Book Review: Was this Fae Duology Enough? ‘These Hollow Vows’ + ‘These Twisted Bonds’
I’ll come right out the gate and say this should have been a trilogy. The resolution and ending of book two was so incredible rushed and that really took away from the character development I really needed. However, if you’re looking for a quick Romantasy read to get you out of a reading slump, These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds might be the perfect duology to pick up. And by quick, I mean I read book one in less than 24 hours. They’re very bingeable, even if completely predictable. If you want a simple story that hits the major tropes in Romantasy, you’ll probably love this.
Things to Know:
A completed duology
New Adult Romantasy with some spice
Seelie + Unseelie Courts
Fated Mates
Fake Dating
Love Triangle
Book One: These Hollow Vows
At first it felt a little bit like a Cinderella retelling with Brie (Abriella—such a pretty name!) working as a maid under an exploitative contract for her evil aunt and selfish cousins. Her little sister is a talented seamstress and dreams of going to a ball in Fairie, which is obviously super dangerous. Brie is also a stealthy thief, and has been stealing money to try and help pay their contract down and get their freedom back. Her best friend is a handsome apprentice she’s had a crush one since day one, and when her sister gets sold to the Unseelie Court by her aunt to pay off debts, he initially tries to talk her out of going. So this story quickly becomes a rescue mission. And without any spoilers, it’s very predictable, but still a fun read. There’s romance, intrigue, and I loved getting to see the Seelie and Unseelie courts.
“Who says hope has to be desperate?”
If you’ve read my reviews before, you know one of the things that usually bothers me most in fantasy books is the use of modern language that immediately pulls me out of the story. And that was definitely the case here. We had “stranger danger” and “kiddo” and “Thatta girl” being thrown around, and I was not a fan. Also, this is marketed as a YA, but I would probably classify it as a New Adult Romantasy. There are some F-bombs, and some spice that was a bit too much for a YA. If you don’t mind plot points being pretty on the nose, it’s a fun read to escape in for an afternoon. Oh, and the ending made me want to hurl the book across the room, so of course, I immediately started book two…
“Where do you think legends begin, if not from truth?”
Book Two: These Twisted Bonds
The sequel jumps right in where we left off in book one. And while I had already made a clear decision on who I wanted her to end up with of the two love interests, it took Brie A LONG TIME to figure this out. Too long. In fact, one of them shouldn’t have even been on the table as an option after what went down at the end of book one.
“None of us asks for the burdens we bear, but that doesn't make the way we handle them any less significant. Those of us who love the night revel in it because of how clearly it allows us to find even the smallest points of light.”
I absolutely loved that we got to learn more of the backstory of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts in this book, so if you’re a fan of legends and myths, you’ll probably enjoy this too. Plus, we learn more about Queen Mab and her line. I wish we would have had more time with her. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this book felt super rushed. Her sister was barely in it, and she was supposedly this very important character, and we didn’t really get to know her at all. Very one dimensional. Then you have the culmination of finding a solution to the main problem and it’s over in a few pages. I felt a bit let down. The ending it all packaged up in a nice bow, but not in the most satisfying way.
So while I did enjoy it, and it was a super fast read, I was left wanting a bit more from the story. There was also some repetitive dialog that got a little old. Again, this is a great little series for something quick and mindless to read, but is it a favorite? I don’t think I can say it is.
“There is only one thing I can trust, and that is that no one can be trusted.”
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