Date of Completion: 30/10/2020
I cannot talk about this book without first mentioning the absolutely BEAU-TI-FUL cover that adorns it! I am not ashamed to say that this book was definitely one that I judged by its cover. Seriously, on the computer this cover looks really pretty and easy on the eye, but it is even better in real life! I may or may not have spent the first five minutes after I this book arrived, stroking and staring at the cover. If you have never done this to a book, then you are just weird!
Beauty attracts beauty and begets beauty.
Sadly, once I started reading I was quickly disappointed by the writing style in this book. In particular, I found the descriptions used to set the scene rather weak as they generally went off on a tangent or simply lacked the depth needed to create a strong sense of suspense.
I was even less impressed by the main character Noemí as I could not relate to her sheltered, “rich girl persona”. I really wanted her to be a stronger female lead! You see, Noemí has a lot of the tools needed to make a kick-ass female lead. She is sarcastic, stubborn, proud and somewhat manipulative. However, this is all undermined by the ease at which the other characters constantly walk all over her. Her powerlessness and passiveness really frustrated me as the story progressed!
Despite these vexations, I still found myself hooked halfway through this book and that is a testament to Silvia’s talent at portraying Noemí’s gradual mental and physical breakdown. These really helped to solidify the mystery and intrigue in the story as nothing says ‘shit has hit the fan’ like a good old mental breakdown.
The storyline is also enhanced by the weird and disturbing concepts brought up in the book. I do have to say, these concepts are not for everyone and do get rather revolting. However, these concepts are so strange and eccentric that I could not guess where the storyline was headed. As a result, I became incredibly curious to see how Silvia would tie everything together.
Thankfully, I was not disappointed! Silvia manages to create a completely original explanation for the weird incidences that took place. Whilst my surprise might be because I do not read many ‘horror’ books, my mind was completely blown! I saw NOTHING COMING!
Loyalty to the family is rewarded, and impertinence is punished. Remember that and you shall be very happy.
So why only 3 stars? Well, I am a really fussy reader who thinks that the start of this book could have been much stronger. I am also not a huge fan of the main character and this created a disconnect that made it hard for me to fully connect with the story. Whilst, I still enjoyed the book, its strengths were simply not enough to boost the rating past 3 stars for me.
Do you agree or disagree with anything mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below.
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[…] Right from the intriguing prologue, ‘House of Hollow‘ grabbed my attention with its strange characters and mystery. The story that played out was hard to put down due to various revelations and twists that only made me eager to see everything resolved. Another creepy tale to check out if you liked this is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. […]