redefiningrachel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, and Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Stalking
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Bullying
kt2e56's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Okay so this is described as a dark fairytale on here, but it’s actually a bleak fairytale. One of the very few books I’ve read that doesn’t waste a single page. It genuinely holds you captive from beginning to end. Nothing feels wasteful. Nothing feels unnecessary. All of the characters are compelling. The twists and turns and reveals feel earned. I just really loved this book a lot. Krystal Sutherland has such a visceral voice as a writer, I can really feel and see and touch and smell and taste EVERYTHING she puts on the page.
Very much looking forward to reading more from her.
Very much looking forward to reading more from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Vomit
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),xoxlululuxox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
What an absolutely beautiful book. House of Hollow was intriguing and thrilling in all the right ways.
The story follows Iris as she tries to figure out the mystery of what happened to her and her sisters when she was seven after her eldest sister goes missing. There is so much that happens as we follow Iris and Vivi on their journey to find Grey. Each girl is so unique in the way that they are written about, you can definitely understand the intense draw they must have in their world, even on the page.
This book is written beautifully. The language used to describe the events, the scenery is just stunning, you are truly able to envision exactly what the author wants you to.
I truly loved this dark and modern twist on classic folklore. If there was more to this story I would definitely want it.
The story follows Iris as she tries to figure out the mystery of what happened to her and her sisters when she was seven after her eldest sister goes missing. There is so much that happens as we follow Iris and Vivi on their journey to find Grey. Each girl is so unique in the way that they are written about, you can definitely understand the intense draw they must have in their world, even on the page.
This book is written beautifully. The language used to describe the events, the scenery is just stunning, you are truly able to envision exactly what the author wants you to.
I truly loved this dark and modern twist on classic folklore. If there was more to this story I would definitely want it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Medical content, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Stalking
booksonhermind's review against another edition
This is not a YA book. It's just tedious and not what I was expecting. I'm almost done but I can't be bothered to finish.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault
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