Krystal Sutherland's House of Hollow was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021 and for good reason: it ticks off all the boxes of beautiful prose, vivid characters, all steeped in fairy tales and folklore... and not the sanitized versions peddled by children's cartoons. Sutherland's prose is deliciously demented and evocative. Take this description, for instance: "My sister's eyes were so black, they looked like polished river stones. She was fourteen then, and already the most beautiful creature I could imagine. I wanted to peel the skin from her body and wear it draped over mine." I loved the startling juxtaposition of beautiful language with disturbing imagery and themes. House of Hollow, like Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway, explores the concept of magical portals into unknown worlds. However, Sutherland's story is much darker; she is not afraid to push the boundaries (pun intended) into nightmare fuel territory. I know we're still early into 2021, but this is easily my favorite read of the year so far.