The Hollow Places
by T. Kingfisher
Based of the the horror book The Willows by Algernon Black wood, nominated as the scariest book ever written by H. P. Lovecraft, this story is amazingly frightening. I had nightmares just reading this story. Take this review as a warning. A hole in the wall crosses between worlds, allows a young woman, newly divorced, to find a horrific world. Her personal struggles are overshadowed by the horrific nature of the world she has found. She is overwhelmed in the horror of the Willows, and lost in the mysterious nature of the hole between worlds. It's a cunning mystery, and a devious horror of a story.

I'm not much of a horror reader but I've been really interesting in reading a full length novel from T. Kingfisher and this sounded interesting. I think the confluence of subject and character interests really worked for me, this felt like an adult mash-up of Gravity Falls meets Stranger Things meets Annihilation (the movie) and I just loved that.

Our protagonist is watching over her uncle's curiosity shop while coming to terms with the end of her marriage when a hole appears in an upstairs wall, leading her to a strange and creepy in between world full of monsters just out of sight, pressing in against the fabric of the world. I found it incredibly creepy, but I'll admit that I'm pretty easily frightened so I can understand that more experienced horror readers might not find this especially scary. For me though, it was just creepy enough to be chilling, but combined enough interesting multiple worlds theory stuff to keep me interested.

My one complaint with this novel is that the answer to the question it was asking was way too obvious from the jump but it took the protagonist an excruciatingly long time to realize what was going on. Basically the foreshadowing was way too on the nose. Still, and overall tingly weird read and I look forward to reading more from Kingfisher.

This is a awesome book. It is a great book and will be a nice additions to our collection. When this book was given to me I was not aware I needed to read and review, I thought it was something I could just read at my leisure.

THE HOLLOW PLACES
By T. Kingfisher

Who would have suspected the things going on in Hog Chapel, North Carolina?

I’m not sure what I expected, but what I found was very unexpected and creative. The unexpected happens in the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy. You’re probably thinking, with a name like that, what else would you expect but the unexpected?

Kara, aka Carrot, is a newly divorced young woman who has moved in with her Uncle Earl to heal from her divorce and help him run his museum. The museum is full of taxidermy – for example, an elk head named Prince, albino raccoons, boar heads, giraffe skull, a moth-eaten grizzly bear, and so much more. Much more.

Next door to the Wonder Museum (for short) is a coffee shop run by a gay barista, Simon. Kara spends a lot of time there for Wi-Fi access and free coffee. In the meantime, Uncle Earl has to have knee surgery, so with recovery time, Kara has agreed to manage the museum while he is gone.

Things were going well for a few days when Carrot finds a hole in the drywall in The Otter Room; yes, The Otter Room. She enlists Simon’s help to repair the hole. That’s when they discover more than just a hole in the drywall. There is a hidden corridor. You know the old saying, “curiosity killed the cat,” well – you see where this is headed. Carrot and Simon make the hole larger so they can “see where it goes.”

I’ll leave you hanging right there, so you have to read the book to find out what happens next.

This book is full of wit, sarcasm, humor, thrills, horror, absurdity, and weirdness. I was engaged throughout and finished the book in a couple of days. Thank you, Net Galley and Simon & Schuster, for the ARC of this book. I am enthusiastically sharing my review for The Hollow Places.

I’m a big fan of weird! I thought this was probably one of the weirdest stories I have ever read - but in a good, quirky, funny way. I truly wish there was more of this to read - it was suspenseful and exciting.

The characters were fantastic and the humor was on point! I love the writing style and found it to be just so refreshing right now when it seems everything is a mimic of something else.

My only complaint is that it’s labeled as horror and it is clearly not that.

You know how sometimes you read a book and it just feels so "you" that you're almost angry that you didn't write it? Well, this was one of those books for me and I absolutely loved it. I hadn't read any T. Kingfisher before The Hollow Ones, though their books have been on my TBR for a while, but I think I''m going to need to change that pretty soon now!

The Hollow Ones is a twisty, unpredictable, and endlessly fascinating story about a woman who, along with her friend, stumble into a strange, rather terrifying, and erratically unreliable alternate other world that drastically alters their views of life as they currently know it. But before we get to that part of the book, let's talk about the general setup and characters.

The story starts off when Kara winds up moving in with her Uncle Earl to help him work his museum, The Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy in Hog Chapel, North Carolina--and yes, it's as wacky and amazing as it sounds. I loved everything about Uncle Earl and his museum, and I know for a fact that it's the sort of place that I would have hours of fun wandering around in and seeing everything that this weird museum has to offer, no matter whether it's authentic or not. Then, of course, Uncle Earl is such a delightfully harmless man who continually says the simplest yet most introspective and enlightening things. I really feel like Uncle Earl's perception on a lot of things would make the world a slightly better place if we could adopt them ourselves.

Then we have Kara, our protagonist and main POV, and Simon, her neighbor/friend who works at the coffee shop attached to the museum. Kara was the most endearing and entertaining character to follow on this journey; her narrative insights and commentary were indispensable and she had me snorting and laughing every step of the way, even when things weren't exactly in a... er, amusing situation. Kara has a very matter-of-factness and sarcasm about her that I think allowed me to connect with her to a stronger degree than I usually connect with characters. Her reactions to situations felt exceptionally real and authentic and I really do think Kingfisher did an exceptional job of capturing her reactions to things of horror and indescribable qualities in a way that was both authentic, as mentioned, and also incredibly captivating and somehow made things even more intense.

And in addition to Kara is Simon, an equally shining star and all-around fantastic person that I would also love to be friends with. Both of these characters were ones I connected excellently with, and Simon also had some great dialogue and a personality that I couldn't get enough of. He's definitely full of sarcasm, much like Kara, and I'd say his personality is just ever-so-slightly lighter than Kara's and has a little bit more of an air of humor than hers, though both had me laughing throughout. Together, the two had an incredible friendship and I wouldn't have wanted to embark on this journey with any two other people. Their chemistry (as friends!) was natural and flowed effortlessly and it's clear that Kingfisher does a great job of developing relationships between her characters.

I know I've talked about how much the characters made me laugh in this book and how much I love everyone's personalities for its humor and sarcasm, but this book is actually a bit dark and full of horror and there are definitely some images and scenes that will likely linger in your mind long after you close the book. The humor and sarcasm from our characters come in response to the horrible and confusing things they see and begin to discover, which is how I typically react to bad things in life as well (although to be fair, I've never stumbled into a portal world that is full of impossibilities and horrifying willows that creep around amidst creatures that want to do, well, things to people if they don't feel like simply devouring you instead--and I won't even tell what I mean by that, you'll just to have find out what "pray they are hungry" means in the book... and queue the shuddering). This book is full of creepy, unnerving things that I loved while still being simultaneously disturbed by, and Kingfisher created such a strong atmosphere of unease that I couldn't help but fall into the book. There was also this sort of combination of normalcy and complete alienness and terror that somehow made things even weirder. One second you were hearing about or seeing something completely unheard of or random, and the next you had either the characters bringing you back down to earth or other plot events unfolding that were unexpected.

Lastly, I can't go into details because I want to spoil nothing, but I really loved the sort of late mid-novel climax (if you can call it that?) that provided a really subtle and unexpected plot development that I haven't seen utilized in very many novels, especially with some horror/fantasy like this. I really loved how Kingfisher plotted out this novel and the pacing--all of it felt spot on and was completely captivating. And I'm a big fan of the way this book ended, full of mystery yet also wrapped up enough to satisfy those who prefer some closure. Maybe.

Overall, it's an easy five stars from me! I cannot wait to start diving into more of T. Kingfisher's books, though I know I'll be revisiting this one quite a bit in the future because I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book for my honest opinion. This was a really interesting book that took an aspect of H.P. Lovecraft’s story about willows and completely spin it in another dimension. The characters, Kara “Carrot” & Stephen, were very likable and it kinda kept me guessing what was going to happen next. A little predictable, but still kept me reading.
When I started reading this book, I honestly had no clue how the hollow places were going to fit but then it picked up a bit and it was clear what kinda was going on. I do not want to give too much away, because this is a really good read. I do wish a little more was explained at the end, but most questions are answered that can be. I highly recommend this read because it is entertaining, has mystery, suspense, and some science fiction sprinkled in the mix. I look forward to reading more by T. Kingfisher. I rate it 4 1/2 stars!

**I was provided an electronic copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley post-publication in exchange for honest review.**

T. Kingfisher's most recent novel, The Hollow Places, is a modern horror in the form of a portal fantasy inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Willows. Readers follow Kara who is recently divorced and moves in with her uncle who happens to own and operate a museum of oddities and taxidermy. Kara is looking forward to using the opportunity to get back on her feet when running the museum turns out to be a lot more than she bargained for.

I found T Kingfisher's writing style to be accessible and fast-paced. The work was very readable and it was easy to be drawn into the story. The otherworldly bits had good atmosphere about them and the descriptions of those items went a long way toward making the book a page-turner. Kingfisher managed to create a generally unsettling environment and the inspiration from The Willows was both clear and utilized well.

Kara was relatable and inoffensive, if a bit bland. Simon, our other main character, seemed to have a lot more going on. I felt like the unnatural or otherworldly happenings were not firmly established or explained, particularly with Simon but also in general. As a reader, you have to just buy into what's happening because there isn't much time or effort thrown into making it all that believable that these things could truly happen. This, for me, downgrades the creepy factor by a lot, and also downgrades my investment since I never truly felt the stakes were high for Kara or Simon.

Overall, I'm not mad I read this, but am left feeling a bit "meh". I am still very much interested in reading other works by T Kingfisher, and hope those will leave more of a solid impression.

I couldn’t really connect with this book. I enjoyed the Twisted Ones so I thought I would give The Hollow Places a try. The writing is good I think this is just a matter of personal preferences.

Disclaimer: scary books don’t scare me anymore

This was a fun book to read. I like the snarky characters (one of my favorite kinds of characters). The book has a lot of tense, edge of your seat moments and was funny and campy too. The portals and the creatures make for a lot of nail biting moments. The source of the portal is easy to figure out but it’s still entertaining waiting for the characters to figure it out.

This is my first T. Kingfisher. Although I really wanted to like it based on the genre and blub it just wasn't my thing. I loved the characters but I found the imagery a little to hard to comprehend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by T. Kingfisher , having previously read The Twisted Ones and enjoyed it. I found The Hollow Places even more thrilling and horrific, much to my liking. The story is about Carrot who having recently split with her husband moves into her Uncle's unique museum. Having taken over the business while her Unc is away she "stumbles" upon a hole that leads to another world, a world where survival is impossible. I found the Alternate world to be so awesomely freaky that I was immediately sucked in to the story. I'll admit the physics of it all was beyond me, but the crazy Willows and alternate worlds was brilliant. I cannot compare this story to another horror author, except for maybe herself. T. Kingfisher has a style all her own and I will admit that I want more of it!
Recommended to fans of Horror and Fantasy, this is a winner for thrills and chills!

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy post-release date, but I had to stop at fifteen percent in; I stopped reading at one point and simply never felt compelled to pick this up again. The plot sounded absolutely intriguing, but the execution disappointed. While the general prose was easy to read and amusing at times, I found the protagonist's voice immature for a thirty-something and bothersome, taking away from what I expected to be a dark horror book. This just wasn't for me.

Perfect spooky read that has the right amount of terrifying monsters and locations and humor between characters.

Rating: 3.5
I really loved the writing and the characters. I like how the story was completely unpredictable. I feel like it was more quirky than creepy, though the scene with the school bus did creep me out a little. The only thing that bothered me was that it was a little to repetitive at times. For example, I didn't need to be constantly reminded that Kara was an expert in graphic design or that Simon had terrible depth perception because he absorbed his sister in the womb and one of his eyes is hers. It made it drag a little for me. Other than that, I loved it and I would definitely recommend it to people looking for something weird and sometimes creepy.

After recently divorced Kara moves into her uncle's home she discovers through a hole in a wall a portal to an alternate and mysterious reality. This is the beginning to T. Kingfisher's horror novel The Hollow Places, a story that moves at a quick pace but offers too few spine-tingling scares.

After climbing through the hole, Kara and a friend discover themselves in a concrete bunker. Outside the bunker flows a river, dotted with tiny islands, each holding its own bunker. Against all good judgement, but in the best horror-story tradition, the pair explores the strange land and make a series of unsettling discoveries. It quickly becomes clear there is more to the place than originally met their eyes and a sense of ever present danger lurks below the surface. But what lives in this place does not want to stay put and Kara soon finds hints of the it seeping into her world. She has to act quickly before the dangerous things that live there invade her universe.

While the plot The Hollow Places (digital galley, Saga Press) moves along quickly enough to hold the reader's interest, for a book categorized as horror it is remarkably short on foreboding and suspense. Tense moments that could have been built up slowly seem to pass too quickly, and thus a little uneventfully. Call it horror-light. Feel free to turn out the lights and dangle your feet off the side of the bed while reading this book.

This is a unique, dark , well written horror story with quirky characters. I loved it.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a real treat. Its impressively creepy with a quirky sense of humor that prevents the fear from being oppressive. I really enjoyed it!

I have never read anything from this author but I have read a lot about the great horror stories from T. Kingfisher. I went in expecting something horrific and unique, but I did not finish this one. It was overtly descriptive in it's plot and storyline but went nowhere. Maybe the last third was where it all comes to a climax but I couldn't get myself there. I wanted to like it, but this just wasn't for me

Okay, this book was downright WTF weird and creepy, but I totally appreciated it. Horror tends to be hit or miss for me because I don't like the purposefully in your face to scare you horror, which this is absolutely not. The writing is really fantastic. I loved our main character Kara, who is 100% a hot mess. She tries to help out at her Uncle's strange museum of wonders, and honestly, that's only where things start to get strange. I don't want to give anything away because going into this one blind is for the best.