Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

51 reviews

dovewrites's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

3.5 - 4. The writing is of good quality and I appreciated that the author managed to keep the tone despite the book being set in modern times. This book has an incredible fairy-tale quality and it’s impressive that mentions of social media and the sims 4 did not disrupt that feeling. The explorations of femininity and the grotesque were very compelling and exciting to read in a YA novel. The character building was so interesting, I’ve read that some people feel like Iris is bland

but I think she’s supposed to be, she is so intimately linked to her sisters and especially to Grey- she has no self- until the end, when we see a glimmer of her becoming something more.

My only grips are that the Americanisms did disjoint me a little and If this book is a stand-alone why was the ending written like it’s setting up for a second book? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Child death, Child abuse, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Self harm

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

House of Hollow is a gorgeously written, dark and twisted fairytale set in modern-day Scotland. Iris knows she and her two sisters haven't been normal since they were kidnapped as children. She is determined to figure out exactly who took them, what happened to them, and why they seem to have otherworldly powers. Iris leads readers on a nightmarish journey: through magic doors, coming face-to-face with the walking dead, cursed kisses, and long-lost family members.

This book is totally out of my wheelhouse, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance! It's a fast, fun read, but you should definitely check out trigger/content warnings before reading as the book can get fairly graphic in its depiction of gruesome imagery. If you like Stranger Things, you'll like this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic friendship

nikenacs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

[Book club - November 2022]

Not the biggest fan of this in the beginning, but it really won me over in the end. A tad too YA for my taste, but that's a me problem. Had I read this in my teenage years, I would have been absolutely /obsessed/.

The strong part of this book is definitely the finale, or generally everything that takes place after the hospital. This is where everything that has been laid out before really pays off. The main strong point of the book is that Sutherland is fantastic at describing surroundings, smells, sounds, sensations, all her horrors feel very tangible. The mix between strange natural beauty and body horror worked very well. 

Unfortunately, this strongly descriptive style also felt like one of the main downsides to me. The book is VERY Tell, Don't Show, and I felt like very obvious things were being spelled out for me again and again. I could see most plot points/twists coming a mile away. Maybe this is a YA thing, though, and I really am just a little too old already. The pacing was odd in some places as well.

Overall, it didn't wow me, but it was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the book club, but I'm glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Vomit, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

garciaga's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

kittykaz's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Suicide

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

modernmatilda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

 (Review from 2022)

Still the BEST book in the universe.


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(Review from 2021)
•BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR•
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Yes, I know it's May. But listen, it's going to be practically impossible for any book to just wander into my life and beat this one out. It was absolutely WILD and GORGEOUS and HAUNTING and CREEPY and PERFECT.
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First off, spooky cottagecore, twisted fairytale, unreliable protagonist is an entire vibe right now and I can't get enough. Just when I thought no book could fill the "Wink Poppy Midnight" void in my heart, here comes Iris and her sisters. How Krystal Sutherland left my head scrambling even after the book was closed is just *chef's kiss*. The characters were astonishing, the fantasy-nature fashion was mesmerizing, and the atmosphere, the ATMOSPHERE, was so good I'm in tears just thinking about it.
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Plus, is there anything more haunting and fascinating than random creepy doors in the middle of the woods? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Death, Self harm, Vomit, Gore, Emotional abuse, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Suicide, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, and Body horror

bookishdreamer61's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Death, Child death, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

ocean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I love the writing of this book and the story really pulled me in. I couldn’t put it down! Loved the mysterious, gory, floral, decaying vibes. Didn’t love the way the author writes mental health issues. I looked at some of her other work and I didn't like how disability was represented either. It’s safe to say this author prefers to use disability and mental health issues as thematic elements to add to the story, rather than actual representation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Stalking, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, and Death

nora_vaelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

danicampbell0506's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide and Toxic relationship