I actually enjoyed this book, I really liked the main characters, their dynamics was fun to read about and the plot development and concept were good and original, I also like that mental health was a theme in this book, but there were a few things that fell flat for me, the mystery aspect wasn't very well developed and I felt that the dialogue was repetitive a sometimes but I found this to be a good read

The Hollow Gods by AJ Vrana is my first ARC read. What drew me to this book is the promise of something dark and sinister lurking between the pages. Since this is the author’s debut novel and I didn’t read others’ reviews before starting this book, I was perfectly prepared to not like it that much. I have no idea what I expected but I definitely did not expect it to be this good!

The story was told through the eyes of three narrators: Miya, Kai, and Mason. I am usually wary of multiple POVs because I tend to pick a favorite and lose the connection with the other characters along the way. Fortunately, AJ Vrana was able to establish and maintain a unique voice for each character. Miya, Kai, and Mason noticed and cared about completely different things and it’s those little things that sold the switching POVs to me.

Nestled in a rural area, just at the edge of the forest, Black Hollow serves as the border between reality and fantasy, madness and sanity. I loved the idea of centuries-old lore holding the town and its people captive in its razor-sharp talons; and how the townspeople, subsequently, become the very thing they most fear.

One of the themes tackled in this story is facing and accepting mortality. I have never lost a loved one but this book made me feel the grief that Mason and Anabelle felt. It also made me wonder if the people who had lost loved ones would resent the existence of immortality if they discovered it was real.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hollow Gods. However, there are a lot of questions left unanswered, or maybe it’s just me not realizing the answers were already given. I can’t wait to read the next installment and get the answers I desperately need!

This was a well written, good read! I had not read anything by this author so I'm glad I took a chance!

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it did not grab me. I think the main problem that I had with it was the dialogue. It just did not seem to flow.

Obviously, the author has talent and did introduce an interesting story, but the main flaws of the book just put me off.. However, I look forward to seeing what she produces next as there are some good ideas in there.

The Hollow Gods is an original story that has an engaging start and a strong foundation. My favorite aspect was the writing and how realistic it made the story feel. I love when writing style and world building mesh so well that I feel like I'm a character in the story.

Parts were too rushed however, creating an unsteady pace. It would have been nice to sense a deeper connection between Miya and Kai as there was a touch of instalove there, but I do understand that it was necessary for the plot. I'm not a fan of alternating POVs and would have liked the book more if it had stuck with Miya's perspective.

Overall 3.5 stars. I'll keep an eye out for new work by this author.

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

OK. I saw this book in goodreads last week and I have an unpopular opinion. Sorry.

First of all I feel very confused because I couldn't understand what the book was about, it was hard for me to connect with the story and the characters and I had to go to goodreads to find out what the book was about.

I have to admit that I ordered the book because I found the cover to be beautiful, and honestly I imagined something totally different when I asked for it, I thought it would be full fantasy with magic worlds and castles, warriors, princes and princesses, but no.

This book was very boring and stressful, I just wanted to finish reading it so I could give an opinion on what they were telling me. I think it is a story with a very good idea but in my opinion poorly executed.

I was not interested in any character and if something happened to them it did not matter to me, I could not connect with them or with the story. I know people like this book a lot, if they like urban fantasy (the kind of fantasy that I like least and maybe that's why I didn't like it), try reading it, probably you can enjoy it more.

This is one of those moments wherein I was blinded by the cover. But after a few days of reading I was left with the feeling that I think the writing was decent but the story lacked something and it didn't quite satisfy me. The flow of the story was actually interesting during the first few chapters, but then it started to become very distorted and dull. I was specifically not happy that the main characters has the instant connection that I was not very fond of.

Thank you Netgalley for this awesome ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Horror: 5/5
Fantasy: 4/5
Contemporary: 4/5

Overall: 4.5/5

“Only two reasons why people go looking for monsters,” Miya mimicked his didactics, and not without a touch of mockery. “Either they’re bored, or they want something from the monster.”


Blurb: This shifting perspective contemporary Horror-fantasy fiction cum Fairy Tale is a novel for ages with its ghastly setting, cryptic plot which all the protagonists are trying to solve, not knowing how deep this rabbit hole goes LITERALLY. Meet Kai, the big bad; Miya the damsel-not-so-much-in-distress and Mason the doctor who has a detective bug up his brain. They will keep meeting each other, but also not? What is happening? No one knows. Or no one who is from this realm knows. By the end, you will be gasping for air, which is ironical to say in the least.

Ease of language: written in very beautiful, to the point language, with NO WORDS WASTED. Kudos to Author who is also a fellow literature PhD scholar....Cheers!

Strength: Shifting perspective makes it interesting. This formula is although used by many, but its always a hit and miss. And here it was a hit. Also everyone gets equal screentime. Witty writing is topnotch as well. Take a look at this quote below
August was a bitch even the devil wouldn’t want to fuck.

Weakness: somewhat predictable end if you know this genre and is familiar with tropes. But even then the ending doesn't matter. Its the journey that counted.

Why to Read: Right amount of Horror, with enough spices to make a Lasagna. Not too sweet, not too salty and many layers.

Why not to Read: if Horror gives you creeps, and shifting perspectives make your head spin.

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!!!

3/5

The Hollow Gods is a blend of contemporary fantasy, mystery, and a tiny bit of horror. Although the story was interesting at points, overall this book was just okay to me. The centerpiece here is the mystery, and there weren’t any reveals that were too shocking or engrossing. I did, however, enjoy Miya and Kai’s storylines, and the themes of mental health present through this book are interesting.

So let’s start out with this book’s strengths. Kai and Miya’s story lines were interesting, and watching their interactions was easily the best part of the book for me. Kai is roguish, resentful, and violent but also uses those traits to cover his fragility. He’s abrasive but never abusive; it the classic bad boy trope but it’s done well.
Miya on the other hand is plagued by depression. She starts off the story on academic probation, dealing with feelings of listlessness. Despite her depression, when push comes to shove she’s a tough character who isn’t easily dismissed.
Our third main character, Mason, is a new oncologist dealing with anxiety after suffering the loss of a patient.

You might be sensing a trend in the main characters. This book deals with many elements of mental illness, both individually and collectively. From a mental health perspective, I found Mason’s plot line to be the most compelling as he struggles to processing and overcoming trauma. The mental health issues and mass hysteria seen in other characters is present in the story, but the resolutions of those elements aren’t addressed as directly.

The mystery also went in a direction I wasn’t necessarily anticipating, which was nice. On the downside, there were also no reveals that shocked me. This story front loads a lot of information, and much of the book is about getting enough context to see where that information fits in. Because you’re still trying to piece everything together as the mystery comes to a resolution, the story isn’t as impactful as it could have been.

Another thing to note is that Mason’s storyline is pretty isolated. Apart from the mental health elements, it felt like the weakest of the three to me. There was very little in that storyline that impacted the larger events of the story, and I’m left wondering if it was truly necessary.

Overall, a decent book but didn’t quite scratch the mystery itch I was hoping for. Kai and Miya’s character interactions were really fun though. The horror elements also could have been a lot stronger. With that being said, this book is solid for a debut and I look forward to seeing what other works A. J. Vrana produces.

I received an advanced copy for review through NetGalley. Thanks to BooksGoSocial and the author. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Muh, just OK. Nothing particularly horrifying or even mysterious in this story. Old gods, possession, townsfolk making gizzly human sacrifices to appease local gods- none of these are original ideas. Other writers have done it better, certainly.
Dr Mason Evans, an oncologist, suffers from devastating depression when a young patient dies of leukemia after he tries an experimental treatment to save her life. So, he leaves behind his career and runs to hide in a small town where he hopes he can recover from all the stress.. Doesn't resonate for me. I would like him better if he went to this small town to help its rural hospital and try to do better for the next patient. Instead, he comes off as a coward.
Miya is your typical self-centered teenager who does whatever she feels like doing. Can't finish school, can't hold down a job - but she's really special.
Honestly, I just couldn't care.

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.