'The Cruel Prince meets Assasins Blade/Heir of Fire from the Throne of Glass series...'

"Hope is addictive, and you start relying on it. In a cruel world, I won't be caught needing a crutch."

Before I give my review, I would love to praise the cover designer. The cover is BEAUTIFUL and all of my book followers are obsessed with it as much as I am. It showcases the story, its characters, and the title made so much sense by the end of the story that I cried.

"These Hollow Vows" contains elements that are some of the current favorites in the category of YA. A love triangle, forbidden love, and possible enemies to lovers scenario. Brie and the rest of the characters are very likable. Both male interests are hot and charming, both in very opposite ways. The imagery of the story is beautiful (hence why it reminded me of The Cruel Prince), and the themes are very current. The overall plotline started strong, it fell a little bit towards the middle of the book but it picked up beautifully towards the end. It was impossible to put down. The tension, the lies, the emotion! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Maybe I even skipped a night or two of sleep to read it *Yawns* The world-building might be one of my favorite things about the book, even though it can be a little confusing at times, it was beautifully made. The political aspect was very cool even though we just got to see a glimpse. THE FORESHADOWING YALL!!!

I found myself captivated by a pair of beautiful silver eyes, so if you guys let me, ill be protesting for the following year until the next book comes out.

I'm a booktoker, which means I'm always on the lookout for new releases that are going to completely take over the app once it comes out, and this book certainly will. This book is everything the fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and Jennifer Armentrout could ask for. Sebastian is a mixture of Rowan Whitethorn and Sam Cortland, and Finn is a blend between Hawke and Cardan. What else could you ask for?

One word: Obsessed.

Rating 5

Woah. I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would! I don't say that in a bad way except that I knew going into reading this story that it had a love triangle. I HATE those. I can honestly say a love triangle usually dooms a book for me. That is why I'm surprised that I didn't hate this love triangle. It could be that it didn't feel forced and how the main character went about it was perfect. I loved her loyalty and her confused emotions made complete sense. I did of course choose a favorite, I love Finn and I will be rooting for him in the second book. The main character Brie was likeable and was filled with her own charm and personality. She was a fierce and powerful character who would do whatever it took to save her sister. I loved her loyalty to her family and friends always putting others above herself. Prince Ronan was an okay character. Personally, he just didn't do it for me. His love for Brie felt way over the top and he was a little boring. On the other hand, Finn was a great love interest. He was mysterious, moody, and wanted to help Brie no matter what consequences it would cause him. His character seemed to have more emotion than Prince Ronan's. The side characters, the "Unseelie misfits" , were a good addition. They brought much needed humor and when Brie interacted with them it was like a breath of fresh air. I'm hoping in the sequel we learn more about these characters and see their personalities emerge more. The world building was fantastic. The author created a world that made it easy to imagine and visualize in your head. The writing was well down and the story was easy to follow and had great pacing. Overall, I really loved this book; it had the perfect mixture of romance, thrilling scenes, mystery elements, and action. 

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

These Hollow Vows is the perfect mashup of Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses series. It borrows elements from both, but still manages to have its own identity. I can see how this could be the next popular read with the YA crowd (and even with the not-so-YA readers, like me). There's plenty of fae and court intrigue and romance to go around, but you also see the journey that the protagonist, Brie, goes on to discover her powers. For a first book in a duology, this is entertaining and addicting, and I would be more than happy to recommend it to our readers! Plus can we just take a moment of appreciation for that glorious cover?!?!

AAAAH! I AM FLIPPIN' OUT. THIS WAS SOOOOOO GOOD. This book had so many of my favorite things!!!!! If you like mature YA fantasy books that are packed with magic, secret missions, dark mysterious Fae Princes and not knowing who to trust. I can't recommend this enough. SOOO GOOD! It'll keep you guessing!

The love triangle had me all kinds of conflicted but it was 😍🔥! It was packed with heated, swoony moments that I wish more YA fantasy books had! I couldn't put this down and was feeling all the emotions, I'm talking ALL of them!! It was a rollercoaster and a WILD ride. 😁😍🔥🤬😱🤯

My mind is still a little blown. It definitely had Cinderella, ACOTAR, Cruel Prince vibes and I LOVED IT. 🙌 This is one you will wanna add to you list STAT! I can't wait for more!

***ARC provided in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley****

Two Princes, One Crown, and the girl they both need to fulfill their destinies.
Brie is thrust headfirst into the world of the Fae, a group of people she is determined to hate, in order to save the one person she loves most, her sister. This book follows Brie's journey as she tries to save her sister while fighting the feelings for two very different "Males" who both want.... her Heart? or something much more sinister?

I loved reading this book and it is perfect for anyone who is searching for a book to cure their ACOTAR itch. It has much of the same vibes while also being awesome and surprising in it's own ways.
Would definitely read more from this author and am already looking forward to book two!

I think this book is a solid addition to the fae fantasy crazy that has overtaken the YA market right now. I don't think it did anything special or brought anything new to the genre, but if you like other books similar to this one, you will most likely enjoy this one as well.

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has left me feeling so disappointed. The premise was off the charts yet the main character was someone that I just couldn't connect well with. It felt a bit too much like she had not much depth to her. Not being able to connect with any of the side characters because all of them felt like they were just surface level too led me to add this title to my DNF shelf. I might try to pick this title up again sometime but for now I just don't have the energy for this book.

I was drawn in by the comparison to A Court of Thorn and Roses and was not disappointed, this book had a rich faerie world and a strong female lead, with some romance thrown in. Brie is living a life devoid of fortune and she would be grateful for a world in which she didn't have to work everyday to keep both her and her sister alive. She is dragged into the faerie world when her sister is taken and her only concern is bringing her back to safety, though this goal puts her in the path of a rivalry between light and dark, the Seelie and Unseelie fae. Brie is caught up in a love triangle with the princes of light and dark. They each have ulterior motives and she has her own as she tries to use every opportunity she can to save her sister. The story wasn't predictable and there was a twist toward the end that really made me excited for the next book in the series.
*received and ARC for a review

This book caught me and wouldn’t let me go until I was finished. You will be sitting on the edge of your seat the whole book. I found myself pulling for Finn but also Sebastian. It was hard! The characters were lovable. I can not wait until the next book in this series!!!

Wow! I loved this book.
When I started reading it, I wondered why it hadn't been marketed as a Cinderella retelling- because that's surely what it was. But as I got further into the story, I completely forgot about that comparison.
Brie is working her hiney off in order to pay rent to her aunt, when her aunt sells Brie's sister to the Unseelie King. Brie travels to Faery to save her sister and stumbles right into a decades old struggle between the Seelie and Unseelie Court. I loved Brie and I loved this book.
If you enjoyed books like The Cruel Prince and SJM books, you'll love this.
I'll definitely be looking for the sequel!
Thanks to Netgalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read this ARC.

These Hollow Vows is a breath of fresh air in the YA fae romance genre. It has a lot of what readers expect to see from fae novels (a steamy love triangle, court politics and deceit, hidden agendas and betrayal), wrapped in a simple but engaging story.

I've seen this compared to ACOTAR and, while there are shared elements between the books, ACOTAR is an epic fae fantasy that swallows you whole and consumes your every thought until you finish the series. These Hollow Vows is much lighter, less intense and reminds me of the classic YA fantasy I read as a teenager. It isn't going to deliver extensive world building and character development like ACOTAR, but it does deliver a great story.

NetGalley is once again coming through with the good shit! I hadn't actually heard of These Hollow Vows before NetGalley suggested it to me, which is weird because based on the description, this is exactly the kind of book I would read. Luckily, NetGalley did suggest it to me, because that means I got to read it early and tell everybody why they should read it once it's released! Here is the list of reasons: IT IS SO GOOD. List concluded. I stayed up until 2 AM on a school night because I couldn't put this book down. And the next day I was far more miserable than normal while trying to do my homework because all I wanted to do was keep reading this book. The characters are amazing. You've got Brie--the badass, takes-no-prisoners, will-do-anything-for-her-sister, mysterious-backstory main character. You've got love interest number one, Prince Ronan, who is shiny and golden and perfect and oh-so-sweet that I got a cavity. And you've got love interest number two, Finn, who's dark, brooding, has a tragic back story, and I just want to wrap him in a blanket and protect him from the world. Lurking in the background are the unsettling characters of Queen Arya of the Seelie and King Mordeus of the Unseelie, the grubby-handed Bakken the goblin, and band of misfits that just scream "found family!" The plot is the grab-me-by-my-throat, I'm-pretty-sure-I-was-just-holding-my-breath, holy-shit-I-can't-breathe, drag-you-along kind of good. There's intrigue! Secrets! Betrayal! Even more secrets! Another betrayal! Magic! Plot twists! My only complaint is that parts of the plot were predictable--but! Lexi Ryan added these other twists that made me question whether what I thought was coming was actually coming, and then they did, and I felt both vindicated and shocked. I really, really, really liked this book. I'm going to be buying this for myself, and you need to be buying it too.

A mix of ACOTAR and shadow hunters, with a hint of the Selection thrown in. Can’t put it down! The characters are devastatingly handsome, there’s so much plot to unravel and the magic all around keeps the intrigue high.

~ received ARC from NetGalley ~
4/5

oh my GOD. Let me just say, it perfectly fits how it says, "From New York Times best-selling author Lexi Ryan, Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses in this sexy, action-packed fantasy about a girl who is caught between two treacherous faerie courts and their dangerously seductive princes" and I have never been more upset that 1) this book doesn't actually come out for a few more months and 2) THE CLIFF HANGER.

4/5 because some of it felt WAY too obvious (and honestly, the fact that the author literally just writes smutty romance books and was like oh hey here's a YA novel) with the fantasy tropes and all that jazz BUT Brie is a beautiful, strong heroine.

Also 4/5 because the whole time I was reading it, I was basically like "okay yup this is basically Jude and Feyre mixed into one character" BUT did I still love and devour this book? Yes. Am I waiting for the sequel? Yes. Did this fit the weird fantasy hole I had after ACOTAR, The Cruel Prince, and FBAA? Yes.

I'm a proud, shameless faerie literature snob— and this was NOT a faerie book. Oh, sure, there were magical beings called faeries with the pointed ears . . . but they weren't real fae.

Faeries are . . .

- not liars in the literal sense but bend the truth like nothing else
- capricious and vicious and wild . . . with a few exceptions, obviously
- immortal, vain, snobby, easily offended . . .

I could go on and on because, yes, I'm passionate about the fae. And yet, most of the time, the few root elements of their mythology IS ALWAYS IGNORED/ERASED and idk why but that just always irks me. So, for this to say that it's for those who loved The Cruel Prince it is NOTHING like that beautiful ode to faerie lore. Nor is it even like A Court of Thorns and Roses . . . which at least stays truer to fae lore (but not really) than this.

I WANTED TO LOVE THIS BOOK, OKAY?? firstly, just LOOK at that cover eyy it's gorgeous. But that's about the only good thing about this.

This book flip-flops and lazes about worse than some of the most gratuitous fanfics which AT LEAST you know what you're getting into with those. It didn't really pick an arc to stick to, and the few that it tried to stay on top of . . . were pitiful. The characters were flat and half-realized, the "love triangle" was stupid and neither choice was honestly that great (but yes I have a preference duhhh), and the finale?? I . . . I can't.

But will I read the sequel?? Probably. Because, sure, this book is trashy and dumb but I'm invested because there's just not enough faerie books so I'm left grabbing at anything.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley

3.85 stars

The premise of this book had me so excited, I love any opportunity for a traditional faerie tale with all the drama, intrigue and court betrayal! When first beginning These Hollow Vows, I will admit my hesitation was great. Lexi Ryan seemed to be drawing on all various folklore tropes, from Cinderella to Grimm. It was hard to get a clear picture of how this book would shape out to be, but I’m glad I hung on until the end.

For an author’s seemingly first attempt at the YA/New Adult fantasy genre, she did well. Fans can respect the effort, with hopes that by the second book many of the shadowy dead ends will be resolved. And that brings me to the biggest issue I had with this book. There were so many secrets, so much court intrigue, so much in fact that as a reader, I was so sucked in there wasn’t even a choice of not finishing. The tale has been told before: seelie vs. Unseelie, human girl sucked into the web, no escape. But it was the who is betraying who that I absolutely could not get enough of.

I would have liked to see so many of the secrets resolved in this book, and I can only hope that fans will receive all of our answers by the second. I am very glad this is only a duology. I do recommend reading this book, with the caveat that the tale has been told before, but the drama I assure you, is fresh.

I really cant decide if I liked this book.
In so many ways it was great, but I feel like thats because it piggy backed on the ideas of other books. It definitely is a mash up of "Cruel Prince" and "Court of Thornes and Roses". I felt like some scenes were almost the same as those novels.

Overall it was a fun read and I was invested in the characters. I would read book 2. I just hope to have more original content or that the author will bring something new to the table.

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

I'm still reeling from the way this novel ended. I can usually guess a twist ending, but this one surprised me in the best way!

I will say that it took me a while to get into this book. There were a few typos, and the writing could use some polish. I also wish I could have seen more action from Prince Ronan, but after reading the ending, I know what that was not the case.

Overall, the ending was worth any flaws in the writing as the character arcs were well done, and Abriella grew into exactly the kind of heroine I want to follow into the sequel.

I really enjoyed reading this book!
If you are a fan of Cassandra Clare, Holly Black or Sarah J. Maas then you will love this utterly romantic and thrilling faerie tale.
I really loved how the author crafted the story from the female leads perspective and that even you, as the reader, could not decide between who to trust and who to despise.
Let's be honest, everyone dreams of finding someone who appears like Sebastian, but we always find ourselves attracted to the bad boy/girl and Finn ticks those boxes.
I really loved how the workings of royal politics were weaved into the romance and that the ending really leaves you yearning for more. I really hope there is a sequel and we can further explore the independence of the female lead as well as some of the more complex emotions of the male characters and how they have interacted in the past..