howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 

I love cozy, mysterious little ghost stories, and I adore books featuring ghosts as the main characters, so this was right up my alley. Pretty Marys All in a Row is a quiet, speculative novella about a group of Marys and the pain-staking lengths they go to in order to keep themselves "alive" as fabled spirits, and I really enjoyed the way all of these urban legends were brought together to tell this story.

Unfortunately, I'll admit that the plot lost my interest at times, mostly because of how slow-paced it felt — this struck me as a story that may have worked better at the 40- or 50-page mark, maybe even as an installment in an anthology — but overall, I thought it was a sweet, whimsical tale and I enjoyed it. 

 

A little Southern gothic, a little folk horror, and a whole lotta heart. T. Kingfisher has truly become one of my favorite authors of all time, and this might be my favorite book of hers I've read so far. A House with Good Bones is equal parts dark and twisty + hilarious and charming, with a main character that has stuck with me so much that I doubt a week goes by without thinking of her (which is saying something, since I'm writing this review 6 months after reading the book).

First of all, I don't know where T comes up with these characters, but I need her to never, ever stop because they're incredible. Sam is hilarious enough on her own, but then you go adding in her mom and Gail and Hermes (the one-winged vulture) and there were times I forgot I was reading a horror book because I was laughing so hard. (Of course, loving those characters so much certainly amped up the stakes when shit hit the fan, too!)

All of the fun elements aside, A House with Good Bones is, in fact, a horror novel, and I loved the horror aspects just as well. There's an ominous air to the story from the very first page and it slowly builds upon itself as things progress, until suddenly you realize that T's been leading you to the deep end all along while she distracted you with laughs and hospitality, and now it's too late to get out. I won't spoil anything, but I loved the big reveals in the end and found one particular development very unsettling!

One last thing: I can't possibly finish this review without mentioning the discussions on fatphobia, particularly in the medical field, and how incredibly relatable and accurate they were. Sam is a fat woman who is fully content in her skin and knows that society's issues with her size don't reflect on who she is as a person, and I loved every bit of her for it.

The bottom line is: If you like gothic horror that will make you laugh and smile just as much as it will creep you out, I can't recommend this one highly enough. 5 stars, all the stars, and consider me always eagerly awaiting the next T. Kingfisher novel.

I read a final copy I purchased myself, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Sam, the main character, is fat
 

 I may give this one a try again sometime, but I kept getting taken out of the eerie mystery by all of the banter. I love horror-comedy, but the constant volley of playful (or not) insults between characters made it hard to get sucked into the storyline, and the book as a whole felt a bit heavy on dialogue. That said, I'd definitely try reading something else by these authors in the future!
 

 

I went into this expecting a fun book full of spooky encounters, but what I got was so much more.

Full disclosure: I've worked in a handful of medical settings when I used to do medical record-keeping for jails and hospitals, and I've had a couple of creepy and odd encounters of my own (including working the overnight shift in an urgent care where one particular hallway was definitely haunted), but more importantly, my mom (who is one of my best friends in the world) has been a nurse since I was a kid, and I have so much love and respect for nurses thanks to seeing some of the things she's dealt with.

This book fully doubles as a love letter to nurses and medical professionals and I adored that aspect of it. Quotes like the one I added above warmed my heart time and time again while reading these stories, and the author strikes me as such a kindhearted soul that it was impossible not to enjoy his writing.

I know most of you are looking at this review to hear about the ghost stories, though, and let me tell you, they didn't disappoint! There was a mix of creepy tales and odd experiences intermingled with incredibly sweet, touching stories about families and patients who were ready to move on, and I loved the fact that we got to see both ends of that paranormal spectrum.

This book also tackles mental health quite a few times, particularly in one chapter where the author discusses the long-going conversation between believers and skeptics regarding mental illness and paranormal experiences: does a person see entities because of a mental illness, or does an ongoing negative spiritual encounter cause trauma (which we all know can lead to depression, anxiety, and more)? As someone who has mental illnesses and has had traumatic paranormal experiences, I thought Estep handled the conversation with a lot of care and respect, and it meant a lot to me.

Finally, I can't talk about this book without talking about Kyle, the final chapter's subject. Estep devoted a massive chunk of the book to a cancer patient he befriended and his experiences as he nears end-of-life, and it is equal parts heartbreaking and touching. I'm a very strong believer that spirits come to us most frequently not to frighten or harm us, but to deliver messages and to comfort us, especially for people who are nearing that big step from this life into whatever lays beyond, and I loved hearing about Kyle's late friends visiting and taking care of him.

This review ended up being a lot longer than I meant for it to be, but I really cherished every single page of this book. I never expected Haunted Healthcare to warm my soul so much (though it did give me chills a few times, too!) and I'm so happy that I picked it up. I will absolutely be reading more of Richard Estep's books in the future and very highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys nonfiction about spiritual encounters. 

 This was a fluffy little fated mates drabble between two orcs. It was silly and cute: zero substance, but I'd still recommend it if you're looking for a very short insta-love story.
 

 While Talia delivers on gore and taboo, I'm not sure if it says more about me or the book that I was unfazed by even the worst of it. The writing and editing are filled with grammatical and continuity errors, and Talia's conversion from a wide-eyed young girl to a demonic vengeance-seeker was so abrupt it made no sense at all, but the most irritating part of this reading experience was how heavily the book relied on rape and descriptions of female bodies. If I had to read one more description of Talia's breasts or her "powder dry" hands, I was going to scream.

There's also something to be said for the lazy offensiveness of the tall, thick-bodied European woman as a villain, or the fact that one side character, whose only personality trait was a severe cocaine dependency, was referred to as "the light-skinned one" so many times in such few pages. Truly, I could go on for a while about the depictions of women in this book.

I feel like the author was probably going for a rape revenge fantasy along the lines of I Spit On Your Grave, etc., but unfortunately, it fell flat in every possible way. The only reason I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 is that some of the violence was pretty imaginative, but I don't see myself recommending this book, continuing the series, or read anything else of Volpe's.