The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
timelord10'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is my first Grady Hendrix book, and I loved the writing style. I'm not a big horror fan in general, but I'll definitely be checking out all of his other books. The only reason I'm rating it 3.5 stars is because there was a big part in the middle where I got bored, and I put the book down for a while. It just wasn't doing it for me for part of the book. However, I feel like I can't fully judge how good of a horror book this is because I don't have much to compare it to, but it definitely creeped me out at times. I think my favorite aspect of the book was the relationship between Louise and Mark. I loved how their bond grew over the course of the book. It was also amazing how Grady Hendrix made you hate Pupkin the entire book, but at the end when you found out he was the ghost of Freddie, you still felt bad for him despite how terrible he had been.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Child death, Death, Violence, Cursing, Grief, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Mental illness and Self harm
Minor: Medical content
thekeyescollection's review against another edition
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Animal death, and Death
thetinyhealer's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was pretty interesting and strange. I never thought I'd listen to an audiobook about haunted puppets, but here we are.
This was a story about loss and generational trauma told as two dysfunctional siblings try to uncover the mysteries surrounding their familial past and strange happenings in their deceased parent's house.
There are some things about this story that just don't make sense, and there are some pretty unforgivable things the characters do that seem to just get glossed over and are never mentioned again. I also don't believe the redemption arc in certain characters that I think we're supposed to feel. The story kept my attention but it also had me frequently thinking, really? I'm supposed to be scared of puppets? It could make a good PG-13 movie for spooky season, but I wouldn't go super out of my way to recommend this book to a friend.
On the positive side? I think this author did a great job of writing a strong, sensible and independent FMC. And I appreciated that she was a meaningful character on her own, without needing any kind of romantic relationship in her story. This book also kept me interested pretty consistently. It normally takes me a while to get through audoobooks but I ripped through this one within a couple of days. A very strange concept, but a ride of a book for sure.
Trigger warning! There are a few gory scenes. May include: eyes, limbs, blood.
This was a story about loss and generational trauma told as two dysfunctional siblings try to uncover the mysteries surrounding their familial past and strange happenings in their deceased parent's house.
There are some things about this story that just don't make sense, and there are some pretty unforgivable things the characters do that seem to just get glossed over and are never mentioned again. I also don't believe the redemption arc in certain characters that I think we're supposed to feel. The story kept my attention but it also had me frequently thinking, really? I'm supposed to be scared of puppets? It could make a good PG-13 movie for spooky season, but I wouldn't go super out of my way to recommend this book to a friend.
On the positive side? I think this author did a great job of writing a strong, sensible and independent FMC. And I appreciated that she was a meaningful character on her own, without needing any kind of romantic relationship in her story. This book also kept me interested pretty consistently. It normally takes me a while to get through audoobooks but I ripped through this one within a couple of days. A very strange concept, but a ride of a book for sure.
Trigger warning! There are a few gory scenes. May include: eyes, limbs, blood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit and Gun violence
oktrouble1401213's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really liked the idea of this book, it felt really fresh and unique. However, something about the execution of it made it difficult for me to get through. I felt the second half dragged on a lot. The first half was a great time and the ending was alright, but this is definitely my least favourite Hendrix book so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, and Body horror
kgartung's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Body horror
honeybeewitched87's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Pregnancy, Grief, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Alcohol, Death of parent, Violence, and Car accident
eliasaurus's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-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
5.0
If I could give this book 10 stars I would. This was outstanding from start to finish. Hendrix goes for his typical mixture of horror and humor, and really pulls it off; the different tones really play up each other. This book is funny, and it's also scary and creepy and, at times, disturbing.
It's a story about a haunted house, yes, but it's also about family, and, I think most fundamentally, it's about grief. It's about how "time only moves in one direction, no matter how hard we wish it wasn't so." A word of caution: maybe d n't read it right now if you've recently lost someone, or are dealing with a departed family member's estate or selling their house. I'm in the latter camp and the final paragraphs really destroyed me (in a good way, because the author really truly understands what it feels like, but boy did it hurt).
It's a story about a haunted house, yes, but it's also about family, and, I think most fundamentally, it's about grief. It's about how "time only moves in one direction, no matter how hard we wish it wasn't so." A word of caution: maybe d n't read it right now if you've recently lost someone, or are dealing with a departed family member's estate or selling their house. I'm in the latter camp and the final paragraphs really destroyed me (in a good way, because the author really truly understands what it feels like, but boy did it hurt).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Child death
pam_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Gore, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
brittburkard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Gore, and Child death
emmonsannae's review against another edition
dark
funny
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
3.5
I found this an interesting and VERY creepy read. The exposition and resolution of the haunting was very satisfying—and the groundwork for it was laid both subtly and thoroughly, so that the ending gave that feeling of surprise and “oh, of COURSE!” I feel like it’s hard to manage both, and G.H. did a great job. The family dynamics were super well handled and by the end were the best part of the book. Turns out murder puppets aren’t my thing though. First book I’ve found legitimately scary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury