I am a fan of T. Kingfisher's horror novels, and I am a fan of Mary Robinette Kowal's sci-fi novels. I didn't realize until I started listening to this one on audio that I'd be getting to enjoy both author's talents. I didn't know Mary Robinette Kowal HAD narrating talents, but that she does!

Haunted House stories are among my favorites. I love dark, dank Victorian manors crawling with history and atmosphere. This is... not that. I was crazy intrigued to find out how Kingfisher planned to arrange for the haunting of a 20-year-old cookie cutter house in a subdivision.

Turns out, when your great-grandfather is a mad sorcerer, you can wind up with haunts that follow the family no matter where they wind up. What's lost with the dusty chandeliers and 150-year-old foundations is made up for here with creepy racist paintings, memories of sadistic grandmothers, and a neighborhood watch composed entirely of vultures. Total success on the creepiness front.

And as always, Kingfisher's characters are top notch. Our protagonist Sam, a (self-described) fat woman with excellent self-esteem and a nerdy sense of humor, is an archaeological entomologist on break from a dig. If her tendency to forget where she is every time she falls asleep seems a little strange, I'm willing to chalk that up to the haunting. She is surrounded by troubled family members, quirky neighbors, and - dare I say it? - totally endearing vultures. The potential romantic interest is charming (though my one complaint against the narration is that Kowal gives him a voice that sounds SO country-bumpkin, it was a little hard for me to shake off that impression of him even as the actual story painted him differently).

While it's fairly easy to guess the basic nature of the haunting early on ("WHY is mom acting so strangely and why would she totally redecorate the house the way her crazy old mother liked it, complete with racist paintings??") once the haunts start manifesting, what you guessed is only the start of the full, creepy climax Kingfisher has in store. I give her all the gold stars for not leaving a single dangling end.

An excellent read for fans of the spooky, creepy, and atmospheric horror.

When it comes to Kingfisher, I’m obsessed with her horror stories, and A House with Good Bones is no exception.⁣
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This story follows PhD archeological entomologist Sam Montgomery, who returns home to North Carolina to check in on her mom while her dig site is shutdown. Sam quickly realizes that something is off with both her mom and the house, and the secrets she uncovers are more than she bargained for.⁣
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First off, I LOVED Sam and that this story is told from her POV. I genuinely enjoyed being in her head because she was a riot. Sam is addicted to British murders, boxed wine, and bugs…her humor is sarcastic and quippy. She also has zero filter, which constantly gets her in trouble. ⁣
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I loved the richly atmospheric descriptions that left you with an overall sense of unease. I didn’t want to step foot in that house no matter how much you paid me. And don’t get me started on the last 20% of the book…truly horrifying (especially on audio!). ⁣
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Overall, if you’re looking for a chilling, gothic horror with an awesome protagonist then this one is for you!

I love a creepy gothic book and T. Kingfisher did not disappoint with A House with Good Bones.

Sam our MC, is an archaeoentomologist, who goes home to stay with her mother. Her brother had recently visited and was concerned with her behavior/health.

And he was NOT wrong. There is something definitely wrong with her mother and strange things are happening in and around the house Sam grew up in. I don’t won’t to give much away, as I went in blindly and really enjoyed all the surprises.

I loved Sam’s sense of humor and Gail, who helps rehab vultures!! If you can get your hands on the audio version, you are in for a real treat! Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

T. KINGFISHER IS ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE AUTHORS

A House With Good Bones knocked it out of the park. A haunting Southern Gothic that is Scary, Funny, Heartwarming ??, CREEPY, an absolute A++ read.

WHAT I LIKED
Laced with southern charm and cheeky comments T. Kingfisher does it again with another fantastic novel. Sam is excited to stay with her mom, after a work project falls through. When she gets there though, something is wrong. Her brother told her that mom had changed but when Sam gets to her house, its like she went back in time. Eerily similar to when her grandmother owned the house before she passed away. As her moms personality changes, and vultures swarm in, Sam has to figure out how to save her family.

Sam is a unique character who has a special interest in bugs and works as an entomology archaeologist. Her unique perspective on bugs and their contribution to the ecosystem of her moms house was intriguing to watch as it was interwoven within the story.

There was a lot of laugh out loud moments with Sam's snarky and spot on comments to all of the other characters around her. I enjoyed most about Sam's wit was the way she interacted with her family and their comments about her love life and body. These were small comments but they packed a big punch and such a nice detail in the grand scheme of family trauma and generational trauma.


If you have ever thought about picking up a horror book you should try this one. It is so much more than just horror and the horrific aspects are rather light. If you enjoyed How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendricks, or if you wish there was something more to it, then you should absolutely pick up this book.

Thank you Net Galley and Tor Night Fire for an advance signer's copy of this book.

I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started listening to this book, and I think that shows in my reaction to it.

Sam Montgomery goes back to her childhood home when her archeological dig is suspended and she had sublet her apartment. Her lively, carefree mother is not acting like herself and Sam notices weird happenings around the house. She is always trying to explain these things, like pictures falling off the wall, massive amounts of bugs in her bedroom, rose petals in the house.

Well, there is no logical explanation as we discover later in the book, the magical ancestors to Amber. I liked Amber and thought she was a well-defined character. I was a little less crazy about the secondary characters but I think part of that was I didn't care for the way the narrator changed her voice for the other people.

This is not my favorite genre but I'm glad I gave it a try. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A colorful and charming horror comedy, though calling it 'gothic' might be a bit of a stretch, A House with Good Bones's quirkiness and brisk pace is a much needed breeze against all the other lengthier novels I'm currently reading, but its marketing and synopsis (which, really gives WAY too much away) might point to the wrong direction regarding what this story is actually trying to accomplish: a cozy horror fantasy with low stake and a lot of personality, think Hocus Pocus instead of a dark, intense tale of horror.

I thoroughly enjoy reading from Sam's POV, who is an atypical horror female protagonist, from her physicality, her unfiltered attitude, to her career choice (an archaeological entomologist); the inner thoughts and monologues are precisely captured by Mary Robinette Kowal's performance. Even though some of the quirkier lines do give me serious rom-com vibe (not my favorite), at least there's enough authenticity preventing them from falling into cliché. However there is one small critique regarding the narration; the voice put on for a particular male character feels overly goofy, in sharp contrast to how his character is perceived within the plot.

Having read The Hollow Places prior, I'm not as thrown off by A House with Good Bones's overall horror/fantasy direction, but its last 20% is still a tad beyond my tolerance (of a genre hybrid I'm not all that fond of); instead of the complete otherworldly spectacle, I wish the novel has stayed more grounded in reality (which it has achieved up till that point).

Overall, I had a really good time with this one! It's cozy, funny, and imaginative (it manages to make vulture adorable?!), just don't go into this expecting a dark, atmospheric gothic.

Great narrator!
This is my second book from the author and it won’t be my last. I’m not really a fan of horror but I love her books.
This book combines the snark of Clairee from Steel Magnolias, the feel of a cozy mystery, and the horror of Stephen King.
Sam is an archentemologist and has to move back to her childhood home for a few months when human remains are found on a dig. But when she returns home, Sam find her mother jumpy, afraid to say anything against her dead Gran Mae, and having changed everything in the house back to the way it was when Gran Mae was alive. Combined with rescue vultures who live down the street and who are constantly watching the house, Sam becomes worried something is really wrong. And when she finds a jar of human teeth in the garden, she begins to grow afraid.
I loved Sam’s character, her personality, and her gumption.
If you can suspend logic/belief and go along for the ride I think you’ll like this one.

A mystical and enchanting read, A House with Good Bones, delivers all the spooky thrills well before Halloween! Witches, sorcerers, magical plants, and a crack in time and space are just many of the things that you'll get to read about in this one. Even with all that going on, the true delight of this story, are the characters within it.

I will say, I did not care for the narrator doing the male voices. She did one of the male character, Phil's, voice and it was atrocious for me. She made him sound slow and dumb and I didn't think it was very flattering. I'm not sure if that was the intent, but I'd highly recommend having a male narrator for his character. It was extremely distracting and at times made me laugh when parts of the book weren't supposed to be funny.

I definitely did not let the narrator distract me in any way of rating this book as the author does a fantastic job. If you're going to also be bothered by a voice like I'd described, I'd suggest reading the actual book!

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

Personally I think there is plenty of evidence that something is seriously off with the suburban home in A House With Good Bones by hilarious thriller author T. Kingfisher.

This quick tale of the Montgomery women is such a pleasant surprise with the sarcastic humor of its protagonist Sam Montgomery, an entomologist (she studies bugs), who believes in science and is in for a supernatural awakening at her family home.

Having some rare time off work Sam heads to visit her mom Edith after her brother tells her, "Mom seems off." Sam finds things so askew her mind can't comprehend what her eyes tell her brain is real. It starts with the vultures, yes vultures, hanging out on her mailbox, the white paint covering the once colorful walls, the swarm of ladybugs, the rose pedals all over the floors, and last but not least there's the jar of teeth in the garden.

Her mom is jumpy, anxious and definitely not herself. Sam thinks maybe it's dementia, a nervous breakdown, or long hidden grief over her grandmother, Gran Mae's death. When her scientific mind can't believe the impossible her reaction was completely relatable when rather than deal with it all she shrugs and says, "...or I could just get up and make coffee." Yup, that's what I would do for sure lol!

The absolute perfect comedic timing of narrator Mary Robinette Kowal made this a more fun experience than a creepy crawly one with a house that is "buggy." She gives an outstanding one woman show bringing Sam to life.

When all is revealed it's more creepy than horror, more funny than gruesome and a bit of commentary on generational trauma. A House With Good Bones is a haunting good time.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from MacMillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The word Southern Gothic always gets me. Maybe it is the South that is bred into my being and the fact that in the South you are surrounded by giant old houses that are sometimes draped in Spanish Moss that seems to sing as it sways. The setting in some of the historical towns screams Gothic and it is easy to imagine that someone other than the current owners might roam the halls of the houses.

Southern Gothic stories draw me in and they are almost always a guaranteed read for me. They are horror, but lightly done. I find the horror in these books takes more of a weird turn, much like some of the Urban Legends you hear as a child sitting on the front porch of MeMaws house in the humid summers.

Naturally when I saw an early listen opportunity for T. Kingfisher's A House With Good Bones, and a blub that said
" A haunting Southern Gothic," I said, " Sign Me Up!!"

Sam Montgomery leaves her job in Arizona for a bit to go visit her mother in North Carolina. Once she arrives, she realizes things are a bit out of sorts with not only her mother but the house. Usually bright and cheerful, the house seems to have regressed to the point of being put back to when her Grand Mae lived there years ago, a bit plain and boring, also her mother seems to be nervous, and looking over her shoulder, as if she might be scared.

The story is a slow burner, but I believe most Gothic tales are, the writers who write them set up great introductions to the characters and what may be coming. It does not take long to get drawn into this highly entertaining story however, Kingfisher is imaginative in her weaving of the story and is exceptional in her use of words.

The characters are all purposeful and full of quirks, I enjoyed all of them, even creepy Grand Mae. Let's face it, there is nothing better than the eccentrics of Southern Women, they themselves will keep you entertained if the story you are reading does not. You won't have to worry about that happening with A House With Good Bones though.

This book has so much to offer besides its delightful characters, it has family secrets, ghosts, a haunted house, and surprisingly, a lot of humor. Yes, it gets weird, and it gets creepy, but not unbearably creepy, I mean it wouldn't be a Southern Gothic tale without weird creepiness now, would it?

Nah....I don't think so.

Grab yourself a big ole cold glass of sweet tea and dig into this one.

I really enjoyed A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator brought this story to life in a way that sucked me right in. This book explores the legacies our families leave us whether we want them or not and has a fun twist on the haunted house story. The writing was a little humorous while still maintaining the seriousness of the plot. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one! It's creepy without being TOO scary and I loved the characters.

3.5 stars

A very weird gothic horror story. Definitely creative, complex, & thoughtful. Overall I quite enjoyed it, although the pacing at the ending felt a bit drawn out to me.

[What I liked:]

•Excellent characters! From the domineering matriarch to the grumpy old man neighbor, each character was unique in voice & motive. I especially loved Gail, the vulture foster mother & kindly witch.

•I love all the small town setting details, such as the years long feud between neighbors over who’s flowers were prettier, & the weird things buried in the yard.

•The creepy atmosphere & mysterious details kept mounting until the absolutely weird climax! I did not expect the ending at all!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•After confronting the grandmother, the scenes with the “children” just seemed to go on and on and on. I started to lose track of which characters were where in the action. It’s not that the pace itself dragged, more that the action went on for so long it started to feel boring to me, if that makes sense.

CW: child abuse, horror, murder, suicide, physical violence

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Although I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian audio for the opportunity to listen to this story.

My review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

When Sam is forced to take some time off from a dig, she goes home to see what is so "off" about her mom. What she finds surprises her. The longer she stays with her mom, the more she realizes something is most definitely wrong. This story definitely didn't go in the direction I was expecting. Until the last 25 percent or so, I thought I knew what was going on, but boy was I wrong (and kind of glad I was). The ending to this book was so good. Different than anything else I've read. Kingfisher did an amazing job with a different concept for this book and pulled it off beautifully. I would love to read another of her books if they are all this fun! I loved that Sam (the main character) was a "bug lady" and you would get details about insects that a "normal" person wouldn't really know. I also really loved that even as a scientist, she still has the girly "bug freak out" moments that I do. Made her feel very relatable and had me laughing out loud. Love love loved these characters and this fun book!

When Sam head to her home town to visit her mom, she quickly notices the house has changed and her mom is acting strangely.

I didn't love this book however that is mostly attributed to the fact that this genre just isn't for me.

Sam spends too much time wondering if her mom has gone mad and talking about bugs. She brushes off too many of her experiences that nobody in their right mind could ignore.

I didn't feel that there was enough going on to propel the story forward. By the time things picked up, the book was almost done and I just wasn't invested.

The book was well-written but it just wasn't for me.

This audiobook was creepy and I mean that in the absolute best way possible! It hooked me from the very beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book. I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the audioARC of this book.

I did not expect half of this book, in the best way possible. I will say that after reading a few T Kingfisher novels, I should learn to expect the strange, creepy, and just absolutely insane stuff to happen, but still damn! I will admit to the beginning being a little slow but once it started moving it really didn't stop. I have found that the Kingfisher novels do follow a semi-predictable ending, never the less, the journey of getting to said ending is always enjoyable with with great dialogue and descriptions along the way.

As a character, Sam was completely believable. She was purely stubborn attitude and academia, and I loved it! While the twists and turns and ultimate outcome of the story was not a surprise to me, as a reader, getting Sam's thoughts was honestly quite interesting and unique. I enjoyed that difference immensely. I loved hearing the story from Sam's very scientific point of view, and I would honestly have loved to get the same story from Phil's point of view of his crazy neighbors. As far as the mother went, I felt as though I didn't sympathize enough with what she was like 'before' verses now, we didn't get much of the show verses tell and instead got a lot of tell and the show was really just more what we were told she was like. I appreciated the grandmother character most I think, with how much she could got under your skin and knew the buttons, it really felt like a mean family member. I didn't like her character but we aren't supposed to anyways.

Overall, this book is very interesting. It's creepy and well done, but ultimately it was predictable to a point and sort of forgettable. Unlike her other ones, there isn't anything specifically that I find myself afraid of after finishing. Normally it's something (eg. otters and willow trees, or wild hares and mushrooms) but this left me just thinking about ladybugs and vultures, but not in a negative way. I would say that this was an enjoyable read and I really liked the dialogue and the characters and would definitely recommend this book especially if you've read T Kingfisher novels before. This book s gets a 3.5 out of 5 from me.

The narrator, Mary Robinette Kowal did a wonderful performance and she kept me engaged. I found the characters a bit quirky and unique and Mary just breathed life into them. The southern twang for one of the males made me feel like I really was in the south.
The story’s pacing is slow and it didn’t pick up pace till around 75% through. The story wraps up nicely. But it still left me with a few unanswered questions. I think fans of gothic would enjoy this one as it’s a quick read.

Story: 3.5 stars
Narrator: 4 stars

This was interesting, creepy, and magical. And I am absolutely here for it. I am quickly reading everything T. Kingfisher has to offer. A House with Good Bones is a unique take on a haunted house story, sprinkled with a bit of sorcery and witchery. I don't say this EVER but this book needs a prequel, I could definitely use some more of the history of this story. I've only read a few titles from T. Kingfisher but this has secured its spot at number 1.

**Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the audiobook of this title**

This book was delightfully weird! A House With Good Bones felt like a pretty even mix of fantasy and horror, without either element really beating out the other. It was a little more low-key than a lot of my recent reads and it honestly felt perfect for an audiobook.

Even during the slow parts of this book I was enjoying it - the characters are extremely lovable and I found myself wanting to hear more about them. The narrator did a great job voicing the MC, Sam, and that is huge for me with audiobooks.

Samantha is an archaeologist who focuses on insects to help shape the history of places (my kind of nerd!) When she gets furloughed from a dig, she heads to her mother’s to stay for awhile. Her mother inhabits the house of Sam’s late grandmother, where she experienced some not-so-fond times growing up.

Sam arrives to find her mother in a state. She has lost weight, painted the walls back to her grandmother’s preferred colors, and she seems quite jumpy….. very weird stuff.

Without giving too much away, in reading this book you should expect eccentric neighbors with pet vultures, some very weird botanical twists, and a creeping ominous feeling at the back of your mind.

I can see why this book would be 5 stars for a lot of people but it just didn’t quite get there for me due to personal preference. I highly recommend this book if you like haunted houses, psychological thrillers, the occult, bugs, birds, and plants!

This was an eerie read that was fast-paced and difficult to put down. I loved the details included relating to archaeology and how it was incorporated throughout the work. They were relatable and legitimate, and the quote comparing the value of burials versus trash heaps/middens sounded like it came from a true archaeologist. I enjoyed the sass of the main character and her personality overall, though there wasn’t much growth or development beyond how she’s initially introduced. She definitely wasn’t a serious protagonist, and I think this actually detracted some from the atmosphere of this work (it missed the southern gothic mark for me).

The slow build of the tension and spookiness was well done, though it did take a while for that to get started. The history that was incorporated added some interesting details to this read. I had a bit of a hard time with how absurd some of the big reveals felt, but I enjoyed the ride getting to them.

Also, shoutout to the narrator for doing the BEST southern old lady voice I’ve heard in a long time. This slow burn, spooky work of magical realism was solid entertainment despite the few qualms I had with it.