#guest house booking

[thepropsolution]

We understand the importance of having the perfect venue for your special occasion. That is why we offer a wide range of banquet hall options to suit your needs. And because our banquet halls are equipped with modern technology, there is no need to worry about getting everything in one place; all you must do is show up.

[stil-lindigo]

emily carroll has once again permanently changed my brain chemistry

[msunitedstatesjames]

This is your sign to go read some E. M. Carroll if you never have before. They write and illustrate horror comics, and their use of color is fantastic. They also frequently write queer stories, including their latest graphic novel, A Guest in the House. Here's some samples of their beautiful art:

If you want to check them out, they have lots of free comics available on their website that are great.

They also have three physical graphic novels that have been published, all of which are stunning. They do have some gore and occassional nudity, so just be aware of that if that's something that bothers you. Also, until recently they published under the name Emily Carroll, and some prominent websites such as Goodreads still use that, so if you see that name you've found the right person.

[movedtodykedvonte]

Simon has a 20 step skin care routine that he explains each step intricately to Betty and has artisanal scrubs he imports from around the world in an organized caddy in his bathroom while Betty has a single bottle of this front and center in her apartments bathroom:

[smashpages]

Out this week: A Guest in the House (First Second, $27.99):

Emily Carroll’s latest graphic novel is about a woman who marries a widower and moves in with him and his daughter — only to become haunted by the memory of his dead wife and obsessed with finding out what really happened to her. Horror at its best, in comics form.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

[libraryleopard]

Adult horror graphic novel

Reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

After a lonely young woman marries a recently widowed dentist and moves to a new town for a fresh start with him and his daughter, she begins to suspect that her husband's first wife's death wasn't by natural causes

Gorgeously illustrated, unnerving, queer

Spoilery thoughts on the ending under the cut

Okay it's been a while since I read this, but I'm trying to recall what I thought of the ending since I'm reviewing it

It's certain and abrupt and ambiguous ending but here are things I remember putting together to try and understand it

Abby is probably an unreliable narrator whose own recollections are not always reliable (see: that part where she misremembers the children's picture book) and the scenes in color represent her fantasies/delusions of some kind?

Her husband is a forgetful man (we see him misremembering things), but didn't murder his wife–he was just in an unhappy marriage and lied to say she's dead to gain sympathy?

Beth is Sheila with a different haircut/hair color (I think the scene where Abby gets her hair cut is supposed to plant this idea), which is why she looks different than the photo Crystal has of her

She's been watching the family, but is not a ghost

The ghost is just a complete delusion of Abby's (this is why she's in color)

Abby killed her husband and left his body under the dock, then kills Sheila

Abby is also a repressed lesbian (I thought this was really clear to me but apparently other's didn't see this as so obvious haha)

[d0omzdayfursuitz]

The lake and delusion

A guest in the house - emily caroll

The ending is strange. But i picked up on a few things and also read some theories on the internet, and here is my idea of what happened. First of all, the knight imagery. There are three versions of the story of the knight and the dragon in the book, all of which are present in what happens.

1. The knight kills the dragon, and the flesh and viscera rains down with jewels.

2. The knight raises the dragons eggs, before returning her child.

3. The dragon kills the knight

Abigail envisions herself as a knight. It is a mold, for her to fit into. A form, a rule.

And the lake (for what is the ghost but a trickster of the lake?) is a dragon.

Sheila, too, is a dragon. (Evidenced by the story of the egg)

And yet.

In this image, both happen. Sheila, as the knight, this time, kills abigail, who bleeds crystals.

1. The knight kills the dragon.

But, if we are to keep the previous knowledge of the entire book,

3. The dragon kills the knight.

And how do we know that this is true, that sheila is a dragon?

2. The knight raises the dragons eggs, before returning her child.

And yet, if we know all of this, if this is the story, the tale of sir gallypeg, who is the ghost?

Crystal sees the ghost.

Dr. kalbfleisch's wife sees the ghost, too.

And yet, it is not sheila.

So who is it? Well, all we have to believe is that it is a trickster of the lake. Crystal is drawn to the lake, and sees her 'dead' mother in it, abigail is drawn to the lake, and sees 'sheila' in it.

(To be continued in replies)

[freckles-and-books]

I think I’m on week 4 or 5 in a row of preorders coming in, but I’m not sad about it.

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas is also on the way 😈

[itssomethingcosmic]

@a-mag-a-day tag game!

in honor of Jon’s backstory episode, reblog and put in the tags the book(s) that scared you the most when you were a child — either you were too young when you read them or something about them just really freaked you out!

[affixjoy]

I’m obsessed with this, it’s so good. “In the nook that’s made for hands” *chefs kiss*

From this book:

[kayakoto-enterprises]

Peak character design

[rustandruin]

A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll

Sunday, 23 April, 2023

I’m fortunate to have been able to read an advanced reader copy of this graphic novel.

There is something deliciously dreamlike about the worlds Carroll sometimes creates, a kind of surrealism that is both grounded and haunting. A Guest in the House is no different.

The story begins with Abby, a cashier in a small lakeside town, who recently married the dentist who moved there with his young daughter, Crystal. Of course, in classic fashion, there are strange circumstances surrounding the passing of her husband’s first wife, Sheila, and the spectre of it begins to loom large in their relationship. It doesn’t help that Crystal admits to seeing her mother in the lake they live on the edge of, and that sometimes she even speaks to her. But as Abby begins to delve deeper into the events that led them all here, things are not quite as they seem. Especially now that Abby’s begun to see and speak to Sheila herself.

Carroll’s storytelling skill is on display throughout the book, but her artistic prowess is just incredible as she easily moves between different art styles, each evoking a specific feeling, that when brought together creates a kind of discordant tension that only ratchets up as the story progresses.

There’s the washed out greys of Abby’s day-to-day life, versus the brilliant reds and blues of Sheila’s manifestation; a gory sort of stripped back brutality to the blood, guts, and bone, tinged with a sensuality that feels almost tender. The grotesque can be almost seductive, in Carroll’s hands it’s almost guaranteed to be. But this gifts us with some truly memorable visuals. The kind that stay with you after.

My favourite of the styles is that in the beginning sequence that most eager readers will have seen in previews, with the almost midcentury style illustration of a knight evoking the concept art for the animated Sleeping Beauty movie, thus making it even more fantastical and dreamlike, when set against everything else when it does pop up.

A Guest in the House effectively plays with the themes and tropes of all good psychological thrillers, ramping up towards the conclusion as it goes on, Carroll’s visuals tightening the noose that is a growing sense of horror. And like always, she is the master.

I cannot wait for more people to be able to read this so we can finally discuss that ending.

RELEASE DATE: 15 August, 2023

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[smashpages]

‘A Guest in the House,’ ‘Blackward’ among the nominees for the 2024 Lambda Literary Awards

The annual awards recognize LGBTQ+ books, poetry, comics and more.

[field-of-sungflowers]

I've been SO PRODUCTIVE this weekend please clap

[aboutsomething-beautiful]

I don’t really remember when the last time I posted about books was on here, but here are some great books I’ve read this year. I finally discovered and finished InuYasha, so there’s that.

[semper-legens]

138. A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll

Owned: No, library Page count: 244 My summary: Abby is newly married. With an inattentive husband, a shy stepdaughter, and a new place to adapt to, she has enough on her plate. But she keeps sensing strangeness beneath her existence. Who was her husband's old wife, the one who died? Why will nobody speak of her? And what do Abby's old dreams of knights and dragons portend? My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Another in the trilogy of 'I ordered all of the Emily Carroll books I could see at the library'! This is a recent work, published this year and carrying Carroll's signature horror stylings. Unease, body horror, a deep mystery that doesn't quite get an answer, this book has it all, and it was an absolute delight. Relative to all the horror stuff, that is. I love Carroll's work, I love how she crafts a story, and I loved this book. So let's get into it!

First of all, the art is gorgeous. Carroll's style blends the realistic and the horrific and ethereal perfectly, keeping things just within the realm of the real enough that it's shocking when the more supernatural elements rear their head, but not being afraid to let loose and go full weird when it's called for. The very deliberate use of colour is really effective - the ghost is the only character consistently in full colour, Abby's everyday life is greyscale, but her dreams are colourful as well, if brief. It's beautiful, and I just love staring at it.

But the most effective thing in this book is the unease it provokes. Ultimately, there are more questions than answers, but the story isn't unsatisfying because of it. Spaces are too large, characters isolated in the frame, and things are juuuuuuust off enough to keep the reader on edge all throughout. There's so much spookiness to the story, which never quite settles into one thing or another, sliding from idea to idea with a subtle sense of menace.

Next, voices from a real-life tragedy.