Audiobook Review: The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

The Corruption of Hollis Brown is haunting, romantic, gritty, and deeply strange, and you know I mean that as the highest compliment.

The book’s short chapters and poetic rhythm make it perfect for audio. It feels like falling into someone’s secret journal, or like you’re being let in on something forbidden. The themes of trauma, connection, isolation, and transformation are heavy, but they’re handled with care and with heart.

Yes, it’s weird. Yes, it’s intense. Yes, it’s so worth your time.

The Corruption of Hollis Brown

by K. Ancrum
Narrator: Andrew Gibson
on April 22, 2025
Bookshop, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads

From acclaimed author K. Ancrum comes a queer romantic thriller in which the lives of Hollis, a boy in search of meaning, and Walt, a spirit with unfinished business, collide when Walt takes possession of Hollis's body...and maybe his heart. For fans of Adam Silvera and Aiden Thomas!

Hollis Brown is stuck. Born to a Blue-Collar American Dream, Hollis lives in a rotting small town where no one can afford to leave. Hollis's only bright spots are his two best friends, cool girls Annie and Yulia, and the thrill of fighting his classmates.

As if his circumstances couldn’t get worse, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Walt results in a frightening trap. After unknowingly making a deal at the crossroads, Hollis finds himself losing control of his body and mind, falling victim to possession. Walt, the ghost making a home inside him, has a deep and violent history rooted in the town Hollis grew up in and he has unfinished business to take care of.

As Walt and Hollis begin working together to put Walt’s spirit to rest, an unspeakable bond forms between them, and the boys begin falling for one another in unexpected ways. But, it’s only a matter of time before Hollis’s best friends begin to notice that something about Hollis isn’t quite…right.

With the threat of a long overdue exorcism looming before them, will Walt and Hollis be able to protect their love and undo the curse that turned their town from a garden of possibility into a place where dreams go to die?

Review

Wow. This book wrecked me in the best way.

Hollis is angry, lost, and lonely; the kind of boy who picks fights just to feel something. He lives in a dead-end town where nobody escapes, and it shows in every broken piece of him. Then he meets Walt.

Walt is a ghost. Not metaphorically but an actual spirit who makes a deal with Hollis and ends up possessing his body. What follows is a story that’s equal parts horror and love story, with a slow-burn emotional build. Two boys, one body, and a connection that shouldn’t work…but absolutely does

Andrew Gibson completely nails it as the narrator. His voice shifts subtly between sharp edges and softer, more vulnerable energy. You always know who’s speaking, even when they’re sharing the same body. The tension, the yearning, the quiet moments where everything shifts; he captures it all beautifully. This is one of those narrations that adds so much depth to the story, you feel it in your chest.

Listen if you like:

• Queer paranormal love stories (✅)
• Small town gothic vibes
• Possession as a metaphor for healing
• Messy boys with too many feelings
• Audiobooks that feel like poetry

The Corruption of Hollis Brown is a gritty, romantic elegy to the ghosts we carry and the people who see us anyway. The audiobook makes it all the more immersive, and I highly recommend going this route if you want to feel every word.

Let it haunt you.
You won’t regret it.