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A review by discarded_dust_jacket
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
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? No
2.5
I expected to like this book a lot, and I really wanted to. It’s just the sort of creepy, grotesque story that I’m often drawn to.
I couldn’t necessarily tell you exactly why, but the majority of it just didn’t capture my attention. I thought it had a strong beginning but most of what came after felt like a slog.
Not to mention the only non-white character comes across as very one-dimensional, and seems to contribute very little to the plot aside from comedic relief and a backstory that ends up playing a bizarre, almost forced role in the events of the story.
I didn’t absolutely hate it, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it either.
The big twist ending could’ve been handled better. It seemed a bit anti-climactic to just condense all of the explanation for the many questions that had been piling up throughout the entire story into one short, almost clinically matter-of-fact question-and-answer session between Grey and her sisters.
I don’t know it just felt… sloppy. Like the author needed to tie up the many loose ends not answered during the big “aha” moment when it’s discovered the Hollow sisters are changelings, so she just spent a couple pages answering everything else (well, almost everything else; I still have questions) really quick at the end.
I couldn’t necessarily tell you exactly why, but the majority of it just didn’t capture my attention. I thought it had a strong beginning but most of what came after felt like a slog.
Not to mention the only non-white character comes across as very one-dimensional, and seems to contribute very little to the plot aside from comedic relief and a backstory that ends up playing a bizarre, almost forced role in the events of the story.
I didn’t absolutely hate it, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it either.
I don’t know it just felt… sloppy. Like the author needed to tie up the many loose ends not answered during the big “aha” moment when it’s discovered the Hollow sisters are changelings, so she just spent a couple pages answering everything else (well, almost everything else; I still have questions) really quick at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Vomit, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury