A spooky Halloween romance. I was really intrigued by the book but unfortunately it didn’t meet my expectations. The characters lacked a little depth and romance felt too insta-love without then building on the connection between the two. The concept was really good but the execution needs a little work.

I did enjoy the story though!

I applied for an ARC of One Hollow Love because of the comparison to Hocus Pocus and other favorite Halloween movies of mine. I will say, that I was disappointed in that I did not find many, if any similarities of the books. HOWEVER, I did fully enjoy the premise of the book. The plot was very interesting, and different from what I have read before. But I do feel that it was rushed in many ways. I felt like the resolutions were a little too quick. Additionally, some things didn't make sense. Like, if the FMC is an adult, why does her father have so much control? And the Instalove did not feel real in this, I genuinely felt like she was brainwashed over in love for a lot of the book.

I think this had a lot of promise, but it lacked a bit. Overall, still a good book that Halloween lovers would enjoy.

Stars: 3/5
Spice: 1/5

I will devour anything MK Ahearn writes. While One Hollow Love is worlds apart from her slow-burn fantasy novel Broken Flames, this is much more up my alley as a dark romance girl. I personally loved that Soleil was so intrigued that she almost blindly trusted this demonic man. This book left me giddy and excited for more.

This was… fine? The writing is definitely more YA than I expected, although there is spice, and that, combined with the borderline pick me lead character, stopped me from enjoying this more. I like my romances with a slow burn, so the immediate attraction without any sizzle was disappointing too. Pleasant, but not for me.

**Review of One Hollow Love by MK Ahearn**

This is the ideal Halloween read.

I couldn’t get enough of it; the fall vibes are fantastic. It has all my favorite elements.

The representation of OCD is spot-on and made me feel seen. It’s woven into the story in a thoughtful way, which I really appreciated.

Overall, this book is a cozy escape; the atmosphere is perfect!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I don’t know how to feel about this.

I feel like I was waiting for something to happen and we just didn’t get there. I felt bored reading and struggled to get through.

I wanted to DNF this book so many times but I powered through in the hopes that the description of the book as a Howl's Moving Castle and Hocus Pocus- esque book would come through. It never did.

This book had insta-love, no character building, and a main character who constantly contradicted stuff she said earlier in the book. There was no world building or background that would make the characters likable and I lost the plot immediately.

Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This is a quick and fun insta-love Halloween read. I was intrigued by this book when it was marketed as Howls Moving Castle meets Hocus Pocus. Unfortunately, I didn't get either of those vibes. I did enjoy the premise of the book, but overall it just left me wanting more. I really liked the MFC, Soleil, I loved her tenacity, bravery, kindness, and sassy nature. I thoroughly enjoyed her character development, and how it focused on channeling her power and healing her inner turmoil, rather than just trying to "fix" her OCD and anxiety. The MMC, Jax, is your typical strong-willed and morally grey shadow demon. He is intense and broody for everyone except Soleil, with whom he is patient, kind, and gentle. I liked their dynamic, however, I felt like their relationship lacked depth. The world-building, story, and character development felt rushed, Overall, I felt that it had great potential but it fell flat for me.

Overall, I would say this was worth reading but it had so much potential to be great. I think if it had been split into a duology instead of crammed into one book it probably could have worked (to me there was a clear point where they could have been split). The beginning of this book the middle and end all feel like three different books. The beginning was fun Halloween mystery romance, the middle (my favorite part) this beautiful fantasy world and a journey of emotional growth and love for the main character Soleil, and then the ending was so rushed and the action really didn’t have that emotional connection. It didn’t feel believable it was more so like this this and this happened and then move on to something new. I absolutely loved the characters the author created and they truly all were so unique and interesting. I wish we had more time with them to get to know them all better as well as the magic system. The relationship with Jax and Soleil was also so rushed. They truly do balance each other out perfectly and had a lot of powerful conversations together about healing and trauma but I don’t feel like we properly established the depth and progression of their relationship.
I would recommend this book and I would read it again 100%. I would just advise those reading that although it has some flaws, the story is worth finishing for the characters and this amazing world the author has created.


Review to be published on Goodreads and Instagram on 9/20/24

the premise of this book was really interesting, too bad that a great premise can't compensate for a book that is poorly written and doesn't create a deep connection between the reader and the characters: it seems like a jumble of tropes put together, everything that is trendy now just because it's liked, but the substance is really little; the protagonist is a ghost, characterized only by her OCD and the fact that she wants to "live", even if it's not clear why her father keeps her locked up, and she doesn't think twice about abandoning him; jax, even if he is a cool demon who makes us see the stars, is a flat character: I couldn't describe his character to you, except that he is madly in love with Soleil as soon as he lays eyes on her. The plot itself is not bad, but it almost seems like a collection of moments not interconnected with each other, making the narration even more distant from the reader.

This book is a cute short read if you don't take it seriously.
I couldn't figure out what Halloween represents in this universe. Is FMC just personally obsessed with it? No one else seems to go on about the "magic of Halloween" as much as she does. That was a bit weird.
The first two parts of the book are honestly very cringe. The third part is the best, and I almost feel like everything prior to that just didn't receive as much attention, and was just put together to lead to the third part.
The parts that describe the feelings of anxiety definitely feel the most real. You can tell the author has personal experience and knows what they're talking about. I could relate to a lot of it, and honestly, these might be the most realistic descriptions of anxiety and anxious thoughts I've read in a long time.
Most of the book feels like a fever dream, but it was a fun, okay read.
There are a lot of typos in this version, not sure if that is something I should report on, but it was very noticable.

This is one of my favorite fall/Halloween fantasy books I’ve read! This book had me hooked from the start and I didn’t want to put it down. The beginning of the book being set on Halloween in a small town started the book off with good vibes and I wish we got to see the characters in the town and celebrating. Overall this book felt like everything happened too fast and I wish at times it would have slowed down a bit and that we got a little bit more world-building, especially in the demon world. I really liked the characters and I enjoyed the side characters as well, especially the ones you meet in the demon world. If you are looking for a book to read with fall vibes then this would be one that I would recommend. Thank you so much NetGalley and M. K. Ahearn for an ARC of this book.

⭐️ 3/5
🌶 2/5

That's all she wrote, folks.
This felt very predictable. I found myself constantly eye-rolling at the cliche 'cheesiness' of the dialogue and certain scenes.

If wasn't really anything intruiging or exciting, yet it was still readable. If you like demon/human romance with spice, romance and low world building as an easy read, then this is it.

Book Review:

I had high hopes for this book, especially since the blurb compared it to Howl's Moving Castle, one of my all-time favorites. However, I found the connection to be unclear. While the premise sounded fun and intriguing, I ended up feeling a bit confused throughout the story.

The romance had elements of insta-love, which made sense since the characters had a history, but it still felt abrupt for the reader. The introduction of a spicy scene without fully establishing their relationship felt jarring.

On the plus side, the book definitely captures those spooky Halloween vibes, making it a good pick for the season. I appreciated how the main character, Soleil, portrayed OCD in a realistic way; it resonated with me as a fellow OCD girl.

That said, some characters, particularly Soleil, came across as immature and a bit annoying at times. The male lead felt like a typical romantic fantasy archetype, but I did think it was sweet that he nicknamed her "little flame."

The pacing also felt off, with some sections racing by while others dragged. I can see why this book might resonate with some readers, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me. Maybe my expectations were too high because of the Howl's Moving Castle comparison.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! You can find my Goodreads review and look out for my TikTok wrap-up at the end of the month.

A spooky and spicy romance between two fated supernatural beings. The premise of a girl being locked up each halloween is actually interesting; there's so much intrigue there, and opportunity for the story to unfold into a vast, immersive world. Unfortunately, while the idea was there, the execution wasn't what I hoped it would be. Especially since I read this while reading another similar book (purely by coincidence), which I ended up loving, I feel like this book could have been much better.

Actual rating: 3.5
Firstly, I want to thank NetGalley and the author M. K. Ahearn for giving me the oportunidade to read this book in exchange of my honest review.
One Hollow Love was an easy read, and the anxiety representation was really well done. I just felt everything happened too fast. I also wanted more depth to the characters and the world.
It is a perfect book for the season, especially for the upcoming Halloween.

I didn't really understand the blurb for this. It said that it was like Howl's Moving Castle (one of my favorite movies of all time, just check my Letterboxd four), but I don't see it.

The blurb/description sounded like a lot of a fun and like something I would be really interested in, but I just found this book a bit confusing. And a bit insta-love/insta-lust, which made sense because the characters previously knew each other, but that's a bit sudden for the reader. You need to show the reader that these characters have a relationship before immediately throwing in a spicy scene that doesn't really make sense.

This definitely has spooky Halloween-y vibes, so if this sounds like the type of book you like, I would definitely read it in spooky season!

Our FMC, Soleil, is a fellow OCD girlie. And it felt like a pretty dang accurate literary depiction, which I REALLY appreciated and respected.

These characters can be quite a bit annoying and nonsensical at times, especially Soleil. She has a certain immaturity to her that makes her annoying. And the MMC is way too romantasy formulaic for me. But I did think it was so cute that he called Soleil "little flame." Such a cute nickname, he got a point from me for that.

The pacing of this book felt a bit off. It felt stop-and-start. Some parts went by so fast and others seemed to drag.

I can definitely see an audience for this book, but it just wasn't me. Maybe the Howl's Moving Castle expectations were too high and it was my fault that I was as disappointed as I was with this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly wrap-up.

While I was initially excited about the Hocus Pocus-inspired premise and the promise of a morally grey male lead, One Hollow Love unfortunately didn't live up to my expectations. I found myself struggling to connect with the characters and the overall plot, ultimately leading me to DNF the book.
Specific Feedback:
Insta Love: The insta-love trope is notoriously difficult to pull off effectively, and in this case, I felt that the MCs lacked the necessary chemistry. There was a notable absence of banter or playful interactions that could have helped to develop a more compelling connection between them.
Morally Grey MMC: While the idea of a morally grey male lead was intriguing, I found that the MMC fell short of the wit and playful energy of characters like Howl or Rhysand. Comparing him to such iconic figures may have set unrealistic expectations.

In conclusion, while I appreciate the opportunity to read One Hollow Love, I was ultimately disappointed by my reading experience. I believe that with a bit more character development, a stronger connection between the MCs, and a more engaging plot, this book could have been a captivating read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book on exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I was originally really excited to read this book. the description said it was a mixture of Howl’s Moving Castle and Hocus Pocus. Since I love Howl, I was hoping to like this book and feel that whimsical romantic magic that story has.

I did not feel that. This felt like an extremely poorly written 1990s Halloween movie. There is a lot of instalove, there is virtually no plot or world building at all, and the dialogue and writing is very mediocre. I think I have read better Cloud Strife fanfic on wattpad that the writing in this book.

I honestly would not recommend this book. There are so many better written books out there than this.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review. I wish I liked it more. :(

Absolutely loved the Halloween and fall vibes at the beginning of the book! The fmc Soleil with her ocd and anxiety was an interesting twist and I loved how Jax was able to help her with it. Also always a big fan of when the mmc has a nickname for the fmc and I really liked „little flame“!!
The traveling between the realms on Halloween was such a cool concept, I just wish we would’ve gotten more of that and more of the fall vibes like in the beginning.
The plot twist I felt like were all somehow foreseeable but still overall a very nice fast paced standalone fantasy perfect for the spooky season!
The review on my Instagram @bookbounddreams will be posted on Monday (16.09.24)