Thirty-something divorcee Kara has recently moved in with her Uncle Earl, in part because she wants to help him run his weirder-than-weird museum of oddities, but also because she REALLY doesn't want to move back home with her mother. One day, while Kara's manning the museum, she discovers a hole in the wall, though it turns out that this hole is not your normal hole and is in fact odder than anything in Uncle Earl's museum. Armed with nothing but sarcasm and a thermos of spiked coffee, Kara and her friend Simon head through the wall into a foggy world filled with spooky, mist-covered islands (each inexplicably housing a cement bunker), lots and lots of willows, and, well, not a lot else. As they explore, Kara and Simon discover more and more unsettling things about this strange land, and hope to close up portal between the museum and the islands, hopefully with themselves safely on the museum side.

This is a wonderfully creepy story, made more so by the presence of all the taxidermy (I mean, when DOESN'T that make a story creepier?). But the shining star of this book isn't so much the atmospheric creepiness as it is Kara's quirky personality and matter-of-fact way of looking at things. As Simon panics in one scene, she rightly notes that only one of them can panic at a time if they're going to make it through the situation; in other scenes, her brain focuses on small details (fonts on a school bus, the official name for a particular shade of gray found in the mist) rather than take in the enormity of the situation. I found her a winning protagonist, and not just because she has an excellent name, spelled correctly. Anyway, the book was awesome, and I'll definitely be checking out more by Kingfisher (better known in the kid book and graphic lit worlds by her real name, Ursula Vernon). Highly recommend this funny creepfest.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

My Thoughts:

I was really excited going into this book because it is based on The Willows, a story published in 1907 by English writer/journalist Algernon Blackwood. The Willows is a fascinating, spooky tale that was cited by H.P. Lovecraft as the finest supernatural story in all of English literature. Say what you want about Lovecraft, the dude’s tales of terror are both prolific and highly influential even now. So, I think that he can probably be trusted to spot a good scary story, if nothing else.

And The Willows is cray. It’s a little verbose at times as stories of its age tend to be, but still, spooky stuff. And no, you definitely don’t need to have read it in order to enjoy The Hollow Places.

Needless to say, The Hollow Places did not disappoint me one bit. It definitely has the themes of The Willows down pat. It’s got the shadowy figures, the river, the Willows. And, you know, the existential dread.

Kingfisher also nailed the feel – the ominous language, and oppressive spirit of the story. I don’t know if this is typical for Kingfisher, as I’ve never read anything by her, but I plan to find out. Based on the quality of this story, I’ll certainly be seeking out her work in the future.

One way this book diverges greatly from its source material is in the narrative. Gone is the stodgy, early 20th century British feel. Instead Kingfisher merges a fast-paced storytelling style with modern-feeling characters who are witty and relatable. However, the overall feeling of ‘omg fuck all of everything because it’s weird and scary and I don’t like it’ is definitely still there.
The Can Hear You Thinking

The Hollow Places tells the story of Kara, a woman recently freed from a broken relationship who is staying with her favorite uncle. She’s helping him catalogue the many items in his museum of the weird (and why shouldn’t she – the museum sounds amazing). Since Uncle Earl has to have surgery on a bad knee, so Kara volunteers to keep shop while he’s out. See, Kara spent a lot of time in the museum as a child, so she seems like the perfect choice to keep it going in Earl’s absence. But things get weird when Kara discovers a hole in the wall hidden behind one of the display items. See, the hole leads to an impossible hallway, which in turn leads to a whole impossible world.
Pray They Are Hungry

Well, since Kara is no fool, she knows she can’t just go traipsing off into these impossible places all by her lonesome, so she enlists the assistance of Simon – her friend and goth barista from the coffee shop next door to the museum. Together they enter this strange new world and encounter some truly terrifying things. And now they have to find their way back from a hostile and ever-changing parallel universe.
Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I really liked this book a lot. It was fun and a little scary. Although The Willows drew me in, the way Kingfisher brought a dated story firmly into the 21st century kept me reading.

Twisted, creepy and sometimes disturbing. Really enjoyed it, even though I had to sleep with the lights on a couple nights!

I wanted to enjoy this book much more q I did.I didn't like the characters and found the plot uninteresting.

Kara has come back to help her uncle Earl with his curiosities museum while he's recovering from surgery. While she's exploring the museum, she finds a hole in the wall which eventually leads her to a corridor and an old door that's rusted shut. Eventually Kara and her friend Simon are able to open the door and they encounter another world, full of "willows".

The book is a strange mix of humor and horror, and while I love both genres, this book ultimately just didn't draw me in enough to care about how it ended. I finished 65% of the book but finally gave up. I"d definitely like to try some other works by the author because I think the style of writing is interesting.

This book pleasantly surprised me. After reading the first few chapters, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I decided to keep going. It ended up being very interesting and different from most of the other books I've read recently.

I received The Hollow Places by T. KingFisher from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I rated The Hollow Places 4 out of 5 stars. I was drawn to this book because of the eerie cover page as well as the menacing description of the book.

The reader is introduced to Kara “Carrot” and her fond love of her Uncle Earl who owns an oddities museum. As a young girl, Carrot loved to get lost in the museum, calling it home and adopting some of the taxidermy as her pets. Now an adult, Carrot finds herself living in the museum following a divorce and managing some day to day operations for her uncle.

Carrot’s life however is rapidly turned upside down upon finding a hole in the wall of the museum, along with her sidekick Simon (who I could picture as a Russell Brand-esque person). This hole leads them on an adventure they could’ve never expected to another world, another dimension quite like anything they have ever seen.

This book was jam packed with mystery, creepiness, and vividness. T. Kingfisher had a way in crafting an environment to be both beautiful and menacing. The willows play a major role in the story line and the author brings them to life as their own characters in a way. The overwhelming dread the reader is faced with as Simon and Carrot explore the unknown left goosebumps as I read and lead to some pretty rough dreams after reading before bed. That is what I hoped for though, a book that caused a response.

The unknown as the predators throughout this book and the mind/psychological aspect the unknown played on the characters offered a scary element. The descriptions throughout the book of various elements of the new world discovered were enough to invoke images of doom, dread, and something right out of a horror movie.

I would highly recommend this book for those who are lovers of H.P. Lovecraft!

I loved the creepy vibe of this book. I felt like I was in the tunnels with them. Great atmospheric writing and some humor thrown in to break up the stressful situation our MC was dealing with. Overall, solid horror story. The more I read by this the author the more I want to read.

This was a really bizarre book. The first half reminded me a lot of Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves. After reading the whole thing, I'm still not entirely sure I understood what was going on. The descriptions were nice and detailed and I really felt like I could see the environment the characters were living in and exploring. It got a bit repetitive for me a few times and I did not feel very resolved at the end of the story. I was entertained by the main character, though, especially when she breaks the fourth wall with the reader. I might try another book by this author, but the plot would have to be fairly different from this one in order for me to be interested.

A spooky, thrilling, and interesting read! And it takes place in an old curiosity museum, which you know will figure into the supernatural plot somehow, and it's glorious when it does. Simon has the potential to be annoying, but gracefully trees the line between comic relief and best friend.

I read this book in 1 day, it was super creepy and I am sure I'm going to have nightmares tonight!!

I would have given 5 Stars but I felt that even for someone who personally uses laughter when I am nervous, uncomfortable and scared, Kara and Simon were way too relaxed and 'joking' about stuff too much. It ruined some of the feelings of fear for me.

Overall it was a great read and I can't wait to recommend to a few people who like creepy scary books!

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and I am just sorry I couldn't read this awesome book sooner!!

This book was so good! I loved how funny it was. Yes it was a horror story but it also a large amount of comedy as well. The main character was plucky and made you want to root for her. There was just the perfect amount of suspense and thrill to keep you turning the page and scared out your wits.

I wouldn’t say The Hollow Places is scary—and boy, was I hoping to be afraid to go to sleep! But it is a fun and quirky read with an interesting premise. I’d never given much thought before to alternate worlds, but the writing is solid and it made for an extremely entertaining read. If you like your horror mixed with a side of humor, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC, and best of luck to the author!

This book had an interesting premise and I love stories with portals to other worlds. However, this book was not for me. Thank you for the ARC.

This book centers around a newly divorced, down on her, luck middle-aged woman named Kara. She decides to move in with her uncle to help him run his "trick shop" of sorts. Things start to go awry when she stumbles upon a hole in the wall of her uncle's shop that may or may not house some evil creatures and an alternate reality.

I had such high expectations for this book and sadly...I was let down. It never really peeked my interest at all. The writing was great and the setting was unique and interesting. However, it was also super hard for me to picture in my head. Having a book with such a rich atmospheric vibe, it took a lot away from my enjoyment of it. I feel as though the descriptions weren't rich enough to convey the images they were meant to.

Once I was about 30% in, I found myself pushing through in order to get to the end. The ending was super unsatisfying as well. Overall, I did not enjoy my experience while reading this book. This is my first T. Kingfisher novel, and I have no idea if I would want to pick up anything else by this author after this.

Wow! My 2nd 4.5 star read this week. This is another one that just sucked me right in.

When Kara finds herself divorced, she moves back to the small town of Hog Chapel to help out at her uncle's Wonder Museum. The museum is full of all sorts of curiosities like taxidermy animals, skulls, and strange knick knacks. When her uncle goes away for a bit to have surgery, Kara is left in charge of the museum. One evening, she discovers a whole punched in the wall of the museum. She assumes some tourist must've made it. With the help of the barista from the neighboring coffee shop, Kara investigates the hall and determines it leads to a mysterious impossible bunker that is way too big to be in the same building as the museum. They discover a dead body in the bunker and that if they go through a door it leads to a strange watery world with lots of willows and a strange light. This world is occupied by mysterious things including a presence that can apparently hear you thinking.

This book was quirky, weird, spooky and oh so good! I love quirky and weird stuff so this was near PERFECTION for me. I loved the wry observations of the characters such as them calling it the "portal to really bad Narnia". This is an AWESOME entry into the world of portal fantasy/horror.

I really enjoyed this one! Super creepy but also super funny. It's the perfect mix of both. I loved the descriptions and originality in this one!



A super big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I'm sorry it's so late!!

Ever read a book that made you rethink the world around you? The Hollow Places is unnerving and eerie in all the best ways possible. When Kara moves back to her home town to piece her life together, she never figured that it would be as far from normal as possible.
I don't want to give anything away so if you're up for an unsettling, fast paced but really creepy read, this is def the book you want to pick up next.

The Hollow Places was not at all what I was expecting - in fact, it was better. I was craving a deeply scary Halloween read, which isn't necessarily what I got with T. Kingfisher's newest book. The Hollow Places incorporates dark, gory fantasy elements with a horror novel to fantastic effect.

I do think the characters - particularly Kara - are the true strength of the novel. When the novel begins, she's down on her luck but after she goes to live with in her uncle's museum, discovers a portal to a new and terrifying world. There's not much that can be said without spoiling the novel, but I do want to mention the surprising amount of humor packed into such a dark novel. This is absolutely a book I could seeing myself re-reading each year during spooky season.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.