These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Synopsis: Abriella’s sister has been sold to the Unseelie King and she is determined to save her. To do this she must infiltrate the Seelie court, posing as a potential bride for the prince. Whilst there she needs to steal three items from them, and return them to the Unseelie King.
Nikki says: I really liked this book. It was kind of like a medley of ACOTAR and The Cruel Prince with lots of little similarities and I really enjoyed that familiarity. It felt safe and kind of recognisable enough without being too ‘same-y’ and I think my brain needed that security after reading Crescent City.
Abriella is trying to save her sister from the ‘evil false king’ of the Unseelie Faerie kingdom and inadvertently gets caught between the prince of the rival Seelie kingdom, and the true heir to the Unseelie throne. I really liked that at no point did she really waver from that quest, even if it meant risking everything, or throwing away a chance at love. I also really liked that she was 100% unwilling to sit back and let the prince take care of this for her.
Having said that, Abriella is caught in a bit of a love triangle with the two princes and I did get frustrated with her for repeatedly making choices that I didn’t agree with. But, because of the way the story played out, and how much it reminded me of ACOTAR it has left me super excited for the sequel. I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed in the hope that things go the way I’m anticipating and that Lexi Ryan can pull a ‘Mist and Fury’ on us.
I also enjoyed the world building in this book, although I hope we see a lot more of it in the next one. I feel like we got to see very little of the Faerie lands this time with only just enough to know that this could be excellent. It would have been a bit overwhelming to have too much in the first book alongside all the important plot info we were learning alongside Abriella but I hope it develops further next time now we’re more familiar with the world.
I’ve already pre-ordered the sequel, These Twisted Bonds, which is released on the 19th of July this year, and I can’t wait. I’ve got really high expectations for it and I really hope I’m not getting my hopes up too high!
I’d love to know what you thought if you’ve read this book. Let me know in the comments below and we can speculate about book 2 together.
The sequel, These Twisted Bonds, is released on 19th July 2022.
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Book 1 of 2 (incomplete)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Tropes: Love Triangle | Friends to Lovers | Enemies to Lovers?!