House Of Hollow - Review 30/21

Updated: May 12, 2021

by Krystal Sutherland

Published : 6th April 2021

Publisher : HotKey Press

Format : Kindle, Audio, Paperback

Genre : Gothic Thriller

Review #30 /2021

{ 𝐚𝐝: 𝐩𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 / 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐜 }

* All words highlighted in Grey are affiliate links to either purchase from a range of sellers or links to the authors sites. Where ever possible I will try and provide different versions of the book on all purchase sites.

Synopsis

The Hollow sisters - Vivi, Grey and Iris - are as seductively glamorous as they are mysterious. They have black eyes and hair as white as milk. The Hollow sisters don't have friends - they don't need them. They move through the corridors like sharks, the other little fish parting around them, whispering behind their backs.

And everyone knows who the Hollow sisters are. Because one day the three Hollow sisters simply disappeared. And when they came back, one month later, with no memory of where they had been, it was as if nothing had changed. Almost nothing, Apart from, for example, the little scar that had appeared in the hollow of their throats ... and a whispering sense that something is not quite right about them, despite (or maybe because of) the terrible passion to be with them that they can exert on anybody at will...

A thrilling, twisting, novel that is as seductive and glamorous as the Hollow sisters themselves....

Thank you @HotKey Press and Tandem for this enthralling read

My Review

The story starts with a prologue. This is where we discover that ten years previously three sisters, Grey, Vivi and Iris, aged between seven and eleven were out on New Year's Eve with their parents for a walk to watch the fireworks when they disappeared without a trace.

One month later they reappeared, naked and totally changed forever, all bearing the same small hook shaped scar at the base of their throat nestled between the collar bone.

There is still no clue what happened to them and the internet is filled with conspiracy theories including an alien abduction, many outrageously blaming the parents for selling them to traffickers and buying them back after the media frenzy, even fairy changelings. Within their own town they were branded “witches” because by touching people with their fingers they can manipulate them to their will, making them do anything they wanted.

The girls didn’t talk at first, having no memory about their abduction. They only slept together, constantly touching and consuming copious amounts of food as if they haven't eaten in years, yet no matter how much they ate they are never sated. Their hair turned to white, their eyes turned black and their skin began to small like milk and the earth after the rain. At first the parents are overjoyed but it wasn't long before Gabe, their father started to question wether his young daughters truly came back to him or if three dark cuckoos snuck within their place instead...

Told from the youngest daughters narrative, Iris is left behind whilst Grey and Vivi move out at the age of sixteen to make careers and a place in the world for them selves. All three have some sort of mysterious connection to each other and feel each others presence constantly, which added to the mysterious powers they all beheld.

One day Viv and Iris can not reach Grey, she doesnt turn up to their get together and this sparks instant worry as she has never missed meeting up with her little sisters ever since she was kicked out of the house by there mother.

Iris and Vivi, with the help of Greys celebrity boyfriend Tyler follow clues that have been left behind by Grey in order to find her, both can still feel her presence tethered to them but its waning and they know something is terribly wrong. Add to that the dark presence of a man with a horned skull on his head like a masked minotaur following them both, presses the fact that time is of the essence and the closer they both get to Grey and her secretive world, the more they start to realise that the dark world of their sister which is full of darkness and dangerous secrets could actually have more to do with their disappearance all those years ago then they originally thought and the fairytales that she used to tell them in bed at night of a halfway world between life and death, a crack in the world which allows you to slip between the vail, may not be as fictitious as they always believed.

Why I loved it

This is no light hearted fairytale read!

Its deliciously dark, disturbingly creepy and twisty in all the right places.

On more then one occasion I felt chills run down my spine reading this story. I had no clue when I found out what actually happened to the three young girls that disappeared that night, even more then that I was left desperately wanting to know more.

The author has done such a spectacular job of very cleverly building the picture of what is going on with the oldest sister Grey, the secrets she holds and the hidden messages she leaves behind and using such descriptive text whilst describing both sides of the veil that you can literally picture it within your minds eye, and shudder all over again at the words you are digesting on the page. I personally have a phobia of ants and this book did not help with that at all!!! in fact it added to the cringe factor in a huge way!

This is an absolutely fantastic read and I highly recommend it to everyone who want to be total immersed within the pages of a chilling and captivating read.

Thank you Tandem for such a horrifyingly beautiful read.

Rating

★★★★★

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Meet the author

Krystal Sutherland is an internationally published author. Her latest novel for young adults, House of Hollow, was released by Penguin in April 2021. Sutherland's first novel, Chemical Hearts, was published in over 20 countries and was named by the American Booksellers Association as one of the best debuts of 2016. The film adaptation, produced by Amazon Studios, stars Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) and Austin Abrams (Dash & Lily); Sutherland served as an executive producer on the project. Her second novel, A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares, was published to critical acclaim in 2017 and has been optioned for adaptation by Yellow Bird US.

In 2018, she appeared on the annual Forbes “30 Under 30” list. Originally from Australia, she has lived on four continents and currently calls London home.