(This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy provided by NetGalley.)

I finally read this ARC two years after publication, and now I feel very silly for putting it off so long, because I read it in a day. I’ve been feeling lukewarm about a lot of books lately, but I read this one hungrily, breathlessly. My impulse is to make the whole review just swear words: fucking christ, this book!!! There’s a line stuck in my head, I think something someone once said to someone on Tumblr — “truly yours is a fecund and terrible mind” — and that’s what I want to say to the author. How does your brain do this! It must be terrifying in there!

This book was so intense that I stayed up until 6 a.m. reading it and then had to watch an episode of Say Yes to the Dress to calm myself down. I’ve read books that felt like a depressive episode (e.g. Catherine House and Our Wives Under the Sea), but this one felt like an anxiety attack.

Some specific things I particularly liked: that the primary relationship in the book was a friendship; that the horror was made of things most people normally find pleasant ((view spoiler)); and that (at least some of) the evil things had motivations that actually kind of made sense and weren’t just “being evil because the narrative needs this entity to be evil.”

As for how this compares to Kingfisher’s other work, I’ve read The Twisted Ones and What Moves the Dead and liked both, but this one is my favorite.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Sorry about the late review.

I lost access to the ARC, so I will be reviewing the finished copy…sort of. I have decided to not finish this book. The book was way more humorous than I was expecting. It completely took away from whatever minute sense of dread there was. And about 30% in, I’m already stressed out that the friends might not find their way home.

This was my first T. Kingfisher book and it definitely won't be my last. The humor and heart brought to this story is refreshing in the Horror space. It's super weird, but extremely well-written. This makes me so excited to pick up more!

With The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher creates a nightmare landscape, hidden within the very walls of an unassuming building in a quaint little town, a premise that is beyond horrifying. However, this book is a case of a strong idea not quite making it to a strong execution. While Kingfisher is a solid, skilled writer, The Hollow Places relies too heavily on repeated imagery and incidents. It begins to feel sluggish and difficult to get through after a while, so that by the end, it's difficult to remain invested in the outcome. However, there are some brilliant moments (and one fantastic character) sprinkled throughout that help elevate the book as a whole, and that is almost worth the rest.

A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become

A wonderful piece of work by T. Kingfisher.

This read got 2.5 stars from me. The first half was phenomenal! The second...not so much.
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When newly-divorced Kara moves in with her uncle, she decides to help him with his small-town museum of oddities. Here, she quickly makes friends with the barista in the shop next door, greets customers daily, and is compiling a spreadsheet of all the crazy shit her uncle owns. Everything is fine, until a hole appears on one of the walls. And what does one do when a random hole appears? You look inside. 🧐 Well, turns out this hole leads to the things nightmares are made of. 😅
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I'm telling you, this book was amazing for the first 50%. It took a turn from horror to sci-fi and I was alllll for it. 🙌🏼 Kara and Simon (the hilarious AF eccentric barista) are a great team dead-set on exploring and returning home ASAP. I was loving it! But then, what I expected to come at the end of the book happened way too soon anticlimactically. From there, the book got repetitive, one of my favorite characters just kind of faded into the background, and the ending was a little bit cheesy for me. 😒 🧀 This book had so many threads that could've been used powerfully to end this book, but it just didn't happen with the route the author chose. 😔
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Still, I loved the writing and I'm not giving up on Kingfisher. I laughed out loud at several points (shout out to Simon) and was thoroughly disgusted with some descriptions (Helloooo Sturdivant!). I'd read anything else by this author just to enjoy that laid back style of writing. Maybe this book just missed the mark for me personally, but others will come full circle. 🤞🏼

Really creepy, and definitely stays with you. An appealing MC, BFF, and the little museum of curiosities ends up becoming a character in its own right.

About a week after finishing this, I saw a moving shadow, thought about a shadow moving through willows, and got a cold chill and racing heart. It's a slow-acting mood peace, not a jump scare. There are some nicely done horrific images, but it is mostly about describing a place that is not bad, exactly, but that is wholly inimical to humans.

As is common with Kingfisher, the monsters, though deadly, aren't bad. They are different, unconcerned, and going about their lives in ways that happen to be very hard on humans.

The protagonists are charming and well-developed. I wish I could have heard more about the armed and armored stuffed mice, though.

Well. I jumped the gun on reading this but I’m glad I finally got around to it. It was so much fun! I hear the term cozy-horror recently and that was what this felt like: cozy-weird-horror.

We follow a woman (whose real name I can’t remember just now, she was mostly called Carrot in the most adorable way) who is going through divorce. Instead of moving back in with her mother, she decides to move into her uncle’s Glory to God Wonder Museum of Curiosities, filled with all kinds of weird artifacts and taxidermist and I’m also and the like. After her uncle has to leave to get knee surgery, she discovers a portal in the museum to go exploring- chaos ensues.

I think what I loved most about this was the humor. There were several lines/scenes that made me laugh out loud. The banter between Carrot and Simon was 10/10. I identified easily with Carrot, and Simon was guy I wouldn’t mind having a drink with.

The horror wasn’t the scariest I’d ever read (hence the feeling of cozy) but I think it fit the tone of the book. There was one gross/gruesome thing but it didn’t linger in the details too much.

I’m eager to read more Kingfisher at this point! If all her books are this funny (and feel good? Can a horror book be feel good?!) will definitely be reading more from her soon.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC. Sorry about the due date…

If you’re looking for a highly original, highly entertaining, edge of your seat sci-fi horror thriller look no further then The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. I finished it in 2 days!

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**

This is one of my favorite books. I still think about it often nearly two years later. So creepy and atmospheric, and I love the way Kingfisher plays with tension.

My thanks to the publisher for the ARC, and my apologies for the very belated review.

The Hollow Places is so cool! Mara having found a hidden bunker at her uncle's home becomes obsessed with the words she finds inscribed there. She had no idea what she would find when she keeps exploring the property. Alternate worlds are hers for exploring and terror await her there. Exciting and chilling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for this review.

This was an entertaining and unique read. Inspired by a line from Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows”. It’s a fairly fast paced book and keeps the readers attention glued to the page, to find out what happens next to the two characters Kara and Simon. To say who or what the antagonist is in this book, would I think, take away from Kara’s and the readers slow realization of what is happening. Suffice it to say that it is a different horror here. And the story really works well because of it.

So, I originally DNF'd this at about 27%. It just wasn't hitting.

Happily, I decided to revisit it and I think that original DNF was just mood. I liked it!

I loved Simon. I want him to be my best friend.

I liked Kara and really loved the museum.

The book felt original and definitely had its share of both creepy moments and pulse-pounding adventure.

Very glad I tried it again!

I struggled with The Hollow Places not because I thought it was a bad story but it just wasn't a story for me is the best way I can describe it. I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story and that made it drag along to the point I found myself having to skim just to complete it.

I was so excited to give this one a whirl though because by the synopsis I should have loved it but I just never got that cool creep factor that I yearn for when I'm reading a horror story.

I just finished up The Hollow Placed, and let me tell you, it was an experience!
See, I had started it about a year ago, and shelved it, but I couldn’t remember why. I thought, maybe I just didn’t vibe with it or something. But then I started reading it again, and realized why I put it down.
IT WAS TOO DAMN SCARY! The first third of this book is just downright terrifying. I had trouble reading it because I would be so spooked when I put it down.
I don’t know how Kingfisher manages to make something as simple as the wind playing through a willow tree so frightening, but she does.
Anyways, the basic story in this book is that a woman finds a hole in the drywall in her uncle’s weird museum, and when she investigates, she finds a hallway that’s way too big for the building (serious House of Leaves vibes here). The hallway leads to another world, a world where they are waiting, and they are hungry.
Kingfisher has again taken a classic story- this time Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows- and breathed new life into it. I can’t wait to see what she does with Poe (that’s up next!)

Fabulous. Well drawn characters, incredibily great writing. Biy, did I love this. It's creepy and scary but also with some humor. Look forward to more of this author's work.

This was my first book by Kingfisher and lemme tell ya, it's *chef's kiss* perfection. Carrot was likeable and witty and the book definitely was set up exactly how it needed to be to express the creepy , eerie fantasy it was. I don't really think this was a horror as it was labeled, but it did have the elements. Would love to see whatelse Kingfisher has for us readers.

After re-reading the synopsis, I’ve decided they I will not be reading this title. I feel it’sa little outside of my comfort zone and not something I would enjoy reading.

Kara is a newly divorcee who is forced to move in with her mother due to financial issues. She get an offer to work with her Uncle Earl who owns one of the weirdest museums in town.

Uncle Earl ends up having to get a knee operation which leaves Kara completely in charge of the museum. Kara ends up finding a hole carved in the wall and that’s where the scary fun begins.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher was very creepy but in a good way. This writer is extremely talented author who tells a story in a way that leaves you on the edge of your seat. If you like fast pace, nail biting, and scary horror books then this book is the one for you.