Judging by the description, I thought that I would love this book. To my disappointment, it wasn't as engaging as I had hoped.

I liked the characters, Miya and Kai but wasn't that enthralled with Mason. He never seemed to fit within the story.

I found the ending a let down
It didn't live up to the rest of the book.

I received an advance copy of this book. I am leaving my honest review.

In a town where folklore becomes horror, three people are drawn into the ultimate fight against an ancient evil that threatens to repeat a cycle of death. Kai, a young man who continuously wakes up next to previously missing, and now dead girls. Miya, a young student who slowly starts seeing the connection to the supposed Dreamwalker, who's kidnapped girls in the small town of Black Hollow. Mason, an oncologist running from his guilt, who starts to tug at the thread of the town's bleakest fable.

I fully, and unabashedly loved this book. I admit, horror themes are difficult for me to read and judge. As it's rare to find something that leave me actually getting chills. Yet, here I am. From the first 10% of the book I was hooked and becoming drawn more into the fable of the Dreamwalker and her wolves. From 30% in I literally couldn't put it down till I finished it. I enjoyed each POV we were introduced to, which is rare for me as there is always one I end up fighting and struggling reading.

This book was absolutely chill inducing and brutal when it came to language, it made it feel so alive.

Time to lose your way
The Hollows still got hell to pay

And I can't wait to see what more hell A.J. Vrana has in store for this series.

The novel had interesting moments, but on the whole, it missed the mark for me. I was expecting it to have a little more mystery/thriller elements that weren't there. The plot centered around a mystery, but I didn't find much of it engrossing and the twists and turns weren't shocking.

I did enjoy Miya and Kai's storylines and how those storylines talked about mental health. The focus on mental health was appreciated and I liked the interactions between those two characters. The premise itself is very original and the cover art is beautiful, but the ending doesn't quite live up to expectations.

Have you ever read and you didn't want it to end because you loved it so much? This was how this book was for me! It kept my interest from beginning to end.

A. J. Vrana was able to create a town that was both creepy yet induring, Black Hollow felt like you were reading about an actual town that had a dark history, which terrorized its citizens by centuries of believing the Dreamwalker legend. When a young girls goes missing and is found wondering out of the woods after being missing for a week, the town is terrified because no one is supposed to come out of the woods alive.

Our main character, Miya, is the one who finds the missing girl. Miya frequents the park in which the girl stumbles into. Miya is a girl who have problems on her own and doesn't follow the societal rules that ban her from exploring more about the Dreamwalker's presence in the town. The Dreamwalker mystery intrigues her and she finds herself exploring the woods and frequenting the park where she goes to think.

One day, Miya meets a wolf at the park. She feels a sudden pull to the wolf that she's never felt before drawing her even farther into the legend of the town. When she meets Kai, she feels an instant pull towards him as well, something is familiar, which she quickly figures out, making her life change for forever.

The mystery that surrounds this book will pull you in and keep you guessing the entire time. To say I loved this book is an understatement!

A solid book with strong prose and relatable characters. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I'm happy to say I did. Vrana has a knack for characterization and the plot contains enough turns and twists to keep a reader guessing.

I was compelled throughout the whole entire read. I could not put this book down!! I love a nice dark and gritty fantasy and this did it for me. 5 stars!!!

Actual Rating - 3.5 stars, leaning towards the 4.

I recieved an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

I chose to read this book because of an interesting premise, however I didn't think I'd like it, because of the mini-reading-slump it sent me to in about 50 pages in. I'm here to tell you that this book is worth pushing through, and I'm glad that I did.

I'll be listing off thinks I dislike and then likes because it makes things easier.

-Setting up the character motivations ended up taking a bit too long. The beginning is just... so boring to me. I know it's a double sided coin, because the character motivation will be on my "likes" list. It ended up adding to the story more than I expected it would. To be honest, I did not care for it for the first 35% of it.

-I've been thinking about why I fell into the reading slump. I found out after some speculation that it's a mixture of pacing and tone. The book is like really intense. That's usually a good thing, but the problem here is that it is CONSTANTLY intense. It'd help if the pacing slowed down a bit, or if the tone lightened up after the intense scene. I physically had to stop reading to take a breather and actively sought out a lighter read. It's not a good thing because I just stop caring after 1-2 days pass. Then I had to force myself to pick the book up again. It can go on for only for so long.

- The metaphors. I'll be honest this is half my fault because I'm probably too stupid to get it. It's just a minor inconvenience , but it's there.

Onto the gushing,

- The love interest, Kai. It's sad that I have to say this, but Thank God that this book does not romanticize abuse nor the jerks. Kai just had a rough time and needs a hug. He knows his limits, he knows when he's being *actually* rude. What I'm trying to say is, that Kai is the bad boy trope done right.

- I'm happy to say that this book did NOT end up featuring the inescapable love triangle. Due to the circumstances in the last 30% of the book, with The First, I was dreading that it would end up in a love triangle. Thankfully [ and I cannot repeat this enough times] it did NOT.
Everything beats in cycles

-I haven't read much of horror-fantasy. I must say that this is done really well. The way the author has merged the two genres, is beyond praiseworthy. People have always feared the unknown. The have learned to fear everything magical. A great horror is always based on reality; the fears everlasting. This story actually reminded me of the witch hunts of the 1400s. I felt bad for the innocent souls, and I'm terrifies because this type of town mentality still prevails in many parts of the world. The girls of this town were MURDERED because they changed, because they were showing normal teenage behavior. Because they were not still smiling when the pressures we face growing up pushed them down.

Stories aren't told to convey the facts.
They're told to convey the truth

It is very realistic on what is going on these days. So... yeah the Horror part was done expertly, and it was blended in with the fantastic elements perfectly.

In conclusion, this book has some flaws, and it has some strengths. I'm glad I read it, and I'm interested in the next book. Read the book if you want to, and thank you if you've read this far into the review. Happy Reading :D

Holy moly, closing a book and saying "Wow!!!" has gotta mean nothin' but 5 stars.

"There was no forever-after in Black Hollow or anywhere else."
Foreshadowing, thrumming spooky piano noise.

A Raven with a soul-shuddering name. Wolves and shapeshifting -- or is it all a dream? -- and burning trees (the Burning Bush? What is God really?) and soul-inspecting storylines and mirror lakes and woods and willows and friendships and fighting for life and fur and fang and is it all a psychotic episode? -- oh yeah, and horror. Straight up horror.

It's all here.

Fighting for innocence, fighting to understand reality, does it really exist? What is reality anyway, what is waking consciousness within it, the deepest question under a sea of questions here. This book bites off a ton. And it succeeds. It's a shamanic ride on a sometimes gruesome train swelling on orchestral waves. How is this a debut novel?!

"Seasons changed before Miya's eyes, the cycles moving at a pace befitting the perception of an immortal spirit-one who had witnessed them a thousand times over. By the time she reached the end of the path, the trees were all dead."

Chicken skin...

"A shrill call drew him back towards the red-soaked earth. A raven crawled, his wing broken and his leg writhing, towards the body of a dead child. The boy was pristine..."

Horror right there with the best.

I don't typically pick up horror. I was attracted to this book for the shamanic overtones. But horror done right, not for blood's sake but to carry the message and plot in a way that could not be done otherwise, I'm all in.

This book is told in third person from three vantage points, not really a multiple POV in my book though some are calling it that. It is not told in first person from several being's eyes; the reader does not feel whipped through various headspace, instead it is a smooth vehicle for the telling. It rotates chapters with a single character as main focus.. The writing is smooth and carries the reader forward on a spellbinding and spell-blinding ride.

Fantastic read. Highly recommended. Will be following this author!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced reader copy, and thank you to the author for stepping out there to gift such word and idea crafting. This is a painting worth stepping into fully.

5 stars.

My rating system:
My star ratings:
5 stars: Incredible read, cannot get it out of my mind, will read again and again, perhaps has effect on self identity or belief
4 stars: Very enjoyable, no glaring plot or writing issues, added to my idea or knowledge or lore bank, glad to have read
3 stars: Enjoyable on some level but something was missing or in the way - a writing style, plot holes, pacing or emotional connection
2 stars: At some point I was probably screaming at the book and wondering where was the editorial team, or was there a helping team at all
1 star: probably DNF unless I felt obligated, will forget it existed sadly, the idea kernel squandered

In The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana, three strangers fight a supernatural force in the small town of Black Hollow. The residents of Black Hollow are terrorized by a dark entity called the Dreamwalker, said to lure young women into the woods in order to possess their bodies. When a girl goes missing, the lore surrounding the Dreamwalker sends the townspeople into a mob-like frenzy.

The three main characters – Miya, a down-on-her-luck student who believes she might be the Dreamwalker’s next target, Mason, an oncologist reeling from the death of his patient, and Kai, a wolf fighting his own inner demons - must band together to stop the Dreamwalker from wreaking havoc.
Vrana has a knack for describing the setting in Black Hollow. The hospital where Mason visits Jazlyn, Kai’s rundown cabin, and the eerie woods on the edge of town draw out your attention and drag you into the story. Each character has their own rich set of dialogue, which fleshes out their personality and makes you feel like you’ve met them in another life. There is a twist at the end of the book that provides a nice payoff and makes you eager to read the next book in the duology.

My main beef with The Hollow Gods is the beginning. It starts out a little slow, and I had a hard time jumping into Miya’s story. In the first chapter she discovers Elle Robinson, but the discovery is very quick and gets lost in the other events of the chapter. I also wish we were introduced to the full folklore surrounding the Dreamwalker earlier on in the story. Only when Mason speaks to Annabelle halfway through the book did I find myself gaining clarity on the legends surrounding the town of Black Hollow.

Overall, this is a strong debut and worth the read. Even though I thought it was a bit slow in the beginning, the story picks up quickly. This book is great for fans of Maggie Stiefavter’s Shiver series, the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand, and other paranormal romance novels.

The Hollow Gods by AJ Vrana is a beautiful combination of fantasy, horror, and fairy tale. This is a story of Miya, Kai, and Mason. These characters are all telling their story in the Canadian village of Black Hollow. Here the villagers speak of a legend involving the Dreamwalker and her wolves. This legend is in reality an integral part of the villages history and culture. But is the legend true? Is there a Dreamwalker stalking Black Hollow luring young women into the forest at night or is this just a fable?
Vrana creates a beautifully rich world with characters that the reader truly cares about. I love a good fairy tale and the concept of an entire village living as if they are real life characters in a fairy tale in absolutely intriguing.

Miya is a struggling university student. She has been put on probation. Why? She goes to Black Hollow. She doesn’t know that the town has a dark, age-old secret. Black Hollow has been having a girl missing and the community is upset. They are afraid that the Dreamwalker has taken her. Yet when the girl comes back home, the father ends up killing her. Why would a father do that? Miya sees a wolf while swinging on a swing in an old playground. He leaves her and goes into the forest. Miya will meet a boy whose name is Kai. Where did they meet? Will she learn Kai’s secret? What is it? Meanwhile, a doctor named Mason has come to Black Hollows to recover from a patient dying. He learns about the Dreamwalker fable. He becomes infatuated with the story and wants to see if he can find the mysterious Dreamwalker. Who is she? Will Mason find her? What will happen if he does?

The novel is a horror novel that includes a dark secret, mystery and fantasy. It is fascinating. I liked the development of the story. I enjoyed watching Miya’s coming to terms with herself and her life. It’s an excellent horror novel.

Overall rating: 3.5 Stars

The Hollow Gods by A. J. Varna follows three main characters as they navigate and discover the secrets of an eerie town called Black Hollow. We follow the story of Mason Evans an oncologist taking leave after losing one of his patients, Miya a college student struggling to stay afloat, and Kai a mysterious stranger who lives in the woods.

The events of the book unravel around the town’s history and superstition of the entity known as the Dreamwalker who is rumored to lead girls into the forest and when the girls return they always wind up dead. Mason becomes entrenched in the town's history delving to uncover it’s secrets and the truths behind the story of the Dreamwalker, Miya begins to fear that she is the Dreamwalker’s next target, and Kai finds himself more a part of the history than he could ever imagine. Their three lives collide as they each move closer and closer to discovering Black Hollow's truth.

What I loved:

The characters! All three of the characters were strong and held unique voices. I found myself able to relate to each of them and was interested in their lives and history.

The history of Black Hollow! Growing up in a small town myself I understand just how stories travel and local folklore forms. I really enjoyed learning the history of the town through Mason’s uncovering.

What didn’t work for me:

Although the premise was promising, I found the story to be slow. I was waiting and waiting for the action to happen but it took a long time for it to appear, over halfway through the book, and when pieces were finally moving they moved too fast and made the story feel jarring and inauthentic.

Overall, the story has a great start and I am intrigued about the town and this Dreamwalker.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book as I struggled to stay engaged. My biggest problem was that I felt like the characters only served to further the plot... I needed to see more of their personalities, rather than just watching them make incredibly reckless choices so that we could get to the next discovery, or the huge logical leaps the characters made based on limited evidence.

I did think this book had some interesting things to say about depression and was at its best when conveying the depths of the characters' mental struggles, but the unfortunately the plot wasn't strong enough to feel bring out these qualities.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book.
The Hollow Gods by A. J. Vrana did not disappoint at all. I finished this book in a day and it was hard to leave the book because it has everything that I love to read and write in a book: curses, superstitious people, flawed characters that at least try (finally someone gets anxiety attacks because I could relate to Miya a lot in this book), wolves that might be both (wo)man and wolf, dreamscapes, and fables wrapped around mythology.
The world-building is incredible and I was loathed to leave it. The characters had me wanting to hug them and protect them from the nasty villagers who let their own fears bring new life into the fables. Also, anything with reincarnation that has characters being other characters in a previous life will have me on my knees begging for more and I salute the author for being able to pull it off.
If you want to read more of my crazy fangirl talk, you can check out my full review at https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot.com/
All I will say is that Kai can be my Big Bad Wolf anytime he wants to be;) (but I will bow out graciously because of Miya)
If I could give it 500 out of 5 stars I would, but since the system doesn't go that high... 5 out of 5 stars times 100;)

The Hollow Gods is an incredibly in depth story that spans centuries, families, dreams and the waking world. If you want it, Vrana delivers in this title that defies genres and takes you on one wild ride.

This is a book I straight up devoured. The first probably 40% of the book follows three different narratives giving each chapter to a certain point of view. As the book progresses we see these characters story lines start to tie into each other and oh what a tangled web they weave!

You have Miya, who is in a rut as far as studies go and can’t figure out what path she wants to take in life. With odd occurrences happening both too and around her she’s beginning to loose touch with whats real.
Then there is Kai. A smart-mouthed, amnesiac who can’t figure out what’s going on with his blackouts, only that he has a sinking feeling they aren’t because of anything good. (If you’ve ever read Kadry’s Sandman Slim series he reads like a young Stark. I loved Kai)
Lastly you have Mason, an oncology doctor that feels like he’s failing at everything until a chance encounter with a patient that heals miraculously from a serious accident draws him into a dark land meant for scary stories and night time tales.

All of this revolves around Black Hollow. A town steeped heavily in folklore. Of a dream-walker and her wolves that take young women, warping time and returning their shells. The townspeople fear it, try to pretend it isn’t real. But the grip its history has on everything it touches in their little town speaks to something much darker.

There is so much going on in this story but I never once felt like it didn’t have room to breath. The dialogue was a lot of fun, especially later on in the book once everyone starts coming together and we get to see some side characters come into play. It could veer into cliche here and there. Most of my issue lay in the chapters where we were bouncing back and forth in the POV. The time line could get a little wonky but it was tolerable. Regardless, still a page turner that I could not put down.

*E-Arc kindly provided by BooksGoSocial via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

"The Hollow Gods" ist der Auftakt einer Dilogie, der spannender nicht hätte sein können. Durch das atemberaubende Cover bin ich überhaupt erst auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden und wurde von Anfang bis Ende in den Bann gezogen.
Wer spannenden und vor allem düstere Urban/Dark Fantasy mag, ist bei diesem Buch definitiv an der richtigen Adresse. Durch den flüssigen Schreibstil lässt sich die Geschichte sehr schnell lesen und da der Spannungsbogen konstant auf einem unglaublich hohen Level ist, möchte man das Buch auch gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen, bis man am Ende angekommen ist.
Besonders hervorzuheben ist, dass die Charaktere hier keineswegs perfekt sind. Bei jedem einzelnen von ihnen handelt es sich um Randmitglieder der Gesellschaft, die von ganz oben ganz tief gefallen sind und nun zu den Außenseitern gehören. Doch sie lassen sich nicht unterkriegen.
Über die Handlung möchte ich an dieser Stelle gar nichts verraten. Der Klappentext gibt genügend Informationen und die Geschichte ist einfach zu gelungen, um hier gegebenenfalls zu spoilern.
Aber "The Hollow Gods" ist eine absolute Leseempfelung und ich bin gespannt auf den zweiten Band!

The Hollow Gods was definitely an interesting and dark read! I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. It was complex and well thought out, and definitely weird! I just really didn't like the characters nor connect with them. I think that's why I didn't love the book. The folklore in this book was a bit confusing at times as well. I really did enjoy the folklore though, it felt really unique and original. The town of Black Hollow was a perfect setting for this book and I LOVED it. It was atmospherical and definitely creepy! I enjoyed Mason's POV in the book the most. I can't quite say why but his story and the experiences he had and the way he looked at the folklore was the most interesting to me. This is definitely a really cool and dark read that I think readers will enjoy!

I was taken with this story right at the start, the characters, setting and most of the pacing were spot on (there was just a few spots that the story got a little hazy/confusing). I would definitely read more from this author and recommend to fantasy/horror fans.

“Reality wasn’t timeless or enchanting; it was finite and perilous. There was no forever-after in Black Hollow or anywhere else.”

This imaginative fantasy takes us to the city of Black Hollow, located several hundred kilometers northwest of Vancouver.

The main characters are Miya, a struggling University student who grew up in Black Hollow and is no stranger to the odd occurrences that seem to happen there. Young amnesiac Kai, who’s introduction in the book cast him as dubious and dangerous, if only he could remember what happens during his black outs. Third is a grieving Oncologist named Mason who has come to Black Hollow to stay off the grid and recover from a terrible patient loss at his practice.

A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas and deadly secrets lurk in the foggy forests outside of Black Hollow. The main concern is the return of the Dreamwalker- an evil force that lures young women into the woods to their certain death. These three characters are meant to meet up, fight the fabled Dreamwalker and uncover the truth before they are all doomed.

What drew me to this book was the originality of the plot and the promise of a young heroine. The cover art was on point, appropriately dark and spooky.

The problem I had was that for all of the exposition and text heavy explanation of the characters, I did not believe the motivations of Mason whatsoever. I did not believe that Miya was so instantly mentally ill and unable to cope and yet unwilling to accept help from family and good friends, and Kai’s mysteriousness was too slow to be explained.

Overall I truly was excited to start this book but eventually was dulled by the lack of development. I had to slog through too much that happened in a too unbelievable way in order to get anywhere and eventually had to DNF the book after a hundred or so pages.

I will say that I think this story will appeal to YA and fantasy lovers who love lots of descriptive world building and dark fable based books. It was only my personal style preference that lead me to have difficulty with this one.

I loved how the book created some truly in-depth & relatable characters.. I felt very invested in Miya, Kai & Ama and their lives and was loving how things were going. It was definitely high fantasy, combined with folklore, mystery and almost a bit of stark gothicness.. However, I was so incredibly disappointed in the ending. I felt like it made very little sense and didn't give the reader a clear or precise conclusion. I'm interested in seeing how others respond to this ending, once it becomes available on Amazon. I'd probably read another book by this new-to-me author, but I'd be a bit leery, I suppose. I think if the author had given more clarity to the ending and explained things more thoroughly, instead of switching back and forth so quickly between narratives, things would have worked out better and allowed the reader to feel like an actual resolution had been accomplished.. The last couple of chapters were simply disappointing to me. Just to be sure of my opinion, I actually went back and re-read those final chapters one more time, hoping I missed something, but to me, it was just an unclear, unresolved, slightly messy ending that should have been given much more detail.. Kudos to the author though, on her world-building and realistic, likable characters.. I just feel let down by the ending and if the author writes a second book in the series, I would hope that it would have a much-clearer resolution.