Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

22 reviews

bloomingrose92's review

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

aseel_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. This was super eerie and creepy and even with all the vibes, the plot actually managed to close itself properly, which is really impressive 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child abuse, Suicide, Stalking, Death, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death

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.

avaweyrich's review

dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Stalking, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Suicide, Rape, and Alcohol

angelica98's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I didn't like the end. It felt like an odd colour patch sewn on a new dress. I could have understood (not forgiven) her choice if she planned to publish a second book, but in my opinion the book worth plummeted because of it.

Tyler's death was the most emotional moment of the book, his choice of not being seen by Grey something complex that left a bad aftertaste in my mouth (I'm all for good endings) but understandable and even admirable. Not nice, but a good choice. The epilogue felt like the publisher compelled the author to write a "happy ending" for Tyler too, or something like that. Why would Iris chose to go back to him after he refused the first time? Why would he refuse to go back with the love of his life but would do so with Iris? I could have understood so if framed as giving him a second chance, but it felt like Iris lost all her character development in a moment

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Child death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Gun violence, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

giulianalb99's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Rape, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cursing and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

abbyhrc's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

it was nice, I liked the dark ambiance, but VERY predictable (i'm super dumb and managed to figure out the mystery within the first few chapters) and sometimes cliche... i'm a sucker for complicated sibling dynamics though and that was done so well in this book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism and Child death

allidone's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Gore, Sexual assault, Stalking, Child death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

alliedelexa's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

to begin i would like to say, i’m unapologetically 100% team grey. the author’s attention to details and really setting the scene was a nice touch. this was my first YA since no longer being a young adult myself but i didn’t mind it! i was looking for a little bit of a more spooky vibe and a little bit more into the lore but as a whole this was a good book especially if you’re just beginning to get into this genre! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Trafficking

bookishkale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I am not one for horror, but 'tis the season, am I right? I picked up House of Hollow on Libby this past week for a little spooky season read, and it did not disappoint! I had fun reading it!

First of all, I enjoyed all of the characters! I found them endearing, and I was desperate to know what happened to the Hollow sisters, where did they go so long ago? Vivi is a little grating at the beginning but I really enjoyed her character in contrast to Grey and Iris by the end of the book. Vivi is also queer, but it's done in a super casual way, which is nice to see every once in a while. Tyler is a highlight, and he adds a great dynamic to Vivi and Iris as they search for their sister. Iris' characterization makes so much sense. She's the youngest of three girls, the older two were rambunctious and rebellious, and in turn, Iris was quiet and well in order. She grapples with her identity vs her sisters, wanting to be like them, but also, trying to find herself. She's not naive like the book almost makes her out to be, since she is not as cool and interesting as her older sisters, but I never found her to be.  She's the smartest one in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this world through her eyes. Her character growth by the end was well worth it. One of the best narrators I've read in a while. 

For the plot, this is where I docked points. I loved that the story was centered around the three girls and their relationship with each other. I have two older sisters, so Iris, I get you. The book does not shy away from the grotesque body horror elements that a story like this needs. I just felt the pacing was off, I don't know how to explain it. I felt like the last half of the book was fantastic, but the beginning is a little slow. I just feel like it takes too long to get where they were going and the plot suffers a bit from that. But overall, everything ties up in the end, (really well, might I add!), and that's really all that matters to me. I did predict one of the mysteries, but for the question of the Hollow girls... I wasn't expecting it, and it was really well done! I applaud the choice! I think this story could have been better if Sutherland upped the age range for this book, and just went all in, no whammies. 

And I cannot end this review without gushing about the imagery! Krystal Sutherland does a fantastic job of putting you right there with Iris as she experiences these horrific events. I was obsessed with each disgusting thing that she describes. I had to gag at some points because it was so realistic. I'll be thinking about the imagery in this book for a while.  The book wraps you up in this nightmare with them, as it swallows you whole. 

Overall, highly recommend this book for the spooky season! I'd avoid it if you can't handle any amount of horror. I can handle some so I think this book is fine if you like to watch the occasionally scary movie with friends but don't watch anything scary by yourself. It's mostly just super creepy, but I know people can be super sensitive to things! This book does not shy away from the creep factor. Be sure to check out the rest of the trigger/content warnings for this book!! 

I look forward to what Krystal Sutherland releases next! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Bullying, Death, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse