Hollow

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Happy October! Spooky season is my absolute favorite season. I don't love the cooler temperatures but candy, candy and caramel apples, apple cider, spooky decorations, and fantastic costumes more than makes up for the chill. This week's book recommendation follows in that spooky spirit. Please join me in checking out Kat Bethel's latest addition to her A Monster's Prey series, "Hollow."

Before we jump in, let's start with the trigger warnings.

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Trigger Warnings:

Forced Breeding

Reproductive Horror

Body Horror

Pregnancy Horror

Traumatic Birth

Reproductive Coercion

Loss of Bodily Autonomy

Sexual Assault

Dubcon

Captivity

Gaslighting

Medical Gaslighting

Medical Trauma

Misdiagnosis

Schizophrenia & Mental Illness

Blood & Gore

Graphic Violence

Murder

Emotional Abuse

Self harm

It's quite the list, isn't it? It's quite the story. The triggers are dark but intrigal to the story. The book is an absolute dark delight. I swear that Kat Bethel goes darker with every book in this series, and I am here for it! If you are squeamish about any of these triggers, this one may not be your proverbial cup of tea. For the no trigger club, you'll love it!

Hollow or Warden is quite interesting as a monster. Unlike others from the series, he does not seem to have been created by the Rinah witches. He was summoned by a very young Tasha, but she didn't create him. He serves to keep the hollows, the other monsters, in their place. He's terrifying, territorial, and protective all at once. A real twist on the monster under your bed.

Tasha's story is truly tragic, however, it gives her so much room to claw her way into her own power and become the baddie Rinah witch that she was meant to be. Most of those trigger warnings belong to Tasha and her family. As I said, her story is truly tragic.

Here is my official review.

Kat Bethel came out the gate swinging, and I happily succumbed to the darkness! Hollow ties into the series in unexpected ways that I love. It's an unusual twist on the monster under the bed trope with a heavy dose of dark elements. I very much enjoyed Tasha's journey and reclamation of her mind and her life. The spice is a solid three. A true delight.

I adored and devoured this one from beginning to end. I do hope that there are more to come in this series. These are all technically stand alone books, so do not worry if you haven't read the others, you can still enjoy "Hollow" here: https://a.co/d/04OR7Pgr

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. Please join me again next week for another wonderful recommendation. Until then, curl up with a good book.