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This was a wild ride and one I enjoyed being on! So…many…scary…dolls/puppets! I ended up listening to the audiobook and this really helped the creep factor when it came to one puppet in particular named Pumpkin (bad puppet!). The main character‘s brother was pretty unlikable, that one person in every family that constantly screws up and yet has everyone‘s sympathy and gets everything handed to them while the responsible ones are expected to ⬇️

What a wild ride! 😳😵‍💫

I loved every minute of it haha
But jeez what a weird book 😵

Read for reading challenges

5/5

More than just your run of the mill haunted house story. It‘s also about family relationships,secrets and puppets.
Lots and lots of puppets.

The second worst book I have ever read. I know people are obsessed, but Grady Hendrix is not for me. ⭐️/5

Not quite as creepy as I expected it to be, but this was a fun read! I love the badass aunties, and I wish we got to spend more time with them, especially Barb. I'm rarely pleased with endings, but Hendrix does a good job with this one.

Audiobook and breakfast, with decaf in the mug I got myself as a treat. #ToB2023

🌟🌟🌟 “puppet is a possession that possesses the possessor”

Puppets, hauntings, gore, grief and humor. This book is BONKERS!!! In a good way.

3 stars because I‘m comparing it to Horrorstore and Southern girls guide to slaying vampires, and those were better.

Why do American narrators pronounce the "L" in "solder"? Merriam-Webster tells me it's an acceptable British pronunciation, but it's been a while since we were British. Maybe it's because most audiobook narrators didn't grow up with my mom. I don't have a clear memory of which of Mom's projects involved the soldering gun. Maybe her ongoing war with the in-ground sprinkler system in the yard of our military housing, which always needed repair.

Well read, totally fun audiobook. Loved it.

Oof. I didn‘t even know that I thought dolls and puppets could be creepy until this. It starts slooow but picks up speed quickly in this ghost story with gore and laughs and a bit of Southern Charm. #ispybingo: window

3.5⭐️/5⭐️

Four hours in to the audio and all I know is: there‘s creepy dolls and a strong sibling rivalry. 🙅🏼‍♀️🙅🏼

Question for those that have read this…does it get better? I‘m about 100 pages into it and I just…don‘t…care? It‘s not really grabbing me and I‘m not sure whether it‘s worth it to keep going or to just DNF it and move on to something else.

15/23 This one went through a bit of a slump 3 hours from the end, but then picked back up and ultimately I enjoyed it. It was creepy but what I was really interested in was the family relationships. The characters did all the normal stuff you should never do in a horror movie 🙄 but as this is written like a movie that fits. I liked the ending which is high praise for me 😂 Reading for #booked23 #newin2023

I was enjoying this book until I thought I had reached the conclusion and realised to my horror I‘ve got another THREE HOURS to go 🫣 I‘m really struggling to find the motivation to carry on. Someone please tell me it‘s worth it?!?

Another recent #BookMail I forgot to post about was this new Grady Hendrix novel about a house in Charleston that doesn‘t want to be sold. Louise & her brother Mark have to work together to get their recently deceased parents house ready to be sold. But some houses have other plans…
I love the signature page with its little scribble👻

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/X7x-4ea8qRw

Enjoy!

2-28-23: My 25th finished book of 2023! Not my favorite of his but I still made it through. Louise has learned her parents are dead. She travels back to Charleston to help her brother, Mark, set up the funeral and sell the house. Problem is, she and Mark don‘t get along. And the house doesn‘t seem right. There are too many dolls and puppets cluttering it‘s rooms. Mark and Louise have to agree on how to manage the strangeness. Creepy and violent.

March #BookSpin #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo
@TheAromaofBooks
Already got a head start on "How to Sell A Haunted House"
I might throw in a couple more middle grades for #MiddleGradeMarch

I enjoyed this novel a lot. The classic theme of how human beings are the creators of monsters and demons has come to mind now as I've finished the book. In this case, there is no mad scientist. Materialistic behavior, attaching oneself too much to material things, creates demons and monsters. I think this is a great social critique of how people - big and small - get too attached to material objects.

Chapters 15 to 20 were quite the read. Of all the things to find disturbing, there is also a whole thing about pizza Chinese. I mean, look at them together. I just wouldn't be able to keep it together at a pizza Chinese party.

I enjoyed this! Definitely wacky, but not as silly as some of his other books. Starts pretty slow, but when it gets there...😳 Deals a lot with family loss, so definitely something to be mindful of if that may be difficult for you ❤️
@Blueberry

I'm starting this one now. It's my first time reading this author's work. I'm in about 20 pages and I already know I want to read more novels by Grady Hendrix.

Counteracting the spooky book with a sunny day and kale smoothie! No spoilers but definitely the stuff of childhood nightmares!

What a wild ride! Louise goes back to her childhood house to clean it out and get ready to sell. Meanwhile, her brother gets in her way and causes his usual drama. They must try and put their differences aside to face the evil that lurks within their childhood home and unlock family secrets along the way. Many twists and turns. I couldn‘t predict anything if I tried. I listened to it and now can‘t get the creepy voices out of my head. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 oops! Forgot a FEB book!! Haunted house, check!

I‘ve said it before & I‘ll say it again, I love haunted house books!

Especially when they‘ve got more going on besides just a haunting! This one is packed with family drama.

This was a fun, at times confusing, thrill ride!!

Get prepared for the book version of a jump scare! The only thing that could have creeped me out more would have been if the dolls were CLOWN PUPPETS! 😱

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here are 5 special editions and a late birthday gift that walked in the door in February. I love books! 📚

What a wild ride this book was! For me as a horror fan i wouldnt say it was scary but definitely creepy. This book had it all. A fractured family, ghosts, creepy dolls and imaginary friends. It started kind of slow for me but when it got going it was so good. It was a complex story with a lot of moving parts. Ill just leave it at that.

I couldn't get past the murder dolls, which I guess is a compliment in itself.
#SundayFunDay
@Osma.of.Oz

Listened to this one on Libby as soon as it was available. So good!! If you like Grady Hendrix‘s other work, you‘ll probably like this one was well. Great story of a family reckoning with the secrets of their past with Hendrix‘s flair for campy horror goodness.

Grady Hendrix has not disappointed me yet! I was worried this one would be too sad and lose that glimmer of humor that his books have. I was wrong! It really picked up! My only complaints are that the ending felt a bit rushed with some unfinished business.

Loved this! It took me on a ride, it took me places I didn‘t expect, I laughed, I cringed…LOVED IT.

Behind the absolutely absurd story is another story about secrets and lying to yourself to present something different to the world. Hendrix is incredible at crafting such painfully human characters and you need to separate the life lessons from the horror. ❤️❤️❤️
#bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

I know I am in the minority here, but I did not care for this book. The overall concept had so much promise but the execution was really lacking. This story seemed to drag on forever. Just when you think they should be wrapping it up, it goes on and on again. The main characters were just annoying and mean. The only person I really liked was Barb, she was a hoot.

#UnpopularOpinion this is my least favourite Hendrix book but I still enjoyed it. My problem was it seemed very slow moving.

That said it had all the classic Hendrix elements- strong female characters , interesting family dynamics and of course the horror elements.

I know Aunt Honey is supposed to be Southern but she reminds me of my grandmother & my Aunt Edna who both remind me of Sophia from the Golden Girls!!! @Jgacreations I promise, no spoilers!!! 🤣

This may be one of my favorite Grady Hendrix books. Single Mom, Louise's parents die so she heads back to her home town. There she finds out that her irresponsible brother, Mark, has inherited everything except her mother's creations & that the house is haunted. Also that her mother's favorite puppet is evil.
I admit parts of this book really creeped me the 🤬 out. I don't like puppets now, not that I was ever very fond of them 👺

Hendrix is absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking and I‘m here for it. Family drama and horror go hand in hand and Hendrix always finds a good balance for the MC and the rest of the cast. Flawed but strong believable leads are his bread and butter it seems. Also gross shit. He‘s always good for some skin-crawling.

Don‘t want to give too much away, but if you don‘t like body horror or dolls this might want to skip this one

Hendrix wrecking me before my day even starts... 😮‍💨

I'm struggling a bit with my #bookspin for February so I'm going to move on to my #doublespin instead!!! 👀👻

OMG LOOK WHAT LIBRARY HOLD FINALLY CAME IN! 😱😱😱 I'm dropping everything to start reading this!

It's here! 🎉
@Blueberry

Thank you so much, @Clwojick , for this wonderful #MugLove23 parcel! ❤️❤️

I adore the mug you chose for me and the lovely black tea sampler looks amazing. I‘m terribly excited to get to this new Grady Hendrix, too! 👏👏 I use a LOT of sheet masks (to no avail, it seems 😆) and the socks are super cute.

A big thank you to @Cinfhen and @TheKidUpstairs for bringing back this swap. 😘😘

A woman comes home after her parents die to settle the estate with her brother. But the family estate includes more problems than she‘s prepared for.
I enjoy the humor and wit that comes with Hendrix‘s retro inspired horror. It‘s the perfect blend if you want scary but not too scary. This is more of a Chucky-in-a-dysfunctional-family drama than a haunted house book. A solid pick for me.

#LibraryHaul I am going in…

Super excited bc I finally got myself a library card! The library here is HUGE too, so hopefully I can save some money this way instead of buying every book that I‘m interested in😅🙌🏼

It was both horrifying and hilarious at the same time. Loved it.

“But she didn‘t have a choice. She would have to handle whatever happened. There was no such thing as too much. There was just more and more, and her limits didn‘t matter. Life didn‘t care. She could only hang on.”