not too neatly but with the slight tinge of mess that marks every family 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

julieyael's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

3.75

3.5 stars but rounded up

This is a book that I took time to really appreciate. 
The first half of it (that’s the first 200 pages!) were just ok. It’s a bit slow and I did not care too much for the characters. 
For a moment, I even thought about not finishing the book, because I felt that this was not what I expected from the story. 

But then it becomes more intriguing and you feel that there is more to it. 
When you enter the last third of the book, it becomes hard to leave it. 
I wished the slow part of the begining was not that long, because it’s all well written and you feel the creepy atmosphere building up. 

In the end, the book kept its promises, it’s a fun and creepy horror novel, with a good dose of paranormal, and a light touch of gory details (very light, but I guess it can be triggering for some people)

So I would recommend it, if you are ready to spend some time on the first part which is less exciting and a bit long to my taste. 
The second half of it really deserves a good 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Car accident, Physical abuse, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gore

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Vomit

sarahyjackson's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.75

Grady Hendrix’s tinkering with horror tropes continues to be so good.  I loved the horrorfication of generational trauma and the line “to mother is to manipulate” was a punch to the gut. 

The final act was a little bit drawn out for me, but the last line was perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Body horror, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Fatphobia

kendrastrand's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed the dark humor and wild twists.  The sibling relationship went through just as many rollercoaster swoops as the plot, but was touching and rang true in how they connected. This was a total romp with plenty of good suspense, peril, and creepy thrills along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Medical trauma

Moderate: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Dissociation