Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

90 reviews

blackeyedraptor's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

This book was... Weird, and not in a Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman kind of way. Tbh, I'm kind of disappointed. 
The writing style was fantastic, I would definitely read the authors other works, but I find myself being disappointed in it. 
It went from properly creepy to wannabe slasher fic in about a single chapter, and I hate slashers! They're needlessly gory and when a story has to depend on bloody shock factors, the writing is bad, which is sad because the author has style! I nearly dnf'd at least 3 times, but kept plugging on. 
*Spoilers* 
So turns out, it's not the house that's haunted, even though it initially comes off that way, it's her mom's creepy childhood puppet, who's haunted by her dead uncle who died young. Again, the whole thing felt like it was depending on the shock Factor too much, and was just weird. I love a good spooky ghost story, but I argue that this belongs in that category. If it were a movie, it'd be a slasher, but at least it would get marks for being unpredictable. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child death, Death, Grief, Blood, Violence, Murder, Gore, and Death of parent

Moderate: Self harm, Ableism, and Emotional abuse

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I think it’s safe to say that Grady Hendrix’s work is just not for me. I really tried & read a lot of his backlist. There’s something about his writing that is just not that compelling or enticing to me. I know some books have been optioned and are being adapted for film or tv, so maybe that form of media will be better (for me)? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Child death, Self harm, Death, and Animal death

nicoletiff's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Violence, Child death, Medical content, Death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, and Death of parent

skersnick's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Death, Blood, Gore, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

skyestorme's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

narbine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Death of parent, Medical content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gore, Death, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Self harm

justaddwater's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The first 100 or so pages felt extremely slow, a lot of annoyingness I find common in Grady Hendrix novels. However, after that it ramped up and just kept getting better. As an avid horror lover, it’s been a while since a book kept me up at night, but I couldn’t get the image of

Pupkins pointed hat sticking up over the end of the bed

out of my head. Also felt like the theme of accepting death and teaching children about death was handled very well, with obvious emphasis and mirrors without being heavy handed. 
 If you can make it through the beginning, it definitely worth the read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Stalking, Self harm, Abandonment, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Gaslighting, and Gore

mburnsides's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Body horror

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Self harm, Child death, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

inlibrisveritas's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It definitely nails the overwhelming and frustrating parts of visiting family, to the point where I was just as stressed as the characters. I love that this turned out different than I was expecting and made me appreciate it a lot more than if it had been the standard 'house that doesn't want to be sold' idea. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm and Alcoholism

cicieleloo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm