Publisher’s blurb; 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.

After reading other reviews I almost feel like a bad guy...but while The Hollow Places was entertaining it was not scary, disturbing, read in one sitting, type of book to me. The writing was very well done and the characters were well described. Though I thought Simon was a little too stereotypical as the “gay character” with his weird mix of Jonny Depp’s Willie Wonka and Mad hatter style of dress and anal jokes are way to teenage boy for my taste.

I just didn’t get the creepies, not even one shiver. This is listed as a horror genre book and Horror is my usual brew of choice when picking a new book. This would fare better, in my opinion, under speculative fiction, even fantasy then horror.

If you like your horror on the mild side; spooky not splatter, and like your fiction with a nice dose of fantasy then you will enjoy this book immensely.

I received this book free from Gallery Books, Saga Press, and Netgalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This book is creepy and wonderful all at the same time. The premise hooked me and the excellent writing reeled me in. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. The characters are very well developed, and the relationship between Simon and Kara was delightful. A great read!

The Hollow Places is a wonderfully spooky delight. Kara and Simon show that you can be both from the American South and intelligent and SFF fans. I love that they have this experience together--that this isn't one of those novels where only one character has a strange experience that can never be believed or understood by anyone else. I love that their relationship is one of growing friendship, and that romance is off the table. I love the realness and honesty of all of the characters' voices I love the consideration of how things in one world or dimension have consequences in another, eve if it's as seemingly small as missing work--no "and when we got back, only 5 minutes had passed!" tricks here. The atmospheres of the two worlds Kara and Simon experience are beautifully crafted and written, and the Hollow Places are scary as hell.

To be honest, I went into this half-heartedly. I didn’t expect a compelling premise, interesting characters, genuine creepiness and good writing. How great to be happily surprised in every way. I’ve been in a bit of a slump for a while...not running across many “can’t put down” stories. This is one.

I may have nightmares after reading this book. After stumbling into another world, dimension, etc. Simon and Kara discover there are some dangerous entities just beyond our reality. They find their way back to their home and discover more terrifying things happening while they sleep. At first, I thought this was about a haunted museum and was delighted to discover the book was way more scary than a haunted place book. I have no desire to explore an opening that shows up behind a wall. Sure, it sounds cool but this book made me think twice about being too curious.

4 huge stars.

When I saw the cover and read the blurb for this book, I knew I had to request. I've heard nothing but good things about T. Kingfisher's writing, and I was thrilled to dive into this one.

Semi-mourning her divorce, Kara is trying to adjust to her new life as a single woman staying at her uncle's taxidermy shop and "Wonder Museum." She strikes up a friendship with Simon, a barista/waiter at the cafe next door, and everything is moving along, until Kara finds a hole in the wall of the museum. Instead of insulation and studs, they find a bunker. Inside the bunker, a body. And beyond that, another world. Maybe more than one. The Willows are everywhere, and the further they go, the more dangerous it becomes. What is this place? Where is this place? And who--or what--are the Willows?

Oh, there is so much I loved about this book. Kingfisher's handling of the space beyond the bunker was magnificent. The details were gruesome. Visceral. Eerie. Horrifying. Lovecraftian horror isn't my favorite, but this really hit the mark for me. The beings or lack there of--I could've read about them all day. The world-building was graphic and visual, drawing from the senses to establish a clear picture. I was engrossed in the in-between space.

I liked the characters. Kara was relatable and harmless; Simon, equally so. Their friendship was fun and reflected the changes Kara needed in her life. I found them to be a bit flat and sometimes stereotypical. I am a firm believer in sarcasm and witty exchanges between friends, but at times, it felt overkill and predictable. I can see where others might really like their dynamic, though, so I understand this is a matter of personal preference.

I also thought the conclusion felt rushed. I'm all for ambiguity--even depressing endings. I didn't mind so much the direction Kingfisher went, but it could've been expounded in a bit more depth to match the pacing of the rest of the story. The final few pages were my least favorite overall, but that's not to say the ending won't be a slam dunk for others.

Overall, The Hollow Places is a terrifying descent into the unknown, and for Lovecraftian horror fans or anyone who's interested in other worlds or unidentifiable creatures, this will be the book for you.

Thank you to Gallery and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Thank you NetGalley, Publisher and Author for this Complimentary read.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds the 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 this peculiar area—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 one fears them, the stronger they become.

Review
Ok. So this typically isn't my.type of book. But I'm trying to expand genre to more other than thrillers. So I figured what the heck.
This was a pretty interesting book. I enjoyed the story that was told. However it was hard for me to follow. I guess I couldn't really get into it. And that's my fault.

It was fast paced, errie, I enjoyed the characters alot.

I would recommend to anyone.
Just not my cup of tea.

The work was wonderfully written and I fell in love with the characters. The author did a phenomenal job at fleshing out each individual and I especially appreciated the relationship between Kara and Simon. Their banter was hands down the best I’ve come across in a hell of a long time.

Unfortunately, this piece was not the one for me. I got lost every time they ventured into the other world. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the setting and the antagonists... which may, honestly, truly just be a me problem. There is a very strong likelihood that this piece will amaze other readers.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book! A more comprehensive review will be posted on social media closer to the date of release.

So, so great! I immediately read her other book and enjoyed it greatly as well. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity.

An immersive and addictive novel that gave me goosebumps while making me laugh. Kara moves to her uncle’s Wonder Museum after a divorce. She was happy there once, surrounded by taxidermy and freakish artifacts, but now she finds a portal to another world, an evil Narnia. Kara and Simon, the barista next door, go through it and… well, they don’t find any Turkish delight. The book is so engrossing, that it’s like being there. This is nice when you’re in the Museum, it’s like you can even smell the old fur of the animals and hear your footsteps creaking, but when Kara and Simon enter “evil Narnia” it gets really creepy. It’s like a Bosch painting, pretty on the surface but very, very messed up. The author says in the afterword that she was inspired by Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows, which coincidentally I recently read. It is similar in a way that it makes nature seem very, very spooky. All this would make for a good novel, but what makes it great is the characters. Kara is funny . Simon could have been a love interest in a lesser novel, but he’s gay, so their relationship is pure friendship. Uncle Earl, the owner of the Museum, is such a good person that it raised the stakes, I wanted them all to be OK. Kudos to Beau the cat, whose involvement at the last part of the novel gave me heart palpitations. In short, this is one of my favorite reads this year. Excellent!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Gallery Books!

Unpopular opinion time; I guess this book just wasn't for me.

The synopsis of this book was very intriguing along with the cover. So, I was pretty excited to start, however, I was highly disappointed. I just didn't really care for Kara's storyline and on top of that, it was too wordy. I had to force myself to keep reading. I just wanted it to hurry and get to the good stuff.

The main characters are just not my cup of tea because the whole quirky/trying too hard to be silly was a detractor from what is supposed to be a horror book. I had a really hard time believing that they were supposed to be 30-40 years old? I looked up the other genres where this book had been listed so it made more sense that this was in Speculative Fiction and Sci-Fi, but it still left a lot to be desired in order to be called "good" in my opinion.

There were only a few places where it even felt very suspenseful. I will say that Kingfisher did write the scenes with the cat very well. She nailed the cat and his actions/reactions. I also did like the friendship that formed between the two main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Galley Books for this free copy to read and review in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is my first time reading Kingfisher. It is also my first time encountering portals and alternate realities in a work of horror. My basement will never be the same to me ever again. A splendid book that sent chills down my spine at regular intervals! Full review to come closer to publication date (Oct. 6th.)

When Kara's marriage falls apart, her Uncle Earl, owner of a museum, saves her from a fate worse than death, moving in with her mother. The Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities, and Taxidermy is home to many unique exhibits. He offers her a place to stay in return for help around the museum. Kara is happy to say yes since now she won't go to prison for killing her mother, and she will be able to figure out what to do with her life.
Kara is settling in, inventorying the museum, and getting free WIFI at the coffee shop next door. So what could go wrong? Well, first her uncle needs surgery and she is left alone to run the museum. Not such a bad thing, since the work is easy and she can focus on her freelance work. Until that is, she discovers a hole in the wall and asks her favorite barista, Simon to help her repair it. It is not your average DIY project though, as they soon learn. There is a tunnel behind the wall that leads them to alternate realities, and before you can say 'what', they are off exploring.
Ok, so I have seen enough horror movies and read enough books to know that this will not end in a trip to a place like Disney World. There is scary stuff behind every door, and Kara and Simon are not at all prepared for what they encounter. Can they get back to the relative normalcy of the museum or have they made the biggest mistake of their lives?
I loved the quirky characters, the museum, and if I am honest, I might even have gone through that hole in the wall. My first book by this author and I had a blast alternating between the character's humor and the terror of the situation.

"The Hollow Places" by T. Kingfisher is one creepy book! Kara, reeling from her recent divorce, moves in with her uncle to help him run his weird taxidermy museum. One day she discovers a hole in the wall and, upon exploring further, a passageway that can't possibly be there, a passageway that leads to another world-a place of unimaginable terror.

This book is masterfully written in a way that keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat, wondering what horrors Kara and her friend Simon will encounter next. And just when you think they are finally safe, the danger enters enters our world looking for revenge.

I highly recommend this book to fans of horror novels. This book is the stuff of which nightmares are made! Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this creepy book in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t read a lot of horror, because I’m very sensitive and impressionable and understand that sometimes thinking of dark things calls to dark things. This is a fancy way of saying “I’m a big baby” and I’m fine with it.

And Oh, The Hollow Places is creepy. I realized pretty quickly that I couldn’t read it after dark, or I’d get nightmares. But then that deadline became 6pm, then 4pm, then 3pm, until I could only read it the two hours of the day when the sun was at its highest. It wasn’t just the description of things that go bump in the night—though that was also nightmare fuel. The part that made me most uncomfortable was the idea that the skin of the world we see is hiding something, and sometimes the scariest thing it can be is a monster or an unknown and unnamable thing that wants to harm us, but sometimes it’s emptiness and indifference, and that’s even scarier.

The characters are modern and accessible in a way that makes it very easy to see one’s self in their roles (horror story heroes: they’re just like us!). My initial impression was that it’s like an episode of Gravity Falls, but for adults, where someone finds a portal to the hellraiser version of Narnia in the Mystery Shack, and it is, and it’s even more entertaining than it sounds. It also reminded me of Annihilation, that exploration of an alien world that has crashed into our own and changes us without our consent.

I’ll be sleeping with the light on for at least a week, which is a good sign that I was properly horrified, but beyond that, the characters left an impression with me that I’ll be thinking about for a while. Come for the horror, stay for the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book for review.

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<p>Review copy provided by the publisher.</p>
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<p>Aaaaaaaaaah.</p>
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<p>Aaaaaaaaaah yikes yikes yikes this book.</p>
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<p>Okay, so it said on the label that it is horror, and I know I am not a big horror reader. But I have been enjoying T. Kingfisher's other books <em>so much</em>, and sometimes when people say horror they really mean dark fantasy, and so I thought, okay, yes, I will read this one!</p>
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<p>Friends, it is not dark fantasy. It is horrory horrory horror. It is "I made sure I finished this book with enough time to go read a nice short story about nice things before I had to go to bed" horror. It has Kingfisher's (Ursula Vernon's) engaging, entirely readable voice, and it uses that voice to take the reader to some terrifying and unpleasant places.</p>
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<p>The taxidermy is mostly not the creepy part, is a good gauge for this book. It is full of taxidermied animals, and they are mostly okay. But there are dimensional <em>problems</em> in this book, not just issues but problems, and there are willows, or willow-like entities, and it all adds up to quite a bit of aaaaaah.</p>
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<p>Kara--known to her immediate circle as Carrot--is living with her uncle Earl in the aftermath of her divorce. He's trying to take care of her. She's trying to take care of him--and when things go pear-shaped, Uncle Earl makes for extremely effective stakes in the story. <em>Must protect Uncle Earl from interdimensional peril</em> is something I was very sold on, yes, we are here for Uncle Earl, Carrot, do the thing. Her relationship with her friend Simon is also extremely well-drawn, and it was exactly these elements that kept me reading a horror novel that does extremely horrory things that aaaaaaaah.</p>
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<b>1.5</b>

And I see from other people's reviews that I'm once again in the minority ...

<b>I initially enjoyed this</b> but I got really annoyed with the repetition, ignoring clues (some real TSTL moments here), and the stereotypical sassy gay sidekick (in the author's note she said he's based on real people and that she even toned him down ... but idk how many people would make jokes about anal and wear fishnets and a top hat while exploring another world. And how many times did it have to be pointed out that Kara is SOOOO not his type. All of it was just so over-the-top and didn't really match the tone, imo.)

At about the 30% point, these things started to bug me. Every time something scary or unusual would happen, Kara would make a sarcastic joke and try to laugh it off. The first few times, this was funny and made sense as a coping mechanism. After like the 5th time though it got really old. <b>It kind of ruins the atmosphere if every time something horrifying happens you make inappropriate jokes.</b>

Here's an example of these two things that bothered me, at about the 64% point and on the same page, and this isn't the first time something like this comes up:
<blockquote>For some reason, that struck me as hilarious. I started laughing and nearly fell over. The giant otter gazed past me as I howled. "Oh god! Oh god, I'm trying to pick a fight with another universe!"
"Could happen." Simon grinned. "I mean, it'd be better if you just shouted Yo Mama jokes at it, but, hey ..."

[...]

"First we're going to fix the drywall patch. Then we're going to tie you to the bed."
"... Kinky."
"Yes, but you're not my type, hon."</blockquote>🙄

Aside from the annoying sarcasm and jokes, <b>Kara kept ignoring so many signs.</b> Simon even makes a couple comments early on about how he's seen horror movies before and so knows what not to do. Kara apparently has not because she repeatedly ignores clues about what is going on to the point where you just want to scream at her.

Early on too, she makes a really dumb decision to mark where the door to her world is with a stick in the ground. Because, you know, nothing could possibly disturb a stick and I'm sure that stick is super identifiable from all other sticks. 🤦‍♀️

Now this might've just been a problem with my brain, but <b>I had a really difficult time visualizing what the willow world and the bunkers looked like.</b> Even the layout of the museum and the building it's in was confusing to me. Usually I have no issues with creating a map in my head of corridors and rooms (thanks, video games) but for some reason while reading this I was completely lost. I kept getting confused about whether the stairs were leading up or down and how the doors were arranged: are they in a hill or flush with the ground or something else entirely? Idk, maybe I read it too quickly and just missed something.

Something else interesting, is that for me <b>the actual monsters weren't the scariest part</b>. I found the school bus and the dude in the bunker to be WAY creepier than the hungry things. Oh, and speaking of that. The whole "PRAY THEY ARE HUNGRY" was ... eh. After you get the explanation I thought it would've been creepier if it was revealed that the person who scratched it on the wall just missed a comma. "PRAY, THEY ARE HUNGRY" seems way scarier.

<b>One last thing.</b> Kara gets divorced and is looking to move in with her mom but thankfully her uncle who owns a weird museum has space for her. Then he conveniently has to go to the hospital for surgery and she's left all alone to deal with things. And of course her mom is too far away and can only frantically call Kara to find out what's going on. So even though the MC is in her 30s, that didn't stop the author from using the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmbiguouslyAbsentParent">absent parent trope</a>.

<b>In the end, I was confused about and annoyed with a number of things so my enjoyment waned as the story progressed.</b> It probably sounds like I hated this, but that's only really true for the last half, so ... I suppose that isn't good lol. This kind of reminded me of the books I read as a teen in that I flew through it and it was mildly scary. The concept was a cool idea (even if it referenced Narnia [checks Kindle ...] 17 times), but the execution wasn't so great. I think if she writes a sequel though, I might check it out just to see what happens next.

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley</i>

Being from North Carolina, I got a chuckle out of the "Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy in Hog Chapel NC". If that doesn't sum up NC then I don't know what does. The amount of laughter I got from this book alone makes it 4 stars. Thank you Saga Press @sagasff for gifting me with an Advance Reader's Copy of Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher which is due out October 6th. Overall I found it imaginative and engaging. I could identify with and liked the characters as well as enjoying the odd nature of the alternate universe. "Down the rabbit hole" applies to this book in some ways. Being lost and out of control are two of the greatest fears people have. Add in something unnatural hunting you and you have an intimidatingly creepy winner. I especially enjoyed the use of negative space as a means of drawing out trepidation. Very creative. In the Author's Note "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood is credited with inspiration for this novel. I look forward to reading more of this author's writing.

#ursulavernon #thehollowplaces #horror #horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #netgalley #booklover #newbooks #bookreview #taxidermy #readthis #tkingfisher #books #currentlyreading #booksareforever #bookaholic #bibliophilelife #bookworm #readersofinstagram

This review is posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Twitter and in multiple virtual bookclubs as well as Facebook.

I started reading this book in the evening. Do I know better than to start a horror novel at night? I do know better. But also…apparently I don’t actually know better. Presented with atmospheric horror at its finest, I very much had to sleep with the lights on. The beginning of this book lures you into a false sense of security, with light-hearted and snappy prose, far more cheerful than you might expect when it opens on a woman dealing with the emotional and financial blow from the collapse of her marriage. Unable to afford a place of her own and unwilling to move back it with her mother, Kara, “Carrot,” is thrilled when her uncle offers her a spare room at his museum—the “Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy,” or Wonder Museum for short. While some people find the place to be a bit creepy or unsettling, Carrot has many fond memories of the place as a child, with the added bonus that none of those fond memories are tainted by association with her Ex. Everything is set to roll on a quirky small town “finding yourself” flavor of story when she finds a small hole in the wall of the museum, right next to the wall of Thimbles of World. There is a problem. The hole doesn’t lead to insulation or whatever ought to be between the walls of an old building. It leads to an impossible concrete hallway and a locked door. This is the story about the in-between places, the hollow places.

T. Kingfisher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I first became familiar with her work last year via her podcast The Hidden Almanac, which she wrote (under the name Ursula Vernon) and produced with her husband Kevin Sunny. Over the past year I have made my way through several of her short story collections and stand alone novels, and each time I have been delighted by her facility with language and ability to evoke fear, longing, and delight with only a handful of words.

I am extremely thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book early and have already preordered a hard copy for my personal library.

I fell in love with T. Kingfisher's storytelling and characters in The Twisted Ones and the love affair continues in The Hollow Places! The concept of this story, a woman finds a portal to another (terrifying) world in her Uncle's museum of curiousities, is a definite Yes Please!

T. Kingfisher has a particular talent for filling her books with funny relatable characters who stumble/tumble there ways through horrifying experiences in a way that feels real. They don't suddenly turn into unrealistic badasses with a hidden talent for fighting or reveal a hidden armory on their person. They laugh nervously, tell inappropriate jokes with awkward timing in high stress situations, their injuries don't magically disappear with a good night's sleep (as they so often seem to do in action type movies/books), and, most importantly. And to be able to balance the humor and sense of reality with such atmospheric creeping dread - Chef's Kiss! I love when a book can cause a phsyical response to the dread being built, I regularly found my eyes widening, my hand coming up to cover my mouth, and my body trying to sink deeper into my chair and out of sight of the happenings in the book.

Fantastic balance of terror and time to hang out and get to know the characters - highly recommend! T. Kingfisher's horror is now a definite insta-buy for me!