House of Hollow

*No spoilers, only minor detail drops to explain the pros and cons.*

• Page: 304
• Publisher:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
• Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller, Adventure, Dark

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland is paranormal mystery centered around three sisters. Iris Hollow, the youngest, is a typical high school student. Or she would be if it weren’t for her otherworldly beauty, dark past and unique powers that unlike her two sisters—she doesn’t use. Having disappeared as children, and not remembering what happened from that time, their past starts to resurface as Iris and Vivi must find their missing sister, Grey.

What I liked.

The story had beautiful imagery and a strong sense of impending doom. The character relationships were well developed and the emotions jumped off the page. The mystery of their childhood disappearance is intriguing as is the one with Grey in present day. My favorite part, and what saved the story for me, was the final third of the book when they enter the Halfway. From there until the end I really enjoyed it and all the twists and scenes involved.

This book was amazing in its own right, but was it for me?

While I did enjoy a fair amount and wouldn’t say the book is a bust, there were definitely parts I struggled to understand and others that were hard to get past. Often in the beginning and middle there was too much exposition. Iris would drone on about her sisters and it became tiresome. My other big complaint was that it takes a while for the major mystery and action to take fold. There are subtle bits sprinkled about but given how intensely it developed when the going got rough, I felt more could have been added in the beginning to cut down on the back story and move the plot along.

Two minor things that pulled me out of the narrative was that Sutherland uses some facts that aren’t entirely true and she also likes to use analogies, some of which are great—but many weren’t clear.

Would I recommend this title?

If you love stories about sisterly love, things that aren’t as they appear, dark paranormal/mythical occurrences, and adventure—it could be for you. Personally, I wouldn’t read it again, but I did enjoy the story overall.

3.5/5 stars