Sworn to the Orc: Hidden Hollow, Book 1

Hidden Hollow #1

by Evangeline Anderson

Sarah has been bound all her life—a spell cast on her during childhood keeps her from talking to strangers or having romantic relationships. But when she’s drawn to Hidden Hollow, a gruff and growly Orc helps her unlock the mystery behind her strange dilemma. Can the two of them free Sarah from her enchantment? Or will the family curse hovering over her head get them both killed? Find out in this Spicy Monster Romance!

Hi, I’m Sarah and my life is a mess. I lost my online job and my rent just doubled...
Luckily, just when I was at my lowest point, a strange messenger came to my apartment. He had an envelope that contained my Grandmother’s last will and testament. Only…I had forgotten all about her. How was that possible?

I was about to find out. When a mysterious door appeared in my living room, I walked through it…and found myself in the world of Hidden Hollow—a snug New England town where it’s inexplicably always Autumn. A magic bubble surrounds the town, making sure that no one without magic talent can come in. But where does that leave me? I don’t have any magic…do I?

Surprise—it turns out I’m descended from a long line of witches. At least, that’s what the scary Orc who chased me through the backyard of my new house told me after he calmed down. Also there’s a curse on my family and apparently I’m the one who’s supposed to break it—but how?

Who knows what Hidden Hollow holds for me? And should I be getting so close to the Orc next door? Are humans and Orcs compatible that way? I’d better find out quick because trouble is brewing and I’m going to need a man—or an Orc—to stand by my side when the storm breaks.
Because in Hidden Hollow…anything is possible.

*Tropes—Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Big Size Difference, He Falls First, Hero has two Peens, Br33ding.

What you'll get in this Spicy Small Town Monster
Slow burn with an actual plot that leads to extremely hot and spicy scenes
Growly Orc who turns into a total protective Cinnamon Roll
A town full of secrets including a Grocery Story that stocks some very unusual items
All kinds of Creatures including Centaurs, Satyrs, Krakens, Gargoyles, Fairies, Witches and more

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Audiobook, Magic, Fantasy Romance, Monster Romance

Audible Audio

First published February 19, 2024

About the author

Evangeline Anderson is a registered MRI tech who would rather be writing. And yes, she is nerdy enough to have a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be writing.” Honk if you see her! She is thirty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, a son, and two cats. She had been writing erotic fiction for her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try and get paid for it. To her delight, she found that it was actually possible to get money for having a dirty mind and she has been writing paranormal and Sci-fi erotica steadily ever since.

Reviews

[Jen]

That's 5h24m I'll never get back

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sworn to the Orc by Evangeline Anderson
Hidden Hollow series #1. Paranormal Witch and Orc romance with erotica elements.
Sarah is trying to figure out what to do since she lost her job and her rent has doubled when a strange man at her door tells her about an inheritance from her grandmother. A mysterious door appears in her living room and without many options, she walks through the door to the world of Hidden Hollow. It’s a small New England town that’s filled with magic, witches, orcs and more. Turns out she was bound from her own powers and Rath, the orc caretaker of her grandmother’s property is ready and willing to help Sarah with any issues or concerns she may have. Any issue. Even if it’s assuring Sarah that her curves are a serious turn-on.

Spicy, fun, and full of positivity. And spicy!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The melodrama. The cringe.

But. It was good enough to fill my ears for a time and there were some cute bits.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️!

[Janell Loveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always E.A has such an amazing imagination. It was pretty awesome to go on the adventure with Sarah, and it really did feel like you were learning this world with her. And what an amazing new world! I probably say at least half a dozen times a year I want to move somewhere where it’s fall all the time. 😍

In the beginning I felt like it was a lot of information all shoved in at once and got kind of overwhelming for me. But that could just be me. I particularly loved Sarah’s closeness with her grandma, I have almost an identical sorry that involves vegetable beef soup so this made me super nostalgic.

A couple awesome things I need to point out:

-Listed tropes. “Hero has two peens” 😆
-The name of his weapon. I mean come on. How awesome is Orgrim Doomhammer that’s been forged from elemental lava. Good grief that’s cleaver.

A couple things that were irritating:
-the constant need to point out that she’s plus-size AND curvy in the same breath, and her constant inner monologue where she tells herself she’s going to push out an important thought for later.
-The Breeding Bump. Cuz eew. 🤢


I’m very interested see where things go in the town of Hidden Hallow.

[Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a whim because I just needed something to listen to while I did adult things. And although it was entertaining enough, it was definitely ridiculous.

From the main character’s name to the Insta love romance it was a bit of a struggle to get into. I think if the two main characters had a little more growth and banter between them instead of just having one scene of hating each other and then all of a sudden wanting to be in each other’s pants. Some of the smutty scenes were somewhat enjoyable, but it’s hard to enjoy them when you’re not a huge fan of the romance.

However, I’m not gonna lie. The ending really intrigued me to check out the second book whatever it’s released. But we will see if I actually do pick it up.

Thank you to Libro.fm for an audio ARC of this book.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloweentown... after hours.

[Greyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️ The tensing of this was not my favorite. Some bizarre second person pov with A LOT of foreshadowing which was mildly cringe to me. Again, not my favorite but it was engaging enough to forgive.
Several points in this book I was weak as hell. It was funny and I laughed out loud a lot and cringed almost as much. This was a super fresh and modern take on the whole dimension hopping from human world to other world. This world has wifi, cell service, and a FAIRY TALE ACCURATE BABA YAGA?!
This didn’t blow my mind or anything but it was good vibes!

[Lizz Martensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Rating: 1.75

Format: audio, libro.fm

Summary: Sarah J Maasy (yes, that's her name) has lives a quiet life away from people because she is super shy and has intense social anxiety, but her life turns upside down when she inherits her grandmother's house and discovers she is actually a witch. Oh, and is intensely attracted to her Orc neighbor.


Thoughts: My friends are all reading spicy monster romance books and I thought I wanted to also. This wasn't it. I'm going to boil it down to two issues.
1. The infantalization of the main character is so uncomfortable (she's a virgin which is a trope I don't like in spicy books, he calls her baby, and literally carries her "like a toddler" at one point)
2. This tried to be a cozy fantasy novel and spicy monster romance and it didn't work. There are these detailed scenes of the village and baking that are fun. Once you finally get into the cozy aspect there are these flashes of spice that don't blend in the story. When we FINALLY get to spicy bits for the main characters the book is mostly over and I wanted to just go back to the cozy parts.

Recommendations: This isn't even available for the store to order, so I won't be recommending this to anyone.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had way too much fun listening to this audiobook. You can definitely tell that this was written more recently, however, this was the funniest/campiest romance I've had so far and I ate up every second of it. I love me a good witch story and I love me some monsters. I can't wait to see more.

(The story about the zipper had me howling with laughter) XD

[Cailin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook 🎧

Trashy road trip read #1. What can I say about this lol. Kind of weird how the wifi transcends realms but since the main character is an orc we will roll with it.
Cuter than I expected.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok story, but the dialogue was very cringey.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about a plus sized main character. I just wanted to rearrange the way that the story was written. I need the end to be the middle. Lol

[✨ riri 🪽 · Rating 5 out of 5]

loooooooove as always!!!

love all this queen’s books and this was no different, fun, sexy and enchanting. it’s perfect for autumn and gives perfect cozy vibes.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, silly, and uplifting. I really enjoy a book that knows what kind of tone it’s aiming for, and this one stayed consistent all the way through. I had a lot of fun! This was like the SunnyD vodka seltzer version of a Halloweentown movie. I loved that the last line was, “I had never in my life been so happy as I was now that I was … Sworn to the Orc.” Soooo DCOM.

[Jacquelyn G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

This story was very sweet.
I do wish that the adventure would've been longer, or more exciting. Also more magic would've been awesome.
All in all it was a sweet and easy read.

[cat ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

all I can say abt this is I had way too much fun.

[♡ zuly ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts I really enjoyed and others that were just ok!

[Shannon K G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of this was cutesy monster romance. Then part of this story was so cringey it made my insides want to shrivel up to dust and blow away with the next mild breeze.

[Corey Chu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I-

[Mandy funk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out as a cute little (kinda cheesy) orc/witch romance and then….. cue spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Malina Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to audiobook 🎧
Road trip choice for book 1.
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but lost me a little with some of the terms used and ending plot.

[Faith Healy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love monster romance, but this one was not for me. I didn't like how magical beings were labeled creatures. That gave me the ick. Also, in this world, you had human or creature size, with creature size being huge despite not all creatures being larger than humans. Sara was just so whiny and repetitive. Like did you know she was from Florida, you will as she says it soooo much! She also was super powerful for no reason.The Orc also kept calling her baby, which has always been a pet peeve of mine. I always just prefer pet names that like in another language that the fmc discovers means heart, love, or something cuter than baby. Though i guess it is fitting for Sarah given how much a whiny baby she is. I felt the romance scenes were kind of bad. Plus, the way orcs in this book make love to just their heart mates, which is just a fated mate, is so dumb. The world building was lacking, and the magic system didn't make sense. I did listen to the audio book, and the narrator was amazing, which is why two stars. Wanted to love, but just not for me.

[Grey's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh

If there's one thing I should NOT be feeling while reading a short & steamy it is bored, and that is what this book made me feel. The character and plot were so unbelievable I had trouble buying into this book at all. Instead of subtle foreshadowing it felt rather like the author was hitting the reader over the head with a large sign on more than one occasion. The heroine has an anxiety disorder which was 'solved' instantly with magic, which also apparently gave her a completely new personality (i.e. unbelievable). The steamy scenes felt and sounded like someone transcribing a bad porno. I try not to yuck others' yum, but I don't think my laughter is what the author was going for there. On a positive note I thought the idea for this series and the foundations of the world had potential. However, I would not read more by this author.

[Sydney M Neblett · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you’re down on your luck…..

Don’t give up. That’s the motto of this particular main character. Although maybe it should be your cat knows best instead. Oh well, regardless the cat took us on a wild adventure to a fantastic new world full of interesting people and creatures. Everything was extremely well written and I could practically see, hear, and smell everything as I read. The amazing imagery really drew me into the story and made it where I just couldn’t put the story down until the very end. Even then I was reluctant to relinquish my hold in case I missed the statue making a move or giving me a clue on what’s happening next. This book was absolutely fantastic, so good I’ve already read it twice, and I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring.

[Nicole ✨Sultry Tart Reviews✨]

DNF at 89% 🤦🏻‍♀️

Ugh this book!! I just couldn’t anymore at the end. It started off cute with the small town fall vibes—very sweet Halloween Town—and then just failed to launch. The adventure/quest segment of the plot was kinda lame and I was uninterested. It made me realize how terrible the dialog was (especially the dirty talk) between the MCs. I didn’t think there was enough character development, especially for the MMC. The use of baby made me cringe (already not my favorite nickname, but this felt like a crime). The audio narration was alright, but perhaps a little over done at certain points acting wise (so many breathy moments). The romance didn’t have any real building blocks and was frankly disappointing.

[Wadeana Beveridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

Main character - Sarah J Massy (smh)
Most overused things - exclamation points and "sweet little body" think like 'watery bowels' iykyk

Cinnamon roll mmc who tries to dirty talk and take control but it does NOT work.

Also, the miscommunication and enemies-to-lovers tropes are shoved into the story. Couple that with the mmc calling her "baby" after knowing her 48 hours....cringe.

Legit skipped most of the spicy scenes due to the writing style and being thrown back and forth into first person/third person...whiplash is real here.

Definitely not my favorite. Will not continue.

[Erin Friedly]

I enjoyed the plot and fantasy elements of this one, but the pet name baby always gives me the ick. Also not a fan of the way the spice read or was written. Found myself laughing out loud more than being turned on. It probably had a lot to do with the pet name baby. 🤮

I mean if you can give the orc a special peen then why not a better pet name for our FMC? It doesn’t feel like too much to ask.

[jennayadventures · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 72%

That is time I will never get back. The dirty talk is so cringe it reminds me of my neighbors at my very first apartment and all they did was talk during smexy time. Who says “I’m going to fill you up with so much cream”. The characters conversations are cringe. I think the plot was good. I just can’t keep reading it.

2 stars for the storyline/plot.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The dialogue in this was so cringe, especially what was supposed to be the “steamy” scenes. I literally had to stop reading the book it was so bad. Main character was so freaking annoying and infantilized.