House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Available April 6, 2021

Content warnings for child abuse, suicide, child abduction, child death

Not going to lie, I was in the mood for a book exactly like this when I picked it up and it couldn’t have been more perfect for my mood. This is a deliciously creepy and twisted fairy tale-like story of three sisters who disappear in the blink of an eye from a street in Scotland, only to return one month later with no memory of their time gone. Their story instantly became a news frenzy with the girls at the center of the storm. They were stalked, assaulted, accused of lying, and threatened. When their parents are proven by authorities to have nothing to do with their disappearance and winning a large defamation suit from a newspaper, the girls begin attending an expensive and prestigious private school where the abuse continues. Grey and Vivi quickly leave school to pursue modeling and musical careers, but Iris stays and tries to be both the perfect daughter and perfect student. But there’s nothing perfect about any of the sisters. Upon their return on that cold, rainy night, the girls changed. Their hair turned white and their eyes became an inky black and they developed a constant hunger. The girls know they are strange but only Iris tries to fit in.

Now, ten years after their reappearance, Grey, the oldest of the Hollow sisters is missing. Leaving behind a bizarre set of clues, Iris and Vivi must find their sister before it’s too late for all of them. Along the way, they discover that their connection to the supernatural is far greater than they realized and they are far from the only ones looking for their sister.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single page of this gruesome thriller. It’s dark and twisty and plays with the concept of power so well. These sisters know they are different and strange but it’s so much darker than that. They have the ability to compel people which sounds like an incredible power to have, until it goes too far and makes people obsessed with them. This power helps both Grey and Vivi in their modeling and music careers, but for someone who is quiet and mild-mannered like Iris, it’s frightening. This book is incredibly dark. Very quickly we learn the girls’ father dies by suicide and was obsessed with the idea that the girls were not his daughters. Cate, their mother, is estranged from both Grey and Vivi is hyper protective of Iris. This dynamic makes it incredibly difficult for Iris to maintain relationships with her sisters and she is constantly pulled between the two relationships. All three girls are also incredibly beautiful and they use that beauty to manipulate others. When the girls discover that Grey found where they were held during their disappearance, they also discover more about their time there and it’s the darkest thing possible. I cannot emphasize enough how dark this book is, but if you can handle it, you won’t be disappointed.

This is a fast read. I was immediately engrossed in the story and intrigued about where the girls had disappeared and what happened to them while they were there. I couldn’t wait to see how everything was tied together and how far the author was willing to take this story. Iris and her sisters were great characters. You can feel how abrasive Vivi and Grey found their home life and how much of a mediator Iris plays for the family. Cate, their mother, seems so cold and distant but you soon realize how much she has to cope with and it’s all a defense mechanism. I really liked how the author made Grey’s boyfriend completely immune to her supernatural charm. It made for a great and snarky dynamic between him and the other two sisters.

If you love dark fantasy, twisted fairy tales, and deliciously dark YA, this is definitely one to try. If you would like to add this book to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.