Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Guest in the House

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll

12 reviews

xabbeylongx's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Spoilers Ahead:

Once again, Carroll has blown me away with her book. The illustrations, perfect, and the storyline, even more perfect!

We follow Abby as she is with her new husband, a dentist, left widowed from his previous marriage, and his child from that marriage, Crystal. They all live together, and Sheila, the ex-wife, had supposedly died from cancer. However, when she starts being haunted by ‘Sheila’, and is told that she was actually murdered by him, she starts to feel a little weird, like everything is not as it seems.

And when she lets someone into the house to look after Crystal, after an accident with her husband that leaves him dead, when she finds out that someone is not who they say they are, everything kicks off.

Honestly, my explanation does not do the story justice at all. It’s one of the best, most intriguing and most chilling books I’ve ever read.

The ending was so ambiguous. There were so many theories, and it’s one of the only books, thus far, that I’ve had to look up because I have no idea how it ends. One part of me thinks that it’s a bit of copout, the ending not being clear, but the other, more correct part of me loves the ambiguity. The reader is free to make up their own theories as to how the story ends. Personally, I don’t know what to think, and I like there not being a typically ‘correct’ ending to it, it makes it a very unique book, even though I know a lot of people didn’t like how it ended. I, having personally thought about it a bit more since I last read the book, think it’s insanely impressive to write and illustrate a novel like that. And it’s queer, which makes it all the better!
The only thing is I didn't bond with the characters too much, and I thought Abby was quite bland, but I think that also helps with the story, so I'm not too mad about it. And the less said about Abby's husband the better, because he is an awful man, and I think he deserved what happened to him.

One of my favourite reviews ever: “Girls be like ‘I’m fighting demons’ and the demons be homosexuality”.

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doomham's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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foxclcves's review

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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annaonthepage's review

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I loved this right up to the end, which is cut mercilessly short. I feel a bit cheated by the story ending where it does. It doesn't sit right with the incredible build-up that's been crafted to that point. Otherwise this is a stunningly atmospheric gothic ghost story that doesn't shy away from darkness and ambiguity. I was really invested in Abby as a character and her journey.

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galaxsea's review

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

What if you told a modern version of Bluebeard about a deeply closeted woman in a haunted lakehouse? Or didn't? A Guest in the House is a masterpiece in its own right. Beautiful, compelling art. Masterful control of tension. Horror and fantasy and the mundane all swirled together until they can't be untangled.

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katizwitchy's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The art was beautiful and haunting, though I have to say I think I'll have to read it a few more times to really understand the plot. I want to say that the ending was disappointing, but I think I just haven't really digested it yet. Such a compelling ride up until that abrupt stop and wow! I will be thinking about her for a long time.

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