Reviews tagging Alcohol

House of Hollow, by Krystal Sutherland

80 reviews

kaylascozyreads's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Alcohol

wikikapusta's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Self harm

Minor: Death of parent, Death, Vomit, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, and Gore

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Review of House of Hollow

By: Krystal Sutherland

            Iris and her older sisters Viv & Grey disappeared for 31 days when visiting their grandparents in Scotland, but when they came back, they weren’t the same.  They looked different and they now had a special ability to put people under their spell.  They also don’t remember what happened.  One day Grey goes missing, so Iris and Viv go searching for her as they piece together what happened to them all those years ago.

            A dark modern fairytale with themes of sisterhood weaves through this novel about the Hollow sisters and what happened to them when they disappeared.  It is creepy and undeniably atmospheric as you feel unsettled along with Iris, because everything is only revealed bit by bit.  It made me intrigued to know what happened as I turned each page.  The graphic descriptions of the rotting plants, beautiful white flowers, and ants creeping directly out of their flesh is eerie and shivering inducing.  There is one point where it is thrown up by one, so be warned if you don’t have a strong stomach, it might be gag worthy.  Iris is a good protagonist as she is someone, who is still innocent, but not entirely naïve.  She’s likable and not annoying, taking action, when necessary, but still hopeful for them as she tries to stay loyal to her divided family.  The character of Tyler started out as annoying, but I grew to like him as a secondary character.  I didn’t hate any characters as they were all sympathetic, though they might not have made the best choices.  There was a twist during the climax that I thought was really good and Sutherland built it up rather nicely.  I didn’t read this in the Spring (maybe in the evening) or Autumn, but it does feel like a perfect read for those seasons

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Bullying, Murder, Suicide, and Vomit

battysbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Bullying, Suicide, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Child death

Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

thyroyalreader's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I’m not a horror fan, but the last few chapters of this book made it worth it!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Body horror, Gore, Stalking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Child death, Blood, Misogyny, and Death

theroamingleo's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

Fantastic dark fantasy. A bit rough at times, but not an out right horror. Plowed through the book in less than 48 hours. Really enjoyed the audio version, the narrator did great!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Sexual assault, and Suicide

ellereadsalot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

House of Hollow is a gorgeously written, dark and twisted fairytale set in modern-day Scotland. Iris knows she and her two sisters haven't been normal since they were kidnapped as children. She is determined to figure out exactly who took them, what happened to them, and why they seem to have otherworldly powers. Iris leads readers on a nightmarish journey: through magic doors, coming face-to-face with the walking dead, cursed kisses, and long-lost family members.

This book is totally out of my wheelhouse, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance! It's a fast, fun read, but you should definitely check out trigger/content warnings before reading as the book can get fairly graphic in its depiction of gruesome imagery. If you like Stranger Things, you'll like this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Self harm, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

nikenacs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

[Book club - November 2022]

Not the biggest fan of this in the beginning, but it really won me over in the end. A tad too YA for my taste, but that's a me problem. Had I read this in my teenage years, I would have been absolutely /obsessed/.

The strong part of this book is definitely the finale, or generally everything that takes place after the hospital. This is where everything that has been laid out before really pays off. The main strong point of the book is that Sutherland is fantastic at describing surroundings, smells, sounds, sensations, all her horrors feel very tangible. The mix between strange natural beauty and body horror worked very well. 

Unfortunately, this strongly descriptive style also felt like one of the main downsides to me. The book is VERY Tell, Don't Show, and I felt like very obvious things were being spelled out for me again and again. I could see most plot points/twists coming a mile away. Maybe this is a YA thing, though, and I really am just a little too old already. The pacing was odd in some places as well.

Overall, it didn't wow me, but it was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the book club, but I'm glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Vomit, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

nerdysread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

I did not know what to except. But not this. But it’s actually good and when you enter the scary part, it’s actually scary, the description are so creepy and give a good ambiance to the story. Gonna buy it physically and will gift it too because people should read it. 

Also, it should be a movie. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Vomit

lyssb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, and Body horror

Moderate: Injury/injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Stalking

Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Vomit