Unfortunately, These Hollow Vows only gets two stars from me. Though the premise was fun and the author did an excellent job portraying Brie's struggle to deal with betraying people she cares for, some parts of this novel fell short for me. I also think, had this been a standalone novel, it might be a more effective story.
Overall, this is an ok YA novel. At times the writing felt more like I was reading fanfiction, like it could have been more polished, but it wasn't enough to make me put the book aside.
This story is set up and advertised as a love triangle, but there were times where I felt confused and frustrated at the lack of chemistry or relationship-building moments in the story. Brie's attraction to Sebastian is established before the story begins, and when Finn is introduced Brie feels an immediate connection with him, despite him being largely dismissive of her. Their main relationship-building, the scene that points to Finn and says
"he won't take advantage of you," is deeply problematic.
Consent is a big thing that I value in books, and nothing makes me want to ditch a book faster than rape or rape-y scenes. Unfortunately, this book fell into that trap, and it knocked at least one star off this review.
Flaws aside, the twisting story was engaging, the mind games were tense, and I felt like the ending made sense.

I was truly surprised by this book. Let it be known, I HATE love triangles. Like, I never read them, but I’m trying to broaden in my horizons.

And I’m glad I did.

Brie is fierce and I loved her devotion to her sister. I love the relationship her and her sister have and that connection. It really makes the journey Brie goes through worth it.

Now let’s talk about the love triangle...

Am I a horrible person for loving the tall, dark, and handsome guy? Because I do. Bash was also great. During the story I did struggle with the angst, but that’s only because it was my personal reading preferences that was interfering.

Overall, the book had great world building, steamy moments, and turns you won’t see coming. I’m very excited for book 2.

I received an eARC of These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Brie is a human who survives for her sister. She's a very good thief, which comes in handy when the money each month comes up short. Life is cruel and when Brie finds out her sister has been sold to the current king of the UnSeelie court, she'll do anything to save her.

But of course it's more complicated than that, especially when she discovers a whole pile of secrets and dangers in the Fae courts, including ones of the heart.

Trigger Warnings:

Abuse
Emotional abuse
Cruelty
Threat of rape
Off page sex
Drug taking
Alcohol

This is being billed as the 'hot fae book of the summer'. Hold your horses.

First up, the over all story is pretty good. Brie is likable enough; she's independent, a little shy about her crush, and very protective. The world building is interesting, the bickering between the two Fae courts obvious but covering a few political notes normally not touched on in dark/light Fae stories. At least this time all the Fae have nasty sides to them.

The characters are fairly interesting. I did like the supporting characters a lot more than many of the main ones. And that cover is rather nice. But the tasks Brie has to complete in order to save her sister, meh. And that third one - saw that coming.

But towards the end I was hoping the plot was going to go in a certain direction, and it did. And that's the problem with the romance. Brie is far too naive towards the Fae. For someone who has never wanted to be part of their world, doesn't trust them, actively hates them and their magic, how did she walk into that? How did she not see what I saw coming? And it was really disappointing, for me anyway, that the twist really didn't play out how I think it should have. It really should have had more bite to it.

So is it hot?

Eventually. And it's not as 'hot' as some are probably want it to be. There is sex (off page), some serious drug induced flirting, and a lot of tempting, but not much to be 'hot'. Sorry.

But the series has potential to have a real dirty fight back and hopefully, Brie gets to kick someone's butt big time. There's a lot to enjoy in this book, and I finished it on a bit of a high. But thinking back over it, These Hollow Vows bugs me a little bit, and I think it's the ending - that twist that I wanted to happen but didn't quite happen the way I wanted it to. It felt flat, like a last minute twist.

These Hollow Vows has the potential to be a really good series, and this is a very good start with some frustrating flaws and an annoying romance. You might enjoy it more than I did, it might be just your thing. I hope the sequel packs the punch I want though..

Took me a good bit to get into the plot, and then when I was finally hooked you leave me with a BRUTAl cliffhanger.... Where's the sequal... because I going to need to now

I got this book because my friend loved it... but I muddled through it and didn't quite love it. It's well written, just not up my alley unfortunately.

I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
O.M.G. I am shook. This book is a full 5-stars plus more. I love the story, the characters are well thought out, and the plot twists and mystery kept me constantly engaged and turning the pages (figuratively since I was reading on a kindle). I love the inner dialogue and emotional struggle of the main character which helps her to be relatable. I usually am not a huge fan of love triangles, but the author makes this one actually believable and has you loving both of the love interests. I have fallen head over heels in love with this book.

Brie has spent the last 9 years of her life protecting her younger sister Jas in every situation but when her evil aunt sells Jas, Brie will do whatever she has to to get her sister back. Even if that means entering the world of the Fae, the creatures she despises since they took her mother away from her. Soon Brie is in the middle of a war where she has no idea who is lying to her or who to even trust- but she plays the game anyway if it means Jas' life.

There were a lot of interesting nods to other stories in this book- or maybe it is just me since I read a lot, so take that as you will. The book started with a Cinderella reference with the evil aunt and cousins and the living situation, and then it turned into the book The Selection/The Bachelor where the Prince has to pick a bride from a ton of girls living in his castle- meets the book The Cruel Prince with all the magic and harshness of the Fae and tons of Court Machinations.

This is also a love triangle where Brie has to pick from the boy she has loved for years who kept a pretty big secret from her but is willing to overlook her flaws and continue to love her and the mysterious (wonderful- in my super biased opinion) boy who shows up to help her and doesn't seem to want anything in return- which is super suspicious on its own in this evil world. I will say that there were plenty of times I wanted to stage an intervention for Brie and her actions, maybe shake her a bit and tell her to stop being an idiot. But overall I found her to be resilient and capable, even if occasionally naive.

I liked the story in general even while at times I found the plot pretty predictable. The magical world-building was fun, I love myself some Fae mischief, and the court intrigue was top notch. I will definitely be back for the sequel because I have to know how this will play out, cause things are not looking good for Brie and company. Keep in mind that this reads more NA or upper YA due to the steamy sexual encounters, so maybe don't suggest it for those younger readers or those who don't want any heat.

I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows. It had an interesting plot that kept me intrigued. The beginning of the book started extremely strong and I do enjoy reading anything regarding faeries and their fantasy elements. But what I really dislike are love triangles. I really enjoyed both Sebastian and Finn and my poor heart can’t choose one from the other. I did enjoy the plot and especially the characters. I thought Brie was an interesting character and she will do anything in her power to save her sister from the fae world. I will definitely be reading book 2 and I will recommend These Hollow Vows to my students. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to receive an early copy. Can’t wait to purchase a physical copy for my personal library because the cover is absolutely beautiful.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

I would give this 2.75 stars, it wasn't bad, it wasn't super good, at least it was entertaining, albeit pretty damn predictable. I feel like because of the predictability it makes is less enjoyable. Also, was NOT a fan of how crappy Brie was being treated by her 'love' throughout so much of the novel. He was seriously gas-lighting and just a jerk and with the predictable ending I just wanted to smack Brie in the head!

Now, the novel was actually quite entertaining and I love the magical worlds and as the magic unfolds with a lot of good small twists and turns that were NOT predictable, just the over-arching story really. I do not know if I would pick up the next novel in this series, because this is clearly not a standalone. Fair warning!

. Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

This story felt like a great mix between The Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses with its own unique twists thrown in. While many aspects of this book felt familiar to me given its similarities to some of favorite other Fae stories it was still a story I really loved.

I was very invested in Brie’s journey. I needed to know what happens to her sister, find out more about Prince Ronan, and I love love loved Finn’s group of misfits. Brie is a likable character given her determination and empathetic nature. I won’t go into any details due to spoilers but there were also times I couldn’t stop myself from yelling at Brie for her choices regarding a certain love interest. Also, that ending! It set up a great beginning for the next book. I cannot wait for the sequel so I can find out what happens next.

This book drew me in because of faeries. I loved the ACOTAR series, the Iron Fey series, and the Cruel Prince trilogy. The world building was well done and the characters were well developed. Overall the book was very well written.

THIS. BOOK.

I am going to put a disclaimer first: I'm a sucker for fae romance and love triangles, so this book had me hooked from the very beginning regardless. That said, the characters in this book are extremely compelling, and it's very easy to become invested in their stories and relationships. By the end of the book, I had come to a conclusion on who I liked better, and I was practically yelling at the MC. In my opinion, that's the mark of a good book.

This is a book/duology that could easily gather a following. I'm hoping people much more talented than me to start creating fanart and such so I have something to last until the 2nd book is published.

I will say this: Some of the relationships are rushed. I think that's simply because this book was kept to a pretty decent length. It could easily have been a massive fantasy, but I like that the length was kept short for ease of reading. It's a lot less intimidating that way. The beginning of the book suffers because of that because it jumps straight into the plot and relationships, and you just have to trust the MC's feelings from things that happened before the book began. You also have to suspend disbelief a little bit and avoid rolling your eyes at how quickly she comes to trust some of the people she just met, but I gave it a pass for sake of time.

I give this 4.5 stars rounded up.

How does one rate this book? Honestly, I am struggling with it. This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Between the gorgeous cover and the description I thought it was going to be a shoo in for a top five book of the year. I should know better though – and I’m going to write this review a bit differently because I feel that I can’t divide it up into the sections I normally do. Instead I’m going to divide it up by beginning, middle and end for this review. And I had opinions on all three parts. To sum it up: each part had a different rating for me.
<b>The beginning, or I should say, the part I had the issue with</b>
Yeah, so in short. <i>The beginning</i>. I feel like parts of the beginning were totally unnecessary to the story overall. I don’t mind a slow start, and it wasn’t even that slow. We find Brie in the middle of a heist. All well and good, but then something else happens and I feel the pace got thrown off. I know the beginning is setting up the rest of the book for what happens next, but I felt it should have been much more concise. Her sister, Jas, being stolen. I know Ryan was trying to set up the sister’s relationship and their friendship with Sebastian, but I felt those parts were drawn out. Honestly, the beginning was an unfortunate two stars for me. I almost gave up, but I decided to push through to the middle. I told myself if I didn’t like the middle then I would DNF and just be disappointed. Honestly, I have almost nothing to say about the beginning because it felt…irrelevant to the whole story. So, moving on to the middle part.
<b>the part in which it does get better…sort of</b>
So, yes, it did get better in the middle. We find out who the two love interests are. And me, I always go for the bad boy. So Finn it is. Or…is it Bash? Honestly, I don’t know who the truly bad boy is here. Both? Neither? Well, we get the Seelie and Unseelie courts and how Brie must find three lost artifacts to free her sister from the clutches of the evil Unseelie king. Yep – find the three artifacts and overcome the challenge of learning her new magic. Like I said, my interest and the pace picked up in this part. In a way, parts of the plot were “eh” to me. Again, I felt bored at times. Like, Bash’s parts…I wasn’t interested! I found him boring. Which I know I’m not supposed to, but all I wanted to do were skip those parts.
Also the whole marriage thing…interesting. And the bond…interesting. I kept wondering where that was going.
Suffice to say, it held my interest enough that I wanted to continue the book and find out what happened. A solid three star middle. It redeemed itself!
<b>part, the end of the book</b>
Or, in other words, the last fifty pages is where it got <i>really</i> good. I’m a sucker for Finn. I’m Team Finn. Bash can jump off a cliff.
ANYWAYS, like the end was where I was like OH I see why it was said to be like <i>The Cruel Prince</i>. I get it, I get it. Those last pages were what made me LOVE the book. It was a stunning turn of events and had me with my mouth open. (I will admit, I had sort of guessed it, but still…the run up and reveal of secrets was great).
Thus, the last part got four or five stars. I can’t math, so I just said I’m giving it four stars. Close to 3.5, but four because the ending knocked it out of the park.
In case you were wondering as well, I didn’t realize it was a fairytale retelling, but it had moments of what I felt like were a combination of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast woven in.
All in all, I am excited for the sequel.

4 Stars

Can we first talk about this cover? I am obsessed with this gorgeous cover art. They really knocked it out of the park.

These Hollow Vows is heavily marketed as Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I don’t think it should have been. The only thing in common these books have is that all three contain fae. It has more in common with ACOTAR, as it focuses on a girl who hates faeries and is caught in between two courts.

Brie is our lead, a thief who hates fae. But when her sister is sold to a faerie king, she has to fight to save her. Entering the faerie courts, Brie learns that one of her closest friends has been keeping secrets from her. And that some fae may not be as bad as she thought.

This might not have been the best fae book, but I did enjoy it. It was very cliche but nothing wrong with that. While I can appreciate a love triangle, I hate when it becomes very obvious who ends up with who. There felt like no real competition when it came to the love interests. With that said, I do have a preference. I will give you one guess who.

It did start a bit slow, I didn’t get invested until Brie got to the land of faerie. But when things start to unravel and we get to know more, I couldn’t put it down. I was glued to my iPad until the late hours of the night because I just had to know what happens. And I was not disappointed with that ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and HMH for an early copy of this one. I look forward to the next book.

It’s a really great story. However, the book needs a lot of editing. Sentences would abruptly end and the next line would be in a different time and place. It made the story hard to follow and I found myself spending too much time trying to figure out what the heck was going on and where the dialogue trailed off to (a brand new scene) too often. This needs a heavy edit. I can’t recommend this to our readers in this state.

You heard it here first: Lexi Ryan’s These Hollow Vows is going to be your new fantasy romance obsession this summer.

Ryan is best known for her contemporary romances and These Hollow Vows actually marks her first foray into the world of YA fantasy. But she tackles the transition with ease, crafting a fast-paced propulsive tale full of faeries, magical artifacts, forbidden attraction, hidden histories, and twists that will leave you turning pages well past your bedtime.

Not that I am projecting or anything. But this truly is a book where the marketing materials weren’t kidding – if you liked the complex worldbuilding of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses or the difficult faerie princes of Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince? This is a book you need to run, not walk to pick up.

This book will definitely be enjoyed by teen readers. It held me, an adult, captive. There were many points within the story though that I wished had been fleshed out a little better, and could have made the story even richer. But overall it was quite enjoyable and I will definitely be purchasing for my library and would like to read the next book in the series to see where the story goes.

Review of These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

This is the story of Brie who hates the Fae and avoids anything to do with them at all costs. Then her sister gets sold to the King of the Unseelie court and she has to do what it takes to get her back at all costs. The only way to do this is posing as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, a task made harder when she starts to fall for him. To help her on her quest she also accepts helps from a band of misfits and then falls for their leader Finn as well. So a total love triangle.

Overall a nice story with good characters and plot development.

Fans of Shadow and Bone, and A Court of Thrones and Roses might enjoy this book. A solid fantasy romance, with magic, love triangles and doing what you must to save those you love.

"Lexi Ryan wrote a beautifully broken and epic fantasy that completely blew me way. Complete with twisted fae, love triangles that make my heart pound, and exceptional world building, These Hollow Vows is a must read for fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout. I highly recommend and am in dire need for the next book!" ~ Carrie Ann Ryan, NYT Bestselling Author of the Elements of Five Series