4.5 stars (rounded up)

A huge thank you to Hodder and Stoughton, Lexi Ryan and Netgalley for providing an eArc copy in exchange for my honest opinion of These Hollow Vows.


From the get go, the premise of the book hooked me in. I've been on a fantasy romance kick lately, and this did not sound like one I wanted to miss out on. I was a little apprehensive that it had been compared to The Cruel Prince, but ACOTAR? Sign me up. Human girl caught between the Seelie and Unseelie courts, whilst juggling two hot men - yes yes yes.

I read this in one sitting and loved it. The bond between Brie and her sister was so refreshing to see. A lot of these books pen the sibling relationship as being strained or distorted in some way, so it was nice to see Brie genuinely caring for her sister and protecting her.

Aside from the sibling relationship, I was intrigued by her relationship with Sebastian, and more so by Finn and his group. Whilst I liked Sebastian, I'm a sucker for a dark and brooding type, which fits Finn so well. I enjoyed seeing the shift from suspicion to something else within the group around Brie.

Another thing that was refreshing was the plot twists. Whilst I did see some of them coming, it was written in such a way that I just couldn't help but still be surprised after working them out. The ones that I didn't guess had me genuinely shocked. These Hollow Vows lulls you into a false sense of security when you work one plot twist out, only to completely wipe the floor with your theories in the next instant.

My only gripe about this would be that I now have to wait forever for the follow up!

These Hollow Vows is a must read for any fan of Sarah J Maas’ ACOTAR! Action-packed, dark and seductive with plot twists you both did and didn’t see coming.

If ACOTAR was a twist on Beauty and the Beast, then These Hollow Vows is a twist on Cinderella but, of course not without the unexpected turns of events and dark and broody males with questionable and not always so wholesome intentions we all love so much.

I truly much enjoyed reading this book and I absolutely recommend for everyone who likes a good fantasy book. However, I do think These Hollow Vows came across as a little meek. understand me right, I still like it a lot but I have a feeling that this book was only the introduction to an epic adventure, like ACOTAR. If I’m right (which I hope o so much that I am) the next book in this series will exceptional because so far, the story has all the right elements to become as great as A Court of Thorns and Roses turned out to be. I cannot wait until I get my hands on the sequel because I need more of this story!


***I received an ARC of These Hollow Vows through NetGalley (thank you Hodder & Stoughton!) in exchange for an honest review.***

"Abriella, every star in that sky shines for you"

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton once again for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to start by saying I simply could not put this book down. This kept me interested the whole way through especially with the twists and turns that I didn't see coming. 

I loved the world-building in this and I could clearly picture things in my mind's eye from the dresses to the balls and everything else. I also liked the sibling bond and how Abriella was willing to do anything for Jas.

Abriella is a strong female character but she can seem a little dense. I know I said I didn't see some twists and turns coming but I saw them more than Brie. Sebastian to me felt like he was putting a lot on Brie and although he knew she was saying no he was still there always at the side waiting for her to change her mind. Finn on the other hand although he's the grump Unseelie Prince I have a soft spot for him.

My biggest negative about this book is how long I am going to have to wait to find out what happens next. I honestly cannot wait.

When I saw this being promoted with the words "hot Fae Summer" I was immediately sold; that's right up my street!

I dove into this book as soon as I got access and finished it in record time. With strong world building and well developed characters, it was easy to sink into this story and become invested. Even the side characters were easily distinguishable.

Honestly, I don't hate a well executed love triangle so I'm interested to see how this develops as the story moves forward. Something I truly enjoyed was the sibling relationship aspect. It's rare to see a really well done sibling relationship and that was definitely not the case here. The sister's love for each other was so clear to see and was a great device to keep the plot moving.

I truly didn't anticipate some of the twists this story took but I can't wait to see how things play out in the next book. What didn't surprise me was the 'love interest' I decided to root for... you could say I have a type!

I think compared to some other books I read this wasn't necessarily the 'hot' I was expecting, as it isn't explicit and there isn't much of it, but I think that's something that may change as the books continue,

I'm excited to see what Lexi Ryan does next and thank you Hodderscape for early access to These Hollow Vows!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for sending me an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own and any quotes used are subject to change.

“If I know anything it’s that I’ll never trust the fae.”

Upon finishing this book, my first reaction was “no think, just pain”. My emotions were all over the place. I didn’t know how to feel, what characters to like and not like, what love interest to root for – the ending had me wanting to read more, but alas, the next book isn’t out for another year.

The Hollow Vows follows Abriella, or Brie (such a beautiful name, right?) who travels to the land of the fae and is caught between two faerie courts and their very handsome, very seductive princes. The catch? Brie hates the fae. From the synopsis, I knew I would love this book and it did not disappoint. When I saw that it was “The Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses” I was instantly intrigued, however, after reading it, I didn’t feel like it was that. It was quite refreshing and like nothing I’ve read before.

“I think of myself more like a shadow, unnoticed and more useful than people bother to notice.”

The book started off quite slow but quickly picked up once the main plot started and then I could barely put the book down. The world-building was quite strong, I understood the world and the fantasy creatures they included (fae, goblins, banshees…) and the fae courts and what they stood for. Whilst the fae are not the fae you’re used to (the type that can’t lie but bend the truth, are vicious etc.), it still felt like a book set in the fae world. The magic system was very muted and not as focused on for most of the story which is something new to me and something that I really enjoyed and is only used by some characters.

I absolutely love the love triangle trope, and I know some people are sceptical when going into books with love triangles but this a love triangle that is done exceeding, and frustratingly well. Reading the book, I kept going back and forth between which love interest to choose. There were so many intriguing reveals and heart-breaking reveals that I was constantly questioning my choice and changing who I prefer and wanted Brie to end up with.

Now for the vibes I got from the book – I got quite a few vibes from different stories and books. I got Robin Hood and Cinderella vibes from Brie and her backstory with her sister and in one scene, I got Baghra from Shadow and Bone vibes. In another scene, I got Kaz Brekker/The Darkling showdown (from Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) vibes.

As a reviewer with a disability, I want to touch on the magical healing trope. I’m not a big fan of the magical healing trope as a lot of authors use it to cure characters of something that is usually otherwise incurable (i.e. paralysis). However, Ryan doesn’t do this. She uses it to treat things that would be curable in the real world (cuts, bruises etc.) and I loved that it was only used for these.
Sometimes Brie could be a bit annoying but who isn’t? We’re all a bit annoying at times, right? If anything, it made me like Brie more. I would have liked to see a bit more of the side characters and maybe their jealousy (continuing with the Cinderella vibes) but I have a feeling we’ll see more of these characters in book two.

All in all, I am in love with this book and I can’t wait for you all to read it later this month!

“Good thing I’m anything but common.”

If you've read A Court Of Thorns and Roses trilogy, this will sound very familiar. But that said, I still enjoyed the book a lot! The fast-paced action that's part of the majority of book really kept me going and even if I knew what's about to happen, I didn't mind at all - I just kept on turning the pages. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I'm still a sucker for a good love triangle and this one delivers.

A couple of things that I think could be done better:

- Lexi Ryan has tried to add too many fantasy characters in this book only for them to be mentioned ones. Nothing against having an interesting mix of creatures as long as they play an important part to the story. Instead here, their only role is to attack Brie so someone can come and save her... A bit disappointing!

- The ending felt very rushed. I know that this will be a duology but still more time should've been invested into building the cliff-hanger. I wanted to feel like I can't live until the next book but that feeling never came. I'll still read the second book but I'm not dying to get my hands on it.

That said, I enjoyed this one immensely! I'm a huge fan of the ACOTAR series and anything that reminds of it, I'm doomed to like.

These Hollow Vows is a YA fantasy with a strong romantic element. It’s been compared to ACOTAR and The Cruel Prince, and I understand why, since it features a human interacting with fae and traveling to the Fae realm, as well as political tension within the realm itself. It also features a character dynamic that’s very reminiscent of ACOTAR, which readers will no doubt love. However it should be noted that These Hollow Vows definitely reads younger than both ACOTAR and FOTA, so readers who found those a bit too dark might enjoy this one.

The story opens with Abriella apparently being in the middle of her very own heist, which gave me slight SOC vibes and definitely made for an intriguing introduction to our MC. What follows is an explanation of Abriella’s reasons for thieving and her life (cue: Cinderella trope) as we meet some side characters of varying importance within the story.

The story itself unfolds fairly smoothly and features a series of popular tropes or homages to other popular series and stories: Cinderella, The Selection, a love triangle, abduction of loved ones, magical items, etc.
Favorite tropes and elements vary a lot in the book community, but I think there’s something here for everyone. For instance, I personally quite like a love triangle when it’s well executed (though I know many dislike this trope). In this case specifically, I was prepared to love it because of how it had been hinted at in the synopsis, but I found myself struggling to buy either romance. I felt like I was being told that they were into each other, but I didn’t quite feel it. Perhaps it had something to do with me not entirely liking Brie as an MC, but I think that didn’t account for all of it, as I also had trouble feeling the urgency and tension during some of the more stressful moments in the book. In a way, it felt slightly remote and I had trouble getting completely invested.

That said, THV is well paced and quite a smooth read, so it still makes for a fun reading experience; and there are some great side characters, like Pretha, who was my favorite character in the whole book.
The second half especially is more focused and a bit faster-paced, and features some relationship growth that enriched the portrayal of the individual characters themselves, as well.

There was a slightly disappointing, anticlimactic resolution moment that made me slightly doubt, but the ending really upped the stakes and kind of made me wish I had the sequel on hand!

<b>3 1/2 STARS</b>

I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows and I love that it fulfilled my need for more fae stories. I did feel like the writing was a little too "tell not show" at times but it became less noticeable as the story went on. Overall it was a great book with a relatively predictable plot but entertaining nonetheless.

The first in a duology following a girl thrown into a world she wanted no part of. For a person who despises faeries the last thing Brie wanted was to find herself torn between the two courts. This tale has heavy influence from Cinderella but with enough of its own personality that it’s not a “reimagining”.

I can be a sucker for a love triangle at times and this one is no exception. Being tied to either of the princes seems to be more burden than blessing which makes a nice change from the “but they are both so perfect in their own way” shtick. But a choice must be made…or not depending on how well she plays the game.

Though it might not be the most original of tales at its core it does well to entertain and twists enough to keep you wanting to read more to see how it all pans out. Who knows, by the end of the second book we may be in for a different story than has been played out so far. If the end of this first book is anything to go by that’s a definite possibility.

NYT Bestselling author Lexi Ryan makes an impression with her YA Fantasy debut, These Hollow Vows. Perfect for fans of Holly Black’s Cruel Prince and ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas, read on to find out more about this tantalising tale.

Jas and Brie’s mother abandoned them when she ran off with her Fae lover. To survive, they signed a magical contract of servitude with Madame V. The sisters spend almost every waking moment at the beck and whim of Madam V and her spoiled daughters. Despite Brie’s determination to pay off the contract, even if it means resorting to dangerous criminal acts, the sisters are frequently short and Madame V piles on more outrageous fines.

On the cusp of being short again, Jas has a plan. The Seelie Court's Queen is holding a celebration to find a human bride for their Prince. Brie is horrified. She despises the Fae and would rather be dead than entangled with their kind, but her sister pleads her case. It is a chance to find their mother and request her help - if she is still alive. Aware of how desperate their situation is, Brie agrees to accompany her sister.

When Sebastian, the mage apprentice Brie has a crush on, learns of their plans, he warns Brie that to attend is a death sentence. Despite his distress, he is unable to change Brie’s mind. When she promises him they will be as safe as possible she doesn’t realise the cruelty that is about to shock them all.

In order to save her sister, Brie is forced to make a deal with the Fae King of the Unseelie Court. All she has to do is infiltrate the Seelie court, trick the Prince into accepting her as a potential bride, and find 3 specific magical items she must safely return to the Unseelie court. Tell anyone, or fail, & Jas will suffer the consequences.

To find out the rest of this intricately weaved tale of danger, deceit and romance I urge you to read the book. Out on the 20th of July 2021, you can now pre-order These Hollow Vows at various book retailers, including Waterstones, Book Depository & Amazon.

4.5/5 🌟

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

These Hollow Vows starts off in the human world, and we find out that fae kind of just appeared to humans one day. I won’t lie, I wish this would actually happen. Would 100% go jump into the fae world. Our main character, Brie, is basically the most anti-fae person in the story though, and that makes sense due to what we find out about her history. Added to that, humans are being sold to fae as slaves and so she can’t help but be disgusted at the idea of fae.

She lives with her sister, Jas, and the story starts off in a very Cinderella way – an evil Aunt keeps them in a small basement room and makes them both do chores for her daughters. It pulls on your heart strings but we find this out after seeing that Brie is willing to go as far as possible to keep those she loves safe.

We also meet Bash very early on, her hunky neighbour training to be a mage. I found it a little predictable and expected what happens with him early on in the book but… I still very much so enjoyed the reveal of it.

Unfortunately, on the same day that a ball is announced in the Seelie Court, Brie finds out that her aunt has decided to sell her sister to the Unseelie King as a slave. Even though Brie can’t stand the idea, she realises that her best chance to save her sister is to go to the ball and try find her way to the Unseelie Court. Cue one fast-paced main storyline of Brie running around trying to save her sister no matter what.

I’m a sucker for fairytale influences and there’s a fair bit in These Hollow Vows. Aside from the early Cinderella comparison we also get a mirror that shows you what you ask it to show… like in Beauty and the Beast. And there’s a wardrobe you head into which takes you elsewhere, I guess a little like the Narnia wardrobe. They’re all elements that fit so well into the fae world though and Lexi does an excellent job at making them work for the story. We also get to meet goblin

“Where do you think legends begin, if not from truth?”

Princes though. Hot. Damn. I can’t lie, the Unseelie Prince Finn went and stole my heart from the very beginning. You know those characters that act moody as hell but then… actually a cinnamon roll (albeit a confusing one)? Yep. I loved him. He’s the heir to the Unseelie throne but his horrid Uncle is claiming it instead, so he tries to get Brie to help him get the throne back.

I’m going to contradict myself here, because usually I don’t like love triangles. But there is one in These Hollow Vows with Brie, the Unseelie Prince and Seelie Prince and it just works so well. Lexi writes it in a believable, natural way and you can really see how conflicted it makes Abriella. (I still rooted for Finn throughout though, definitely Team Finn always).

'Faerie can’t exist without the light and the dark, the sun and the shadow.'

In essence, if you can’t tell already… I really loved this and I’m dying for the next part to see what happens to Abriella! More Finn is also needed in my life too. That’s a fact. But yeah, will 100% be getting a finished copy and trying to amass any special editions I can get my hands on too!

"You are only powerless if you believe you are." And Abriella is anything, but powerless. She is in love, confused, torn and throw head first into a world she never wanted to be in. The author takes us along for the ride with ups, downs and blind corners, but it's a ride you'll want to ride again (tell us there's another book! Soon?!)
The characters are amazing. I'm Team Finn, but even I had my swooning moments over Bash. Brie is a strong female lead who does what she needs to to survive and does 95% of it in flowy dresses and still kicks ass. The supporting cast of characters are well rounded and make the story come alive.
The twists are great. Some you expect and some knock you for a loop. All woven together for an epic fae tale that will leave you wanting more. Please, give us more!
Grab this book and prepare to devour it in a single sitting. Binge worthy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

My arating :3.5
Though this book felt like it was going in circles about bonding and the heir to the throne, I was hooked to the plot. After the first half, I was questioning a lot about Sebastian and why everyone were emphasizing on bonding and I was quite content with how it all ended. These Hollow Vows is a gripping tale loaded with myths, goblins, deception and betrayal of the highest order. If you love reading about Faeries in Fantasy novels, then you should never miss this one.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC!

I haven't read any other fae books until this one so I didn't know what to expect. I must admit I didn't think the plot was very original and I wasn't a fan of the main character. I rolled my eyes a few times and some developments were a bit predictable. Despite all of that, the author managed to pull me into the story and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I will definitely read the second book next year when it comes out.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing, spellbinding, scheming, heated and powerful, These Hollow Vows quickly drew me in and just never let me go. So full of intrigue and complex twists, you can never be sure just what lies in wait for Brie next. Whilst I had some suspicions, and perhaps even expected a few of the twists, just how they were then woven together, the consequences that resulted from them, left me breathless with awe.


Truths were painstakingly revealed as each layer of the story was slowly peeled away. Not that the pace ever felt slow, every detail held purpose and meaning, foreshadowing allowed us to consider possibilities but each new truth also managed to distract from the next one. There wasn't a single part of this book that I would change, not one thing. I can not wait for the next book, I do hope the wait isn't too long, because oh I have to know what Brie will do now, as a woman scorned.


The book is written entirely from Brie's point of view, a necessary step so that we learn about the fae world, the Seelie and Unseelie courts along with her. I adored her, along with what was quite a cast of supporting characters. I'm hoping we learn a lot more about some of Finn's crew in the next book, some of them felt more like convenient pegs to hand a plot twist on, but even that couldn't manage to lower my rating.


Lexi Blake has been hiding an amazing talent for writing high quality and entertaining fantasy.
I'm just happy that she has finally decided to share it with the world. That final twist, well it certainly explained some things about Sebastian's seemingly calm reaction to Brie's revelations.. I am already looking forward to re-reading this in preparation for the release of book #2.

I received this copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I'm so disappointed with how this story turned out. I am bummed as I found this story to be pretty generic and very predictable. The love triangle was lukewarm at best with a pretty dumb main character. Overall the writing was engaging but the plot was average. If you enjoy books like ACOTAR, you would like it.

Thank you so much to Hodderscape for an arc of this book.
The book follows Brie, a girl working herself to the bone trying to pay off never ending debts to her cruel aunt and keeping her younger sister alive. The only way to keep up the payments is to steal from the ridiculously rich. Brie has always loved the dark shadows and somehow manages to conceal herself more easily than others. When the debts spiral her younger sister is sold to the Fae, Brie will do anything to get her back, that includes making a deal with the awful Unseelie King. Truths are revealed and Brie must chose between 2 Fae Princes, but the Fae are cunning and devious creatures and not everything is at it seems.
Ok I am not a massive fan of love triangles, they make me anxious, but I managed to push aside my weird anxiety and bloody loved this book! I'm not going to lie, the main character got on my nerves, there was just something about her that really irritated me. However as the book progressed I did start to like her more. The 2 fae princes are obviously gorgeous and swoon worthy, as soon as we met a moody fae prince with silver eyes and tattooes I was sold, welcome to the harem Finn. I know who my money was on from the start but holy shit pickles that ending!! The only downside to getting an early arc is the fact you have to wait even longer for the next book!
The world building was great, the differences from the human world and fae world were made so clear and I could really visualise the surroundings as everything was described.
There was plenty going on in the story to keep me turning the pages and I cannot wait to find out what is going to happen next! 5 stars!!!!

My bookish heart has rarely felt so full of love and emotional for a book like this! Other times has been with books like the ACOTAR series and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. I was in the book, heart and soul, from page 1 until far past when I finished the last sentence. It takes a mix of several elements to create a piece of writing that is beyond five stars but my fae Goddess does this have it all! The writing style and wording lets it flow into your mind like it’s faerie wine; combining this with the vividly captivating plotline and characters you can’t help but get emotionally attached to at a heart level, and you have yourself a book that I will be recommending to every person I can.

Lexi Ryan has created an in-depth world that vividly comes to life through her writing and imagination put to paper. Every detail is thought out so well that you lose yourself in the realm and characters effortlessly, never being able to predict what will happen next. I have never read a book where time literally disappeared in a flash. Four to five hours felt like thirty minutes, if that, as I read through the night wanting and needing to follow the story and Abriella more. Even then just as I had a few chapters left and thought it was just going to wrap up for the ending I thought it would be, it again surprised me and dragged me even deeper into the story. It is so easy to relate to Abriella on a personal level and the writing let you feel every emotion she does.

The characters are nowhere close to 2D ones like in some young adult stories; these are full blooded come to live people and Fae who live in the world you read of. If there was a way to describe something that is deeper than your imagination and closer to reality, that would be how it feels reading each word as they flow off the page. I know I have a very vivid imagination, but every time I had to put this book down, I physically had to blink myself back into reality.

I only have one last thing to say. That last page I felt deep in my heart and damn time can not go quick enough for the sequel to be in my hands and I can continue this story that every reader will not only fall in love with, but emotional connect to on so many levels.

These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan
 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 4 stars 

This book  has been dubbed a must read for A/W21 and I definitely agree that it's a strong read, I devoured this book in one sitting. I just had to keep reading the next page. The plot follows a girl Abriella (Brie) who hates the Fae but when something disastrous happens with her sister she makes a deal that changes her life forever. The plot does have a few similarities to other books that are really popular right now but if you disregard that, the book itself is really good. Then there's the romance aspect where, Abriella is torn between two characters in the typical broody dark haired character and the blonde friend for years, but hey the trope is really popular for a reason. I don't usually go for books with this trope but this one pulled my interest and I'm glad I gave it a shot it works and other people seem to also enjoy it. I'm definitely going to read the second book when it comes out cause I just can't wait to find out what happens next.

I recieved an ARC of this book through NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own

(Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Saughton for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

[Actual rating 2.5/5 stars]

These Hallow Vows follows Abriella (or Brie for short) as she travels to the fae kingdom to save her sister who has been kidnapped by the evil King of the Moon Court. Brie learns that there is more to the fae then she realized and uncovers secrets about herself, her past and the two fae princes.

I have never read anything fae related before so I was really nervous to read These Hallow Vows and I had no idea what to expect. My main feeling towards this book is that it left me feeling very conflicted as there where parts I did like but a lot of parts I didn't.

Starting with the best parts, I loved the two fae courts (sun court and moon court) and the history/tension between them. I also really liked the backstory about the fae and learning the truth behind why the two courts where at war. I also quite enjoyed the main plot of the book even though there where parts of the story that I wasn't a huge fan of and found a little cringy. I also really liked how Brie would do anything to save her sister and the big focus this book had on the importance of family.

Speaking of Brie, one of the things that I didn't really like about These Hallow Vows was her personality as she was a little bland. I had high hopes for her in the beginning as the book starts straight away with her robbing a vault and being a cool thief in the night but as the story goes on, she doesn't really do much herself and in every bad or dangerous situation someone else ends up saving her.

I love a good love triangle and was really looking forward to reading about the one in These Hallow Vows but I only liked one of the love interests (Team Finn all the way) and found Sebastian kinda annoying. This book was also written a little bit like a fan-fiction which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just depends on whether or not that's something you like.

Overall I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either and I think, judging by some of the other reviews, if you love fae then you will more than likely love this, however it wasn't really my cup of tea