I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

I think when it comes down to it, this novel is just NOT for me. It was so weird. It was legit like a super dark, disturbing Narnia retelling. Which is funny, because in the book this was mentioned many times. I love the coffee neighbor, Simon, who was wonderful and willing to hop on to any crazy adventure. I liked the characters in this novel but overall this was just TOO much fantasy for me and I just did not enjoy it. I do love that whenever Kara's ex husband would call and try to get a rise out of her, she didn't bite. That was fantastic. Again, I think this novel was just not for me!

T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors and for a good reason. Her speculative writing is prolific and I am slowly making my way through. One good place to start, if you like weird and quirky stories but make it horror, is The Hollow Places. It is dark but well-written and definitely worth picking up.

T. Kingfisher continues to create fantastic and horrific tales built on a solid foundation of genre classics. Kara is down on her luck and recently moved back home when she stumbles upon a portal in her uncle's house to a deeply compelling but dangerous world. Kara has no option but to explore her discovery, leading to a tale reminiscent of Annihilation and Alice in Wonderland. The Hollow Places takes readers to a deeply unsettling world: uncanny and awe-inspiring, dangerous and stimulating. This was an interesting dip into cosmic horror, hearkening back to The Willows by Algernon Blackwood and full of T. Kingfisher's excellent blend of humor and horror. While this title didn't grab me quite as much as The Twisted Ones, I still greatly enjoyed my time in the dark world created by a master writer.

A horror novel that delves into the unsettling adventures of Kara, a recently divorced woman who moves into her uncle's peculiar museum of oddities in a small town. When Kara discovers a hole in the museum's wall that leads to an alternate dimension, she and her friend Simon begin to explore these bizarre and terrifying worlds filled with strange landscapes and monstrous creatures. The alternate realities they encounter are connected by a surreal and eerie willow-filled land, with portals in trees that lead to different worlds. Each place they visit holds its own horrors, and the main threat comes from beings they refer to as "the willow people," who are both intriguing and terrifying. As Kara and Simon navigate these worlds, the novel explores themes of loneliness, reality, and the unknown, with a gripping narrative that keeps the reader on edge. The story combines a chilling atmosphere with moments of humor and deep personal reflection, making it a compelling read for fans of horror and dark fantasy.

I really loved The Twisted Ones so I was looking forward to this read.
Super unique, compulsively readable, and creepy. Five stars.

I have tried a few T Kingfisher book and this one just ended up not being for me. There are so many positive reviews so I think this one would be enjoyed by most horror fans! In terms of format, I think it might make a better tv show or movie.

I've just emerged from the spine-tingling experience that is "The Hollow Places," and let me tell you, it's not a journey for the faint of heart. About a year ago, I dipped my toes into its eerie waters and swiftly shelved it, perplexed by my own hesitation. Little did I remember, the reason was crystal clear - it was downright terrifying.

T. Kingfisher has crafted a narrative that dances on the precipice of fear, plunging readers into a world where the wind whispers horrors through willow trees. I found myself unnerved by the simplest of things, questioning the shadows and the echoes left by each turning page. It's a masterclass in atmospheric horror that lingers long after the final chapter.

The tale begins innocuously enough—a woman stumbles upon a mysterious portal within her uncle's peculiar museum. Beyond the hole in the drywall lies a hallway defying the laws of space, reminiscent of House of Leaves but with its own uniquely chilling essence. As the protagonist delves deeper into this unnerving realm, she discovers entities hungry for fear, waiting in the shadows of alternate realities.

What struck me most is Kingfisher's ability to infuse terror into the mundane. The creaking floorboards, the flickering lights, and the whisper of the wind become conduits for bone-chilling fright. The story's foundation, inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Willows, is revitalized with a fresh, contemporary dread that seeps into your very soul.

As I navigated the unsettling corridors of this narrative, I couldn't help but marvel at Kingfisher's mastery in crafting an atmosphere thick with unease. The prose is delightfully sinister, echoing the macabre wonder reminiscent of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.

For those who crave a relentless descent into terror, "The Hollow Places" is a five-star masterpiece. T. Kingfisher has once again taken a classic and woven it into a tapestry of nightmares. As I brace myself for the impending encounter with Poe in her next venture, I can't help but be grateful for the shivers this book sent down my spine.

"Pray they are hungry."
Kara finds these words in a mysterious bunker that she after she goes through a hole in the wall at her uncle's house and finds a portal to alternate realities. This was the first book I ever read by T. Kingfisher but it will absolutely not be my last. The Hollow Places was extremely well written and absolutely full of suspense and creativity. There were a few places where I was so deeply immersed in the story that I actually jumped because I heard a noise. You can definitely see some inspiration by H.P. Lovecraft's work. It's dark and scary and absolutely enthralling. I enjoyed every moment of this book and honestly wouldn't mind a sequel. I loved t he relationship between Kara and her neighbor and how they team up to try and find the answers behind the worlds they have discovered. I'm very much looking forward to reading more of Kingfisher's work.

Otherworldly and creepy in spades. I couldn't even finish...but my husband did. I loved the characters from the start and was drawn in. Seeing as i'm not a horror person, I just couldn't make it all the way through. i passed it onto my husband and he really enjoyed it. It was atmospheric and the characters likable. Thank you for the opportunity!

I DNF'd this book at 40%. I was bored. I think the writing is really great, but the plot just wasn't grabbing me..

As GR ate my original review, this is my attempt to fill one in for the time being. Perhaps in October I'll do a re-read and update accordingly:

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On a whim, I decided to request a horror book. Me, requesting a horror book? It was surprising. At most I read R.L. Stine when I was a kid and even that scared me. And when it comes to movies I am a baby. So, for me to request one was hilarious, but I didn't think I'd actually get it and then I did. . . and here we are: loving. it.

This was my first time reading T. Kingfisher, and I can't wait to explore more of their works. The way they write is captivating especially when building the tension in regards to the atmosphere of the setting our character, Kara, finds herself in. Kara is just expecting a bit of a relaxed stay at her Uncle Earl's home, a place she enjoyed as a child and hopes will be less stressful to stay at as she starts her life anew than her Mother's place. However, Uncle Earl's home is also his business, the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities, and Taxidermy, which comes with its own issues as she takes over running the place while her Uncle Earl is away for a little. Of course, some of these issues are definitely highly unexpected when she finds the hole in the wall. . . Kara is a great character, and her friend Simon from the coffee shop is as well. I love their dynamic throughout the book. While the story is a setting of horror, it doesn't forget that these two characters are people and that is delightful. The sense of humor, and the common sense the characters have at times, balances well with the unease that's introduced with each unnatural description especially in the other world. T. Kingfisher plays with all the senses in a way that can be uncanny. Even as the book left me feeling unsettled at times, I couldn't put it down for long. I just needed to know what would happen. And yes, unsettled is definitely a feeling encountered often as I read. There's a scene with a bus that will forever live rent free in my thoughts and visited my nightmares on more than one occasion. . .

But that won't keep me from reading more from this author or recommending it to everyone.

I was hesitant to request this one as horror books tend to keep my laying awake at night. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, hearing Kara's divorce story, her returning home to her uncle's museum of oddities and discovering the secret alternate world of horrors where Kara and her friend Simon become stranded with no way out. The book began to drag after the quirky characters' entry into the secret portal. Clues were missed, there was too much fluff and I found myself skimming paragraphs until something exciting would happen. The plot also evolved into more of a comedy and sci-fi book than horror. Overall an ok read, but I don't think I will be reading another by Kingfisher.

"Pray they are hungry"....

Excuse me, what?

This book was a complete mindfuck and it still has me side eyeing Willow Trees.

Kara, recently divorced, returns back home to live with and help her ailing uncle run and care for his Museum of Oddities. A hole mysteriously appears on one of the museum walls, and of course, Kara has to see what is inside it....What she finds is a hallway that shouldn't be there, it simply defies all logic.

Let's stop there for a moment and appreciate the fact she should just leave it alone, patch the weird hole, and walk away.... and this is why we can't have nice things. Then again, if she had, it wouldn't have made for much of a book either!!!

Kara, with the help of the barista next door, proceeds to enter the hole in the wall. The things they encounter are otherworldly, and they are hungry.

This book was so creepy but also a lot of fun. I loved the settings, both the museum and the "other world." In real life, I would love to go to a place like the Museum from this book. It seems like it would be a truly fascinating place to visit. What I will NOT be doing is entering any suspicious holes that I might stumble upon!!

Kingfisher has a way of mixing humor and horror that I find refreshing. One moment, I am holding an apprehensive breath, and the next, I am snickering at something one of the characters has said or done.

If you're looking for a book that's a little weird and quirky but also uncomfortable and a bit scary, then I highly recommend that you grab yourself a copy today.

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

What an incredibly odd book... While I truly enjoyed this one, it was absolutely unlike anything I have ever read. Admittedly, not my style of book, but I was definitely glad that I ventured outside my comfort zone to read.... I have to be honest, though, and admit that there were times I was truly confused, regardless of the fact that I knew I'd have to suspend my disbelief in order to read a Sci fi book. Despite any misgivings, this was absolutely a fun read, and opened my mind to a possibility of reading more like this in the future.

The Hollow Places is a horror / fantasy book, but it is also weird, dark, and creepy. It is sometimes so spooky that you just want to laugh at the quirkiness of it all. Very unique characters and writing style.

I really thought that I was going to enjoy it, and I loved the way the story kicked off: Carrot just divorced her husband. She is going through a rough patch, and she really is dreading moving to her mom's since they don't quite get along. Her uncle Earl kindly offers her to move in with him. He owns a museum called the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy. The move happens flawlessly. One day she has to manage the museum because her uncle needs to go to the hospital. She comes across a hole in the wall, which lands in an alternate world full of willows, water, and weirdness. This alternate world lost me. She bwas stuck there, didn't seem to get a way out and I couldn't keep reading about this odd world where not much was going on. I had to DNF it, sorry.

THE HOLLOW PLACES is the type of book that you want to keep reading until you finish. In the horror and thriller genres, Kingfisher is the best. The tale is carefully plotted. The writing flows effortlessly. And then there are all the thrills and chills. What a book

I’ve had quite a lot of fun with this book, exploring the different dimension alongside the lead characters. This was a fascinating, completely engrossing and terrifying world. I wouldn’t want to discover a portal to such a place myself, no thank you.

Thank you to Gallery and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to this on audio book and the narration was excellent!! Really drew you into the characters and the situations they were experiencing. I was definitely invested into what was happening to Kara and loved hearing her journey and how it would unfold! The only part of this book I didn't like was how the ending seemed very abrupt. Like the author was in a rush to wrap it up. Great read and I will definitely be reading the book again and recommending it to others!

This book started my instant buy from this author. Weird and horror-my two favorite topics to read, and this author delivered. There were also times that I laughed out loud. This was just a fantastic read-had, a little of everything, and it kept you interested.
I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy horror or anyone looking for more of a thrilling fantasy read.


I received a copy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own. Thank you to the publishers for granting me the privilege to read this and to have found a new favorite author!