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laurenmiller100's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
- Characters: 7
- Atmosphere/Setting: 9
- Writing Style: 7
- Plot: 6
- Intrigue: 7
- Logic/Relationships: 6
- Enjoyment: 6
This books is pretty gruesome. As the oldest of three sisters, I really enjoyed the relationships between each of the sisters. The early parts of the book are beautiful and scary, but as with many horror stories, it goes off the rails a bit as it explains what’s going on. The end of the book chooses to tell instead of show and I think it would’ve been better if they’d discovered the truth instead of had it explained.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide
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
britttobegorey94's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Murder
bookishmillennial's review
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
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
bees_knees735's review
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
carrieallthebooksatonce's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Murder
herl0cksh0lmes'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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
deliak03's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
5.0
This book was so good! A brief synopsis: three sisters go missing when they’re kids and reappear after a month with no memory of what happened. Then ten years later, the oldest sister, Grey, goes missing and Iris and Vivi have to find her and figure out what happened to them during the month they were missing.
It was so hard to put down this book especially when I got to the last 8 or so chapters. The dark fantasy aspect of it was so intriguing and unlike anything else I’ve ever read.
It was so hard to put down this book especially when I got to the last 8 or so chapters. The dark fantasy aspect of it was so intriguing and unlike anything else I’ve ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Suicide, and Vomit
Minor: Torture and Fire/Fire injury
There is a brief mention of suicide and murder throughout the book, and at times murder is described in detail. There is also body horror, so don’t read this if that is something that deeply disturbs you!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