A review by bookbelle5_17
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

Review of House of Hollow
By: Krystal Sutherland
            Iris and her older sisters Viv & Grey disappeared for 31 days when visiting their grandparents in Scotland, but when they came back, they weren’t the same.  They looked different and they now had a special ability to put people under their spell.  They also don’t remember what happened.  One day Grey goes missing, so Iris and Viv go searching for her as they piece together what happened to them all those years ago.
            A dark modern fairytale with themes of sisterhood weaves through this novel about the Hollow sisters and what happened to them when they disappeared.  It is creepy and undeniably atmospheric as you feel unsettled along with Iris, because everything is only revealed bit by bit.  It made me intrigued to know what happened as I turned each page.  The graphic descriptions of the rotting plants, beautiful white flowers, and ants creeping directly out of their flesh is eerie and shivering inducing.  There is one point where it is thrown up by one, so be warned if you don’t have a strong stomach, it might be gag worthy.  Iris is a good protagonist as she is someone, who is still innocent, but not entirely naïve.  She’s likable and not annoying, taking action, when necessary, but still hopeful for them as she tries to stay loyal to her divided family.  The character of Tyler started out as annoying, but I grew to like him as a secondary character.  I didn’t hate any characters as they were all sympathetic, though they might not have made the best choices.  There was a twist during the climax that I thought was really good and Sutherland built it up rather nicely.  I didn’t read this in the Spring (maybe in the evening) or Autumn, but it does feel like a perfect read for those seasons
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