This is a fun, light-hearted, and pleasantly creepy book. I would call this is a cozy horror. In it, Samantha (Sam) Montgomery is an insect archaeologist. Sam's new dig gets postponed so she goes home to stay with her mother in rural North Carolina. But Sam's mother is acting strange and unsettling things start happening in the house.

This is very similar in setting and tone to T. Kingfisher’s book “The Twisted Ones”, but less scary in my opinion. My major issue with the book is that it is a little too cozy and not creepy enough. Over half of the book is build-up. Creepy build-up is great, unless it is obvious what the creepy mystery is leading up to. Unfortunately, it was painfully obvious what was going on from the very beginning. That might be a plus for some people, because it makes the book less scary. I liked the “Twisted Ones” more because there is no way you could guess what was going on. But it is still worth reading.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator, Mary Robinette Kowal did a good job overall. However, I didn’t like the voice she did for “Phil”. It was sort of like an old prospector's voice even though he is a 30-ish man. It is too strained.

ADDICTIVE.

I can't wait to pick this back up! Not only was it funny, it was oddly wholesome. I never thought I'd want a vulture pet in 2023, but here we are! Thank you T. Kingfisher. I need MORE!

A change in her work plans means Sam is heading back to the house she grew up in. While her grandmother has passed away and her mom now own's the house, it seems more like her grandmother's sterile home than the brightly colored, warm house her mom turned it into. Her mom is acting strange as well, changing her behavior and acting as if someone is watching her. What has her mom so frightened?

I loved this book! It's only really horror for about a quarter of the book towards the end (at least a more traditional form of horror that you expect), but that didn't affect my enjoyment at all. There is a dry, witty humor that runs throughout that I loved. There is also just a general sense of unease, that something isn't quite right. I love how T. Kingfisher used bugs, roses, and vultures to convey this unease, but also remind the readers ways in which these things can be completely normal or even good. The characters were fun, unique, and had great chemistry together. This book tackles families. It looks at the expectations and trauma our families can leave on us and how that affects us. This book may not work for everyone because there is a significant tone shift, but I thought it worked perfectly.

Also, I listened to the audiobook and thought the voice narration was very well done! The wit and humor really came through! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an advanced copy of the audiobook

This book gave me Grady Hendrix vibes in the best way.

Sam has an unexpected time off work and decides to go stay with her elderly mother. Her brother has noticed that their mom seems "off" and with Sam's logical, scientific brain, she concludes that her mother my be experiencing some memory loss.

With that, her mother is seeming to mimic the ways of her late grandmother which is really throwing Sam for a loop. Her grandmother was a bitter, wicked, racist woman that made more enemies than friends. Sam's mother was quite the opposite. Always polite, open minded, and was always on the positive and progressive side of life.

This Southern Gothic and horror novel really ties contemporary issues with supernatural beings. It was definitely a slow build up to the horror, especially with Sam's insistences on explaining everything with science.

I really enjoyed this book and think that audio was fabulously done. Mary Robinette Kowall gave every character their own voice and I really appreciated the distinctions she made.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillian Audio for the audiobook ARC of "A House with Good Bones". This review is my own thoughts and opinions.

-1 point for dissing Cheerwine. but relatable in the North Carolina experience. I am one of those North Carolinians who will go to bat for Cheerwine.

I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere and appreciated the the light-hearted tone the main character takes. Personally, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much it it was more morose (pun intended).

The aspect of generational trauma is the most important element in my opinion. It's giving Disney's Encanto but add vultures, bugs, rose, and boxed wine. It also gave me a bit to process about my own trauma.

Would recommend to fans of horror, humor, gothic vibes, and nature conservation.

Hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, with pitch-perfect narration by Mary Robinette Kowal (whose work I knew from the Amberlough series by Lara Elena Donnelly). I found myself producing various sound effects ranging from snort-laughs to outright screams.

If I have a complaint, it's that Sam is just a hair too slow to accept that something supernatural is going on (come on, those vultures?). But the moment at which she gets, er, incontrovertible evidence miiiiiiiiiight have elicited the biggest scream of all.

Just marvelous, don't listen late at night when alone, particularly not in any place that has a rose garden. Made me think more positively about the ants in my house, though I confess I'm still putting out bait.

This was so creepy and good! I binge-listened to this in 2 days, but it could easily be listened to in 1.

Favorite tropes included:
- Creature Feature (insects and flowers!)
- Paranormal
- Sorcery in the Family

The narration of this one was just okay - I didn't mind the narrator as Sam, but she came off as ditzy at points. I didn't like her "Phil" voice, but the grandmother's was great.

Kingfisher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

First, I want to thank NetGalley for this arc, I absolutely adore everything T. Kingfisher publishes, and this was no exception. It did remind me of How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix but where that one was absolutely terrible, this one thrived. T. Kingfisher's writing is always fantastic, she has a way to set an eerie and disturbing tone without being over the top in her descriptions. I could feel the ||crunch of ladybugs as Sam stepped on them|| or fingers racking through my hair. I loved the main character and her job was fascinating, I felt like I was learning things about the insects she came in contact with while also trying to figure out whether what was happening was real or not. I loved how the vultures, roses, and insects were all woven together in this book.

4.5 stars! Listened to this as an ARC for netgalley; The narrator for this audiobook was perfect for the story and all its characters. And the humor had me giggling to myself, a really interesting story at a perfect pace

Thank you for granting me this audiobook arc.

I enjoyed my experience with this book. I found the way she explored how certain family members' beliefs can in some way affect the present family. The 15% was a bit wacky to me but overall the book was a good read.

I really enjoyed this southern gothic horror, especially with how well it combined its eerie and unsettling elements with humor and heart. It's a rather quick read but it packs a lot of action into its pages, especially near the end. If you love things that are atmospheric and creepy, this is definitely a book for you!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

A quirky novel with an interesting plot that did feel unique. But I never fully engaged with the characters or the story. It also had a very boring start which did not really help with that. It took so long to buildup to the actual reveal of the horror entity I almost dropped the book. I did thoroughly enjoy the narrator and it was a great choice for the book.

While this book is too gory and adult for curriculum adaptation, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!! The horror built perfectly and the climax of the haunting literally made me want to curl into a ball. The narration was beautiful, I would love to this to more audiobooks that feature her. T. Kingfisher really has a way of making gothic horror modern and fun.

If you had told me before reading this that I would want a pet vulture, I would have never believed you, but here we are.

Samantha's brother is concerned about their mother. "She seems off," he said. So, when her work project gets postponed, she travels to North Carolina to see for herself. She is immediately concerned. The walls and decor of the house, usually bright with color, are now painted off-white. Old Confederate photos hang on the wall once more. While this is peculiar, she is most concerned because her mother also appears unwell. She has lost weight, jumps at the slightest noise, and is misremembering the past. She is also suddenly religious and no longer tolerates cursing in the home; she is becoming more and more like Sam's dead grandmother; something is definitely wrong. The longer she stays in the house, the more things become worrisome. Sam, a scientist, shrugs off the weirdness with logic and rationale—until she can't.

T. Kingfisher expertly crafts this Southern Gothic novella, writing about ordinary characters doing ordinary things in a ordinary houses while slowly building tension one unordinary incident at a time.
As the story unfolded, I could not stop reading. I finished this in one day. I had to know what was happening. The ending was superb. I will happily read anything T. Kingfisher writes—even a grocery list.

T. Kingfisher, I adore you and all your characters and very importantly their brains!
This I have to say was one of the less twisted or thrill-y of this author’s work and I still know that I ordered it to get it as soon as possible my shelf would be missing something great.

Check CW obviously

I have to say the religious undertones and the meshing of the south and southern values was such a fun/upsetting in a good way thing to visit as someone who was raised (thankfully) adjacent to a lot of this kind of thing. I wish there had been a little more but also I’m never going to wish a good book to end. Again a solid 4.5 star

I love Kingfisher and this book just solidified them as a autobuy author. I really enjoyed this book and how it was an interesting take on a ghost story and witches and magic. This book was creepy and fast moving. The characters were great and actually felt realistic. I definitely recommend this book and honestly anything by Kingfisher.

This book was so much more than the GR summary made it seem.

Sam is an entomologist . She's always been the "weird kid" who was obsessed with bugs and research. She was going to work on a dig when human remains were found on the site. Naturally this means weeks, months, maybe an infinity of the dig being on hold, and since Sam's roomies have already sublet her room, she decides to go spend some time at her mom's.

Sam's mom is a kind, wonderful lady. She inherited her mom's house (Sam's grandma's house) a while back, and has since updated the house to be colorful and whimsical, something her late mother would have hated.

Or at least she had.

When Sam returns home, it's to find that her mom has repainted everything to the flat whites that her grandmother preferred. The funky paintings have been replaced by old art that hasn't seen the life of day for years - paintings such as what Sam dubs "The Confederate Wedding"

Clearly something is amiss. Sam's brother seems to believe so too though he lives a few states away and can't help much. Besides the house updates, Sam's mom is now nervous and flighty, the vultures observing the house surely aren't an omen, and it doesn't help that Sam keeps having these weird dreams... But not to worry, Sam is on the case!

This story is witty, creepy, funny, and spooky, while still maintaining believable motives and the effect of generational trauma. It's the perfect amount of southern Gothic that feels so inherently American. There's weird neighbors, insane neighbors, a cute neighbor, and a neighbor who is probably to most definitely a witch of some kind. Typical stuff around these parts.

Really recommend for a dark and spooky weekend read

I received a gifted audiobook copy of A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES by T. Kingfisher. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES follows Sam on a return trip to her childhood home that doesn’t go as expected. When her job is shut down indefinitely after she’s already sublet her apartment, Sam plans to live with her mother for a while. Her brother has warned her that something’s off with their mother, so she can both check in and save herself finding new housing.

Her mother is usually the kindest and most easy going person, but something is indeed off. The house has been painted stark white. Her grandmother’s racist painting is back up on the wall. Her mother is following devout religious practices long abandoned after her grandmother’s death. The house itself also seems weird with strange noises and bug infestations and vultures outside.

I went into this audiobook not knowing much apart from the fact that I like the author. It wound up being an easy binge listen and I enjoyed it overall. That said, I wasn’t as fully invested in the story as I wanted to be. I did really enjoy the neighbor and her vulture rescue. Not often do we find vulture pets in books and I enjoyed that bit as well.

This is definitely a weird one and one that doesn’t give you all the answers in the end, so if that is the type of book you avoid this might not be the right fit. In the end, even the characters acknowledge that some things just can’t be known in a way that feels a bit unfinished. Much of the horror in this one relies on bugs, so maybe steer clear if bugs are a trigger. Sam’s field of expertise is bugs and while she’s usually looking for them as part of archeology digs or helping identify them for libraries, the bugs in this house are very much an issue.

I overall enjoyed the audio for this one, though one of the characters with whom Sam interacts was made to sound a bit older than I think he was meant to be. Still, it was an easy listen and one that kept me wanting to continue!

I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire!

4.5 stars

CW: blood, violence, emotional abuse

This book was phenomenal. It was unexpectedly funny and the exact kind of supernatural horror I have come to expect from T. Kingfisher. This modern gothic novel was wonderfully character-driven and felt appropriately eerie until the grand reveals.

There was a certain level of predictability to the plot, however. For a majority of the novel, I was able to guess just what was happening or the main plot reveal.

That being said, in the final leg of the novel, there is a HUGE twist that absolutely took my feet out from under me. That ride took the book to a whole other place that genuinely grossed me out and horrified me in the best way.

Absolutely great work from a great author.

Family history - family secrets - family cursed! Nothing is more terrifying than childhood monsters. I enjoyed the family and community elements.