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A review by thebalancedbookshelf
Hollow Heathens by Nicole Fiorina
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Firstly, I would like to say that this book is so atmospheric. It does such a great job setting the scene. It is gothic, macabre, and dark hitting all the right notes. I like how the town is described and I think all of the events that occur really tie back into this moody, gloomy old small town tucked away from society. I enjoyed the Wiccan holidays as well as some made up ones such as the Defy Day. I loved the ritualistic elements and wish we got more insight to that. They were dark and creepy but worked for the context and I wanted more.
The dark romance element made this book fantastic. It took the dark brooding male lead and made him sadistic but it worked. I liked that we got Julian’s POVs otherwise I think it would have been harder to pull off. We see that he is not in control and that he truly loves Fallon. They’re both struggling to accept their bond and the way their relationship unfolds is perfect. I like that it was almost a slow burn and that you don’t get all of the “love” aspects until the end. For me that made the tension that much better.
You can tell that there was a lot of pop culture influence on this with Once Upon a Time and Stephen King. There are also a lot of name brands mentioned that would date the book but I didn’t think it was overly done. Normally this would bother me but I was okay in this instance.
When it comes to the writing I did find a few errors or inconsistencies and I’m not sure if it was just the version I was reading. But there were also so many moments I loved like the “it still moves” monologue. It was such a stand out moment and meaningful moment. I also highlighted so many good quotes and felt the author had a good way with did have a lyrical way of writing.
My complaints would be that we didn’t get enough expiation on the magic system. I wish we could have had more insight to what each coven does and their role in this town. I think we got some glimpses but it wasn’t enough in the overall sense. I’m still not 100% sure how the Heathens magic worked and how it was able to heal that girl. Also why wasn’t that used for Gramps then?
Another issue is that we don’t get much of the side characters. I feel like they introduced Milo and then he was gone. The three sisters we don’t really know much about and never get to learn it. The resolution with Monday wasn’t my favorite and I really wish we got vengeance on Kane. I did really like the coven and pack mentality this book portrayed though but I wish we got to see more about the other Heathens. I loved the way they interacted with each other and the dark found family aspect, especially with Beck. I also completely disliked that last chapter in the book and thought it added no value.
Realistically this book should probably be a 4-4.5 but because it consumed me body and soul I have to give it a 5. I think the only part of the books that would make it drop down was the last 1/4 and for me that was not enough to ruin this. It felt like the typical ending to a fantasy book where everything just needs to wrap up.
This book had a lot of elements that all just really worked for me. In other books some of these aspects bother me but I think this book just pulled it all together so well that I’m able to overlook its flaws.