House of Hollow Review (spoiler-free)

 A Review of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars

The Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. 

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind. 

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children. 

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

My Thoughts

This book was really creepy and the atmosphere was immaculate. There was this dude with a literal bull skull on his head and he creeped me out so much.  I really loved how casually things like that were mentioned. There were many plot twists (one of which I guessed but only like a few lines before it was revealed) and that made this book so compelling and I couldn't stop reading until I had all the answers. I also loved the writing style, I actually read it because I heard someone on BookTube talking about that so I will write out a bit from the start below. 

'By the time the police arrived, the woman's eyes were wide and faraway, her limbs so liquid she could no longer stand and had to be carried out, limp as a drunk, by three officers. I wonder if Grey already knew then what we were.'

However, the reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars is because there was a very unnecessary bit of romance where the main character, Iris kisses Tyler who is Grey's fiancé. I really didn't like that.

The Characters

Iris Hollow

Iris is the youngest Hollow sister and the protagonist of this book. At the start of the book she is trying to escape the weirdness that comes with her sisters and some strange stuff happens to her. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, just not as much as the other sisters. Perhaps because she was less mysterious as we were in her perspective.

Vivi Hollow

I will admit, Vivi was really cool. She is in a punk rock band and that is her style; she has cool tattoos, a buzz cut and lots of piercings. I think at the start of the book she goes back to where Iris lives for a gig (maybe, I'm not exactly sure but she goes to that town for some reason). I'm in between her and Grey for my favourite sister. She's the middle sister.

Grey Hollow

Grey, the eldest sister is a mysterious catwalk model and the creator of the famous fashion brand, House of Hollow. She is also a badass and such a strong character. The book begins with her going missing and the others going to find her. 

Tyler Yang

Most of the time, I thought he was okay. If anything, he added a dash of reality to the story. Again, I really didn't like how he kissed Iris when he was engaged to Grey. I don't have much to say about him, I liked his fashion style.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• The vibes and atmosphere
• The mystery and eeriness with the sisters
• The whimsical writing
• The plot twists

Cons:

• The kiss
• The plot could be seen as a bit repetitive by some

Overall

I really enjoyed this book and it was a solid 4 stars. I'd like to see what the author comes out with next (I hope it's another horror like this). Most of the characters were super enjoyable to read about and I fell in love with all of the Hollow sisters.

Who I Would Recommend This To

I would recommend this book to fans of creepy and mysterious YA books. It reminded me a lot, especially at the start, of Horrid by Katrina Leno which I gave 5 stars to.

Content/Trigger Warnings

Familial estrangement, sexual assault, hallucinations and delusions, coerced suicide recounted, emesis, body horror, blood and gore depiction, dead bodies.

My Rating System

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Love 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ = Almost Love
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Really Like
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ = A Bit Better Than Like
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Like
⭐️⭐️ = Meh
⭐️ = Dislike