void_heart's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Child abuse
dovewrites's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3.5 - 4. The writing is of good quality and I appreciated that the author managed to keep the tone despite the book being set in modern times. This book has an incredible fairy-tale quality and it’s impressive that mentions of social media and the sims 4 did not disrupt that feeling. The explorations of femininity and the grotesque were very compelling and exciting to read in a YA novel. The character building was so interesting, I’ve read that some people feel like Iris is bland My only grips are that the Americanisms did disjoint me a little and If this book is a stand-alone why was the ending written like it’s setting up for a second book?
Spoiler
but I think she’s supposed to be, she is so intimately linked to her sisters and especially to Grey- she has no self- until the end, when we see a glimmer of her becoming something more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Child death, Child abuse, Suicide, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Self harm
rhaenyra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to read a spooky book for October and, this seemed very fitting to me when I found it on TikTok. I read this in the span of two days, and I wasn't disappointed.
This book felt like a thriller with a touch of supernatural which I loved. For me it wasn't that scary, and I actually excepted to sleep with the light on after this book but, it was good nevertheless.
It was a very faced paced book and, I was worried that the plot-twist would be ruined due the shortness of the book but, the author managed to do it. I had a thought about what the plot-twist would be but, I was still surprised. I didn't see most of these things coming which made it an enjoyable read.
This book felt like a thriller with a touch of supernatural which I loved. For me it wasn't that scary, and I actually excepted to sleep with the light on after this book but, it was good nevertheless.
It was a very faced paced book and, I was worried that the plot-twist would be ruined due the shortness of the book but, the author managed to do it. I had a thought about what the plot-twist would be but, I was still surprised. I didn't see most of these things coming which made it an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Vomit
badbrhireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
such an interesting read!!! it was definitely thriller/gore/mystery which is not my usual genre, but i was v intrigued. love a good mystery and i wanted to know what happened. some parts the pacing was slower, but i couldnt find a wiki page that summed up the book so i had to finish it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, and Kidnapping
lilyreads482's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book was a roller coaster. It had a very creepy setting and theme, with a lighter writing tone making it a more suitable horror for younger teens. Sometimes this writing tone made scenes not hit as hard as I think they should have, but overall, from cover to final chapter this book was filled with captivating twists and a dark ambiance that made this book a great read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
nishana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5. I was REALLY pleasantly surprised by this one. It was super spooky and mysterious, and Sutherland's prose was beautiful and descriptive. I loved the focus on the sisters and their relationship. Also, the ending was incredibly satisfying. I will say there was a little too much retrospective monologuing on Iris' part. Also, !!
Spoiler
the kiss between Tyler and Iris was so unnecessary! It completely undermined Iris' character, who up until this point was completely dedicated to Grey. If she truly was dedicated, she wouldn't have kissed her boyfriend
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Injury/injury detail, Addiction, Stalking, Drug use, Suicide, Child abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Animal death, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Car accident, Excrement, Physical abuse, Bullying, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Self harm, Sexism, Mental illness, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
HP reference. Moderate warnings for loss of a loved one, missing child, drowning, self injury, insects. Minor warnings for stillbirth, internalised misogyny.sofiasali's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i loved this book so much more than i thought i would going into it and i think i could read about the hollow sisters for the rest of time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Murder and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Child death
radiocryptid's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Child death, Suicide, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Stalking
frankiejo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
two words: holy shit.
this was an incredible read that I tore through in less than a week. a definite page turner if there ever was one.
to be honest, the beginning left me a little bit worried. while i very much enjoyed the atmosphere and mood that beginning set, i felt at the start that things were a little overdescribed/overwrought/overdramatic, what have you, and that the exposition was a little heavy-handed and unsubtle, interrupting the narrative to explain what the girls were like as young children, or telling us their personalities, or describing the past reactions to their disappearance. i think the book could have benefited from a chapter or two at the beginning, maybe one showing their disappearance and the immediate aftermath, and the second showing their return and subsequent weirdness? the prologue could still be the same, because it's a brilliant hook, so it would be prologue - flashback - flash-forward - continue as written. i think that would have helped with the sometimes heavy handed exposition.
but these issues either dissapear completely or become negligible in the face of this book's fantastic middle and ending—or, like half the beginning, the middle, and the ending. i don't know, structure points like that are blurry as hell.
i honestly could not tell you if the exposition was poor after the beginning—it certainly seemed like less of an issue to me, but it might have just been so good i completely ignored it. the twist (which i wont spoil) is brilliant. it was perfectly executed. just enough clues and foreshadowing were given that i almost guessed it (i guessed something kind of similar, i had one major element wrong) but it wasn't obvious, although in hindsight there are definitely enough hints to guess the twist in its entirety, which isn't a bad thing! in fact i think its a good thing.
another thing i like about the twist is that i think the book would still work if you went in already knowing it. i feel like today we act like knowing a spoiler is the worst thing that could ever happen to a reader or viewer, especially with franchises like Marvel not even telling their actors the context for the scene they're doing to avoid them accidentally spoiler their Sacred Movie, but my honest opinion if that if knowing a spoiler ruins your movie's/book's/tv show's rewatch/reread value. and i just put this book down and i already want to reread it to see all the foreshadowing i missed. like go through with a highlighter and everything, haha. so if you already know the twist, don't worry, there is still plenty of value in the book, youll just have a different kind of fun realising all the foreshadowing i may have missed!
also, the ending leaves plenty of room open for a sequel if Sutherland wants to write one, but it's still a satisfying ending if there is no sequel, which is a skill!
all in all, a brilliantly plotted and executed read, with a slightly rocky beginning more than made up for once the ball gets rolling.
rep; bi main character, lesbian major character, gender-nonconforming major characters, korean major character
this was an incredible read that I tore through in less than a week. a definite page turner if there ever was one.
to be honest, the beginning left me a little bit worried. while i very much enjoyed the atmosphere and mood that beginning set, i felt at the start that things were a little overdescribed/overwrought/overdramatic, what have you, and that the exposition was a little heavy-handed and unsubtle, interrupting the narrative to explain what the girls were like as young children, or telling us their personalities, or describing the past reactions to their disappearance. i think the book could have benefited from a chapter or two at the beginning, maybe one showing their disappearance and the immediate aftermath, and the second showing their return and subsequent weirdness? the prologue could still be the same, because it's a brilliant hook, so it would be prologue - flashback - flash-forward - continue as written. i think that would have helped with the sometimes heavy handed exposition.
but these issues either dissapear completely or become negligible in the face of this book's fantastic middle and ending—or, like half the beginning, the middle, and the ending. i don't know, structure points like that are blurry as hell.
i honestly could not tell you if the exposition was poor after the beginning—it certainly seemed like less of an issue to me, but it might have just been so good i completely ignored it. the twist (which i wont spoil) is brilliant. it was perfectly executed. just enough clues and foreshadowing were given that i almost guessed it (i guessed something kind of similar, i had one major element wrong) but it wasn't obvious, although in hindsight there are definitely enough hints to guess the twist in its entirety, which isn't a bad thing! in fact i think its a good thing.
another thing i like about the twist is that i think the book would still work if you went in already knowing it. i feel like today we act like knowing a spoiler is the worst thing that could ever happen to a reader or viewer, especially with franchises like Marvel not even telling their actors the context for the scene they're doing to avoid them accidentally spoiler their Sacred Movie, but my honest opinion if that if knowing a spoiler ruins your movie's/book's/tv show's rewatch/reread value. and i just put this book down and i already want to reread it to see all the foreshadowing i missed. like go through with a highlighter and everything, haha. so if you already know the twist, don't worry, there is still plenty of value in the book, youll just have a different kind of fun realising all the foreshadowing i may have missed!
also, the ending leaves plenty of room open for a sequel if Sutherland wants to write one, but it's still a satisfying ending if there is no sequel, which is a skill!
all in all, a brilliantly plotted and executed read, with a slightly rocky beginning more than made up for once the ball gets rolling.
rep; bi main character, lesbian major character, gender-nonconforming major characters, korean major character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Vomit, Child death, Grief, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Drug use, and Misogyny
moderate nudity, moderate smoking, graphic binge eating, graphic bugs (entomophobia trigger),