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A review by amandasbookreview
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Come on, let’s go back to the coffee shop and I’ll make us Irish coffees and we’ll discuss this like people who don’t die in the first five minutes of a horror movie.”
THE HOLLOW PLACES
I read my first T. Kingfisher book this year and it was Nettle & Bone, I absolutely loved it. I also have What Moves the Dead on my TBR! So I decided I needed to read The Hollow Places which is narrated by Hillary Huber. This book is classified as a horror novel and begins with Kara, also known as Carrot, who has to move back home after her divorce. Carrot and her mother don’t really see eye to eye much so she moves into the room above her uncle’s museum. Her Uncle Earl runs The Wonder Museum which contains all kinds of oddities…including a portal to another dimension. Except it is a portal that needs to be closed at all costs.
T. Kingfisher’s writing is everything. It is quirky, imaginative, and unique. The best part about her books is the characters and their relationships. Carrot is going through a lot but bonds with Simon who works in the coffee shop next door. It is their dialogue that almost keeps this book from being too horror-y. Sometimes, I was laughing out loud at the most inappropriate moments.
T. Kingfisher’s writing is everything. It is quirky, imaginative, and unique. The best part about her books is the characters and their relationships. Carrot is going through a lot but bonds with Simon who works in the coffee shop next door. It is their dialogue that almost keeps this book from being too horror-y. Sometimes, I was laughing out loud at the most inappropriate moments.
“Turns out my left eye’s got some rare form of color blindness that only women get. So they think I’m probably a chimera and ate my twin in the womb and it’s actually her left eye.”
I sipped the coffee. It was extremely good coffee. “Huh.”
“The optometrist got very excited.”
THE HOLLOW PLACES
There is definitely a very unnerving and eerie aesthetic and I can tell it is inspired by HP Lovecraft’s work. I don’t think I will look at willow trees the same way ever again. However, there are moments where things were repetitive and I wanted there to be more depth into what was happening. The story kept the readers hooked but took a while to progress. Overall, it is a wonderfully eerie book that horror fans will love!