These Hollow Vows & These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan
Finally got around to reading the These Hollow Vows duology after having them on my shelf for months now. I've seen the series recommend everywhere and it ticked a lot of my fantasy series boxes.
To start, there was a lot I liked about these books! But this is not a series that I'll likely return to or put in the pantheon of my all time favorites... not by a long shot.
They're easy reads that go surprisingly quick, but the story comes to a close so fast that it kind of gave me whiplash. The second book in particular feels like where the story loses steam. I was a fan of the love interest and the romance plot. The side characters were all kind of inconsequential (especially the twin). Ultimately, the richness of the world building fell short when the uneven speed of the story prevented me from falling fully into it.
There are some great lines and interesting twists. If you want a high fantasy fae-focused series that isn't as dense as your average SJM, then maybe give these a whirl.
“No matter how hopeless I feel, there's always a little more hope inside me. No matter how faithless I think I am, there is always something to believe in.” - These Hollow Vows
But, I did have fun goofing around and designing something for this little quote. Jut something to amuse me while documenting all these fantasy books I'm reading.