Review: These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Series: These Hollow Vows #1
Published by Clarion Books on 2021-07-20
Length: 448 pages
Reviewing Paperback from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2024 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2024 COYER Unwind

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.

Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she'll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.

Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie's only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.

Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart.

This was the book I didn’t know I needed. These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan is the first in a YA fantasy duology about a young girl desperate to save her sister from the Fae. Brie has spent her life hating the Fae for a choice her mother made to leave her children when they were younger. Stuck in an impossible situation with an aunt who uses them as forced labor, Brie and her sister are under a mountain of debt that leads Brie to a life as a thief. After missing her monthly payment to her aunt, her little sister is sold to a Fae willing to pay enough that frees Brie but leaves Jas in the hands of a cruel Unseelie king. To get her sister back, Brie poses as a potential bride for the Seelie prince and puts her cunning to the test.

I devoured this story! Brie is such a fun character to follow. She’s courageous and willing to do whatever is needed to save Jas even putting her own wants and needs to the background. What she finds at the Seelie court threatens to break her, but she decides to persevere. Her sister needs her. The relationships Brie builds with Fae of both courts is tenuous at best. She is unsure who she can trust as both sides have either lied or withheld information that were unable to share on multiple occasions. It makes for an interesting read, and one I can honestly say is hard to predict.

As much as I love Brie, the court intrigue is what really drew me in. The Seelie and Unseelie courts are at odds. The Unseelie king is considered a usurper and not the true king having took the crown from his brother, if you believe the rumors. The Unseelie prince leads an underground movement in the Seelie court to rescue his people and take back the throne. The Seelie queen is, in a word, evil from the moment we meet her. She’s cunning and hides behind her charm. The Seelie prince is no better. His relationship with Brie is complicated to say the least (I’d say more, but spoilers).

Overall, I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows, enough so that I finished in two and half days and immediately started book two 😂 Yay for completed series! If you are a fan of YA fantasy and all things Fae, I cannot recommend this one enough. Just read it, trust me!

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