This will be a hard one to review, because I think some of my dislike of The Hollow Places will come down to personal preference. I've not read the original story The Hollow Places builds on, but much like The Willows, I think The Hollow Places would have worked better as a short story. Simply put, there's not a whole lot here. It feels a little too flimsy to keep the story going for 300+ pages. There's a lot of repetition in the set up of scenes and how they progress, and for a few chapters in the middle it feels like Kingfisher is trying to find a way to pad the story.

The characters also conveniently don't put together things they've seen or heard to figure out what's going on, when it's incredibly obvious. I can understand that maybe Kingfisher was going for a "they were so scared they couldn't think straight" type of deal. But after a while, it became more like, "I'm making them not put these pieces together because it serves the story better." Also, how did the bunkers get built? And why did the people not build, like, underground tunnels to connect the bunkers? If the creatures can't get into the bunkers or underground, why not just build underground tunnels? I feel like I may have missed something on that front, because it's such an obvious solution that I can't believe it isn't brought up in the novel.

Also, why did no one think "If we can get through this hole to this other world, then something from that other world could also pass into ours?" at any point? There's only a fear of the human protagonists going back through the hole and not that anything could come through from the other side.

As for what comes down to personal preference, well, I've found that I just don't find cosmic horror that scary. To me, it's only logical and rational that there are beings out in the universe that are beyond human comprehension, and that some of them are actively hostile to humans or don't care about us at all. This doesn't bother me in the least.

I also apparently don't find trees that scary, even if they somehow move around by themselves. The atmosphere didn't really get to me. It even has a scene of one of my personal nightmares--being in water and not being able to see what's around you, underneath said water, and when it could be coming for your ankles--and I could only shrug.

And then there's Simon. He's Kara's friend in her new home, and very, very gay. Kingfisher reminds us of his gayness every chance she gets. Not only that, Kara brings up his gayness every chance she gets, and how he's "totally not her type" and how "nothing will ever happen between them because, again, GAY."

[Simon:] "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."

The overly sexualized, sassy, well dressed gay friend is a stereotype for a reason. Kingfisher says she based Simon off real gay people she's known, so I'm trying not to be too harsh about it because there are gay people who act like this, but in nearly every single scene Simon is in, he makes some kind of gay sex joke or reference. This may come down to me being asexual and not really liking those types of jokes, though. There's also the argument to be made that it's one thing for a real person to be comfortable acting like this, but it's another for a writer to make their character act like a stereotype. There's just not much depth to Simon, and he doesn't really seem to add much of anything to the story except to patch up the hole in Kara's wall.

Kara also makes sarcastic jokes whenever something scary happens, and after a while, it kills the horror of the situation. I understand that Kingfisher was going for "using humor to defuse the terror of the situation" but it was overused to the point that I was like, "Well, if the characters aren't taking it that seriously, why should I?" This is also where the repetition of scenes comes in: Something scary happens, Kara or Simon would make a joke about it to defuse the situation, and go about their business.

The reason I rated this two stars is for the ending. I won't spoil it, but I really, really liked what Kingfisher did with the museum and its inhabitants in the end. Outside of the unseen creatures, there were a few truly horrifying moments. But otherwise, The Hollow Places was a miss for me.

A nice mix of comedy, horror, fantasy and science fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was the first one from this author I have read and plan to check out more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher! This is my second novel from this author and I absolutely love the writing and subject matter. T.Kingfisher writes horror and suspense so well! My favorite thing about this story was that it was a portal fantasy/horror story. It was very fairytale like, but very dark. The main character inherits her grandfather’s curiosity shop and she discovers a doorway that opens up to another relm! I don’t want to ruin it for the future readers, but I loved this book and gave it 5 stars!!

Fantasy, humor, and a bit of horror mix together in this tale by Kingfisher of finding a portal into another world. Deeply creepy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Saga Press, and T. Kingfisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like creepy stories, you should enjoy "The Hollow Places." Adrift after her divorce, Kara (Carrot) takes up the offer of her uncle Earl to live in the back room and help him run the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy (the Wonder Museum) in Hog Chapel, NC. The museum contains a variety of oddities -- a sunflower seed portrait of Pope John Paul; tiny taxidermy mice in armor riding cane toads; a mounted head of a Roosevelt elk nicknamed Prince; fish leather; a carved corpse-otter effigy, etc. Only a few weeks after taking up residence in the Wonder Museum, Kara takes over watching the museum while Earl undergoes knee surgery.

One evening she notices a hole in the drywall in one of the display rooms on the second floor, which she assumes a tourist accidently made. Simon, the gay campy barista at the coffee shop next door offers to help her patch the hole. However, he discovers that behind the hole is a hallway. When Kara and Simon begin exploring the hallway, its length is much to great to be consistent with the dimensions of the building. When they attempt to patch the hole, they discover that the wallboard on the "museum" side of the hole is inch-thick wallboard, but on the "other" side of the hole, it is six inches of concrete. Simon can saw through the wall easily on the "museum" side and Kara can see the saw coming through the concrete, with a bit of wallboard falling down and hitting the ground with a thud and bits of gravel falling off. Somehow the hole seems to exist in alternate dimensions. Simon and Kara explore the hallway further and find a doorway that opens into a world with dozens of tiny, grassy, hump-shaped islands. Entering this new world, they see lots of osier willows, lots of concrete bunkers, and numerous islands that contain other doors, some open.

What they find and don't find in this alternate world is quite creepy, with practically no other lifeforms other than the willows, but strange noises, confusing images, disturbing written warnings, evidence of prior human or human-like visitors, and sights that make no sense. The more time they spend in the willow world, the more disturbing it becomes. Even once they escape back to their reality, they cannot escape this world, as it attempts to draw them back in via nightmares, sleepwalking, and the reappearance of the hole they thought they had patched. The final confrontation between Kara and this world, and the secret behind the reappearance of the hole is quite dramatic, creative, and thoroughly creepy.

Kara and Simon are great characters, with some rather amusing dialogue as they attempt to make sense of the strangeness. The Wonder Museum serves as a suitable backdrop for the creepiness. "The Hollow Places" is definitely worth reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this inventive and unsettling horror novel. The "evil" was unique and scary, and the "final battle" was superbly satisfying and included some unexpected elements. I will soon be reading The Willows by Algernon Blackwood, a turn-of-the-century novella that inspired this book.

The Hollow Places is a sci-fi/horror book. If you haven't read any of Kingfisher's work before, you need to. Somehow she finds the perfect mix of horror and comedy. Kara discovers there is a bunker in the hole in the wall of her Uncle's oddity museum. What lies behind the bunker doors is a way to another world, an alternate reality-one that is truly horrifying.
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The Hollow Places was chills-down-your-spin creepy. As a Stephen King reader, this hit the stop. Highly recommend for all my thriller/horror fans

This book was a pretty good read, especially for someone like me who really enjoys books with a little bit of a creepy vibe. I have been a long time fan of Stephen King and found this book was right up my alley. The only fault was that it was really slow to get into the main part of the action, things progress very slowly until the last half to third of the book.

Can we say creepy?! I'm normally not a huge horror fan, but this sounded good, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. T. Kingfisher is a new author, but I may check out other books.

Kara-or Carrot-was quiet a likeable character for the most part. I will never look at willow trees the same again! I think the audio on this would be amazing. Add to your TBR!

Thank you to Gallery/Saga Press and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I loved The Twisted Ones by this author. It was such a pleasure to read so I had high expectations for this one and I was not disappointed! My friend Jen told me The Hollow Places was based on The Willows by Algernon Blackwood and this was exciting because I have actually read and reviewed that short story! This is good news for me because it means another smartypants know-it-all stranger won’t be able to come here and school me on the history of everything ever written in the horror field this time around. Note to everyone else: YOU CAN FULLY ENJOY THIS BOOK WITHOUT HAVING READ THE WILLOWS and it’s perfectly okay if you haven’t. Kingfisher takes some of the elements from The Willows and runs wild with them. Here’s my review of The Willows if you haven’t read it and want to learn a little about it:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kara is newly divorced and better off for it if you ask me and I’m sure you just did. Her husband was quite a toad.

“He hasn’t given a shit about my interests for years. He doesn’t even know the name I write fanfic under. Not that I want him to.”

Hahahaha, I love the way Kingfisher writes.

Kara is pondering moving back in with her mother with great dread. She and mom do not get along so when her Uncle Earl kindly offers her a room if she catalogs his Wonder Museum, a store of oddities, she jumps at the chance. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend their days cataloging old taxidermy pieces and bizarre finds from all over the world? I want that job. I might even do that job for free. She settles in and feels right at home in the store, where she actually grew up and named a stuffed beast or two that still hangs on the wall, and gets to work. It isn’t long before she discovers a strange hole in the drywall. But what she finds upon closer inspection isn’t drywall and studs but a walled up hallway. 😳 That can’t be good! She enlists the help of Simon, the guy who runs the coffee shop next door, and who dresses better than most anyone I’ll ever know. Together they get down to investigating and adventuring and running for their lives! There is no funny business going on between them and I loved to see it. They both have a quirky sense of humor and their dynamic is a joy and really makes the book something special.The dialogue is light-hearted and a dream to read:

“We’re not in a horror movie Simon.

How do you know?

Because one of us would have to be spunky and virginal.”

I love these two weirdos so much.

Anyhow, what they find has to be read to be believed. It’s wild, weird, and exceptionally creepy and I’m not going to spoil you but you will likely be giving willows the side-eye for the rest of your days. The imagery is vividly disturbing and the premise pretty darn creepy.

I knew I was going to adore this book the moment Kara started talking about her strained relationship with her mother in such a comical and realistic way and I was not let down or left disappointed at any point. I loved every moment of this often horrifying wild ride and I highly recommend it if you enjoy a little humor with your horror. If you’re a snob who doesn’t like these things, you’ve been warned and I can’t help ya. I’ll be over here loving what I love and this is one of the things I will love and cherish always.

The Hollow Places is a bizarre, eerie, atmospheric read and I loved it. It was funny, but still managed to leave me on the edge of my seat a few times.

The story follows our main character Kara, who moves in with her uncle at his curiosities museum after her divorce. While helping him out around the museum, she discovers a portal to another world hidden in the walls. Kara and her friend, Simon, enter this mysterious portal and do not like what they find on the other side.

This book was very atmospheric. I loved the descriptions of Kara’s uncle’s museum and all of the different weird things found within. It had good humor to balance out the scary bits, but it was a type of humor that felt natural in the situation that Kara and Simon found themselves in, more like the characters were trying to find some sense of normalcy in the bizarre events happening around them.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from T. Kingfisher.

I got around 30% of the way through The Hollow Places before skimming the rest. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to connect with the story or with Kara. Despite being a horror novel, I never quite felt the tension (and Kara’s choices really made no sense to me). But I think this was absolutely a case of “it’s me, not the book” so I would encourage you to check this one if it sounds interesting!

A highlight of this title was written up in a previous issue of FANGORIA magazine. Please contact the reviewer directly for a PDF copy.

I hate writing a bad review but this book was boring to me I’m sorry. I got half way through the book before anything interesting happened but I kept reading because I thought something has to happen soon but it didn’t. I gave it a one star because I did like the way the characters rapture was good but that’s all I liked about this book. 👍🏼
🤓❤️📚❣️❣️

This book started a bit slow moving until the last third where the action picked up quite a bit. I enjoyed the world building that happened in the other realm of this book. It was weird and different and a bit gross at times, but not in a bad way. I could see part of the ending coming with the artifact but I think that was intentional due to clues being given throughout the book. Having said that there was a bunch that I could not predict and surprised me. As I have sat on this book, I think the strangeness of it has grown on me a bit, but at the time of reading it felt a little too weird and out of place. I still am unsure of how much I liked or disliked this book and I think that it lies between the 3 and 4 star rating, but doesn't fully fall into either. Thank you to netgalley for providing this book to me for a review.

Thirty-something divorcee Kara has recently moved in with her Uncle Earl, in part because she wants to help him run his weirder-than-weird museum of oddities, but also because she REALLY doesn't want to move back home with her mother. One day, while Kara's manning the museum, she discovers a hole in the wall, though it turns out that this hole is not your normal hole and is in fact odder than anything in Uncle Earl's museum. Armed with nothing but sarcasm and a thermos of spiked coffee, Kara and her friend Simon head through the wall into a foggy world filled with spooky, mist-covered islands (each inexplicably housing a cement bunker), lots and lots of willows, and, well, not a lot else. As they explore, Kara and Simon discover more and more unsettling things about this strange land, and hope to close up portal between the museum and the islands, hopefully with themselves safely on the museum side.

This is a wonderfully creepy story, made more so by the presence of all the taxidermy (I mean, when DOESN'T that make a story creepier?). But the shining star of this book isn't so much the atmospheric creepiness as it is Kara's quirky personality and matter-of-fact way of looking at things. As Simon panics in one scene, she rightly notes that only one of them can panic at a time if they're going to make it through the situation; in other scenes, her brain focuses on small details (fonts on a school bus, the official name for a particular shade of gray found in the mist) rather than take in the enormity of the situation. I found her a winning protagonist, and not just because she has an excellent name, spelled correctly. Anyway, the book was awesome, and I'll definitely be checking out more by Kingfisher (better known in the kid book and graphic lit worlds by her real name, Ursula Vernon). Highly recommend this funny creepfest.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

My Thoughts:

I was really excited going into this book because it is based on The Willows, a story published in 1907 by English writer/journalist Algernon Blackwood. The Willows is a fascinating, spooky tale that was cited by H.P. Lovecraft as the finest supernatural story in all of English literature. Say what you want about Lovecraft, the dude’s tales of terror are both prolific and highly influential even now. So, I think that he can probably be trusted to spot a good scary story, if nothing else.

And The Willows is cray. It’s a little verbose at times as stories of its age tend to be, but still, spooky stuff. And no, you definitely don’t need to have read it in order to enjoy The Hollow Places.

Needless to say, The Hollow Places did not disappoint me one bit. It definitely has the themes of The Willows down pat. It’s got the shadowy figures, the river, the Willows. And, you know, the existential dread.

Kingfisher also nailed the feel – the ominous language, and oppressive spirit of the story. I don’t know if this is typical for Kingfisher, as I’ve never read anything by her, but I plan to find out. Based on the quality of this story, I’ll certainly be seeking out her work in the future.

One way this book diverges greatly from its source material is in the narrative. Gone is the stodgy, early 20th century British feel. Instead Kingfisher merges a fast-paced storytelling style with modern-feeling characters who are witty and relatable. However, the overall feeling of ‘omg fuck all of everything because it’s weird and scary and I don’t like it’ is definitely still there.
The Can Hear You Thinking

The Hollow Places tells the story of Kara, a woman recently freed from a broken relationship who is staying with her favorite uncle. She’s helping him catalogue the many items in his museum of the weird (and why shouldn’t she – the museum sounds amazing). Since Uncle Earl has to have surgery on a bad knee, so Kara volunteers to keep shop while he’s out. See, Kara spent a lot of time in the museum as a child, so she seems like the perfect choice to keep it going in Earl’s absence. But things get weird when Kara discovers a hole in the wall hidden behind one of the display items. See, the hole leads to an impossible hallway, which in turn leads to a whole impossible world.
Pray They Are Hungry

Well, since Kara is no fool, she knows she can’t just go traipsing off into these impossible places all by her lonesome, so she enlists the assistance of Simon – her friend and goth barista from the coffee shop next door to the museum. Together they enter this strange new world and encounter some truly terrifying things. And now they have to find their way back from a hostile and ever-changing parallel universe.
Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I really liked this book a lot. It was fun and a little scary. Although The Willows drew me in, the way Kingfisher brought a dated story firmly into the 21st century kept me reading.

Twisted, creepy and sometimes disturbing. Really enjoyed it, even though I had to sleep with the lights on a couple nights!