Among the Hollow by Roman Ankenbrandt 4/5 ⭐

Despite a somewhat rocky start, I ended up deeply enjoying this book, the characters, and the exquisite world building. Following the journey of disembodied soul Aurel and their less-than-human companion Sevila attempting to track down Aurel's original body, this book is rife with fun characters, mysterious gods, political intrigue, found family, and beautiful prose. It takes place in a Byzantine-inspired nation deep within the throes of civil unrest, where the gods they once worshipped are gone. 

My biggest complaint of this story lies in the fact that it is self published: it sorely needs an editor. The pacing is choppy at times, and many phrases/descriptors are repeated that give an unwanted sense of deja vu. My last problem is a bit harder to describe: at least until the midpoint of the book, the narrative is written very much as an outsider looking in, rather than in terms that would be used as someone within the culture to describe it. I know this is for us as reader's sakes (who are outsiders looking in) but it at times broke the immersion for me. As the story goes on, this feeling does lessen though. Overall, I did enjoy it, and would recommend it to anyone interested in a non-British fantasy world and magic system.