Ahoy there me mateys!  This novel is supposed to be a gothic horror.  While it does contain a haunted house, I found it to be more fantasy in feel.  It does contain Kingfisher's humor elements though.  This was a good read but was not one of me favorites.  I loved the main character Sam, the vultures, and the bug references.  I did think the house itself felt quite creepy.  The major problem for me was that Sam took forever to figure things out and that both her mother or the neighbor should have tried to explain sooner.  I also didn't particularly care for the reason of the haunting or how that is handled.  Personal taste, I think.  I did like the resolution of the situation overall though and how Sam's family moves forward.  No regrets reading this, as I will read anything the author writes.  Arrrr!

4.5 Stars

This is my first horror by Kingfisher but I’ve read (and loved) their other work, especially Paladin’s Grace. T. Kingfisher is definitely my favourite writer.

Sam Montgomery is looking forward to making an extended visit with her mother, Edith. She arrives to find her mother an anxious mess in sterile white rooms instead of her coluorful, carefree mother. It's a true Southern Gothic dredging up a family's dark past.

I was glad to find out that all the things I love about the author's writing extends to her horror work as well. She created this creeping dread that grows around you and you are in the thick of it before you realize.
My only real criticism of this book was that it took until about 80% in to get to the horror (which was wonderfully squirm inducing) and that it wrapped up a little too quickly.

Overall I really liked this book and I think I will continue with the author's other horror novels.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by T. Kingfisher and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like it. Very unique and unsettling as it slow burns it’s way to the last few chapters with a very entertaining and cinematic ending. I would LOVE to see this turned into a film.

There was a lot of pointless information at times, IMO, that did absolutely nothing for the main plot and just made the story feel very overly wordy.

I did, overall, really enjoy the feel of the story from start to finish. It felt very real and almost like it was eating at you, which is another reason that I think this would make a great film.

I would recommend if you are new to the Horror genre!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

T. Kingfisher’s work is very hit-or-miss for me, and this one was a miss. I’m not a huge fan of Southern Gothics, and I do didn’t find myself captivated by Kingfisher’s take on the genre.

I love light Horror when it’s well done, and no one is doing it better right now than T.Kingfisher.

This is such a fun and lovable read, with top-notch humor and charming, wonderful characters.

Kingfisher does an exceptionally good job at marrying the creepy with the humorous, and the tone is consistently hilarious without ever veering into obnoxious.

The big reveal and ending were a bit fuzzy around the edges for my taste (a common problem in Horror, in my opinion), but this didnt take much away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

And as someone who is a big time vulture enthusiast, I was so happy to see them feature heavily here. I loved Hermes so much.

This is a good read for those (like me) who like the creepiness of Horror but are put off by gruesome violence and icky predatory stuff. This may be a bit much for you if you are very scared of bugs, but otherwise, it’s the perfect balance of creepy enough to keep you the fun kind of scared without being at all upsetting.

Kingfisher never lets me down, she has a trademark humor interspersed among her stories that I just vibe with. This, along with characters that I can root for, despite their flaws, gives her books a place on my top-shelf. It’s sort of like coming home when I pick up one of her stories.

In A House with Good Bones, the character of Sam returns home when her archaeoentomology job is halted and it’s at a good time because her mom’s behavior is just a bit out of character. Changes in the home alert Sam that maybe there’s something organic going on but the longer she stays, the more she believes there’s something darker at work.

I loved the deep dive into Sam’s family history and the gathering of the secondary characters, especially Gail and Hermes! Each one brought so much to the story and it’s always very ‘found family’ to me when everyone gets on board the crazy train and works together for a common goal.

As always, Kingfishers books start out with an insidious overtone because, well, Kingfisher! But it’s the getting to the sinister that is the chefs kiss here! Being in Sam’s head is a riot and I loved her!

Gothic and eerie yet humorous and hopeful, this is one Kingfishers fans and fans of horror will eat up and lick the spoon.

My thanks to @TorNightFire for this gifted DRC

Sam returns to the home of her childhood she spent with her mother, her grandmother an brother. Upon arriving she notices her mother, Edith, is not quite herself. The walls of the house are repainted, pictures she hated are put back up, and she's lost a lot of weight. Sam makes peace with it all blaming her mother's possible grief from losing her own mother, Gran Mae, months prior. Things start to take a turn for the weird as Sam, a career archeoentemologist, notices the garden has no bugs. With doubt in her mind, Sam calls on the help of Phil, the gardener and Gail, a friend of her mother's, to find the crazy frightening truth.

T. Kingfisher has a great way of pulling me into a book. I think things will go one way then they all sort of go weirdly sideways. What I enjoy the most is the writing. It's engaging and really moves the story along. The horror aspect of the books twists into the story last part of the book, but readers will have an inkling that something is very wrong.

While I really enjoyed the book, I did find I wanted just a little more explanation after the fact. It's laid out pretty well beforehand of what things may be, but as a reader, I felt like I wasn't given much more information than Sam. Maybe that was the point? As a reader I wasn't supposed to know any more than the main character. That being said, a part of me wanted to be left with more information instead of a 'what the heck' feeling.

Despite all that, I really think this was a fast fun horror filled read. It's not overly scary, in this readers opinion, but more just plain weird and icky.

I hate horror but I will really read anything T Kingfisher writes. Fortunately this was not hardcore horror but the type that slowly builds up to it, and while the end did have some gore I was able to read without nightmares.

I adored Sam so much! So much! I love her voice, her straight shooting, everything! In true Kingfisher fashion we don't have a huge character cast. However, the supporting cast we did have were all memorable with my fav being Hermes :)

Another winner and I am so glad the scary parts were not fungi this time :)

Huge thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am still trying to figure out how I feel about T Kingfisher's writing. There are parts of the story that I really enjoyed and parts that I found so boring and unnecessary. Overall, this was alright and would recommend it to some. However, I don't think it will be a hit with everyone.

4.5 stars

This was my first book by T. Kingfisher, I devoured it and as soon as I finished I immediately went to read What Moves The Dead (which by the way was amazing also.) Now, I've ordered Hollow Places which I'm going to read next. I think its fair to say I discovered a new favourite author.

In A House With Good Bones Sam is an archaeoentomologist but when her job is put on temporary pause she decides to go stay with her mother at her family home until she can go back to work. Once she gets there, Sam is alarmed by her mothers appearance and actions. Even the house seems to feel strange.

I would say this is on the lighter side of horror, not a lot of gore or violence but there were scenes that were truly creepy. I was able to guess a good amount of the plot but that did not make me love the book any less, T. Kingfisher has a way with words that just sucks you into the story. I absolutely loved the increasing dread as you got further into the story. I loved the quirky narration from Sam and the humour and sarcasm. This was a very enjoyable read that I could not put down. Also, I learned a lot about bugs which was cool.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire, and T. Kingfisher for sharing the digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my authentic review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy! I really enjoyed this book and would give it 4.5 stars! I was quickly sucked into the story and I loved the creepy haunted house vibes. Sam’s dry humor made me laugh countless times and as a nerdy science person myself, I loved her quirks. It was touching and relatable as well to see how much Sam cared for her mother and wanted to protect her.
I also found the pacing and length of the book perfect. I thought that the way the book was tied up neatly at the end was satisfying too and the neat ending felt similar to the style of other books I’ve read by this author. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and will definitely be reading more of her books in the future!

So, I had a feeling that this book would be very atmospheric and eerie, and it was. But you know what I didn't know I was getting? A book that was so very fun and entertaining, too! Like yes, it was creepy, but that is not what endeared me to this story. That would be Sam, and her wonderful sense of humor, and the author's amazingly witty and entertaining style of writing.

I fell in love from the start, when we meet Sam and you just know you are in for a treat with her at the helm. She could, quite literally, make bugs interesting. I also loved that from the start, Sam is skeptical of the shenanigans happening in the house, and to her mom. Like- her skepticism made the whole story feel more plausible, basically, because I too am a skeptic and would have had a really hard time believing it. She of course assumes that her mother is showing early signs of some kind of dementia, as opposed to something paranormal.

But there is something amiss around here, no question. Her mom is acting very out of character, to start. And while Sam was thrilled to be able to stay with her mom for a bit, she is soon far more concerned about her wellbeing than anything else. I really enjoyed their relationship, too. Sam and her mom were great, and I loved their bond. Sam's mom clearly had to put up with a lot from Sam's late grandmother, and she did it for her kids first and foremost.

Sam is on a mission to figure out what exactly is going on, and I won't tell you any more than that. Sam is awesome, her mom is awesome, and I loved going sleuthing with her. The ending of the story was... well look, it took a very different turn, and it wasn't my favorite part? But I didn't totally hate it either, and it did end in a satisfying way, and anyway it was all worth it just to hang out with Sam for a few hours, right?

Bottom Line: So fun and quirky and charming while still being incredibly atmospheric and eerie. Kingfisher nailed it, as usual.

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Format: eBook courtesy of Tor Nightfire & NetGalley

Moving back into your childhood home as an adult is rarely a comfortable experience. You have a weird sense of déjà vu, muscle memory pulling you back into old routines and habits left behind when you moved out, remembering intrinsically what it was like to live with your parents (and also remembering why you left in the first place).

In A House With Good Bones by horror-favorite author T. Kingfisher, Sam Montgomery has bigger issues to deal with when she crashes at her mom’s house. Something is not right with her mother. Gone is her usual vibrant, eccentric home decor. She’s lost weight, and doesn’t seem well. Most alarming to Sam, Mom seems to have thick rose colored glasses when speaking of the past, when the whole family lived under one roof. Sam is determined to get to the bottom of what is disturbing her mother, and quickly finds out that some questions are better left unspoken.

This was my first novel by T. Kingfisher, and I see why she has a cult following. The writing style in A House With Good Bones is remarkably lighthearted despite the dark and unsettling content of the text. The amalgamation of light and dark works so well in this book, combining creepy Southern gothic vibes with the banality of a 20th century subdivision, and pairing the uncanny with downright hilarious commentary from our would-be heroine. I did not expect this book to be so funny; most of my highlights are in the humor category. But don’t be fooled by the wry language- this is a horror novel, which more than earns that distinction by the end of the novel. What begins as creepy-crawly, “things going bump in the night” moderate scares eventually transform into truly terrifying nightmare fuel.

I loved every second of reading A House With Good Bones. This is easily the best horror I’ve read this year so far, and will likely be among the top books in that category for me this year overall. I would recommend this book to any veteran horror reader, but also to horror-curious readers looking to get into the genre. I genuinely look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When Sam Montgomery returns home for an extended stay she immediately notices that her mom is not acting like herself, and things around the house have changed. Mom is scared, and Sam needs to find out why.

This southern gothic is a really great family drama with plenty of creepy moments. I flew through this book a lot faster than most. This is because the characters were wonderful and the story was told in a very witty and gripping way. This story perfectly points out the darker side of the most perfect seeming family. I highly recommend this book to those who want a creepy story tackling a family's dark past.

“Anywhere there’s people, there’s a possibility of evil…”

This book perfectly balanced a slew of elements. It was so weird, darkly funny, foreboding, creepy, magical, horrifying, and touching.

Re: horrifying and creepy: if you have even the slightest entomophobia (cough cough, insects), keep scrolling and don’t read this book!

Re: touching: I actually really enjoyed the book’s commentary on family, mother-daughter relationships, etc.

I don’t want to give too much away, so read this if you’re in the mood for weird and thank me later.

4.5 stars

When I read a horror book, I really want to get goosebumps, and oh boy did this book deliver.

Sam returns to her mother's home while on the break from a work project and her mom is acting strange. She's jumpy, her values seem to have changed, and she's lost a ton of weight. The neighbor's vultures are circling the property, and it seems like Sam's late grandmother might have something to do with it.

A short read filled with great house-haunting, plant, and bug horror, A House With Good Bones was fantastic! T. Kingfisher knows how to write horror, and fans will love this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A House With Good Bones is every bit as good as we've come to expect from T. Kingfisher. In short this book is about Sam Montgomery, an archeological entomologist who returns to the Southern home of her late grandmother to check on the health of her mother. Sam's mom is not doing well, and the first challenge she faces is trying to figure out what kind of situation her mother is in- is this dementia, garden variety eccentricity, or a different condition altogether?

As Sam is exploring this conundrum and sorting out her life with her contracted archeological dig on hold, strange things begin to happen. This book is horror, but it's horror light for scaredy cats like me. There is a beautiful but also creepy focus on Gran Mae's old rose garden and lots of ladybugs. And in T. Kingfisher fashion, there are lots of laughs.

I loved every bit of this book, from the Southern Gothic bones of the story to the rich details about entomology and roses. T. Kingfisher is quick with the subtle humor, lots of anti-fat bias, and takedowns of stereotypical Southern racism and toxic communication styles. As usual, I cannot believe what she accomplishes in a short book and I can't fit it all into a concise review. If you love a dark Southern story, a little bit of humor, a dash of romance, poignant symbolism, and can suspend your disbelief for the horror aspects- this book is truly, truly special.

After Sam receives a call from her brother intimating things aren’t quite right with their mother, she returns to her childhood home in North Carolina and finds that yes, things have indeed changed. Family secrets can be deadly. A really fun twist on the southern gothic genre.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to T. Kingfisher, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire, and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of "A House With Good Bones" for an honest review.

I fell in love with T. Kingfisher recently reading "What Moves The Dead" for an end-of-2023 Challenge Read and was so moved I had to snap up the forthcoming arcs for her books being published this year. It was a perfect move on my part, following that intuition and drive off the most recent read as I devoured this new novella in the space of a little less than two days.

I loved the spiral twists and turns. I loved our unapologetic heroine being proud of being fat, being drawn to a life not focused on marriage/children, and being fiercely complete as she was, following her truth. I loved the reflection on down-home Southern values, the good and the bad in them. I loved the decidedly creepy slow lead-up with the house, the roses, the grandmother, the "Witch" down the road, and the "underground" children.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I definitely advise reading it!

I want to say this is more than a haunted house story, because I want people to be more excited about reading it than that familiar and overdone genre allows. But in truth, A House with Good Bones isn’t some fresh new take on an old trick. It is a modern archetype to inspire and reinvigorate a horror genre that fell a little too far into the shock and jumpscare value of works like Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House—post their Netflix fame, of course. People needed to be reminded that quiet and unsettling can be just as scary, and this book does that.
Speaking to the unique aspects of the novel, I loved the slow build up. Sam’s scientific background allowed her to continually doubt whether or not there were actual ghosts, or it was all just something that remained in her mother’s head from past trauma and abuse. However, despite all her concern for her mother’s mental health, there was also a very real and organic bond between them that had the reader hoping for a ghost as opposed to the alternative, a degenerative disease like Alzheimers.
As a fun little side note, as a bit of a rose anthophile myself I loved the categorial variants and their descriptions between each chapter. It really helped to set the atmosphere, as this being a heavily overgrown and encapsulated house, surrounded by something so beautiful but with such a sordid history behind closed doors.
As a whole, I would definitely recommend this, especially if you’re not into very gruesome horror. It is very much more ambience and family drama focused than it is murderers and monsters.