[ARC Review] Hollow by Karina Halle

Publisher's synopsis: Ever since she was a child, Kat Van Tassel knew that her parents had arranged for her to marry her best friend, Brom Bones, when she became of age. That was until Brom mysteriously vanished from the secretive village of Sleepy Hollow when he was just a teenager.
Now, at nineteen, Kat is fulfilling the tradition of attending Sleepy Hollow Institute, a shadowy and prestigious school that is run by her powerful family. There she starts to fall for her new teacher, the enigmatic, smart, and much older Ichabod Crane, whose fascination with dark magic and the occult brings out a new side of Kat—in more ways than one.

Until Brom Bones suddenly appears in her class. Her childhood friend doesn’t remember what happened to him in the four years that he’s been gone, all he knows is that he’s back in Sleepy Hollow for good. The only problem is, he’s not the same man that Kat knew. Cocky and brash as a youth, this Brom is violent and prone to bouts of madness. It doesn’t help that his reappearance coincides with gruesome decapitations that are plaguing the town, with rumors swirling about a vengeful ghost called The Headless Horseman.

Determined to get to the bottom of the murders and Brom’s volatility, Crane takes Brom under his wing to study him, and they begin to grow close, just as they do with Kat. But the more that the threesome submits to their sexual desires on the path to the truth, the more dangerous Sleepy Hollow becomes. The Headless Horseman might claim them as his next victims…if something even more terrifying doesn’t get to them first.

My thoughts: Hollow is one of my favorite Karina Halle books to date. Perfect for spooky season, this first part of a duet gives readers spice, passion, and some super hot dark academia vibes. I was hooked from the first page to the last, and I can't wait to see how Crane, Kat, and Brom wrap up their story in the second part. 

As the first part of a duet, one of my favorite parts of this story was how Halle wrapped up the plot. Yes, there are a lot of things left unresolved that we have to wait until the next book for, but I thought Hollow's plot ended at a really good spot; readers get a natural conclusion/break in the story without any cliffhangers worthy of screaming or hair pulling. While I can't wait for the rest of the story, Halle gave me enough to keep me satiated until the next book. It's definitely binge-able, but not harrowingly so. 

Maybe because of the dark academia vibes or the Sleepy Hollow inspiration, but I found this book to be one of Halle's hottest romances to date. No matter which couple was on page, the spice was through the roof. I know this was just a taste of things to come for these three main characters, but all their interactions - especially in the last 20% or so - blew me away and left me highly anticipating what's to come. 

As always, Halle does a fantastic job at creating such elaborate scenes on the page. It was easy to vividly see the scene she was setting, the actions playing out as clear as a movie. I was immediately drawn into Kat and Crane's world and didn't want to leave. Hollow is a perfect spooky/autumn read, full of wonderful characters, an evolving mystery, haunting imagery, and more spice than a PSL. 

[A huge thank you to Karina Halle for providing a review copy of Hollow. All opinions are my own.]

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Release date: 9/28/23

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: the Reckless Readers Society