This is the first T. Kingfisher book I’ve ever read, and I can definitely say it won’t be the last. The atmosphere created in A House With Good Bones is incredible. The narrative voice we have in Sam is witty and easy to connect with. I think one of the things that bumped this book down to 4 stars for me is the fact that I tend to prefer character driven stories. While A House With Good Bones does a fantastic job of building complex and realistic characters, they were kind of there to have the events of the plot happen to them more than anything else. I also would not have categorized this as gothic; it has more of a lovecraftian flavor. In fact, it reminded me a lot of a specific Lovecraft story, but I won’t say which to avoid spoilers. Overall, this book went by quickly and I will absolutely be watching the library for other T. Kingfisher titles to read when I’m in the mood for a spooky afternoon.

This is only my second T. Kingfisher book with my first being Nettle & Bone. I really enjoyed A House with Good Bones! The first half was a bit slow but once the action started going, I could not put this book down. Literally - I had tacos ready for dinner but I made them sit while I finished up the final chapter. I really enjoyed all the bug and rose content and it makes me want to watch a bunch of science YouTube videos immediately. You should definitely check out this book if you like weird things.

This is a compact novella, but since this is my second T. Kingfisher book I'm learning that she easily crafts a full story even with limited pages. I enjoyed this Southern Gothic tale, filled with really interesting characters that feel fully developed, again something not easy to do in a novella. I loved the fat MC rep, and that she was a smartass. I wanted it to get a little creepier sooner, it is definitely a slow burn, but the end is a wild ride. This story is filled with bugs, vultures, roses, and teeth! Would definitely be a fun spooky season read, or anytime read if you like horror year round like me :)

CW: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Blood, Dementia, Fire, Cannibalism, Bugs

Thanks to net galley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

Another stellar T. Kingfisher. I come to her works for characters that I find engaging and fun character interactions and I stay to see what story she want to tell me. This one was her take on a modern day haunted house. I tend to enjoy haunted house stories, and although this one isn't my favorite of all time I had a blast. I would say that this is potentially cozy horror. Like things are creepy, and the tension and action does ramp up at the end but I felt so comfortable with the characters and their interactions and the lay out of each day that it was comfortable and cozy to me as well. Also I did not know vultures could be so cute until I read this story, cause once again the animals in a T. Kingfisher are just as important as the people, and this is another thing I value in her story telling. Basically if you like T. Kingfisher give it a shot, if you are looking to try and don't mind some creepy imagery give it a shot. I would say if you want a bone chilling horror, this probably isn't the haunted house story for you but I still think its a fantastic story worth reading!

This novella was somehow both unsettling and cozy at the same time. This is the first T. Kingfisher books I've read and I'm definitely excited to check out more of her work. I would compare the vibes of this book to to Coraline (the movie, I have yet to read the book), but through a more adult lens. Our protagonist returns to her childhood home to help out her mother, and encounters increasingly strange and unsettling occurrences in the house. Initially she feels like she's the only one noticing the strangeness, and she really tries to find the logical explanation for what is happening. Eventually she confides in some new allies and digs up enough details about her family's past to confront the paranormal forces that threaten her mother and her home. The writing has a strong flavor of sarcastic humor, we have memorable, (mostly) charming characters, a complicated but strong family bond, and a strange but satisfying ending.

T. Kingfisher is one of the most entertaining authors I have read. After reading What Moves the Dead, I knew I would be picking up the next book immediately and I was NOT disappointed.
This was such a fun read, and I loved the format. It's written as Sam telling the story of what happened, but with no shortage of crazy curse word strings and her awesome personality.
Sam is going home to live with her mom for a few months while waiting for her archeology dig to open back up (bones were found and shut it down). But her mom, Edie, is acting VERY weird. She's not the fun loving, wild mom Sam grew up with. She's acting scared, as if she's being watched or stalked. And crazy stuff is happening around the house. Like the flock of vultures constantly watching the house. Or the fact that there are a ton of beautiful rose bushes surrounding the house but not a single bug. Sam is a scientist though, so she's sure there's an explanation that's *normal*. Like industrial grade pesticides or something...

This was a slow-ish burn done just right because by the time anything is happening, you're already so far in you don't even realize it until your heart is racing.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. When Sam came home to her mother's house, she never expected to be greeted by a vulture. That was the very tip of the what the heck iceberg that would be revealed during her trip, and what a trip it turned out to be.
T.Kingfisher's authorial voice is absolutely top notch. For a book that has such a creeping, slow burn sense of horror, Sam's internal dialog cracked me up throughout the story. Sam is a great character, and the atmosphere of the book slowly infused me with dread. For a relatively short book, she manages to really pack in a lot of opportunities for the reader to want to nope out and shudder. I loved it, but I will never look at roses or vultures the same way.

Interesting premise and story. I liked the setup and the characters.

My biggest issue was that it was not at all the tone/ambiance I was expecting so I struggled to feel engaged. I wanted it to be more suspenseful vibes and instead, it was more creepy, quirky vibes.

Another great T. Kingfisher novel! What Moves the Dead was the first T. Kingfisher novel I read and I loved the creepy, atmospheric prose and the chills and thrills it brings, and A House with Good Bones definitely brings that to the table, along with some humour sprinkled in with the main character's demeanor.

This was a fast-paced, chilling read. I enjoyed Sam as a character and narrator. She is smart, quirky, funny, is always searching for a logical explanation to everything, and embraces her flaws. The plot was a bit of a slow burn, predictable at moments and a little crazy towards the end, but I enjoyed it. The atmosphere was fantastic-- creepy, tense and gothic, and had me saying "one more chapter" more than once. If you are a fan of T. Kingfisher this is one you want to pick up!

This was great. There's some dark humor overlaying the horror of what's happening. Kowal does a marvelous job of making the MC sound authentic. Bonus: fat representation

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book, A House with Good Bones by T. kingfisher was an absolute delight!
Samantha, a postdoc archaeoentomologist has her dig shut down for awhile, so she decides to return to her childhood home for an extended visit with her mom. When she gets there, the house doesn't look like it has for the past 20 years, it resembles how it was back when her Grandmother lived there. Sam's mom seems to be "off" as well, having lost a significant amount of weight, acting anxious and as if someone is watching her. Sam wonders if it is her mom grieving the loss of Gran Mae but delayed, early signs of dementia, or is it something else?
Samantha was hilarious, I really enjoyed her character. Since she works with bugs we get to hear all about them which was interesting. I appreciated that she was fat and fine with it I was impressed how medical fat phobia was casually thrown in there but handled wonderfully. There were parts of this book that made me laugh and parts that made me cringe due to the creepy things going on. The side characters were all so engaging, I liked hearing about all of the quirky people in the neighborhood. I loved how Edith used her house as as her planner and had post its everywhere, I Mr Pressley was so vivid of a character that I knew exactly who he would be in real life, Phil was fun, I loved Gail, and I even loved the vultures!
I enjoyed the symbolism and all that this book had to offer. Pick this up if you want to read a creepy tale that is full of weird and charm, that also will keep you laughing. I loved it!

T Kingfisher was a commonly back burnered author for me. They kept the tension really taught throughout the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A House with Good Bones is a haunting southern Gothic book. Sam receives a phone call from her brother claiming that their mom seems off. Sam ends up in North Carolina and is excited for this rare extended visit with her mom since she envisions the two of them on the couch drinking wine and watching murder mystery shows to guess the who done it before the characters do. But, when she steps into the home, things are different. Everything feels sterile instead of fun and messy in the home. Her mom is now easily startled and is constantly looking over her shoulder. Sam ends up discovering a jar of teeth under some rose bushes as well as vultures circling above the garden. Sam decides to figure out what is going on in this home and what has her mom so scared.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for an advanced copy.

I first discovered T. Kingfisher in 2022 when I read Nettle and Bone as well as what Moves the Dead. With reading those two books, I became a fan of T. Kingfisher's books. Right now, I got to say I like A House with Good Bones the most.

I struggled getting into the story, but it did not take that long that I found myself engrossed.

T. Kingfisher does well transporting you into the story and building up the mystery of what is going on and how everything will come to light.

I really would not call this a horror story, but more focused on the paranormal. Maybe it is horror for the characters and other readers, but when I think of horror, I think of something that scares you or makes you creeped out. I did not experience any of it and it could be because I cannot conjure images most of the time in my mind and when I do, it is so faint.

Anyway, back to the review.

This book does have a slow build, which is something I am noticing I like in mysteries, which if you have followed my reviews on mystery and thrillers, I often say that I am usually disappointed in them as well as them falling flat. When thrillers/ mysteries have twists, I find that they are usually predictable to me and that how the twists are executed can make or break the book. The twist is really obvious from the start, but T. Kingfisher does a great job executing it and making the story enjoyable and engaging.

T. Kingfisher has done it for me again!
These short novels over the past year have scratched a major creative itch, with each one even more original and compelling as the last.
This new addition is easily my favourite of them all. It’s witty, intelligent, and eventually, downright scary. What Moves the Dead was creepy, but never crossed the line that made me shiver. This one, did that.
Thank you for the nightmares!

I enjoyed this book overall but I thought the ending felt quite rushed. I was also a little disappointed that the grandmother's backstory was relatively vague. This story had a lot of potential but it fell a little flat for me.

I don't think I've read anything by T. Kingfisher that I haven't absolutely loved, and this is no exception. Kingfisher is just so exceptional at setting the scene - I can really feel whatever emotion she's aiming for, and it's so immersive. This is something that's sometimes lacking with similar authors, and it's always such a delight to find. It's hard to make horror appealing to everyone -- if it isn't scary or unsettling enough, big horror fans might feel ignored, but if it's too horror-y it won't be something mass audiences will like. I think this toes the line well - some of this definitely felt a bit expected, but not so much that it made the book any less interesting or worth reading.

Absolutely loved this! For my first T. Kingfisher, this book was perfect. The humor and knowledge that was put into this book alone made it exciting to read and instantly made me think, I need more from this author!!!! The pacing allowed for the ever growing sense of unsettling, which contributed to the overall menacing tone that just kept me coming back for more!

This is a story about what makes a home…. And there are vultures!

I deeply loved this book. T. Kingfisher is an auto buy author for me, so I’m not shocked that it landed for me, but it really was so, so good! The authors way of blending the whimsical with the horrifying thrills and alarms me in equal measures- I’ll never stop looking for books that can do this. This is also a book about love, and family & the capacity to be better than those who’ve come before you.

All the stars! Thank you so much @netgalley & @tornightfire for the eArc!

T. Kingfisher is an author that I had been hearing a lot about lately. I was excited when I was approved for a netgalley copy of her latest book. Many of my reader friends have said that this is a light horror or cozy horror (is that even a thing?). I think what I’m realizing is that I’m much more of a medium to intense kind of horror girly.

I appreciate a gothic horror situation which this book definitely gave me. I always like when a house feels like a character of its own. I don’t even mind a slow suspenseful buildup. This book had both. It also had some fun humor mixed in. However, I feel like the ending was so anticlimactic that it didn’t allow me to fully move this book from the “liked” to “loved” category. There were definite elements that I liked but I need it to either get a bit darker or I needed more twists and turns. When there is a lot of build up without much payoff it just leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I’m still interested in checking out Kingfisher’s older works to see if my issues are just with this book.

A House With Good Bones was a very very strange read and unfortunately not my kind of strange. It was a short book but I felt like it went on forever. I wanted to like the main character and her buggish ways but she ultimately fell flat for me as did the other characters. There was lots of bugs... and vultures... and roses and just very bizarre things going on that never truly felt like terror to me. If you're into weird plots and extremely weird endings then A House With Good Bones is definitely a read for you!