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A review by the_ya_assassin
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
2.0
Edit 08/01/2021 -
I have since thought back on this book and realized . . . I really didn't enjoy it. I was in a reading slump when I read this and THOUGHT I enjoyed it. But now I realize that if I had truly enjoyed it, I would've gotten out of my reading slump. It was very unoriginal - it followed the SAME EXACT storyline as ACOTAR with the same characters. I will still be picking up the sequel, but I know I thought too highly of this book.
Thank you HMH Books for Young Readers Publishing for the eARC through Edelweiss!
"Where do you think legends begin, if not from truth?"
So in [b:These Hollow Vows|53422971|These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows, #1)|Lexi Ryan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603478051l/53422971._SY75_.jpg|82902232], we meet stubborn redhead Abrielle Kincaid (Brie), our main character, in the human realm. She steals from the rich to help keep her and her sister Jas afloat after their mother fled the mortal realm to be with a noble fae and their uncle died. They have a contract with their aunt to work to pay off their debt to her, but the costs are catching up to them. Long story short, the aunt sells Jas to the Unseelie King Mordeus, and thus starts our adventure into faerie. Brie will do anything to help rescue her sister, going so far as to make a deal with said Unseelie King to collect and deliver three magical objects to him: a mirror, a book, and a crown. However, all three of these relics are in the Seelie court.
Brie needs to get access to the Seelie Court, and the only way to do that is to participate in the competition for Prince Ronan's hand. Despite her opinions on fae, Brie slowly accepts and falls in love with Prince Ronan. He promises to help save Brie's sister, but Brie's deal with the Unseelie King prevents her from telling him that she's taking care of it. She accepts help from her fairy godmother and a group much like the Inner Circle from [b:A Court of Mist and Fury|17927395|A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546406996l/17927395._SY75_.jpg|25126749] to help her learn to use a special skill she acquired when she came to faerie. Finn, said group's leader, happens to be VERY Rhysand-like with the same charm. She internally struggles with her feelings for Finn and Ronan (a shocker, I know. What would a YA book be without a good old love triangle?)
Brie isn't quite sure who she can trust and feels guilty throughout the novel about her secrets. Even more so, who she loves is brought into question.
I don't think there are any content warnings I can give for this book. There's mild intimate scenes and some cursing, but nothing I think that needs to be warned about.
I REALLY enjoyed this book. I do see where some people might dislike it, because it's VERY similar to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the main character isn't always likeable. However, there were many other redeemable parts of this book that made me love it.
For starters, the world building was fantastic. The fae AND human worlds had very distinguished rules, mythical creatures (fae only), locations, types of faeries, and magical relics. The magic system was kind of developed, but I think it could've been taken a step further if there were LIMITATIONS to each fae's magic (like where they only had control of a certain element).
Secondly, the characters. I pretty much matched each of the core characters to a character from A Court of Thorns and Roses. The plot is COMPLETELY different BUT the characters were similar. Let me list the matches:
- Brie = Feyre (obvi)
- Finn = Rhysand
- Lark = Elain
- Kane = Azriel
- Tynan = Cassian
- Pretha = Mor
- Ronan = Tamlin
- King Mordeus = King of Hybern
- Queen Arya = Amarantha
Brie wasn't as strong as Feyre, in my opinion, but they acted similarly. When I first started reading THV, Brie kind of seemed . . . conceited and she still was at the end of the book. Her opinions about fae had changed for sure, BUT her anger boiled over at the end. I didn't see much change in her as a character sadly. Brie was slow on the uptake (you'll see what I mean when you read These Hollow Vows, which you NEED to read), BUT she is reasonable and does what NEEDS to be done, or rather, what she WANTS to be done (which is finding and saving her sister). I can appreciate that about her - a woman with a goal and determination to do whatever it takes to reach that goal.
However, I'm not happy we didn't get to see more of the two love interests in this book or Finn's circle in this book. I am a hopeless romantic and LOVE love triangles, but this one fell a little flat for me since there didn't seem much fight between the three characters in it. AND the characters just fell a little flat for me 'cause nothing really happened with them. Though I do love some faerie wine, if you know what I mean (or you'll see what I mean lol).
Thirdly, the scenes and extra tidbits. There were a LOT of easter eggs and references to other famous stories if you pay close enough attention. Some examples include references to Cinderella, Narnia, Harry Potter, classic fae stories, and Beauty & the Beast. Watch for what I mean and message me if you catch any of these.
Each scene played a key role in building up to the climax plus they twisted the trust and hope more and more for Brie. I honestly love seeing characters struggle because it makes the story more believable. I NEED a main character to struggle, both internally and externally, which [a:Lexi Ryan|2856947|Lexi Ryan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1624493726p2/2856947.jpg] delivered. Every chapter, as the old saying goes, made the snot thicker and thicker, or in this case, the plot.
Although, that ending made up for all of the tiny mistakes I had with this book. It was a HUGE twister and one I honestly didn't see coming. I'm shell shocked. It wasn't . . . cruel exactly, but it wasn't a kind ending either. I feel excited to see what Brie does next. I am looking forward to the sequel VERY much, like . . . I need my hands on it now.
I'd recommend this for fans of:
- ACOTAR
- [b:Throne of Glass|7896527|Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495278054l/7896527._SY75_.jpg|11138426]
- [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183]
- Narnia by [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564671804p2/1069006.jpg]
- The Iron Fey by [a:Julie Kagawa|2995873|Julie Kagawa|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257816454p2/2995873.jpg]
- Retellings
- Literally ANYTHING with fae in it
I have since thought back on this book and realized . . . I really didn't enjoy it. I was in a reading slump when I read this and THOUGHT I enjoyed it. But now I realize that if I had truly enjoyed it, I would've gotten out of my reading slump. It was very unoriginal - it followed the SAME EXACT storyline as ACOTAR with the same characters. I will still be picking up the sequel, but I know I thought too highly of this book.
Thank you HMH Books for Young Readers Publishing for the eARC through Edelweiss!
"Where do you think legends begin, if not from truth?"
So in [b:These Hollow Vows|53422971|These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows, #1)|Lexi Ryan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603478051l/53422971._SY75_.jpg|82902232], we meet stubborn redhead Abrielle Kincaid (Brie), our main character, in the human realm. She steals from the rich to help keep her and her sister Jas afloat after their mother fled the mortal realm to be with a noble fae and their uncle died. They have a contract with their aunt to work to pay off their debt to her, but the costs are catching up to them. Long story short, the aunt sells Jas to the Unseelie King Mordeus, and thus starts our adventure into faerie. Brie will do anything to help rescue her sister, going so far as to make a deal with said Unseelie King to collect and deliver three magical objects to him: a mirror, a book, and a crown. However, all three of these relics are in the Seelie court.
Brie needs to get access to the Seelie Court, and the only way to do that is to participate in the competition for Prince Ronan's hand. Despite her opinions on fae, Brie slowly accepts and falls in love with Prince Ronan. He promises to help save Brie's sister, but Brie's deal with the Unseelie King prevents her from telling him that she's taking care of it. She accepts help from her fairy godmother and a group much like the Inner Circle from [b:A Court of Mist and Fury|17927395|A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546406996l/17927395._SY75_.jpg|25126749] to help her learn to use a special skill she acquired when she came to faerie. Finn, said group's leader, happens to be VERY Rhysand-like with the same charm. She internally struggles with her feelings for Finn and Ronan (a shocker, I know. What would a YA book be without a good old love triangle?)
Brie isn't quite sure who she can trust and feels guilty throughout the novel about her secrets. Even more so, who she loves is brought into question.
I don't think there are any content warnings I can give for this book. There's mild intimate scenes and some cursing, but nothing I think that needs to be warned about.
I REALLY enjoyed this book. I do see where some people might dislike it, because it's VERY similar to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the main character isn't always likeable. However, there were many other redeemable parts of this book that made me love it.
For starters, the world building was fantastic. The fae AND human worlds had very distinguished rules, mythical creatures (fae only), locations, types of faeries, and magical relics. The magic system was kind of developed, but I think it could've been taken a step further if there were LIMITATIONS to each fae's magic (like where they only had control of a certain element).
Secondly, the characters. I pretty much matched each of the core characters to a character from A Court of Thorns and Roses. The plot is COMPLETELY different BUT the characters were similar. Let me list the matches:
- Brie = Feyre (obvi)
- Finn = Rhysand
- Lark = Elain
- Kane = Azriel
- Tynan = Cassian
- Pretha = Mor
- Ronan = Tamlin
- King Mordeus = King of Hybern
- Queen Arya = Amarantha
Brie wasn't as strong as Feyre, in my opinion, but they acted similarly. When I first started reading THV, Brie kind of seemed . . . conceited and she still was at the end of the book. Her opinions about fae had changed for sure, BUT her anger boiled over at the end. I didn't see much change in her as a character sadly. Brie was slow on the uptake (you'll see what I mean when you read These Hollow Vows, which you NEED to read), BUT she is reasonable and does what NEEDS to be done, or rather, what she WANTS to be done (which is finding and saving her sister). I can appreciate that about her - a woman with a goal and determination to do whatever it takes to reach that goal.
However, I'm not happy we didn't get to see more of the two love interests in this book or Finn's circle in this book. I am a hopeless romantic and LOVE love triangles, but this one fell a little flat for me since there didn't seem much fight between the three characters in it. AND the characters just fell a little flat for me 'cause nothing really happened with them. Though I do love some faerie wine, if you know what I mean (or you'll see what I mean lol).
Thirdly, the scenes and extra tidbits. There were a LOT of easter eggs and references to other famous stories if you pay close enough attention. Some examples include references to Cinderella, Narnia, Harry Potter, classic fae stories, and Beauty & the Beast. Watch for what I mean and message me if you catch any of these.
Each scene played a key role in building up to the climax plus they twisted the trust and hope more and more for Brie. I honestly love seeing characters struggle because it makes the story more believable. I NEED a main character to struggle, both internally and externally, which [a:Lexi Ryan|2856947|Lexi Ryan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1624493726p2/2856947.jpg] delivered. Every chapter, as the old saying goes, made the snot thicker and thicker, or in this case, the plot.
Although, that ending made up for all of the tiny mistakes I had with this book. It was a HUGE twister and one I honestly didn't see coming. I'm shell shocked. It wasn't . . . cruel exactly, but it wasn't a kind ending either. I feel excited to see what Brie does next. I am looking forward to the sequel VERY much, like . . . I need my hands on it now.
I'd recommend this for fans of:
- ACOTAR
- [b:Throne of Glass|7896527|Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495278054l/7896527._SY75_.jpg|11138426]
- [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183]
- Narnia by [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564671804p2/1069006.jpg]
- The Iron Fey by [a:Julie Kagawa|2995873|Julie Kagawa|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1257816454p2/2995873.jpg]
- Retellings
- Literally ANYTHING with fae in it