Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

91 reviews

automatic_rae's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I never knew where the plot was going next. Confusing, intriguing, different to anything else I’ve read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Self harm, Stalking, Vomit, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Blood, Drug use, Gore, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

danteeeh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Stalking

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic friendship

alexasolis98's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was eerie and dark. The imagery of rotting and dead things was quite descriptive. The plot dragged a bit at times. Something still felt missing by the end of the book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Grief, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Animal death

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.5

I like weird books and I cannot lie. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Torture, Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Suicide, and Kidnapping

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Self harm, Stalking, Animal death, and Child death

cturn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Characters - 8
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 7
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 7
CAWPILE score - 6.7

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Sexual assault

dcnireads's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Stalking, Bullying, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, and Drug use

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. 

---

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.

aehollins21's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug use, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual assault

tigger89's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This was really good! Not only was it a solid portal fantasy take on the dark fairy tale genre, but I loved the focus on sisterhood. I can't go too much into the reasons why I loved it because there be spoilers, but I really am a sucker for fiction that centers platonic connections, like friendship and sibling connections, and that can be rare to find in the sea of romance-focused YA that's out there. The connection and tension between the three sisters was the high point of this title, for sure.

That said, there is a slight romantic distraction which felt out of place, given how strong the focus was on finding Grey. The ending of the book seemed to be leaving room for a sequel, though one hasn't been announced, so I'm especially concerned that any continuation of the story would be completely overpowered by this focus. But this is very much a personal gripe, and maybe most readers would enjoy Iris exploring her attraction! I will say that there's some excellent LGBTQ rep here, with Iris being bisexual and Vivi being a lesbian.

As for the fantasy, I believe it would appeal to readers who enjoy things on the darker side. Little uncanny glimpses were dropped in to build tension, employing images of insects, decay, and invasive growth to unsettle the reader. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a horror novel, at least not any more than a dark fairy tale retelling is horror, but I can see the imagery getting under some readers' skin. I know I was brushing imaginary bugs off my arms sometimes as I read. As much as it got under my skin with some of the imagery, I have to say that, if I'd come across this book when I was a teen, it would've been my absolute favorite.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug use, Blood, and Child death

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Child death, Drug use, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit