House of Hollow

this was a case of, “did i read the same book everyone else did?” because i saw friends raving and expected the same reaction but... i'm sad to report that i was largely disappointed by this

i will say, first and foremost, that i really enjoyed the spooky parts. i'm not big on blood and gore, but the b&g in this mixed with the thriller aspect properly spooked me in a good way – i felt thrilled and even a little scared to turn the light off at night, but also not permanently traumatized for life. i think that's my personal happy medium when it comes to anything scary or that involves body horror, so i'm pleased with that.

i'm also pleased with how sutherland handled the narrative of three sisters and the consequent dynamics, no matter where they grew up. i think each sister, in personality and actions and words, embodies key parts of being the eldest, middle and youngest sister and these complex dynamics are really well played out without being cringe-y and obvious. as an eldest sister who would once upon a time do anything for her younger, that part really struck me.

however, my disappointment largely lies in the “twist”, which was obvious to me from the second the characters were introduced on the backside. i don't know if that's the author's intention, or if they were trying to be clever, but for me i knew the twist from the back of the book summary and spent the entire book praying that the twist was going to be more spectacular than what it was. unfortunately, it was predictable and there were way too many hints dropped in i guess not the best way for me to personally enjoy it, but in retrospect it's kind of neat to see all the bread crumbs there (har dee har).

also i had a hard time switching between the urbanity and lighthearted rapport of the sisters and then suddenly blood and gore. i'm not saying that thrillers have to be 100% serious or 100% goofy, but the transitions between the two felt clunky and sometimes the effect of some of the funny or serious parts were lost on me because of it.

feeling uber conflicted about this book because, like i said, i liked the spook i got, but i have many (many many many) gripes with how the plot was executed