REVIEW: “Hollow Heathens” by Nicole Fiorina

“I believe the world is filled with nothing of the normal, that we are all monsters and freaks, and if my beliefs are true, we can escape the shadows to find one another.

I believe something more hideous and cruel has put us there, in the dark corners of our minds. Something that isn’t normal itself, for normal is the lie to keep all the monsters and freaks tamed.”
Nicole Fiorina

READ THIS IF:

An adult-version of Hocus Pocus with intoxicating romance sounds too good to be true.
You want that October, crunchy fallen leaves, crisp breeze feeling all year around.

PLOT OVER-SIMPLIFIED:

A young female mortician (who uses her gift of speaking to the dead to help spirits pass into the afterlife) must return to her childhood home to help care for her terminally ill grandfather. She quickly discovers that the tales of magic she was told growing up are true, and gets caught in the middle of a coven war, a centuries-long curse, and no means of escape.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is my first time reading Fiorina, and it won’t be my last.

I felt SO immersed in this world! I devoured this book in two sittings, but I could’ve easily finished it in one.

This book builds a spooky world and witchy culture that I still want to know more about. If the rumors are true, there will be 3-4 more books with the second to released in the near future (‘Bone Island’, originally slated for September ’22, pushed back). I usually hesitate to start a series that isn’t complete yet, because I love binging the whole series at a time – but don’t let that deter you here. This book does not leave off on a cliffhanger, and it could exist as its own standalone novel.

Hollow Heathens feels like the month of October in book form.

Covens.

Curses.

Murder.

Spirits.

Magik Moon Milk.

Wicked Death Wish.

Disinhibiting spiked apple cider (think Harry Potter’s “Veritaserum”).

This book is pure fun.

Disclaimer #1: There is a YA version of this novel (sans sex content) available that is appropriate for younger audiences. Mine pictured above is the traditional NA version.

Disclaimer #2: If you wonder why I haven’t settled on casting for the main male lead, it’s because I’m still undecided. Sorry, not sorry.

All Booked Up