Book Review #117: House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

I've seen quite a few people talking about this book and it never really felt like something I'd enjoy. I never really read horror or fantasy, and I didn't fully understand the plot. But nevertheless, I decided to give it a try.

The Hollow sisters have always been strange - ever since they went missing for a month when they were younger. None of them know where they went or what happened to them. But 10 years later, when the oldest sister, Grey, goes missing again under the same mysterious circumstances, Vivi and Iris have to decipher their mysterious pasts to save their sister, and themselves, once and for all.

I loved this book! I went into it kind of blind, and I'm really glad I did because everything was a surprise in the best way.

The prologue was interesting, but it was so necessary that it really should have been part of the first chapter.

What made me immediately take to the book was that it was modern. I had just assumed that it would be set in the distant past, or in an unknown time, so to read about the characters wearing AirPods or referencing Game of Thrones was pleasantly surprising.

The book is written so well. Things are described so explicitly that you can almost smell the smells and hear the sounds.

Though having said that, some of the descriptions felt too visceral at times. I don't know if I've ever felt so sick while reading a book before.

I loved the characters, especially Iris, Tyler and Vivi (in that order).

The way Grey is described is amazing. You forget how little she actually appears in the first half of the story because it feels like her presence is always there. We feel like we know her, just as the rest of the world does.

I guessed some of the plot's vital twists, but the reveal was still shocking - even knowing everything, it's still a shock to even think about.

The story became a bit confusing at times, but it definitely made sense by the end.

When you look at the overall story, it's amazing! It makes me wonder how the author even came up with the idea in the first place. Where do ideas like this come from?!

Overall, I loved this book. It wasn't perfect, but the fact that I had such low expectations just made me love it all the more. I definitely want to start looking into other similarly-themed books!

4/5

Edit - At least three weeks after finishing this book, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The longer I sit with it, the better it gets. It's an amazing story, and definitely a 5-star read!

5/5