I have never read anything like this before. This was so weird and creepy, and at times, disgusting. I literally felt like gagging at some of these descriptions. I liked Iris as a character and I’m glad we followed her perspective instead of one of the other other girls. I really wish we knew more about the ending!! The writing of this is beautiful and wonderfully descriptive, definitely going to be reading more of her books.

Another jumbled ‘review’ that technically doesn’t even make sense. But I feel like that’s the sign of a good book, when it’s hard to properly express how good it was.

Anyways.

As a warning, don’t read this book when it’s dark. Don’t read this book while you’re home alone. Now that that’s out of the way:

Easily one of the best books of 2021. This was unlike anything I’ve ever read. This was horrid, eerie, creepy, mysterious, a bit chaotic, grotesque even and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy every second of it.

You know that feeling when you’re full of adrenaline, completely consumed by a book because it’s so good you literally can’t stop reading. This was it. It was very fast paced and had a haunting mystery that made you keep going regardless of time or place. Catch me holding my phone up, reading while my dentist tries to get access to my teeth.

The visuals, the descriptions were flawless. The story in itself is one of nightmares but one I, oddly enough, wish I could live in. It was creepy no doubt about it but it has its appeal. It was enchanting, in a dark twisted sense.

And it has a hell of a plot twist that I never saw coming. It’s just one those books that stays with you long after finishing, keeps you up daily obsessively thinking about.

As a side note, I want to put out there that I would like a sequel or even a novella because I need more. Especially with the way this ended.

Thank you so much to penguin teen for sending me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. House of Hollow was a dark, hauntingly beautiful fantasy that made my skin crawl in a good way. This book was mysterious and rich and held my attention the entire time. House of Hollow was odd and I only mean that in a good way. Each character was unique and full of personality. This story follows three sisters that went missing as children and returned changed and with odd abilities. Years later the eldest sister disappears. The other two sisters are left searching for her bread crumbs to find her. This book is truly a modern fairy tale, unlike any others, I have read. It leaves its fingerprints in your head. It is the type of story that stays with you for a long time.

The Hollow sisters, Grey, Vivi, and Iris, went missing for 31 days when they were children. They have no memory of the time they were missing, where they went, or who took them, but whatever it was changed them. They each have a small half-moon scar on their collar bone, and hair that turned white overnight. While her older sisters have embraced their strangeness, Iris just wants to fit in and move on. However, when her oldest sister goes missing again, and a strange man in a bull-skull mask begins following her, Iris and Vivi have to follow their oldest sister's clues to find her, save themselves, and maybe even learn where they went for that missing month when they were children.
This book was an eerie and bizarre mix of fantasy, horror, and thriller elements, and I loved every minute of it. I thought I knew what it would be about going into it, but it surprised me at every turn. It was full of darkness and mystery, but also beauty and allure. It kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know more.

What a hell of a book. I am in love. There were definitely parts that dragged a bit, and honestly all of the “twists” were PAINFULLY obvious, but overall this was one of the most unique things I’ve ever read. It was a blend of fantasy and magic and outright horror, and I only wish this had been released during October so I would’ve had the right mood to set this to.

Everything about this was pure poetry, and I couldn’t get enough of the writing style. I felt and saw every single thing that went into this book, including things that made my skin crawl in the best way. This was vivid and haunting and absolutely beautiful in its gruesomeness. It had a quality of old fairytales mixed with the dark things in the forest you don’t want to know about, and it will pull you in from the start until the very end. Do not skip this book. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever read.

From the author of the acclaimed novel, Chemical Hearts, Krystal Sutherland is back on the YA book scene with her newest novel House of Hollow. In this novel, which is set to be released on April 6th, things are not quite what it seems and readers will be questioning everything.

I don’t want to say too much about the story for fear of spoiling anything, but I will say that if you’re looking for a darker YA novel, then this is a fabulous choice! This book is haunting, dark, creepy, but also quite fascinating. This book mixes so many different genres that it’s hard to categorize it so I’ll just describe it as a young adult mystery/sci-fi/fantasy/horror novel. I think I covered them all?

This story also takes quite a few twists and turns and definitely has the reader guessing (alongside Iris) what’s real and what’s not. The plot is continuously engaging and will have you wondering what is up with the Hollow Girls and why things keep on happening to them.

While I usually don’t do creepy reads, this book was riveting and kept me engaged in the plot and what weeks turn it was going to take next. If you’re into weird and twisty books, then this one's for you!

*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow. What a whirlwind of a book. I was enthralled from the get-go and finished it as quickly as I could. I love the moody atmosphere, the mystery, the creepiness and Sutherland's writing style. A delicious spooky read for fans of Moira Fowley-Doyle and Holly Black.

Very atmospheric with some spookiness sprinkled on top. It could get a little repetitive/meandering some of the time, but always pulled me back in. I would especially recommend to fans of "Plain Bad Heroines."

This is one that is kind of hard for me to review because it took a while for me to get into the story. It wasn't until near the ending that I really got interested in the story as everything picked up. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this story and I liked the way that everything unravels. I think that the ending really adds to the story and as much as I want more to this I do think it ends with enough mystery to make the rest of the book worth reading. I really liked each of the characters but I did find that the three sisters all were quite similar. I did like the subtle differences between Grey and Vivi, and then the contrast between Grey and Iris was great. I thought that it was great to have the story be told through the perspective of Iris because we don't get to see the motives of Grey at all. The only time we really get to hear Grey try to justify her actions is when things are explained to Iris and even then she doesn't get a chance to say why.

House of Hollow is a dark and twisted fairy tale that is impossible to put down. The Hollow sisters went missing for a month and then showed up with no recollection of what happened. Their hair and eyes changed causing their father to be suspicious, but everyone else is glad to have them returned safely. Ten years later, Grey is missing and left clues to help Iris and Vivi find her. Sutherland grabbed my attention from the very beginning and packed the book with suspense leaving me trying to figure out what happened ten years ago and now. The story is told from Iris’s perspective. She is a high school senior and my favorite character. Iris will do anything for her mother Cate and is very close to her sisters even though her mother has a difficult relationship with her sisters. Vivi and Grey are interesting counterparts to Iris. The sisters are all very different but have always been close. They react to things very differently. Grey has always held the sister trio together, so Iris and Vivi have to figure out how to find Grey without her help. There are some gruesome parts of the book that made me squirm, but it was worth it. The supernatural and unexplainable situations are present throughout the book. The reader is constantly wondering what will happen next. Family was also an important part of the book. I highly recommend House of Hollow to anyone that likes dark books.

Thank you Penguin Teen/G.P. Putnam’s Sons Book for Young Readers for House of Hollow.

This was for sure a 4/5 star read!! To start, the cover is absolutely beautiful and I was so grateful to get an ARC of this book. As someone who loves thrillers, strange books, etc. This was a very good read and I overall very enjoyed it!! I thought the plot was well thought out and the book itself did seem more plot driven but I found the characters to be super interesting! I cannot wait to get more people to read this book!

I am not usually the biggest fan of thrillers, but I must say I did really enjoy this book. A sign of an intriguing book is that I am still thinking about it after reading and this is certainly the case of this book (I must say it did keep me from falling asleep right away like I typically do).

The strongest element of the book was the imagery throughout the book, which really set about an otherworldly aura throughout the story. The strongest of this was all the descriptions of scents throughout the book, both beautiful and horrible. I liked how all the imagery renovated a sense of life in death, the type of life that is so odd that it must belong to death. This imagery led to horrible descriptions, with plants and bugs crawling out of skin that made me nauseous (I know this is the intent but I'm not the biggest fan of body horror, but well done).

However, I do believe that the pacing of the novel is a bit off. The beginning and part of the middle were a bit slow and often repeating information. And I felt like the ending could be expanded on a bit more, especially between Iris and Grey, I really wanted to see a bit more of the fallout that was building up throughout the novel.

Furthermore, I wanted to know a bit more about Iris. We got all of these vivid descriptions of Grey and Vivi and I felt like the reader was really able to know the vibe of these characters, but I felt like this same level of knowledge was not revealed about Iris. I think this stems from the fact that Grey and Vivi both distinctly know who they are and Iris is more unsure, but I wish a bit more of this uncertainty was more present throughout.

This book was phenomenal. I am new to fantasy and sometimes it can be overwhelming, but this was absolutely perfect and like nothing I have ever read before. This is a new all-time favorite.

A harrowing book that leaves you, not only turning every page, but also in fear over your shoulder.

Three sisters spent a month missing in mystery town- only to appear back sprouting a whole new look. But are their looks the only thing about them that changed?
When Grey, the eldest, disappears- it is up to her sisters to track down the clues she left behind to find her. But how far will they get before the sinister man trailing them catches up? The past shouldn’t always be remembered- especially not by those that aren’t entirely of this world.

This book was INCREDIBLE. First off, you have three sisters- each with their own entirely different outlook on life and the knowledge of the power they hold over people. Iris, the main character, has tried to live a normal life in the shadows, while her older sisters have done anything but.
When one is taken, the remaining must work together to solve where she went- each clue leaving then to uncover just how much their sister was hiding from them about their shared past. How much faith can you really put in your family?

Three words to describe the plot of this story; Ominous, spellbinding, and unprecedented.
Everything about this book, from the cover to the ending, reels you in. It includes every genre you could ever ask for; mystery, intensity, fantasy, wickedness, horror. It’s so enthralling, that you’re racing through each page, your heart beating out of your chest at whatever could happen next.

If you like the horrors of the magical unknown, characters that you love to hate and hate to love, and a plot that gets your heart racing- then you would absolutely LOVE this book

((thank you Netgalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC in exchange of an honest review

TW: Self-harm, sexual assault, death, murder, suicide

House of Hollow is hard to describe because it is a trip. It's dark, spooky, and honestly pretty gross. It follows three mysterious sisters who disappeared one night only to return later with black eyes, white blonde hair, and strange matching scars on their necks. This story follows Iris, the youngest Hollow sister, as she tries to get through school while dealing with her mysterious past that comes creeping back when her oldest sister, Gray, goes missing.

This book was intoxicating in the way murder mysteries are. The things that are happening are horrifying and creepy but you can't stop falling into the lure of mystery. I really liked the writing style and although I didn't really connect with the characters I think the chilling plot made up for it. I was always on the edge of my seat asking what the heck was happening but in the best way possible. I didn't predict the plot twists which was exciting and I found them gripping. While I didn't connect with the characters I still think they were written well and I appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation.

As I mentioned before this book has plenty of disgusting/grotesque elements that add to the horror/thriller theme. I honestly had to put the book down sometimes because I was like ewwwww. So if you are very squeamish I wouldn't recommend this but if you aren't worried about that then I think it really adds to the intrigue of this story.

One of my critiques however is the ending. I wanted more. I wanted answers that weren't given. I feel like I was denied closure in a sense. I don't like leaving a book while still having so many unanswered questions so that's where this book let me down.

I also want to thank Penguin Teen for sending me this book through NetGalley for review!

Iris is the youngest of three sisters and is just trying to make it through high school. It is not easy when everyone thinks she is a freak. Years ago, she and her two sisters went missing, only to return one month later. But they returned different. Their once dark hair had turned white blonde and the color of their eyes had turned black. Aside from their physical changes, they manifested this strange, intoxicating ability to entrance people. While her sisters, Vivi and Grey enjoyed using this power over people, Iris hasn't ever been comfortable with it.

But, no matter that Vivi is a musician and Grey is a world famous model and fashion designer now, the three sisters have always remained incredibly close. When Grey suddenly goes missing again, Iris and Vivi must follow Grey's trail of breadcrumbs to discover the truth about where she has gone, and possibly about where the three of them went years ago and what happened to them to change their entire world so drastically.

This was haunting and intense. This was written in such a remarkable way that I couldn't put it down. I read it in the matter of a handful of hours. The story wrapped me up in its elegant and lush horror. There is just something about the pull these girls have over people that makes you feel like you are missing out if you don't get to understand it or experience it, while being terrifying at the same time.

There are some extremely creepy and atmospheric elements in this book. What is it about the unknown that we gravitate towards? What is it about things of unnatural nature like flowers growing out of strange places and skin that smells of the earth after rain that pulls you in? Of an intoxicating person who with just one innocent kiss, they can turn someone into an ignited mess of want and need? It feels otherworldly and epic and completely unattainable and it just left me so full of longing. Such a wonderfully written book that I won't ever forget.

This book was hauntingly beautiful and morbidly fascinating. It told a dark and twisted story that had me hooked from the first couple paragraphs, and even after I finished reading, it still did not let me go. The ending has me reeling, and I sincerely hope that there is a sequel!

The prose was beautiful, engaging, and unbelievably atmospheric. I can very clearly visualize this setting and these characters in my head. I can almost smell the rot of the forest and feel the moss growing on the trees. The vibe this book gives off?? I absolutely love it.

Out of the three sisters, I found Grey the most fascinating, but I think I loved Vivi the most. My favorite character was Tyler. I wasn't the biggest fan of Iris to be honest, but overall I liked her well enough.

This is the type of book I'd like to see turned into a movie!! I'm so excited for when this book comes out and more people start reading it!

This story was amazing and unlike anything I've ever read. The characters were both likeable and unlikable, the descriptions were both beautiful and disturbing, and everything you thought you knew turned into something else. I loved every minute of it and I don't want to give anything away, but I sincerely hope there will be a second book to enjoy. It's just that fantastic.

I received a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely stunning cover that matches the breathtaking story that unfolds within the books pages. I am honestly at a loss for words, about how much I love this entire book. It was not at all what I was expecting, but was everything I wanted and more. House of Hollow is truly a dark and horrifying fairytale that by the end was a masterpiece. I hope this book gets all the praise because it deserves it and so does the author for writing such a terrifying, gut wrenching book.

Years ago, three sisters disappeared one night when walking home with their parents on New Years Eve. They disappeared without a trace and a month later showed back up in the exact same spot they disappeared only they are naked and have a scar at the base of each of their throats. They can’t remember what happened or where they went, but they don’t have the same blue eyes and dark brown hair as before, they have black eyes and white hair. In present time the sisters have all gone and done their own thing. Grey is a supermodel and does whatever she wants as she has fans that adore her. Vivi is in a punk rock band and loves to drink and do drugs. Iris, the youngest of the sisters, decided to try to live a normal life and go to school and be home with her mother. These three sisters are not normal, they can do things and people either love and adore them or they think they’re evil. Grey goes missing and the only people who will know how to find her are Vivi and Iris. They embark on a scary and horrifying journey to find their sister and get the truth about what happened years ago when they went disappeared.

“Folie à deux, Little Hollow. Or in this case, folie à trois.” Tyler tapped my temple. “Sometimes madness is catching."

Okay, this book got so much darker than I thought it would, but I loved every minute of it. I honestly could not put this book down; I became obsessed with the Hollow sisters and didn’t want to leave this strange and chilling world that Sutherland created. Not only was this super dark, it also focused on sisterhood and what you would do to survive and protect the people you care about. I feel like this story fits into like a dozen genres like fantasy, thriller, magical realism, horror, and mystery. Somehow the author weaves them together perfectly and created a sheer masterpiece. I adored the sisters and how utterly different they are from each other. This book starts off with a bang and you get sucked right in to the lyrical writing and the mysterious story full of twists.

If this book isn’t on your radar, it should be now!

2.5/5 stars

I wholeheartedly loved the idea of this book. It was dark and creepy. I was genuinely scared to go to sleep the night I read it. Incredibly creative premise for a book.

But honestly, I just didn’t like it. This book is incredibly plot driven and I couldn't connect to any of the characters. All the characters were just incredibly boring and flat. There were also a few instances of repetition which was annoying to me (like yeah okay Iris we get it. You're silent on bare feet because you used to follow Grey around. How many times do you have to say it???). The imagery was good the first few times but then it also became repetitive and extremely boring.

The pacing was so fast that I was also confused half the time. The basic plot is easy to follow but the details about the Halfway and the flowers and just the general backstory of the 3 girls is murky at best and nearly nonexistent at worst. I think this book needed to be longer and more thorough in the worldbuilding.

It has an incredible amount of potential but it fell very short of it.