Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

4 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.

---

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

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5. I was REALLY pleasantly surprised by this one. It was super spooky and mysterious, and Sutherland's prose was beautiful and descriptive. I loved the focus on the sisters and their relationship. Also, the ending was incredibly satisfying. I will say there was a little too much retrospective monologuing on Iris' part. Also,

the kiss between Tyler and Iris was so unnecessary! It completely undermined Iris' character, who up until this point was completely dedicated to Grey. If she truly was dedicated, she wouldn't have kissed her boyfriend

!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Stalking, Drug use, Suicide, Child abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Animal death, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Car accident, Excrement, Physical abuse, Bullying, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Self harm, Sexism, Mental illness, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

HP reference. Moderate warnings for loss of a loved one, missing child, drowning, self injury, insects. Minor warnings for stillbirth, internalised misogyny.

ghostlyprince's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, Misogyny, Murder, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infertility and Infidelity

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

This book has a beautiful cover and an interesting premise, but the way it's written is just. Bad. Everything is over-described but using the same few words (I hope you like the word fetid if you're going to read this), plot points happen over and over (Iris and Vivi break into a place belonging to Grey and find a secret of hers three times!), and the plot is predictable. The characters are flat and uninteresting: the sisters are described in the most boring way possible, breathless at their brittle, skinny, fragile whiteness, and the other major character reads like a parody of a British person. There's this weird sexual undertone to the girls’ powers that I couldn't stand. 

There's also a really stupid scene involving a character shooting a man with a shotgun while he's holding two women and somehow both women are unharmed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Misogyny

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Alcohol, Bullying, and Emotional abuse