This Southern gothic book is about a woman who moves back in with her mother temporarily and finds that her mother has changed and seems to be afraid of something, acting like she did when her mother (the MC's grandmother) was still alive. That woman made their lives miserable, but she's been dead for years. The only thing truly remaining of her is all the roses in the garden which she spent so much time cultivating. As Sam finds out more about her family's past, she discovers (almost too late) what is happening to her mother and to the house.

There is a lot of creepiness in the descriptions in this book (and all the bugs!) and then ending scenes gave me chills. This is very much an atmospheric book so I recommend that you read it in the evening and when you have time to focus on it so you can more fully immerse yourself into the book. There are also some really humorous moments, and I love the author's writing style. There is not as much character development, as Sam doesn't really change much during the book, but she's a really fun character and doesn't really need a lot of change.

Well, you had me at "Southern Gothic." I love a good creepy story. As a lover of a good creepy story, I picked up on little things that I think any avid reader would. Noises, responses, reactions, things that are just a little off. Fairly standard, scary story fare and I settled in for a relaxing (*giggle*) creep out. Nothing over the top, just enough, you know? Then, the story amps up a bit and it's legitimately scary. And yes, a vulture showed up in my dreams afterward.

Sam is perfect. Realistic, concerned, but not dramatic or a pushover. She is the perfect narrator for a story that takes a little laxity on reality to deliver a truly well-turned tale.

Kingfisher is pretty masterful. Just enough creepiness to make me look over my shoulder myself, mixed with some truly funny internal and external dialogue. I'm going to have to find her other books.

2022 was my year of T. Kingfisher; I went from having read zero of her books to having read three and desperately wanting more! The kind Netgalley gods provided me with "A House with Good Bones", coming out later this spring, and I devoured it promptly, expecting it to be a horror in the vein of "The Twisted Ones".

And it wasn't! While it will likely get shelved with the horror genre (and has some verrrry creepy moments, especially toward the end), "A House with Good Bones" is more concerned with trauma, power, and what's beneath the pristine veneer of "normalcy". It's billed as a Southern Gothic, and it certainly lives up to that in its investigation of white supremacy, the occult, and obsession with standard quo.

Likely the aspect that surprised me the most was this book's humor - the main character, Sam, is hilarious! Getting into her head was a bit like hanging out with an exhausting, whip-smart friend. Sometimes you wanted less of a monologue about insects and more about what was actually happening in the scene, but I adored Sam regardless and enjoyed spending time with her as she tried to determine if her mother was mentally ill or if something more ~supernatural~ was happening within her family's old home.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a lighter horror that won't force them to leave the lights on. It's fun, probing, a little bit silly (the final showdown is buck WILD) and utterly unique. This book has only cemented my adoration of T. Kingfisher!!

Kingfisher is becoming one of my favorite authors. What Moves the Dead was one of my top favorite reads last year and A House With Good Bones is just as enjoyable. This story is creepy and hilarious--a tough combination to pull off. Sam is visiting her mother and notices odd behavior. The behavior gets worse, family secrets are revealed, and shit gets CRAZY. I don't think I'll ever look at a vulture or ladybug in the same way again. Or roses. I do want to say that the word "racist" must have appeared 50 times in this book. I'm white and I live in the south and Kingfisher made it seem like those two things automatically make me racist. Had the concept not been mentioned ad nauseum I could have overlooked it but so many times seemed accusatory and stunted the flow of the story. Big thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

T Kingfisher has rapidly become one of my favorite horror writers ever.

I loved this book--from the main characters, to the family dynamics explored, the weird people in the subdivision, to the all the creepy and awful things happening in the house.

It's hard to talk about this without giving away spoilers, but if you like her other books, you'll enjoy this one.

I reiterate for the thousandth time, there isn’t a book T. Kingfisher writes that I’m not inclined to love. While I didn’t find this one as terrifying as her other works (not her fault to be fair, there isn’t much out there that can beat the deer bone effigy in The Twisted Ones), it was still a wonderful read that I was more than happy to devour. I love the various ways Kingfisher explores family, legacy and horror in her works and this one was no different. Her sense of humor makes even the scariest of scenes manageable and the way she creates characters that make you feel like you’ve known them forever is magic in and of itself. I also loved the unconventional horror setting too! Gothic mansions and old houses in the middle of the woods are creepy by nature, but it takes an incredibly skilled writer to make a little suburban house that’s less than 30 years old and surrounded by lush rose gardens feel ominous and creepy. Horror in gothic settings is terrifying enough, but horror in “nice and normal” settings are something else entirely. Overall, an easy 5 stars and I cannot wait to see what Kingfisher comes up with next!
(Thank you netgalley and tor night fire for gifting me one of my most anticipated reads of 2023! Opinions are of course my own, but I am willing to give you my first born child for ARCs of any of Kingfishers future works, just saying)

This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and certainly won't be my last. Chills and thrills the whole way thru.

Haunting! I love T. Kingfisher and her way with words. She writes in an eerie, colorful way that you can help but be sucked into. This is always a treat as a reader, but especially so with the spooky vibes in Kingfisher’s stories. A House with good bones is no exception. It’s a thrilling, strange, exciting romp through the main character (Sam’s) mother’s home. Her (maybe) haunted home. Kingfisher writes wonderfully witty FMC and Sam is no exception. You will find yourself bouncing between laughing out loud and crawling beneath blankets in fear. 4 stars!

This is another great book by T. Kingfisher. It's the right level of spooky with some delightful characters. The book starts slow, gently easing you into the house. You get a hint something is wrong but you can't quite pinpoint it. Only as the week goes on and more things start happening do you realize the full extent of the problems.

When Sam’s latest archeological dig gets postponed she decides to give her mother a visit but finds the house and her mother completely changed. Very strange things seems to be happening at the house and Edith is determined to get to the roots of it.
I loved Kingfisher’s quirky writing style and how she manages to make you laugh out loud immediately after making your hair raise on end with some spine chilling incident. Definitely recommended!

T. Kingfisher has managed to write another fantastically unique book. Sam Montgomery goes to stay with her mother during a break in her work plans. While at the house, formerly owned by her stern southern Gran Mae, Sam tries to figure out why her mother is acting strange. For a scientist being faced with things that don't make logical sense, Sam is confused by a string of odd occurrences. This was a very distinctive haunted house mystery with a unique addition of nature themed horror. T. Kingfisher's classic addition of humor is again present in this novel. Overall, this was a compelling read that had me hooked from the beginning. Thank you to netgalley and Tor Nightfire for providing me with a digital copy for review.

Another engaging read by Kingfisher. I really enjoyed the spunky, humorous protagonist and the interesting twist on the haunted house sub-genre. I would recommend this to readers who like more laughs than chills in their horror novels.

Witches and sorcerers and vultures. . . oh my!

I love a good Southern Gothic horror and T. Kingfisher can write them with such style! She can write characters who are going through the absolute thick of it and they are still trying to explain it away with rational thinking, exactly how I see a real life scenario playing out. Confused and perplexed while trying to figure out how to handle something so off beat.

Sam was such a relatable character, using humor and rational thinking to figure out what was happening. I felt like she responded in a way that made me feel like my friend was telling me some off the wall thing they experienced.

A unique twist in Kingfisher style that you don't see coming. Eerie and creepy and horrific and perfect for people who enjoy the gothic horror genre. I definitely recommend!

This was a solidly delightful read. Fresh take on a gothic haunted house and a relatable sarcastic mc. There’s something about the writing that makes it easy to read- there’s a familiarity and a charm to it- starting off 2023 right!

Will be reviewing a physical copy of this one. Thank you again for the ARC and hopefully this opens up a space for someone else.

Sam Montgomery is an archaeological entomologist visiting her mom in between digs. Her brother had warned her of changes but she is startled to discover how off things are. As a scientist she seeks a rational explanation for things but there are supernatural elements at play. The creepy gothic overtones are perfectly cut with flashes of wit. An excellent read.

Atmospheric, so much so I could nearly smell the roses. Some authors have a special talent and command of setting, Kingfisher is one of those. This time in a small southern town with old southern rivalries and neighbors with history and drama to spare - but even they don't know the half of it.

What sold me as a southern-gothic horror and maybe a haunted house turned into a creepy tale of ancestral magic, disgusting creatures, and family secrets that even a haunting can't make right. Our heroine is real, relatable flesh and bone with insecurities and endearing quirks. Her path of discovery is full of oddities and strange realizations, spine-tingling encounters with something unidentified but very real. It was refreshing to see her remain in the spotlight and not be overshadowed even by some helpful neighbors with special talents.

Recommend to read with the lights on. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, this is my honest review.

In 2022, T. Kingfisher became one of my favourite authors.  I love her creativity and creepiness so much, and the fact that I can never predict what she’ll write next.  

A House With Good Bones is addictively weird. I thought I knew where it was going, but each page revealed more strange and creepy twists.  

The book begins with Sam Montgomery, an archaeological entomologist (or is that entomological archaeologist? either way, get ready for lots of cool facts about bugs) arriving at her mother’s house for an extended visit.  Sam’s surprised when she walks in to see the house restored to the way it was when her grandmother still lived: the walls have been repainted from colourful to white, there’s a creepy old portrait above the mantel, and her mother is clearly scared of something. There are a bunch of vultures perched outside watching the house, and strangely no insects anywhere to be found.

I adore Kingfisher’s protagonists and Sam is witty, smart, nerdy, and wonderful.  The novella had me laughing on one page and squinting my eyes in fear on the next. I won’t say more because it’s too fun going into A House With Good Bones without any previous knowledge.

Kingfisher fans will love this book, and it’s a great entry point for new fans, who will be quickly won over by her humour and imagination.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for my review copy of this book.

I had mixed feelings about this one. I did find the story fun, and I appreciate the skill it takes to include so much scientific detail in a light book meant for the general public.

However, I just plain hated the main character. I'll accept half the blame here - not all personality types mesh, and this just wasn't a person I enjoyed (fictionally) spending time with. The rest of the problem, though, was the narrator's endless inner thoughts (fine), dream descriptions (cringe), and description of google searches (unbearable).

This was fun enough to finish, and I didn't resent having spent the time on it. It wasn't quite for me, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to others.

The main thing I will say is that this novella reads really similar to T. Kingfisher's "The Twisted Ones." At one point I wondered if I had accidentally started re-reading it. But even though it hits some of the same elements (terrible grandmother) it has some different ones (main character is a bug doctor). The novella jumps around a lot I thought. Things didn't really gel for me til about the 30 percent mark and then it just got really good. I did like how the novella ended, pretty much on a ominous, but [swear word] it note.

"A House With Good Bones" follows Sam Montgomery. Her recent dig gets cancelled, and she returns to her mother's home to stay. But when she arrives home, Sam notices her mother seems different, the house looks like it did back when her grandmother was still alive, and something seems to be reaching out to Sam to make her notice them. 

Sam feels a bit...I don't know, bland at times. She honestly reminds me a lot of the main character from "The Twisted Ones" which is why I said above it was messing with me to read this book. Her being a paleo entomologists was pretty interesting. The novella comes alive when describing bugs and what they do. I think that would have been a nice break up things instead of the chapters being broken up by descriptions of roses. I get why T. Kingfisher did that, but I think the bugs would have been better. Or just combine together in some way.

The other characters are cool, the good witch, Sam's mother, the general Southern Gothic nature of the neighborhood was awesome. Like I said, the novella gets better once Sam starts to branch out of trying to figure out whether her mother is suffering from nerves or something. 

The writing is typical T. Kingfisher, horror with dashes of messed up humor and also straight out humor. The pace though was an issue. Like I said above, not until you get to the 30 percent mark does this one get cooking. 

The setting was very cool and spooky. 

I liked the ending and that things didn't end in a neat way.