Krystal Sutherland

House of Hollow is an intriguing entry into the “children’s fairytale but dark and ominous” subgenre that cleverly provides clues to the reader to “solve” the puzzle of the book’s central protagonists – Iris, Vivi, and Grey Hollow. Kystal Sutherland does an amazing job at weaving words to create beautiful landscapes in your mind that seem to go on for an eternity, even when the book stops describing the world directly. Similarly, the characters feel real and complex, and like they could feasibly exist in our world, death flowers and all.

My main complaint with the novel is that the main “plot twist” (if you can call it that) doesn’t seem impactful enough – it feels like it’s hyped quite a bit, begins to get extremely engaging, and then just … ends. I’d loved to have seen it be extended ever so slightly, though I understand that it could have come off as dragging.
Overall, a 4.5/5 – strongly recommended, particularly for those who enjoy the more grim side of fairy tales.… (mer)

So this was actually a lot creepier than I thought it would be! Of course, I say that as a good thing. I will say though that while I listen to my audiobooks fairly often as I eat, once this book got going, that became not an option for me. Honestly the comparison given in the book of how there are plants and animals that are uniquely beautiful only to draw in their prey, with what lies underneath being something dark and often deadly…yeah, this book kind of follows that same idea. It begins by showing the glamour of the lives of the Hollow sisters only to slowly peel back the veneer to the rot that lurks beneath. And that horror element is done very well, with lots of gross out and disturbing moments.

This was such an interesting idea. In some ways, it is based on tropes, and yet it definitely takes those and quickly changes into its own unique tale. I really didn’t know what to expect by the end. I had some ideas along the way and while certain things had to do with what I was thinking, I wasn’t able to guess some of the major details. This book really got down the atmosphere of that rotting thing hidden beneath a facade.

The only part that felt a little off to me was the character building, I didn’t ever really get a great sense of the characters and while that somewhat makes sense for some reasons, it also makes it a little harder to connect to the story I guess. The main character felt the most fleshed out, but while it could have been cool to see more development from her, I would have also liked to have gotten a little more from her sisters. I am wondering if there may be another book? I don’t see that it says it’s a series but then the way it ends is almost like there could be.

But all in all, this was a really fun read that did atmosphere and horror very well and I would definitely read more from this author!

House of Hollow: 4/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆… (mer)

This book was able to rip my heart out of my chest. Grace and Henry were never meant to be and it hurt me a bit cause I wanted a happy ending for Henry but Grace was grieving, and they were just too toxic for each other. I officially broke down when Grace ran away and he found her at the place they trespassed to and she just shut down and told him how she felt. I had to take a break when she said took off the dress and said she was going to marry Dominic in that dress. My god when Henry goes to the cemetery alone to talk to Dom's grave. Just the anger Henry had at Dom for leaving Grace. Their last kiss hurt, when he asked her why she kissed him like she loved him and she responds saying "that's the only way I know how."… (mer)