Tonia
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
I’ve
always had a soft spot for gothic horror, especially stories centered around
haunted or mysterious houses—and A House with Good Bones hit all the
right notes for me. This Southern gothic tale is one of the cleverest horror
novels I’ve read in a while. It strikes that rare balance between witty and
unsettling, offering some genuinely funny moments without ever sacrificing the
eerie atmosphere or the creepy tension that builds throughout the story.
I
really enjoyed the main character, Sam, and her relationship with her mom.
Their dynamic felt real and grounded, even as things around them started to get
stranger and more unsettling. Their stories about Sam’s grandmother—whose
presence is felt in both subtle and chilling ways—really stood out to me. As
the buried family secrets start to unravel, the story picks up momentum and
becomes a real page-turner.
There’s
a lot of fun to be had in this book, but it also has teeth. It doesn’t let you
get too comfortable or cozy, which I appreciated. If you enjoy stories with
decaying houses, Southern folklore, and a mix of humor and horror, you will
love this like I did.
Kristin
TJ Klune builds intricate, authentic characters and can weave
dozens of threads into some of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read. His
published works vary in scope, but the ones I love most are the Cerulean
Chronicles: The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere
Beyond the Sea; Under the Whispering Door; and The
Bones Beneath My Skin. This last one was self-published in 2018, but
republished in a new edition by Tor Books in 2025. Bones is a
bit of departure from Klune’s feel-good cozy fantasies. Nate Cartwright has
just lost his parents, his job, and even his brother has no interest in him.
Nate returns to the only things his parents left him—a cabin and a truck, deep
in the Oregon woods. Unfortunately, the cabin appears to have been recently
occupied. A little girl calling herself Artemis Darth Vader and a tightly wound
man named Alex quickly turn Nate’s life upside down. Part thriller, part
supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy, and a tiny part romance, this “latest” book from
Klune is already on my best of the year list.
Roland
Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen
The
Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Untamed by
Glennon Doyle
Family
Family by Laurie Frankel
Somewhere
Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
The Bones
Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
In the
Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Assistant
to the Villain & Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah
Nicole Maehrer
We All
Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Bittersweet
in the Hollow and Lies on the Serpent's Tongue by Kate
Pearsall
Killers
of a Certain Age by Deanne Raybourn
The
Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
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