Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

57 reviews

bloomingrose92's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

While horror isn't really my thing, this book was incredibly well written. I particularly liked the descriptions that Sutherland gave. They provided a strong sense of rotting darkness throughout the book with novel phrases I'd never heard before.

And the twist of them not be chased by something that hides in the dark, but being the thing that hides in the dark was excellent. That they killed the three little Hollow girls, stole their bodies, then left them, unburied, as they took over the Hollow sisters' lives. I especially liked the line that Grey called out to the Hollow sisters for help, and they listened, because Grey was a little girl too. And the masked killer haunting them is actually the Hollow's father, coerced by their unholy magic to suicide, and refusing to pass on so that he can finally bring down his children's killers? Chef's kiss. I loved the detail of him finding his children's discarded bodies in the Halfway place, and making graves for them to finally rest. I have a particular fondness for protagonists putting everything they have into fighting a big bad, just to find out that they were the bad they were fighting. And the characterization of our protagonist in this book as a mousy bookworm who just wants to escape the weirdness of her past adds to the twist.

A well-written book, with unlikeable characters that only adds to the ultimate payoff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Torture, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

thebiblioboo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Vomit, Suicide, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, and Child death

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, and Mental illness

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Medical content

bzliz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Big trigger warning for body horror.

Ten years ago, Iris and her two sisters went missing for a month. Now her eldest sister Grey is missing again and has left clues for Iris and Vivi to be able to find her- or her body- because something from their forgotten past is coming back to haunt them. 

The only reason I can’t give this five stars is because of how easily I was able to predict the two major twists. The imagery was so beautiful and disgusting that I could really feel Iris’ fascination, obsession & revulsion. My favorite character ending up being Cate. Although she is a deeply flawed, haunted woman, I came to understand her controlling tendencies and her big heart. I’m not a mother but I believe only a mother could climb a mountain of trauma and still find love on the other side. 

I spent several hours after I finished this book thinking about it and how I would rate and review it. It’s been a while since I needed to sit with something for a while to gather my thoughts, which is a point in its favor. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Vomit, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Eating disorder

I’ve tagged eating disorder as a potential content warning. Although the behavior is caused by a different condition, the Hollow sisters (get it?) do engage in binge eating behaviors. Their continued description of being thin in defiance of how many calories they must consume daily could be triggering for someone struggling with their own disordered eating.

earofthedog's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, and Child death

willow_the_wisp's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Sexual assault

necroplasm's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

GODDD THE DESCRIPTIONS IN THIS ARE SO GOOD. from practically square one the atmosphere is just so intoxicating, shit drew me in so strongly i read almost all of this in a single day which is something i can almost never pull off for books this long

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Mental illness, Vomit, Suicide, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Stalking

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Cursing

karin_goodreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm pretty speechless, it's just that this story is exceptionally messed up. The Hollow sisters turn from something you know to something you don't. The story is uncanny from the beginning and it gets crazier with every chapter.

I remember everything. You just wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Grey was right, nobody would believe such an insane story, but people dig the mysterious and occult. At some point even I thought that I'd be happier if I didn't know what exactly was going on, but I also know that I'm way too curious. By the end I had a difficult time accepting all the facts, like come on, that's just plain tragic what happened.

Your life would be happier if you didn’t know.
Knowledge is power.
And ignorance is bliss.

I was pretty hopeful at the beginning and I wasn't let down per se, but some parts felt overly repeated and explained while other (both unnecessary and necessary) questions were left unanswered. 
Sometimes the dialogue seemed like a part of the conversation was just cut out or the flow wasn't entirely natural, but it didn't bother me that much, I just noticed it a couple of times.

There are things in every family that are not talked about. Stories you know without really knowing how you know them, tales of terrible things that cast long shadows over generations.

Oh for sure, this shadow has been cast over these people for so long and there's a sense of knowing what is going on, but still doubting your gut feeling. I feel bad for everyone involved, all of you get therapy!
Seriously, this is one of the more shocking stories I've read. It crawls inside you and makes your skin itch. I did not want to believe until the last second - hope does cruel things to us!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical content, Bullying, and Murder

Um, human skin walking?

marieeveparentroy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, and Violence

thebookraiders's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking