Book Review: ‘These Hollow Vows’ by Lexi Ryan

These Hollow Vows is the first book in the duology of the same name by Lexi Ryan.

This fantasy romance follows Brie, a seemingly ordinary girl who steals to survive. When her younger sister is kidnapped by the ruthless king of the Unseelie, she must travel to the enchantingly dangerous fae realm. Brie poses as a potential bride to the Seelie prince in order to steal relics in exchange for her sister’s freedom. Caught in the middle of a power struggle between the two kingdoms, there’s an unexpected complication when Brie starts to develop feelings for two rival fae princes.

Courtesy of the success of authors such as Sarah J Maas and Holly Black, there has been a recent renewed interest in all-things fae within the fantasy literary genre. Ryan is one of the authors who has embraced the current trend to craft her own magic infused world.

When it comes to current popular fantasy tropes These Hollow Vows ticks a lot of boxes. In addition to the fae themselves we have a story set at court and a focus on royalty. We also have a heroine from humble origins who is harbouring a great power that she never knew she had and whose actions will have a wide-felt impact on the world around her. The inclusion of magic, a quest, and a struggle between good and evil all culminate in a recipe for a classic fantasy tale.

While the building blocks used to create this story may not be original I still found it both entertaining and enjoyable.

The heroine of These Hollow Vows is Brie. As a character, she is both determined and forthright. Her obvious love for her sister and her friends is her best feature – however I did have an issue with the character. Brie spends much of the novel as a pawn for other more powerful players. Now, in some instances, this lack of control can motivate the character and lead to a compelling journey across the novel. In this case unfortunately I found that the plot often dictated Brie’s actions rather than having Brie’s choices drive the plot forward. This made her feel like a less strong character overall compared to other fantasy heroines.

My favourite aspect of the book was the focus on good versus evil. At the start of the book the answer seems simple – the Seelie Court is good and the Unseelie Court is bad. However over the course of the novel we learn more about the world and its history; as well as conflicting stories about both fae princes. We, along with Brie, must decide which characters are good and which are bad or whether everyone is a combination of the two. The potential moral greyness of both the characters and the two factions created a really good mystery that kept me guessing until the very end of the book.

These Hollow Vows is a good romantasy books with some elements I enjoyed and some elements I wish had been developed further. Filled with romance, betrayal, family and magic the narrative kept me interested throughout and made me want to read the conclusion to this two-part series.

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