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underhill's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault
Minor: Misogyny
taylormoore'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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, and Child death
klmreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Body horror, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol
wall0w's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
The more I read teen fiction, the more I feel that a key difference between it and adult fiction is just that it's edgier. Hoo boy, is this edgy. This is an edgy fairy tale (source fairy tales often are but y'know what I mean).
The plot twist (despite being increasingly hinted at and then effectively shown) was then told to a character directly which felt entirely unnecessary as it had already been made clear.
I do appreciate the bond between the sisters and elements of the parent/child relationship but I think it could have been more developed further.
The pacing felt good though and never felt like we were stagnating in the same place for too long, even though in parts the characters literally are.
Overall, it's alright. It is a fun read so if you like edgy fairytale retellings with strong family relationships, give it a shot. Just be prepared for blood and guts.
The plot twist (despite being increasingly hinted at and then effectively shown) was then told to a character directly which felt entirely unnecessary as it had already been made clear.
I do appreciate the bond between the sisters and elements of the parent/child relationship but I think it could have been more developed further.
The pacing felt good though and never felt like we were stagnating in the same place for too long, even though in parts the characters literally are.
Overall, it's alright. It is a fun read so if you like edgy fairytale retellings with strong family relationships, give it a shot. Just be prepared for blood and guts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Body horror, Death of parent, Stalking, Suicide, Child death, and Blood
pryingblackbird's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Wow, this was ... quite the ride! This creeped me the f*ck out so I'd say it was a successful piece of horror work! I had read Krystal Sutherland's romances previously, so this was an intriguing change of page from that.
Admittedly, I didn't see the ending coming, and I kind of love that for me!? I feel like I could sympathize with Iris's feelings of confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety throughout the book because of my oblivion regarding the big reveal in the final pages of the story. I felt I could fully take in the mystery and the angst that Iris felt.
Most of the book takes place as Vivi and Iris are on the run from a man in a bone mask, who has been actively stalking them and their older sister Grey for some time now. Iris is 17, Vivi is 19, and Grey is 21; ten years ago, they returned home after going missing for 31 days (they vanished without a trace!). It has been the talk of the town, but things were immediately different upon their return. They lost their father Gabe Hollow, their mother Cate Hollow was noticeably distant, and Grey and Vivi ended up leaving home quite young, with Iris all alone with her co-dependent mom Cate (who does not like to be called "mom"). When Grey goes missing, Vivi and Iris reach out to Tyler Yang, Grey's ex-boyfriend, to help them follow the breadcrumbs and see where she has disappeared to.
I felt the subplot of the romantic connection between Iris and Tyler was unnecessary; I know a lot of people enjoy ex's sibling tropes or forbidden romances, but it's just not my thing, and I felt uncomfortable with a 22-year-old man being romantically involved with a 17-year-old minor.. Anyway!!! Tyler was goofy and I appreciate a bit of levity in a horror story, but I don't particularly vibe with the epilogue regarding his hinted ending. Look, all that for some dude? Couldn't be me!
The sisters did feel a bit like cardboard cutouts of characters I have seen before plenty of times: an elusive, enigmatic, stunning, has-it-all bohemian lifestyle model and oldest sister, Grey; the outspoken rockstar and hardass sapphic middle sister, Vivi; the reclusive, introverted, wallflower youngest sister, Iris. Once I got to the ending, I realized that these archetypes actually made a lot more sense. However, getting to know each of them in the 90% before then was a bit of a snooze.
The relationship between Cate and Iris felt suffocating and insufferable, but I am probably projecting because my mom was extremely strict when I was a teenager, so I simply hated that for Iris. It is a LOT to have a parent like that. Anyway, even though I felt the middle part of this book flopped and was a chore to get through, I mostly thought this was clever - folktales and fantasy mixed their way in with horror in this story about sisters, secrets, and uncovering who you really are, and I will read more from KS in the future!
Wow, this was ... quite the ride! This creeped me the f*ck out so I'd say it was a successful piece of horror work! I had read Krystal Sutherland's romances previously, so this was an intriguing change of page from that.
Admittedly, I didn't see the ending coming, and I kind of love that for me!? I feel like I could sympathize with Iris's feelings of confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety throughout the book because of my oblivion regarding the big reveal in the final pages of the story. I felt I could fully take in the mystery and the angst that Iris felt.
Most of the book takes place as Vivi and Iris are on the run from a man in a bone mask, who has been actively stalking them and their older sister Grey for some time now. Iris is 17, Vivi is 19, and Grey is 21; ten years ago, they returned home after going missing for 31 days (they vanished without a trace!). It has been the talk of the town, but things were immediately different upon their return. They lost their father Gabe Hollow, their mother Cate Hollow was noticeably distant, and Grey and Vivi ended up leaving home quite young, with Iris all alone with her co-dependent mom Cate (who does not like to be called "mom"). When Grey goes missing, Vivi and Iris reach out to Tyler Yang, Grey's ex-boyfriend, to help them follow the breadcrumbs and see where she has disappeared to.
I felt the subplot of the romantic connection between Iris and Tyler was unnecessary; I know a lot of people enjoy ex's sibling tropes or forbidden romances, but it's just not my thing, and I felt uncomfortable with a 22-year-old man being romantically involved with a 17-year-old minor.. Anyway!!! Tyler was goofy and I appreciate a bit of levity in a horror story, but I don't particularly vibe with the epilogue regarding his hinted ending. Look, all that for some dude? Couldn't be me!
The sisters did feel a bit like cardboard cutouts of characters I have seen before plenty of times: an elusive, enigmatic, stunning, has-it-all bohemian lifestyle model and oldest sister, Grey; the outspoken rockstar and hardass sapphic middle sister, Vivi; the reclusive, introverted, wallflower youngest sister, Iris. Once I got to the ending, I realized that these archetypes actually made a lot more sense. However, getting to know each of them in the 90% before then was a bit of a snooze.
The relationship between Cate and Iris felt suffocating and insufferable, but I am probably projecting because my mom was extremely strict when I was a teenager, so I simply hated that for Iris. It is a LOT to have a parent like that. Anyway, even though I felt the middle part of this book flopped and was a chore to get through, I mostly thought this was clever - folktales and fantasy mixed their way in with horror in this story about sisters, secrets, and uncovering who you really are, and I will read more from KS in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Stalking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide, Gore, Death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Death of parent, Child abuse, Bullying, and Blood
becksus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I found the repetitive description of scents a bit annoying, and the use of brand names was kinda weird and took me out of the story but all in all a cool idea and an engaging read. The big sisters definitely read like what kids think cool adults are like (the fashion and the punk and the beauty etc etc) but it has to be forgiven since the book is itself aimed at teens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Grief, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Sexual harassment
justwanna2read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
tessvosper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Stalking, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, and Child death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, and Alcoholism
bees_knees735's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
This was such an enjoyable and engaging read that I got my book club to read it and it was one of the first books everyone agreed on. We loved the characters, the plot was well paced and kept you guessing, there was just the right amount of violence and gore for a horror book without tipping over into being gratuitous. I highly recommend this one and hope the author finds a way to keep the story going!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, and Animal death