A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

 

What's It About:

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone. She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out. But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above. To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

What I Thought: 

For a short book (243 pages) this felt like an effective slow burn. The book starts out so very normal, so very...familiar. A mother and her daughter, reuniting after a while apart. Enjoying their time together and all that...comforting even. So why does the dread creep in the background? Why did I feel unease and unsettled right from the start? 

Oh yeah! Because this book is creepy! I can't place my finger on exactly when the creepy started to leak out between the normal, but it was there. 

I loved the dynamic between Sam and her Mother, Edie. They truly were a mother and daughter duo that loved each other and understood/knew each other so very well. That was refreshing! Kingfisher didn't fall into the "Mommy Dearest" trap (at least not for Edie). 

When the real spooks started to happen, they really happened. It went from "Eh that's weird..." to "Batshitholynutballs insane..." in a blink. I loved it!

The ending was intense and worked!

I think that you can probably guess that I enjoyed this one very much! I really did! I can say that I recommend this one! 

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

 

What's It About:

"From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find--discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe--cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe. But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past--and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can't she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?"

What I Thought: 

I'm gonna be real with ya'll. I sat on this review for a day or so because I didn't know what to say. It seems like I'm in the minority on this book. I didn't like it. It wasn't horrible. It wasn't poorly written, I just didn't vibe with it. I loved Tender Is the Flesh. My jaw was on the floor when I finished that one, but The Unworthy....just didn't do it for me. 

I think my main problem with it was the POV. I didn't understand what was happening, who it was happening to, and most importantly WHY!? I don't need every single last detail spelled out for me in order to enjoy a story. I can use my imagination, but this book gives you only enough to fill out the pages...in my opinion. 

I didn't understand why the women acted the way that they did. How they all just accepted everything that was happening and didn't question. I didn't understand the world. I just didn't get it. 

I GOT it, but I didn't get it. I hope that makes sense? 

I think if this was fleshed out a bit it could have been awesome like TiTF. But for me, I just wasn't a fan. 

Personally I can't recommend it, but as always read whatever you want! You might just like it. 

I Am Actually Still Alive!

 

I know I'm a little late to welcome the month of October and to post here, but I have a good excuse! I really do! I have moved to a different town, left my position as caregiver, and have pretty much started a new life (not witness protection or anything.) 

I am in a much better head-space than I have been in a LONG time! So with that being said I am going to be a bit more active on here than I have been in a while. One of the first things that I did when I moved into the new place was go and get a library card. (After putting my bookshelf together, of course.) So that should tell you something. 

So to start off the fun I'll give you a peek at my TBR for the week.

• The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (currently reading)
• A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
• What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
• The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I am also reading (slowly to absorb the material) The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. 

Oh and on top of this, I'm trying to teach myself Czech because.....I'M GOING TO PRAGUE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS!!!

I have never been out of the country and never thought it was possible! How friggen' cool is that?!

So, I am excited and happy and wigging out all rolled into one human. BUT I am already seeing a big improvement on my mental health since this big change. It was scary and nerve-wracking but so far it was very much worth it! 

Can't wait to start posting reviews! 

See ya soon! <3