Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti is a new fantasy romance duology by the Twisted Sisters of Zodiac Academy. Completely disconnected from the universe of Solaria, Hollow is the first book in the Crown of Hearts and Chaos duology, featuring a spooky enemies to lovers, high stakes trial filled romantasy adventure.
The magical forest of the Rathian is cursed and the Great Elm is weeping. Separated by its spirits, the forest moves and grows, claiming the surrounding land with each passing day. A Great Hunt takes place every fifty years, where champions, Fae, and mortals alike enter the forest to collect all thirteen spirits and unite them back at the Great Elm.
The realm is about to be consumed by the curse, but even if it were not, a Necromancer is turning the dead of the realm into the Hollow, undead creatures raised from the grave, a problem seemingly destined for another time.
Ferris Creed is a mortal girl who wants to enter the Great Hunt for reasons of her own. She does not have weapons or survival training, but she has her books. Upon entering the forest, her path crosses with Hendrix Draven, a Fae warrior with a mysterious past and dangerous power. Ferris, first his captive and then his reluctant ally, is forced to travel with Hendrix while trying to uncover her connection to the forest.
Hollow is an autumnal, spooky fantasy romance that I enjoyed comparatively to the rest of the romantasy genre. It is a decent demonstration of the genre’s strengths, but it also suffers from the flooded romantasy field where many books feel similar. While I adore the Twisted Sisters’ writing, the poorly executed enemies to lovers arc and rushed plot left me wanting more, though not enough to stop me from enjoying the book.
Read our full summary, review, ending explained, and a list of spicy chapters for Hollow, Book 1 of the Crown of Hearts and Chaos duology.
This post contains spoilers.
Hollow
Description
Don’t trust the man cloaked in shadow.
Don’t earn the wrath of the scattered spirits.
Don’t go out after dark.
The Great Hunt begins once every fifty years and only the Champions willing to face death to shatter the curse dare to enter.
The Champions…and me.
I’m no warrior, no swordsmith, and certainly no Fae, but the forest is my only hope. To enter those trees is to walk willingly to my demise. But I need the boon the forest will grant the winner and I’m willing to risk it all for a chance at claiming it.
I just never expected to face him beneath those trees. The beast who strikes fear into the desperate people of all lands. The monster who commands the legion of Hollows and makes our plight a thousand times worse.
The Hollows are empty of all things but none are so heartless as him.
Prince Bane intends to be the death of me. But I have an oath to fulfil before I’ll let him have me. And I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it.
I am Ferris Creed and I’m going to unite the lost spirits who once bound the wandering trees in place, return the scattered amulets to the core of its corruption, and use the winner’s boon to change my fate. Come wretchedness or torment, through trickery and deception, I will get what I came here for. And no one will stand in my way. Not even Prince Bane.
*** Hollow is a dark Romantasy from the bestselling authors of Zodiac Academy, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It is a heady cocktail of Summoners, seduction and spirits, set to get your heart racing and feet kicking. There will be a ruinous, black hearted love interest, a rebellious, ruthless FMC, plot twists, cliff hangers, dark humour and a healthy seasoning of make-you-blush spice. It is not for the faint of heart. All those who enter the forest are bound by its terms – will you walk willingly into the dark? ***
Tropes
- Romantasy
- Trials / Magical Competition
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fae
- Spirits
- Chosen One
- Cursed Forest
- Dual POV
Review
Thanks for checking out this post! What brings you here?
Thanks for checking out this post! What brings you here?
Overall Impressions 😊
This was a 3.5 star read for me, rounded up to 4. I loved the setting, especially the spooky forest filled with spirits. The Twisted Sisters love themselves a well balanced, thought out magic system, and that really worked here. It reminded me of One Dark Window, Province Cards, and Pokémon, which worked great for me.
I will always consume anything Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti write. The ambiance, narration, and dialogue were top notch, and there were no glaring plot holes that actively frustrated me while reading.
However, the book does feel rushed. Sometimes there are books that could have been duologies, like Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, and this duology could have benefited from being a trilogy. I loved the setup, but the mix between the forest and necromancy was confusing at times, and the trials felt like they were resolved too quickly.
Ferris occasionally felt too naive for a character who is supposed to be smart, and Hendrix felt like a familiar spin on the shadow wielding, grumpy MMC who becomes devoted to the FMC.
I will of course need the next book. I am curious about the next steps, and like I said, this was still a good time. That said, it felt rushed and a bit shallow. The love developed too quickly, the third act felt like it came out of nowhere, and I did not get to dive as deep as I would have liked.
I guess there is no better criticism than wanting to spend more time in the world, and that is where I landed with Hollow.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
This is a Twisted Sisters novel through and through. For me, it ranks lower than Zodiac Academy but higher than Ruthless Boys so far. They consistently deliver some of the best magic systems in romantasy, cleverly set up and deeply satisfying. If you enjoy complex magic systems mixed with romance, this will likely work for you.
Fans of One Dark Window will feel right at home here, especially readers who enjoyed The Shepherd King duology. It also gave me strong reminders of other spooky, woodsy fantasy romances, so if you enjoyed Phantasma or The Crimson Moth series, this is an easy recommendation.
And lastly, there is nothing wrong with a romantasy book that follows the recipe. A smart FMC who has been overlooked meets a morally grey, despised MMC, and fate does the rest. That dynamic is the bedrock of this genre for a reason. Fans of ACOTAR, Quicksilver, and The Empyrean series who love a “bad guy” paired with a chosen one girl will enjoy this thoroughly.
If you are burned out on the romantasy formula and are looking for something completely different, this may not be the book for you. If you are specifically looking for the modern urban fantasy elements of Zodiac Academy, this is also not it. The tone here is wildly different from ZA, much more ethereal and traditionally fantasy leaning. If you loved the quick, down to earth meta humor of Zodiac Academy, Hollow reads more like a classic fantasy novel. I love both styles, so I enjoyed them all.
Characters 👥
Ferris Creed is the beautiful, bookish, overlooked FMC of her village, with all the makings of a chosen one. She finds herself in the forest and begins making her way through it with the help of her books. Love that for her. She also gets the classic hair color changing, power gaining arc fairly quickly. She is a consistent character with motives I can follow, and I root for her. My issue with Ferris is that for a character who is meant to be cunning and self sufficient, she takes a very long time to put things together.
She does not become a master swordsman after one training montage, and she has that going for her, so I liked that. I also liked how she knows she is falling for the “villain” of the story and does not make excuses for it. I would have loved her to be more cunning and a bit schemey, but that also ties back to the book feeling rushed.
Hendrix is your standard romantasy lead. He is hated and cruel, with a power that scares everyone, but he is also misunderstood. He is the anti hero fighting for his own reasons. I liked that he owned his possessiveness and never pretended he would let Ferris go. He owns who he is from the start. I just wish he had been more faceted and offered something different from every other romantasy MMC we have read.
Their chemistry is sizzling from the start. Ferris thinks he is hot, and Hendrix thinks she is hot. He is attracted not just to her looks, but also to how clever she is, which I appreciated. Ferris likes him despite the fact that he is her enemy, and she continues to like him even though Hendrix betrays her over and over again, completely unapologetically.
It is just all too fast. I wish the book had been split in half so we could stay in the “they genuinely hate each other” phase longer and really watch their walls crack.
I do not mind when authors fully lean into the “he is the villain” angle. They do not need to be secretly valiant to be compelling. It is fine, just lean into it.
There is a lot of room for growth for both of them in book two, and I am looking forward to seeing them gain more depth, especially after how the book ended.
Plot 🗺️
I love a good trials book. When they are done well, they are incredibly captivating to read. I rarely have major plot notes for the Twisted Sisters, and here the plot is cohesive, well thought out, and strong. The magic system fits naturally into the story. I understood how Ferris fit into the narrative, even if it was a bit predictable. Normally they are very good at keeping me guessing, but I was able to piece together where the story was going within the first half of the book, which was slightly disappointing.
Everything moves very quickly. The necromancy and Hollow plotline and the forest plotline do not come together as intuitively as I would have liked. Now that I have finished the book, I understand how they fit together, but I would have loved more world building to bridge those threads. I wish the authors were not afraid of losing romantasy readers’ attention, because many of us are happy to commit to longer books or multi book series.
I also would have loved to spend more time with the side characters. The story feels very insular, almost like a bottle episode with Ferris and Hendrix for most of the book. I think the first book could have ended with the dragon scene, with significantly more world building, and then the second half of this story could have easily stood as its own book. It is a beautiful world. The plot itself makes sense to me, and the third act is a bold choice, because I genuinely thought it would go in the opposite direction.
The spice did not need to be in this book. It felt like it existed only to qualify the story as spicy romantasy. I enjoy intimate scenes when they move the plot forward, and here they added nothing for me beyond heat. It is okay to write romantasy without explicit scenes, especially when the yearning and story are already doing the heavy lifting.
Overall, the story is interesting and I am looking forward to continuing the series. I just hope the characters deepen and the pacing slows down moving forward.
My Favorite Quote to Hook You 📣
“I’ll escape you one day,” she whispered.
I coiled a lock of her dark hair around one finger, revelling in how the silken strand glided over my skin.
“Maybe you will not wish to.”
Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, Hollow
Writing Style and Narration ✍️
At first, I could not believe this was written by the Twisted Sisters. They are absolutely flexing their abilities in this one. That does not mean they were not strong writers before, and I want to be clear about that, in fact it is the opposite. They can step into any genre they want and make it feel like they have been writing in it forever.
Zodiac Academy was more of a meta humor, urban fantasy series. I have honestly read nothing else like it. It was brave in the sense that it openly played with pop culture references and sharp, witty banter.
Hollow is high fantasy. It is ethereal and magical, much more flowery, and very enjoyable. The dialogue is clever and captivating, which is my favorite part of the sisters’ writing. Overall, this was a phenomenal reading experience for the genre. I have so many highlighted quotes on my Kindle, and I genuinely loved the writing style in this one.
Synopsis
Have you finished reading Hollow?
Have you finished reading Hollow?
The Great Hunt Begins
Ferris lives in a mortal village with her mom and her dad. It’s the day the Great Hunt is going to begin, where the cursed trees that are threatening to creep into her village and swallow it whole are going to open the way into the forest, giving them a chance to end the curse.
Her village is surrounded by dangers: the ocean, the Fae who have abandoned them but still bargain with them, the taking trees of the cursed forest, and the Wasteland full of Hollow.
Every time the forest creeps up further, they need to pack up their belongings and move toward the south so the trees do not swallow their whole village.
Ferris is supposed to receive a proposal that day from Axel Brady, but she has a secret. She has a bag packed, and she is ready to go to enter the Great Hunt despite not having been trained as a Champion. Her mom knows about it but does not call her out on it.
Ferris and her family arrive at the Town Square to find that the trees have crept closer overnight. Her father tells them that they are going to be moving later that day. Axel begs Ferris not to go into the Great Hunt, telling her it’s dangerous and there’s nothing she could gain from it, but Ferris says he does not know what he’s talking about.
Chancellor Hayden announces the 10 champions who are going to be entering the Great Hunt. Ferris has made a promise when she was 8, an oath to someone named Rissa, that implies she plans to take part in the Great Hunt, which takes place every 50 years.
Axel begs Ferris not to go into the Great Hunt, telling her it’s dangerous and there’s nothing she could gain from it, but Ferris says he does not know what he’s talking about.
Chancellor Hayden announces the 10 champions who are going to be entering the Great Hunt. Ferris has made a promise when she was 8, an oath to someone named Rissa, that implies she plans to take part in the Great Hunt, which takes place every 50 years.
Just as the sun reaches the sky, the trees start singing, telling them the spirits need to be reunited at the end of 40 days in order to break the curse as part of the Great Hunt. Ferris also listens to other warnings the trees give them: do not get caught at night, do not take other champions’ amulets, and finish the hunt in 40 days.
As Ferris is about to go, Axel holds her back trying to keep her. But as they skirmish, a vine comes out of the forest and drags Ferris into the forest behind the champions. Axel does not let her go, so he gets dragged with her.
When the trees let her go, Ferris realizes Axel’s neck is broken and he died. She is devastated and tries to get out of the forest, but Colton Evans, one of the champions who is supposed to be the hero that saves them all, holds her and welcomes her to the Hunt.
Much of the townsfolk alongside Ferris Creed also perishes, and Ferris is the only non champion who got dragged in and is now forced to survive. The other champions who survived discuss leaving her behind versus keeping her.
Ferris has to scavenge boots and packs from other champions who were dragged in and did not make it because she lost her belongings as well.
Colton looks at her and says she will either make it or perish. Ferris swears to herself that she will, because she is determined. While she also wants to break the curse, she also wants the boon from the spirits after, for those who win the Hunt, and she needs a chance at redemption for Rissa.
Initial Days of the Hunt
Ferris travels with the group through the wood as they look to tame the spirits. Emmy and Tyson, the twin champions, taunt her and say she is redundant, and she needs to be responsible for bringing dinner. But the spirits of the forest interrupt their banter and take Emmy and Tyson. Tyson is taken immediately into the woods. Ferris tries to hold onto Emmy as she is being pulled back, but eventually the forest claims her. Colton even tries to help her, but it does not work.
Ferris has a slingshot, and she has the names of the 13 spirits they are supposed to tame: the Raven, the Rat, the Wolf, the Tiger, the Stag, the Unicorn, the Phoenix, the Bear, the Boar, the Serpent, the Carp, the Fox, and the Dragon. Thirteen spirits with thirteen amulets, and the curse will break once they are all united. Whoever gets the most done will be rewarded with a boon, which Ferris wants so she can redeem herself for what happened to Rissa, which we do not know yet at this point.
They find the raven flying above them, and they get to a clearing with an old well and a bucket. The raven throws a gust of wind behind them and Ferris nearly falls into the well, but she manages to catch herself. The group chases after the raven, but the raven ends up landing in front of Ferris and just looks at her sadly. She can tell it is a mythical creature. As she tries to use the slingshot, it caws and flies away, and she never even has a chance.
They travel the woods looking for shelter since they are not supposed to be out in the dark. Ferris realizes they want to leave her behind as bait to the forest creatures, but she finds a tavern. They sit at the tavern and she falls asleep.
Ferris wakes up to hear grunting. She thinks it’s the Boar, but instead she finds Helga and Gunther having sex. Colton teases her, flirts with her, and asks to see the book in her purse. She reluctantly agrees. They look through the book, and Colton realizes she has been planning this the entire time.
They see descriptions of the stag and the tiger in the book. Colton says he knows she is there for Rissa, and it sounds like Rissa is her sister. Ferris says it is so she can get redemption.
Then we are introduced to the Fae king, the necromancer. Colton says once the Hunt is over, if he ever gets back, he is going to find himself at the doorstep of the necromancer. The necromancer was a prince of Fae who wanted to be king, but as years passed and the Fae king did not step down, he went mad. He snuck into the castle and killed the king. The Fae crown blesses those with knowledge and power based on what is in their soul, and it made the Fae prince a necromancer. The necromancer unleashed his power onto the mortals, and the raised creatures are called Hollow. The mortals could not keep up. Then the forest curse rose up, so they did not realize the Hollow.
Ferris decides the Hunt is the most important thing right now. Colton takes watch.
Hendrix Draven Enters the Hunt
Hendrix is a Fae royal who enters the Hunt for his own purposes. He is a distant relative to the former king, but because he kills his own kind, he is shunned. He hunts down royals who are despicable and vile and puts an end to them.
He is trying to hunt the serpent in the forest, but he runs into a Fae prince he knows commits despicable acts. They get into a fight, and Hendrix wins. He keeps moving through the forest to find the Fae forest boons.
Ferris, Colton, and the others keep moving through the woods. It has been three days and they find no evidence of spirits. Eventually, they find a Fae man entrapped in a tree who has been consumed by the tree. Ferris wants to question him, but Gunther refuses and decapitates him on the spot.
Ferris and Gunther fight because she wanted to question him and find out what he knew, but they do not trust the Fae. Eventually, Gunther and Daniel are eaten by the tree. Ferris begins running because something else is after them.
The creature chasing Ferris is the bear spirit. It is a magical bear, and its job is nourishing the forest. Water flows over it, and it has water powers. It chases Ferris and pins her down. When it looks at Ferris, it nuzzles her and water sprouts out of its mouth. Ferris is reminded of joy from the past and what could be. She thinks there is a different way to tame the bear, but before she can try it, Damon arrives and stabs it in the thigh with his spear, and Colton stabs it in the heart, despite Ferris’s protests.
They are about to be crushed, but the bear turns back into water, like a whirlpool down a sink drain, and it collects into an amulet. It is a hexagonal amulet with a bear on it. Ferris grabs it, and Ferris and Colton continue their journey, despite Ferris’s dismay at the way the bear was slain.
Six days pass. Ferris and Colton spend the Hunt together. Colton assumes Ferris will help him collect all the spirits, but Ferris is determined to handle it on her own.
They hear two males nearby. They are surrounded by forest creatures and ask for help, but Colton says no because the Fae never help mortals. Then Hollow arrive, like zombies, and a fight breaks out. One of the Fae pushes Colton into the way of a Hollow. Colton calls for the amulet, and the bear arrives to help, but Colton is torn in half.
The Fae keep fighting the Hollow, and Ferris is about to grab the amulet, but she is attacked by a Hollow as well. She did not think the Hollow would be present in the forest, and she fights for her life.
Hendrix is chasing the fox, but when he hears the scream of a mortal woman, he realizes the fox is running away. He follows the scream and finds Ferris.
Ferris is among the dead around her. In her eyes, the violet reminds him of the forest spirit itself. He decides he is going to keep Ferris for company. He says it is because she will scream and attract other spirits. He also takes the bear spirit from her, and he feels a tugging in his gut he has not felt before.
Ferris as Hendrix’s Captive
Ferris runs away from Hendrix at the first chance she gets, and she eventually finds her way into a castle where Hendrix resides. He catches her. Night settles in, and Ferris decides to stay, take a bath, and wear new clothes.
Ferris dresses in a sapphire gown she finds in the closet, and it drives him crazy. He says he is hungry and wants to “break” her. He sets up a dinner and reveals Fae powers, one of them being preservation. He ties Ferris to the chair and asks her to beg him to feed her. She does. They banter, and eventually he does not like the way she is making him feel, so after biting her he frees her and tells her to run in the house because he wants to hunt her.
Ferris wakes up, dresses in fake clothes, and tries to escape. Hendrix catches her and feeds her breakfast. Ferris tries to convince him the forest spirits are not just beasts to be hunted, that they all have a job and they are lost, and the forest is trying to reunite its children so the forest magic stays in check, but he ignores her.
They go after the Fox. Hendrix says he has seen smoke, and the Fox’s job is to handle fire. They find it sleeping, white smoke coming out of its tail. When Hendrix makes a noise, the fox wakes and runs. He chases it, but Ferris kindles a fire and the Fox comes to her. It nuzzles Ferris like it knows her, and it trusts her. Ferris says she will not hurt the Fox, but Hendrix steps up and throws a knife, killing the fox and taking the amulet for himself.
Ferris cannot get the Fox, and Hendrix gets the power of fire. He takes Ferris back to the castle. The forest keeps helping Ferris get around like it listens to her.
Back at the castle, Ferris is upset he took both amulets. She bathes, grabs food, and leaves it in the house. She goes upstairs and finds a journal from a former champion with a crude map of where the spirits are. Hendrix storms around but does not realize there is a map in the book.
Hendrix grabs Ferris and they go hunt for the Dragon, which he notes on the map. At the cave entrance, they see Hollows. Ferris distracts them by hitting a bee, and Hendrix reveals he did kill the king, so he is the necromancer after all.
They go into the cave and nearly kiss because there is magic in the air. Ferris keeps finding whitish silver feathers. Eventually they reach the center of the cave and find the dragon’s nest.
Hendrix ties Ferris up and starts cutting her with a blade so she cries for help. The dragon comes. Hendrix and the dragon fight, and the dragon wins. Hendrix has claw marks in his chest and is dying. As the dragon is about to finish Ferris off, Ferris jumps onto the dragon’s back.
When she touches it, she understands the forest is going through deep grief, and they connect. She cries onto its scales, and when her tears fall, the dragon turns dark lilac instead of silver. The dragon takes flight with Ferris and she sees the whole land.
When she returns, the dragon lands softly back in its nest. It touches its forehead to Ferris’s and tells her not to let it down, then it turns into a gust of wind and becomes the amulet.
Ferris goes to Hendrix and is about to leave him to die, but Hendrix says he needs her because there is a labyrinth at the center of the maze where the Great Elm sits, where they have to hang the amulets, and he is the only one who possesses the key.
Ferris’s hair turns silver just like the dragon, and Hendrix offers an alliance as equal partners so they can end the curse together. Ferris reluctantly agrees and begins taking him back to the castle.
Ferris carries Hendrix back, and right as they are about to reach the castle, Hendrix sees the serpent above the trees and thinks about the hunt. Hendrix has to choose between hunting the serpent and helping Ferris. He gives up the snake for now, defends Ferris, and they make it back to the castle.
The next morning, Ferris realizes the windows are fused shut. Hendrix is healing. Ferris admits the alliance was a mistake before, because the dragon spirit has been refusing to be wielded. Hendrix questions her about it and decides to teach her how to summon.
Ferris and Hendrix as Reluctant Allies
Ferris and Hendrix train, but the dragon refuses. Days pass and Ferris is frustrated. Eventually the dragon bursts out of the amulet one time, and as Ferris tries to hold it, it calls Ferris a spirit singer and says it is not meant to be wielded. The dragon burns down the castle they have been hiding in. Ferris gets hurt trying to save her books and passes out.
They travel through the forest while Ferris is unconscious. Hendrix begins getting feelings for Ferris, and he realizes she is not what she seems. The forest keeps making things easier for her. The dragon offered itself to her. Vines keep making ways for her. He wonders why Ferris is so special.
They find a cave, and they are in rain. Ferris wants to go to a mill mentioned in the diary. They summon the bear spirit to deal with the water, and Hendrix notices the bear listens to Ferris.
They begin making their way to the mill. Hendrix reveals he is an outcast because the inner circle of the Fae hunts other Fae because they think they are superior. He was captured and tortured when he was younger because he stood up to them. Ferris does not buy all of it and says he sounds worse than all of them. Hendrix keeps alluding to the fact he can tell her something else, but it sure sounds like Hendrix is the necromancer.
They make it to the mill. It is small, so they have to strip, change, and cuddle to remain warm. Ferris finally tells the story of Rissa. Rissa was taken by the Fae to be sacrificed to the forest. That is why Ferris hates the Fae. Hendrix says he fought against the Fae customs and how they abuse humans, but Ferris does not believe him.
When Ferris questions the origin of his banishment mark, Hendrix refuses to say. They get close and nearly kiss, and Hendrix confesses how attracted he is to her.
Hendrix bargains with Ferris to get through the night. He will cuddle her to sleep, and in exchange he will tell her some of the truth about his banishment. While they are talking, the dragon spirit speaks to Ferris and says she is not meant to take spirits by force. She is the spirit singer.
As they get physically close and are about to kiss in the mill, they feel the spirit of providence with them. The air is sticky with magic, and the dragon spirit asks Ferris if she can fight fate.
Ferris and Hendrix go looking for the next spirits. Hendrix hears something coming and hides Ferris in a bush. It ends up being Islasees and two of his warriors.
Before they reach the clearing, Hendrix gives Ferris part of the truth. He found out the bad Fae are doing vile things. When he confronted them, he killed one of them. In punishment, they branded him with the outcast mark and killed his entire family in front of him. Hendrix ran away.
In the clearing, Ferris sees Islasees using his warriors to hunt others with the amulets and kill them, taking the amulets for himself. Hendrix recognizes the spirit of death around Islasees, and he knows there is nothing they can do for the humans.
When the danger passes, Hendrix tells Ferris that death has selected them already and explains what he sensed. Ferris realizes he was trying to protect her, and their fates feel sealed.
Ferris puts stones on the faces of those who entered the Hunt with her and died, Esther and someone and a boy, and they move on.
Ferris Leaves Hendrix and Hendrix is Revealed to be Bane Crownthief, the Necromancer
Back at the mill, Ferris reads the diary while Hendrix tries to sleep. He coerces her to come to bed with him. Ferris almost gives in, and they nearly hook up, but she hears the lost children of the forest calling out to her.
Ferris hears Rissa. Hendrix tells her it is not Rissa, the forest has made her into something else. Rissa is insistent, and Ferris tries to refuse, but the dragon pushes her toward the dark. Ferris runs into the forest, follows the lost children, and comes to a clearing.
One of the cursed ones, one of the people rotting in the trees, looks at her and says she needs to break the cycle this time. Ferris looks at her face and realizes it is the same face as her, so she screams.
Hendrix tries to cut his way through the forest, but the forest blocks him. He curses and yells, but the forest will not budge. The lost children surround him, asking if there is truly no king of death and heroine. Hendrix collapses under their song.
Ferris and Rissa talk. Rissa is a 20 year old woman now, grown. She says the other children are not like her. She is of the forest. Neither is Ferris.
Ferris has walked the forest in many lifetimes. The forest wanted her to succeed. Their mother begged the Great Elm and asked it to bless her with a child, and it blessed her with Ferris. Ferris has walked the forest over and over again and has not been able to break the curse. This time the forest created Rissa to help her.
Ferris asks if she can break the curse and set Rissa free, but Rissa says no, she is part of the forest now. Ferris asks what if she asks for the boon to release her. Rissa speaks with the Great Elm. The Great Elm says if Ferris receives the boon, it will give the children the choice to come and go.
Rissa is happy. The lost children are about to take Hendrix underground, and Rissa is enraged that Ferris wants to save him, but she says Hendrix has a part to play. When the time comes, Rissa will help, and they will break the curse together.
Ferris saves Hendrix with the help of the dragon. She tells him everything she heard. They find shelter in a house the dragon leads them to.
Hendrix and Ferris make a true alliance. They will make it to the Great Elm together, and the best fighter will win. Hendrix is worried that once Ferris knows who he really is, she will run away screaming, but he cannot help himself.
Ferris decides to keep looking for spirits because she is convinced this will be the last Hunt. She asks the trees to make a way for her and they oblige, but only for her and not Hendrix.
They look for the stag. Ferris has trinkets to lure it in. They lure a regular stag instead of the spirit and are disappointed. They abandon the stag and look for the wolf.
Hendrix’s power spills out of him and the forest bolts around him. They are running out of time. They find the wolf. Hendrix starts chasing it, but Ferris traps it in a cave because the wolf is afraid of sunlight. She uses the bear to part the forest and the rain.
As Ferris kneels in front of the creature and convinces it to come with her, Hendrix betrays her and slays the wolf, taking it for himself. Ferris is furious because Hendrix keeps betraying her.
They bicker while looking for the next spirit. Hendrix pushes Ferris to say what is on her mind, and Ferris asks why she should stay with him. Hendrix says he feels like Ferris was the one who came to claim the forest and basically professes his love for her.
Before Ferris can answer, two Fae attack them. Hendrix takes an arrow for Ferris, and Ferris uses the opportunity to chase after the raven she just saw. She climbs a branch and convinces it to come with her.
Hendrix arrives and throws a dagger at the raven. Ferris grabs the raven’s beak, and by touching it, claims the amulet, getting runes on her hand.
Ferris confronts Hendrix for betraying her. Hendrix says he was worried for her this time and he was not trying to take the raven, but Ferris is done. She says enough of him and calls the dragon. Ferris finally leaves Hendrix.
Ferris leaves, and Hendrix loses it. He is obsessed with her, in love, devoted. In his turmoil, he loses control over the power inside him, the necromancy. Power spills out of him, corrupting the forest. He demands the forest let him find Ferris. In agony, the forest caves.
Hollow Ending Explained
Hendrix starts collecting Hollow in the forest as he goes, swearing Ferris is his and will become his queen.
From a large tower, Ferris looks for the next spirit. She thinks the Phoenix is already captured. She could go after the Carp or the Unicorn, wanting to be more powerful before the Hunt is over.
Ferris goes after the Unicorn. She finds it in an open clearing and convinces it to join her. Just like the raven, it offers her its horn. She touches it and gets the amulet, and she gets runes of flowers on her hands.
Hendrix is still hunting for Ferris and he is gaining an army of the dead while doing so. His art used to be the art of speaking with the dead, but after seeing his family massacred in front of him, it festered into necromancy. He keeps amassing Hollow in the forest, wanting Ferris back.
Ferris looks for the carp because she is worried she will not have enough for the Great Elm. The dragon warns her at the last second and tells her to run. Ferris runs because she is being chased by Hollow.
While she runs, she thinks about Hendrix, how much she misses him, and how she should have gone back to look for him.
Ferris finds herself in a clearing where Hendrix catches up to her. He kills a couple of the Hollow, and Ferris, excited to see him, kisses him. The kiss is passionate, but when they separate, Ferris realizes Hendrix is darker than she remembered. There is ink spilling from him, and she sees Hollow standing still.
Ferris realizes what Hendrix has been telling her is true. He is an even bigger monster than she thought, because he is Bane Crownthief.
The fighting in the clearing breaks out. The humans hide and the Fae attack one another with the help of their spirits. Ferris realizes it is her blood that opens the door. The dragon guides her to it while all three of her spirits defend her.
Rissa arrives with the Serpent, reuniting all spirits at the entrance of the maze. They enter the maze as the lost children sing a song telling them all rules are revoked and one champion must claim the amulets and break the curse.
Hendrix is separated from Ferris. He fights Jadina and Benson. He kills them both and raises them as Hollow. He then sends them after Islasees. Following after them, he begins hunting for Ferris so he can protect her and claim the boon.
Ferris runs through the maze and runs into Devlan who has the stag, the phoenix, and the carp. They agree to work together until the end.
But the tiger and Islasees burst through the maze, killing Devlan in an instant. Islasees turns to Ferris next, but the dragon grabs her and flies her through the maze. Ferris realizes Islasees now has four amulets to her three and worries she will not get the boon to save Rissa.
Hendrix makes it to the maze with his spirits. Ferris arrives with Islasees on her tail. The spirits keep each other busy while Islasees and Hendrix finally begin fighting.
Ferris reaches the Great Elm, mesmerized. Islasees and Hendrix fight around her. Helga arrives with the boar and gives it to Ferris, only wanting the curse broken. Rissa arrives with the serpent and Ferris claims it too.
Ferris runs around the tree placing her five amulets into their places. When she is done, the Great Elm whispers in her mind telling her all amulets need to be hung for the curse to be broken, otherwise the boon is void.
Ferris calls to Hendrix asking for his amulets while he fights Islasees, but Hendrix refuses, wanting the boon to save his family.
The dragon descends. Ferris realizes she cannot beat the two Fae. The dragon tells her she is a spirit singer for a reason and that she can claim spirits already claimed, because they were claimed by force and not by mutual agreement.
Ferris calls the stag, the rat, and the phoenix to herself, leaving Islasees spiritless. Realizing he is alone, Islasees runs.
Only Ferris and Bane remain. Bane drops to his knees begging Ferris to use the boon for his family. Ferris hesitates, but in the end she releases Rissa and the other children. They are free.
Bane hates Ferris, resenting what she has taken from him. He begs the Great Elm for another boon. It refuses and curses him and Ferris to hunt down providence because it is missing. Hendrix swears he will have his revenge.
Ferris tries to leave with Rissa, but Rissa is bitter and angry and wants to take everything back from the mortals. She steals the serpent from Ferris and disappears.
Hendrix takes Ferris to the wasteland and tells her to expect no mercy.
Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is Hollow (Crown of Hearts and Chaos Book #1): 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Whether you want to get to the heat or want closed-door modifications here’s the list of spicy chapters below.
- Chapter 39
Thirteen spirits, one deadly hunt, and one very cursed forest, read Hollow 🌙🌲
Hollow was an fun, spooky romantasy with an amazing magic system and a solid foundation that just needed a bit more time to marinate. The pacing and the romance felt a bit too rushed but I had genuinely a good time reading it.
I will of course be continuing the duology, especially after that ending. I am hoping the next book slows things down and lets the characters and world grow. Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti remain auto read authors for me, and this book only solidifies that.
If you love spooky forests, Hunger Games style trials, morally grey men, and romantasy vibes with high fantasy flavor, Hollow is worth picking up. Let me know what you thought in the comments, and if you enjoyed this review, check out our other romantasy reviews or sign up for the newsletter so you never miss a post.
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