House of Hollow

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 4,825 ratings

Price: 19.69

Last update: 01-10-2025


About this item

A New York Times Best Seller!

An Instant Indie Best Seller!

A dark, twisty modern fairytale where three sisters discover they are not exactly all that they seem and evil things really do go bump in the night.

Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. And they're changing. First, their dark hair turned white. Then, their blue eyes slowly turned black. They have insatiable appetites yet never gain weight. People find them disturbingly intoxicating, unbearably beautiful, and inexplicably dangerous.

But now, 10 years later, 17-year-old Iris Hollow is doing all she can to fit in and graduate high school on time - something her two famously glamourous globe-trotting older sisters, Grey and Vivi, never managed to do. But when Grey goes missing without a trace, leaving behind bizarre clues as to what might have happened, Iris and Vivi are left to trace her last few days. They aren't the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural they realize that the story they've been told about their past is unraveling and the world that returned them seemingly unharmed 10 years ago, might just be calling them home.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Jessica S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious & Eerie!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2022
    Krystal Sutherland's House of Hollow was a mysterious and eerie read! I was eager to continue my spooky reads marathon and while I wouldn't necessarily call this book spooky, it was definitely chilling and down right weird in its mysteriousness--which still pretty much fit the bill for my Halloween readathon!

    When Iris was young, she and her sisters, Grey and Vivi, disappeared. They don't remember what happened or where they went. Then a month later, they were found with no memory whatsoever. It was the miracle their parents were hoping for. But life for Iris has been difficult ever since. Growing up she realized she and her sisters were not quite normal. Plenty of bizarre things had happened along the years. Then one day, her oldest sister Grey moved out and Vivi was soon to follow.

    Now Grey is a supermodel while her other older sister, Vivi is a rockstar. Both live in the limelight while Iris tries not to draw attention to herself. Then one day Vivi comes into town for a visit and a show and Grey was to join them as well while in the middle of one of her fashion show tours, but Grey never shows up and Iris soon suspects something is very, very wrong.

    Iris thinks something terrible has happened to Grey, possibly kidnapped. She and her sister Vivi try to look for clues that could tell them of her whereabouts. Iris starts to see a mysterious figure as well. A terrifying man wearing a bull-like skull mask seems to be stalking her as she sees him quite frequently. Finding Grey becomes her top priority after seeing this man/creature.

    The premise of this story was very intriguing indeed! Girls going missing and returning out of the blue and then years later, history seems to be repeating itself with one of them. Having read an abundance of paranormal and fantasy reads over the years, I soon came to the idea that this was a book involving the fae or faeries. The dangerous kind we all know about and sometimes love! Lol. But this is definitely a tale involving the more sinister and dangerous type, the ones you don't want to ever come across!

    The mystery within the story was done very well! I was immediately hooked into it wanting to know where Grey was and how it eventually tied into what happened to them as children because that idea remained ever present. The pacing to this was done just right with feeding us little bits of information at at time, enough that leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for Iris and Vivi to follow.

    The tone of this one felt a little dark, given the subject manner it was very fitting. There was always a chill to the air that you could feel. Also, it takes place in London, so you can pretty much feel those foggy nights! It was very atmospheric and I loved how Sutherland executed her descriptions! The plot was a very fast moving kind and I was hooked right away into this story and never wanted to put it down...but alas, I did have to work this week!

    The ending was positively mind-blowing! I did start to make my own speculations on some of the going-ons and it was satisfying to find that I was right in some aspects! House of Hollow was a most eerie read indeed with just the right amount of spooky. It's not a horror fest kind of novel, but if you know anything about the fae, you know they can be terrifying in their own right! That mysterious kind of horror is what you can expect to find in this chilling read that is perfect for the Halloween season!

    Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
  • Jingizu
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Dark Faery Tale
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2025
    A slightly different book than the usual. A dark tale, so be prepared. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The premise is great, the writing is atmospheric and descriptive and the pacing is good.

    Where it does fall a bit short for me from a five star rating, is that some descriptions were repetitive and if you know mythology well (as I do), then the big reveal of the plot was predictable.

    The MC and narrator Iris, was a good POV to the story, but she was also too goody-two-shoes, judgemental and self-righteous, while the middle sister Vivi was a standard rock rebel. Grey, the eldest sister, was by far the most intriguing and also the one to make the hard choices and decisions. Choices which she protected her sisters from, and which they judged her for.

    The story is open-ended with several questions unanswered. I like that, but it may bother those readers who want everything neatly wrapped up.

    I would actually enjoy a sequel, as I feel there is more story left to tell.

    NB. as an aside I just want to add that many complained about the "sexualisation of a minor". Iris is 17 years old, in England she is of consenting age, so no. Not a minor in the way many think. Also many complaints about the sisters being so beautiful and eating massive amounts of food and staying thin. The reasons for both are explained clearly near the end.
  • Rie
    5.0 out of 5 stars incredible atmosphere - haunting and eerie!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021
    i'm copying and pasting my review from goodreads with minor edits:

    WOW, THIS WAS SO GOOD. the atmosphere of the writing was INCREDIBLE. there was a lot of grotesque imagery and body horror described but it was always just slightly on this side of creepy, and always compelling enough to keep reading. i randomly heard the premise on an insta story and was interested enough to check it out right away and boy i'm glad i did. this is the eerie magic story dreams (or i guess nightmares) are made of.

    at first i was kind of disappointed that all 3 sisters didn't have POVs because i really wanted to get in grey's head but by the end i felt satisfied with iris being the storyteller. besides, all the characters felt so vivid, especially the sisters. i feel like a lot of books like to tell-not-show you about a bond between characters that existed before you "meet" them and you can never really quite buy it but the bond between the hollow girls felt real and lived-in. the revelation near the end felt true and earned and still managed to surprise me! i had a inkling but it ended up being much darker than i thought it would've. i still want some answers!! also i really want to visit edinburgh, more than i already did! i feel like the settings were very immersive, which was definitely a strength of the book's, but i also found myself googling and street-viewing some of the locations mentioned just to imagine it better, lol. also it's been a year in a pandemic and i haven't gone anywhere further than like, 40 miles away since february 2020.

    i know this is a standalone but it's also set up perfectly for a continuation, and boy do i want one after the way things were left at the end tbh. or a prequel. a side story. anything, really. i grew to really love iris! and i want to know more about how things came to be, how relationships have been left standing, and how things may get resolved beyond the story in this book. ugh, i just loved this. horror isn't really my thing but this had enough mystery and magic that i honestly enjoyed myself the whole time.

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