I started this book with high hopes as it had so many elements that I enjoyed, faeries and love triangles and magic and betrayal.
This book follow Brie, a young human girl who has to travel into Faerie to save her younger sister who’s been sold to the Unseelie King and finds herself caught between two faerie princes in a tale of magic and betrayal.

I did enjoy the world building a lot in this book! Clearly a lot of thought had been put into building this world, with the portals and the different faerie courts. Those were quite interesting to read. I also really enjoyed seeing the bond between the sisters.

I have to say I struggled immensely to get through this book. While the elements were there that I enjoyed, I felt rather detached from the characters. The plot seemed rather predictable and I found myself guessing many of the plot lines that were happening. I also found myself guessing at the lines that the characters were going to say since many of them were rather cliche and predictable. Also there were too many characters being introduced too fast to the point where I couldn’t really grow attached to them, nor find myself caring when anything tragic befell them.

Although it wasn’t really my favourite read, I really hope other people read this book and enjoy it!

I can’t explain enough how much I loved this book, the writing is amazing, there are so many twists and turns it’s just so much fun trying to work out who you can and can’t trust. It’s set in a fae world, so most of us are familiar now with Seelie and Unseelie courts, but it’s still really original , warning it does end up on a cliffhanger but there is another book due, which I will be devouring as soon as I can. Highly recommended to anyone who loves a good story, fae, romance, fantasy, just everyone really

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

3,5 stars

I love fae fantasy and I love A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I hated when books are compared to others and that every fae fantasy seems the same...So, I was pleasantly surprised reading this book, because Lexi Ryan managed to differentiate it in small, but interested ways.

I liked the plot and the world building. What I would like is to have seen more of Elora, the human world, before going to Faerie.

Brie was a smart and brave girl and I wanted to see her more with her sister. Also, it would have been very interested to learn more about her mother and her fairy stories in some flashbacks.

The love triangle wasn't one I enjoyed. Personally I liked Finn and disliked from the beginning Ronan. As for the twists, I am difficult to fool!

All in all, very enjoyable and I will definitely read the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e - ARC in exchange for my review!

I love a good book about fae, so much so that I will read pretty much anything that has fae characters and at least a little bit of romance. It’s hard to read YA Fantasy these days and still be a stranger to fae love interests, but what Lexi offers us is two fae love interests — twice as nice, right? Well, kind of. I’m not a big fan of love triangles (understatement) but I see their merit as a storytelling device, and I’m going to give you some advice right now. If you feel the same as me, you’re probably going to be annoyed for the first 90% of this book, but then it’s going to click and you’re going to find yourself desperately waiting for the second book to drop. Was it worth reading this book just for the promise of what seems like an amazing book two? Ask me next year.

The main comparison titles of These Hollow Vows is Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince and Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses. With such incredibly popular fae books as comparisons, I really expected to love this. Sure, it had a love triangle, but so did ACOTAR (kind of) and that worked out okay. Except for the first 60% of this book I was on the verge of giving up on it. Our main character Brie is constantly making judgements and decisions, then very quickly changing her mind within a few pages. The love triangle feels outdated, the classic good guy vs bad guy formula. The tone is all over the place; sometimes it read like young YA and then would switch to an older tone which was kind of jarring. But then I read the last 5% and I cannot overstate how much my feelings did a complete u-turn.

It’s hard to try and explain without spoilers, but the love triangle got on my nerves for the whole book but then the last few scenes happened and it suddenly all made sense. Everything changed. Near the top of the notes I took whilst I was reading, I wrote that it ‘would have been a better story and I’d have been more invested without the love triangle’, but now I get why we needed that love triangle. I understand why Brie needed to have both the sweet love interest in Prince Ronan and the brooding love interest in Finn, and it’s so Lexi could totally nail the ending.

The problem with my feelings for this book is that I’m really not going to know if book one did do all of this set up so that book two could be truly amazing, because I obviously do not have book two. So many of my problems were made worse by my growing annoyance with the love triangle, exacerbated by how much more engaged I was with Brie’s story when she was with Finn compared to Ronan. The scenes at court with Ronan read younger than the scenes with Finn and his group of rebels, and there’s a spicy scene about 3/4 of the way in that threw me completely because it was reading more like a total fade-to-black book, and at that point I just gave up on trying to understand who the writing was aimed at.

Speaking of spice though, Lexi has written a lot of romance books and you can definitely tell with that scene. It was perfect. It was so good, like we were finally in a space where Lexi was totally comfortable writing and knew exactly where she wanted to take us. I can only hope book two has similar scenes and that the overall storytelling feels a little bit more cohesive, but I have hope it will be.

The plot was fairly simple which wasn’t too interesting, but there were a few bombshell moments that were pretty good and interesting to enough to keep me reading. There were a few decisions made by other characters that Brie seemed to just sweep under the rug, which came across at odds with her personality. In hindsight, these felt like a way to plant hints about the ending but it just came across as out of character and a little ridiculous most of the time.

Aside from being a fae story, I don’t think it has anything in common with The Cruel Prince as there is not a single scenario, character or vibe that I would compare within either book, except that they both have main characters who have to do some sort of spying. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a better comparison but still isn’t quite right. It’s like if a very basic version of the plot in A Court of Mist and Fury was taking place at the same time as the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses. This is executed to varying success throughout These Hollow Vows, it’s just unfortunate that while the good bits are super intriguing, the less interesting parts really drag the whole thing down.

I’m honestly excited to read book two after where Brie’s story is left at the end of this book, and there are moments I really did love scattered throughout the story. For me, it was worth enduring the love triangle because of how it all comes together eventually and who seems to come out on top. But maybe ask me again in a year once I’ve read book two.

This is a totally new genre that I have seen so much about that I thought it was time I gave it a go. I have purchased some other books from the genre that everyone is raving about but I haven’t yet got to read them as I thought I would give this a go first.

Brie or Abriella which is her full name is trying to keep her family afloat, she desperately wants to protect her sister Jas, but her debts have become too large, she has stolen money to try and clear them but it doesn’t quite go how she had planned. Before she knows it her sister has been sold to the fae. Brie hates the fae. But she knows she has to rescue Jas. she manages to get herself to the faerie court with the help of some magic, where she discovers a secret about herself and a long time friend. That she suddenly has magic, the fae are manipulative creatures as well as a little bit hot and charming, despite her not wanting to think this.

Before we know it Brie finds herself torn between two princes, each has their own agenda, which one can she trust? If any! Brie is a strong, and determined, brave protagonist, she definitely holds her own as a human among the fae’s.

I actually found this a fast paced entertaining read, I know it’s aimed at a much younger audience but I really enjoyed reading something completely different. I loved the world building, the courts and the human world. The fae’s are a little scary and I admit I did look up a few definitions to see what to expect from some of the different things with this being all new to me I needed to know about fae’s and faerie’s.

I enjoyed the intrigue and suspense and the magic of course. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me engaged in the story as well. As I started the book I was thinking of Cinderella with the wicked stepmother type of thing as the way that Brie is treated how indebted she is. Brie was determined to do anything to save her sister or have her sister returned. Even if she occasionally got distracted her thoughts and actions went back to her sister.


I liked Finn, with his frowns and broody looks, but then theirs Kaz where will this go in book two I wonder.

So after my first toe dip into the world of fantasy fiction is a success, I do look forward to book two coming out but I may have to reread this one just before it does. If you like books with fae’s in along with a bit of dark magic, sexy prince’s and scheming heroines then this may be a book for you.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

"You're only powerless if you believe you are."
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
My opinions of this book are really divided as I feel as though the book was almost in two halves for me. The first half was almost a fairytale mashup idea with tonnes of intrigue that gripped me immediately. Unfortunately, as I got into the main storyline, I was bored and found the story predictable and lacking substance.
So starting off with the positives, the concept of the story was very intriguing and had a lot of potential. We see the complex politics between the Seelie and Unseelie courts and the curses that have controlled them both. We have high stakes from the get go and I was looking forward to seeing a sister dynamic which is a trope I love to see in books. We did get the sneaky fae and their clever schemes as well as a bargain which is always great. The worldbuilding was pretty good, and the way that the seelie, unseelie and wild hunt were distinguished from each other made it easy to understand, and not overwhelming in the slightest.
That being said, I feel like the main plot of our main character saving her sister was quickly taken over by the romance of the book and the love triangle. To be honest, I wasn't rooting for either of the love interests and I was disappointed to see that the main characters scepticism and self preservation was lost fairly quickly when it came down to the fae. In short she didn't stick to her own rules. Apart from the half baked romance, nothing else really happened plot wise that blew me away and the "shocking" plot twists were ones I had seen from the beginning.
In short, I think I prefer fae stories with smart main characters, after all to out scheme a faerie you need to have intelligence yourself. I got none of that from our main character unfortunately.
Rated: 3.5 Stars

I’m not going to lie, it took me a little bit of time to get into this book but as soon as I did I was consumed.

I’ve been waiting to read this for what feels like forever and I was so happy when I received the ARC for it. The world building my was amazing and had my imagination spinning. I love a strong independent female protagonist and Brie delivered on that front. A brooding dark haired fae too?! I feel greedy wanting it all but boy did this book deliver. They weren’t wrong when they said it was like the Cruel Prince meets ACOTAR, because apparently brooding fae are now a trope all on their own.

Lexi Ryan’s writing leaves you so entranced you forget what time it is, where you are and what is happening around you because you are so involved in the world of Brie and her fae. I can’t wait for the second book in the series and I am also very gutted that I am going to have to wait so long for it!

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and Lexi Ryan for the e-arc copy of These Hollow Vows in return for an honest review!

Okay, where do I even begin?
Let me start by saying wow, this book was fast paced but intense...

From the beginning of this book I was hooked, Lexi Ryan pulled me so far into this world that I am now itching to belong to it! I mean with the tag line ACOTAR meets The Cruel Prince where can you really go wrong?
Although in saying that, I however didn't see the comparison much except for the fact it had Fae in it.

Characters:
Brie (Abriella), is the main female human character in this book, whilst she had powers in the Fae world and some broody Fae in a love triangle with her, she was portrayed to be a bit naive, how did she not see what was happening before her eyes? Perhaps in book two she will get better.

Bash, well he was just a bit of an idiot (putting it lightly)... Brie seriously put up with so much whilst he messed about with other girls and also lied to her constantly throughout the book about who he really was.
I have to admit from the start of this book I wasn't a fan of his character, he just seemed a bit off. Like he was playing a game noone else knew about.

Finn, holy moly yes please, why couldn't Brie just be with him? Broody, dark, misunderstood = everything you need in a Fae man right? And I think he genuinely wanted to help Brie with her quest.

The Plot:
The plot was good and made for a quick read, having to find the three things Brie needed took some time and also understanding her own random powers as well as the culture of the fae world made the plot all tie together to form that shocking conclusion which in deed will knock you a bit and leave you gagging for the next book in the series!

If you love Fae, love triangles, mystery and a fairly quick read then this will be right up your street!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

"From New York Times best-selling author Lexi Ryan, Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses in this sexy, action-packed fantasy about a girl who is caught between two treacherous faerie courts and their dangerously seductive princes."

Abriella loathes faeries and wants nothing to do with them. However, when her sister is sold to the king to pay a debt, she takes matters into her own hands and marches right up to the throne and seals a deal: steal 3 magical relics in exchange for her sister.

The world-building was very weak. I was really confused during the first half of the book and halfway through it I just went 'fuck it,' ignored everything (the world, the magic systems, everything) and pretended this was an average Wattpad fanfiction set in a high school, I don't know about you but every time Brie opened her mouth, I was so close to throwing my phone against a wall ten times.

And there was literally nothing likeable about either man; Sebastian was a little eh for my liking and Finn was the good-body-but-no-brain kinda dude here. The character relationships were very simple and straightforward, nothing noteworthy about it. The only character I probably enjoyed reading was Finn because the guy was so stupid, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between his arms and legs.

The book was okay in my opinion. Just not the greatest. I would like to read the sequel because as much as I hate to say, the second half of the book was a little bit exciting (enough to make me want to read the next book).

These Hollow Vows comes out on the 20th of July!!

This was an amazing fantasy read, and it had all the things I look for in a good book! Most of all it was easy to read, which was perfect for me since I have been having a hard time getting into books because of my slump. Maybe this is the book that has cured it? Can highly recommend!

I was excited and intrigued to read this book when I discovered it had fae in it. Being marked as a mixed of the Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses so I was interested to see how I would like it. I loved the world, characters, magic system and the plot. The love triangle between the Fae princes. These Hollow Vows is full of adventure that made me not want to put the book down. Aribella (Brie) is such a strong character which I definitely loved reading about and it wasn’t annoying like I sometimes find in other books. THis was such a great first book for the seres and I cant wait for the next one.

How could this not be a five star read? It was everything i expected and so much more!
In this first book, of what i believe will be a duology, we follow Brie who absolutely hates the Fae. But when her sister is sold to be a slave to the Fae King, she is forced to make a deal to get her sister back.
I loved this book so much and it has definitely become a new favourite. i was hooked from the very first page as the writing style and fast pace was fun and easy to read.
I’m not usually a fan of love triangles but i found myself just wanting more and more of the relationships with the betrayals, secrets, etc.
There was a great amount of world building and it was easy to understand as the concept of the Fae was similar to other novels.
The only thing i wanted more of was Finn as the focus is mainly on Sebastian so we don’t really get to explore Finn’s character.
Overall, this story was amazing and exciting to read but some of it was easy to predict as from the start i knew there was a weird ‘vibe’ about a certain character.
I would recommend this book to fans of ACOTAR and the Folk of Air trilogy.
I cannot wait for the second book to come out and will definitely be doing a reread in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Lexi Ryan for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, the characters were well drawn and the faerie world was lovely. The twist at the end was unexpected. Great for fantasy fans and a YA audience. Reminded me of the Selection stories but with faeries and magic.

I did find the constant use of “a male” jarring. I get that it was because the men were not human, but it interrupted the flow.

It sounds like there will be a sequel and I’ll definitely give that a read.

I was so excited for this book, it sounded great but I was so, so wrong. I DNFed at 30%.

I didn’t care about any of the characters, and I feel like Brie is a little … stupid? I mean the blurb literally gives away all of the main plot twists in the first quarter of the book so for the reader it was boring enough, but the first few twists are so obvious to Brie too yet she spends most of her time in denial even when these things are stated obviously to her face…

Her character is also really inconsistent. She hates the Fae based on something that happened in her past, but she hasn’t actually met any Fae. And I disliked her straight away for that because hating someone based on their race alone is a horrible trait to have in any book. Where’s the evidence of her hate? Stories? Fear maybe? But hate?

To make it worse the humans she does know seem so much more despicable than these so called evil Fae that she hates so much. Why doesn’t she hate them more? They literally enslave people!

To add to that there’s absolutely no chemistry between the characters. The only relationship that is believable is the one between Brie and her sister, and she forgets about her sister as soon as the boys are around *sigh*. The rest of the relationships feel fake.

And I know others have mentioned this already but the Fae are literally humans with pointy ears and some basic magical powers. There’s no Faerie lore or any sign of all the twisting bargains and deals that I love so much in Fae stories in what I read (although there could be more in the other 70% but based on other reviews, I doubt it).

Then there’s the plot, I liked everything about it UNTIL she ended up Faerie and then it all seemed to fall apart. Brie was a strong, determined character who has had a hard upbringing and works herself to the bone for her sister. And all of that disappears as soon as she arrives in Faerie.

Nothing really makes sense, there’s so much ambiguity over characters motivations that I’m lost most of the time. It feels like the writer holds EVERYTHING back so she can reveal huge and exciting twists… but that doesn’t work for me. If it’s done right, you don’t need to do that, you don’t see the plot coming because there’s so many layers to the characters and story. These characters and this plot is so shallow it just doesn’t work. And all the Cinderella stuff, that’s taped to the top of the plot and not integrated seamlessly so it comes across forced.

It feels like this book has been written to fit in with the ‘Fae Story’ craze at the moment, there’s no heart to it. It’s like it’s been written to a template with no personality or inspiration. The writing is so lacklustre and basic.

Also is this YA or New Adult? Some parts feel new adult, and some parts a really young teen drama version of YA. I don’t think anyone knows…

It wasn’t worth wasting another 5/6 hours of reading time and I don’t think I’ll read any of her books again.

Bound magically to a contract, Brie might remain in debt to Madame Vivias for the rest of her life. The only living relation she has in the mortal land is her younger sister, Jas. To Brie, the fae are exploitative, cunning, and cruel as they used humans as slaves and tricked the non-magic folks into life-long service. When Jas was sold to the Unseelie king, Mordeus, Brie stepped into the world of faeries that she harbored hatred for. While most of the Seelie fae are considered “good”, the Unseelie court is the most dangerous.

In exchange for Jas’s freedom, Mordeus required Brie to steal three magical relics from the Seelie queen. Brie infiltrated the palace by posing as a potential candidate for Prince Ronan’s bride-to-be. While she slowly falls for the prince, her attention was enraptured by a rebel Unseelie who seeks to bring down the current ruler. Under Finn and his misfits’ teachings, Brie discovered her ability with shadows.

Brie’s willingness to do anything for the safety of her sister propelled her to betray and lie. Trying as hard as she can to level the playing field, Brie always seemed to be missing some crucial information about the politics and magic of the different kingdoms. As she navigates through unfamiliar territories, being in the company of deceptive fae doesn’t help with her loneliness and insecurity. Not knowing who to trust, Brie finds answers on her own.

Ever since Jas and Brie were left in the care of their uncle, Brie resented her mother for abandoning them. All she had of her mother were the memories and stories of the fae. As Brie uncovered more secrets surrounding the fae, she realized that the bedtime stories might not entirely be fictional anymore.

It’s always a game of manipulation and deception with the fae. Red flags and warning signs were glaring but ignored. Since I’m not a huge fan of love triangles, I tend to settle on who I think the main character would end up with pretty early in the book. It was tough for These Hollow Vows as everyone was being suspicious. All the hidden agendas that Brie and I weren’t privy about just floated in the air until it was clearer.

Overall, These Hollow Vows was enjoyable. While the love triangle trope isn’t a favorite, I liked Brie’s interactions with both guys and her coming to a conclusion about the faeries and their politics. That ending just made so much sense for the title of the next book, These Twisted Bonds.

I was very intrigued and exciting to be able to read These Hollow Vows as I kept on hearing amazing things about it, The cover was very interesting as well as how it is marketed as The Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses so I was interested to see how I would like it. I loved the world, characters, magic system and the plot. The love triangle between the Fae princes. These Hollow Vows is full of adventure that made me not want to put the book down. Aribella (Brie) is such a strong character which I definitely loved reading about and it wasn’t annoying like I sometimes find in other books. THis was such a great first book for the seres and I cant wait for the next one.

It took me a while to get into this book, however, once I did I was absolutely hooked. Now it definitely isn’t the best book I’ve read so far, but it does sit up there with quite a few good ones. I’m a sucker for books about the fae.

This was marketed as a ‘sexy’ must-read for fans of Sarah J. Maas and although it did have one particularly steamy scene, it was lacking in that department otherwise. This isn’t something that I would rate the book down for as I was not reading it for that reason. However, if you are interested in These Hollow Vows for that reason then you have been warned that the characters don’t really get too hot and heavy.

Brie was a very well done naive yet stubborn character. Although she is the main character and the only perspective you will find in this book, she was sometimes infuriating to read. Not so much that I wanted to put the book down, but my god the constant flip-flopping between which male she liked more and the pining for a man which she quite clearly knows loves her was annoying.

I want to put all of these moments down to her being under a lot of pressure from various sources and also the naivety of a teen girl as I did quite enjoy the book. She played her part well and I can’t fault her for that.

The story kept me interested throughout the entirety of the book and as I said at the beginning, once this really got going I didn’t want to stop reading.

Writing-wise this was very easy to get through and the use of faerie lore was brought up in a way that anyone of any age could grasp the terms. Although I will say that this is probably a 16+ book purely because of that one detailed sex scene.

From how These Hollow Vows ended, I am very interested to see where the plot will go in the sequel. Near its conclusion you began to see a more self-assured and strong Brie, I am hoping that this development is something we will see come to full fruition and I am very much hoping for more of Finn in book two.

That ending was 5 stars, but the rest of the book was a 3!

I'm not someone who is eagerly drawn to stories about fae princes and magical realms. Any fae story has to have an interesting premise for me to actually pick it up. So when I read the synopsis for this book, I was pleasantly surprised. It had the love triangle I was promised and the broody exiled prince I didn't know I needed! There's royal fae courts, fae wine (because of course there must be), magical artefacts, mysterious powers, court intrigue, steamy romance(s) and the writing was great!

Let's start with the characters. Our MC Abriella/ Brie is our classic 'not like other girls' mortal human who hates fae and only lives to protect her sister Jas. We don't see much of Jas since my girl is kidnapped at the beginning of the book. But don't be mistaken about how much Brie loves her dear sister. We hear about it constantly, which was actually refreshing! So our beautiful, red-headed fiery protagonist journeys to the faerie realm to save her sister, only to be a part of a group of other humans vying for the Seelie prince's heart (helloooo The Selection anyone??). But it's not even a competition, the other girls are just there in some secluded corner of the palace. There are balls and pretty dressing and a LOT of dancing. However, as you can imagine our dear Brie is not your average mc because lo and behold, she hates dresses- they restrict her movement and she wants pants all. The. Time. You will hear her mention this about 10 times in the first 30% of the book…

So anyway, Brie is on a mission and she's in love with the prince. But NO, there is another. The grumpy, broody exiled dark prince Finn. Okay so at the beginning I hated him- he was arrogant, ignorant and just plain rude. But then I really started to enjoy his interactions with Brie, not to mention her conflicted feelings for him. Also there's a scene that is literally taken out of the grisha books- that one where the Darkling runs a finger over Alina's skin and light pours out? Yep, but in this case we have darkness… oOOOooooOO!

Brie got on my nerves more than a few times. She made some stupid decisions throughout this book. Even after she's told the mirror she is looking for shows you your deepest desires, she thinks it's some portal where she can see how her sister is and cries when she realises how dumb she is. Another instance where she sees the prince with another girl? Then forgives him so easily *rolls eyes* okay Brie, you do you honey.

Despite all the flaws, this book was very enjoyable. I really wanted to give it a five stars based on that ending, but the rest of the book just didn't meet it! Overall, a fun, enjoyable read and I NEED the next book right now! The painstaking wait until it releases will be agony.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc for review! Out on 20th July 2021 :)

This is another example of a Fae book not really standing out from the other Fae books.
The main character is annoying and unlikeable and the love triangle predictable with all the cliches
I'll probably read the next one just to see how it ends but I wouldn't bother buying it

I received a copy from Netgalley.

These Hollow Vows follows Abriella as she makes a deal with the Unseelie King to retrieve 3 artifacts from the Seelie court in exchange for her sister's freedom.

I loved the world of These Hollow Vows with the different types of Fae, their courts and their magic! Sometimes it did feel like the Fae were just immortal humans but then we'd be reminded of who they are as new information was revealed. Abriella's shadow magic was one of my favourite storylines, after that ending I need to see more of it!

One of the main parts of this book is the love triangle. I don't normally like them but I felt this one was done right! I'm excited to see if she ends up with who I want her to!

I struggled through the first couple chapters as we got into the book but around 35% it really picked up and I couldn't put it down. It was full of plot twists and left me constantly questioning who was good and who was bad. The ending was amazing and definitely made me want the next one immediately!

Overall it's perfect for people who love the Fae, love triangles and plenty of action!