Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really like what T. Kingfisher does with horror and with houses and setting. I think this was good but maybe a little much -- evil grandmother corpse flower person who is actually a witch and also maybe romance on the side but horrible things happening between mother and daughter was a lot. I think that it could have been tidied up a little bit, maybe!

3 stars.

I listened to the audiobook from my library after the release date. A House with Good Bones was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was weird and creepy. All my predictions were right, but not really. I recommend this one for sure.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t love this one. I’m not even sure I liked it. The premise was enticing, the characters were well drawn and Kingfisher’s inimitable sarcastic humor was on full display, so what happened? Nothing. Nothing happened for the first two thirds of the book. Yes, there was a ladybug infestation and a vulture on the mailbox but that is all and even those things lacked any real sense of drama. By the time I got to the meat of the story and what is going on in the house, I just didn’t care. Was I scared? No, I mostly just wanted it to be over so I could move on to something else. The lack of propulsion caused this book to stagnate and so did my enjoyment of it unfortunately. Thank you to @netgalley and @tornightfire for an e-arc of this book.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher is a haunting horror novel about Sam Montgomery and what happens when she returns home to visit her mom. Her brother has warned her that her mom is acting strangely, but when Sam comes back home, she realizes that there is something very strange going on in her childhood home. As she searches for the truth, she finds out that her home has a very dark and disturbing history. I enjoyed this story and found it to be very unique. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

T Kingfisher is an instant must read at this point. This book is a perfect combo of humor and creepy, where the humor manages to escalate the main character's sanity in a weird situation. Upon returning home for a bit, she discovers her mother's outgoing, decorative nature has back pedaled to the way her dead grandmother preferred the house, and her mother's nervous edge has her wondering what caused it. Absolutely marvelous.

T. Kingfisher has become one of my all time favourite horror writers and she only has 4 out at the moment!
I have hand sold the twisted ones with anyone who is looking for horror or hands me a horror book at the till! And her past books have always been on my bookseller pile of the year.
I'm happy to say this one is no different even this early in in the year.
I loved this haunted gothic tale set in Texas, the creepy atmosphere and the Ghost itself the themes and humour its my favourite read of the year so far!

A House with Good Bones is about an entomologist named Sam who goes back to her childhood home to visit her mother. She immediately notices her mom is thinner, anxious and acting strange. Is her mom slowly losing her mind or is there something more sinister at work here?

Straight out of the gate, this book nailed two things I love - it was hilarious (without being too in your face) and it was incredibly unsettling, building right from the start. I was hooked from the very beginning and then things took a turn at 80%. And then you realize this turn was actually just a curve and the book then takes a complete 180 😂 It was brilliantly executed, making you think you know exactly where things are going and then they take you somewhere completely different.

I'd recommend this to all my horror and mystery loving friends, it really had a bit of something for everyone! ❤️ Thank you NetGalley and T Kingfisher for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

T. Kingfisher never disappoints. A House with Good Bones is a taut, eerie story, rich as good soil. Sharp, funny, and highly compelling, the descent from the practical, down-to-earth, "there must be a scientific explanation for this" into the surreality of a nightmare is gorgeously constructed. Highly recommend for fans of Just Like Home and southern gothic tales.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the advance review copy!

A House with Good Bones is a southern gothic with a modern and humorous twist. The story follows Sam as she moves back in with her mother in her late grandmother's house. Soon after she notices small changes with her mother and soon all hell breaks loose. The story unravels at a fantastic and unpredictable pace and you truly grow to appreciate the characters and their individual contributions to the story. I specifically found Sam to be a fantastic lead and repeatedly laughed at her thoughts and actions. While I enjoyed the entire book, I did feel as though the first 2/3s were somewhat devoid of tension or development and the final few chapters almost felt like they were overstuffed with action and progress. Overall, I found A House with Good Bones to be a fantastic and thoroughly gripping novel

T. Kingfisher's A House With Good Bones was a lot of fun to read. This book combines humor and suspense in a perfect blend that zips along.
I am beginning to think the author has developed her own genre which is a perfect blend of humor/horror/suspense/social commentary. This book seemed a little closer to some of the authors previous works, in particular the Hollow Places, but I enjoyed this one a little more.
The description, "A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family." I would also add that the highly relatable protagonist and the self-deprecating humor and wry insights into modern culture also play just as big a part in the narrative.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #TorNightfire, and T. Kingfisher for the ARC of #AHouseWithGoodBones.

This book is billed as a haunting Southern Gothic and because I loved a previous book from this author (What Moves the Dead), I jumped at the chance to read an advance copy!

This had major Charlaine Harris vibes but instead of vampires and werewolves we get a sassy ghost, a jar full of teeth, and some sinister rosebushes. Also some flirting with the handyman.

Honestly, I was bored for most of this book as it rambled through a truly ridiculous plot.

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. A House with Good Bones was published on March 28, 2023.

I am struggling to get into this one. I've tried picking this up several times whenever I'm in a spec fic/horror mood and it just doesn't capture me.

I was really excited by the premise and the author, hence requesting to review an early copy of it. But I think I need to dnf this 20% in and come back to it at a later date. Possibly in a different format? It still really sounds like my jam and I want to give it another shot.

I'm giving this a 2.5 stars. A 50%. A neutral rating, because I'm being forced to in this form. The 2.5 stars are for the quality of the prose -- so far so good. There isn't anything standing out about the writing that has caused me to dnf books in the past. It's just nothing in the first little bit is calling me to pick up the book again and continue on in the story.

T. Kingfisher never disappoints. I've always loved her main characters; they tend to be likeable, realistic, funny women who don't shy away from an adventure...even if that adventure is a little spooky. They're different enough to make each book seem unique, but similar enough that I know going into a book that I'm going to connect with them. Sam was no different, and this was a fun twist on a haunted house that kept me guessing. Also, the bug factor thoroughly creeped me out a few times, which was great as I'm not easily creeped out.

Whenever people ask for scary book recommendations, T. Kingfisher is my go to. She's scary AND fun, a winning combination.

T. Kingfisher is such a wonderful story teller. This one both made me laugh and cringe at horror of what happens in this story. Highly recommend for a pretty fast and very entertaining read.

If you’ve read books by T.Kingfisher before, you should know what kind of style to expect for this book. It was dark, humorous, outlandish, and grotesque, all things I love about their books. This one was a little slow to at the beginning, but I think most of their books are like that, and they build up nicely. And once it got going I couldn’t stop reading! I highly recommend if you’re looking for something with gothic horror vibes

3/5 stars - a good, quick horror read by Kingfisher, but not my mist favorite. I loved the vultures; I loved Sam and her super sassy attitude and random bug facts. I sort of felt the build wasn't quite as fast enough to totally keep me captivated the whole time. I will never quite look at roses the same way again.

T. Kingfisher's latest, A House With Good Bones, definitely lands on the fun end of the horror spectrum, a perfect read for those who like their horror to be more spooky, less scary. The story is a simple set up of a woman returning to her family home and things being a little... off. If this sounds familiar, it's because T. Kingfisher has written two other horror novels with this exact same trope. It wore a little thin for me this time around. The book is paced well, I liked the details about insects, but this was ultimately a little forgettable.

4/5 — This book had me both cackling and creeped the eff out! Needless to say, I really enjoyed it. I read my first T. Kingfisher book last year (What Moves the Dead) and was very excited to pick up A House With Good Bones. This story follows Sam Montgomery, a PhD archeological entomologist, who returns home to check on her mother while her current dig site/project is on hold. Sam quickly realizes something "off" with both her mom and the house. Before she knows it, she's in way over her head as long buried family secrets are uncovered. This fresh, unique take on a haunted house is equally entertaining as it is undeniably chilling.

What I've come to learn is that Kingfisher has a way with writing horror. Specifically, she incorporates a lightness & humor that you don't usually see in Gothic Horror novels. It almost feels like a "cozy horror" story, if that is even considered a genre!? I loved Sam's character, she was such a riot! The story is told in her POV & being inside of her mind/hearing her thoughts was a real treat. She is obsessed with British crime shows, boxed wine and bugs.. her sarcasm and lack of filter had me actually laughing out loud. The book was fast-paced and I never quite knew what was going to happen next. I wanted to keep turning the page to see how Sam and the others dealt with all the weird things happening around the house. The underlying sense of unease made the book creepy in all the right ways. You couldn't pay me to step foot in that house!

Kingfisher has solidly become a “I will read anything you write” author for me. The tone of this was just perfect: a little gothic, a little witty, a little tense, then a LOT weird. My only quibble is how quickly it went from “something’s weird” to “I don’t even know how to describe what I’m reading”. And I loved it—it just felt like a VERY quick shift.

Highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed Kingfisher’s other title, What Moves the Dead, or really anything with familial dread… and roses.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

This book is NOT what I was expecting. To be honest, I nearly gave up on it as it moved almost sluggishly along setting the scene for a very quick action-packed ending. Nettle & Bone was my introduction to this author and that book was the reason I requested reading this one. It is my guess that the two books I have read so far are two extremes of the author’s writing. I might need to read a third to come to a conclusion on what I really think of this author’s work.

What I liked:
* Samantha “Sam” Myrtle Montgomery: 32 years old, PhD in archaeonentomology, bugs are her thing, had a weird childhood, comes from a strange background, claims she is fat and embraces it as her heredity, learns more about her ancestry and abilities as the story progresses
* Edie: Sam’s mother, resilient, had a rather crazy backstory, widowed young, worked hard to provide for her son and daughter, anxious for a reason that becomes apparent at the story progresses
* The creep-factor and where it led…lots of crumbs sprinkled in the slow start that led to the conclusion
* Gail: neighbor to Edie and Edie’s mother, disliked by Gran Mae (Edie’s mother), wildlife rehabilitator, referred to as a witch
* Phil and his grandfather – played parts in the story
* The elements of paranormal and magic – would have liked more of this and perhaps earlier in the story
* Brad: Sam’s brother and a man who seems strong and willing to be there for his mother, sister, and wife
* Finally reaching the last page

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Wished it had been a bit faster paced in the beginning and that I could have better related to Sam

Did I enjoy this book? On the fence about this one
Would I read more by this author? I think so, if the synopsis caught my eye

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge for the ARC – This is my honest review.

Star rating is difficult. I felt it should be published so a 4 with NetGalley and 2 for it being ‘okay’ to me and that leaves an average of 3 overall.