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Hollow Creek #2

Hollow Lake

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Fifteen years ago, sixteen-year-old Callie’s whirlwind summer romance with Oliver Cassidy ended in heartbreak when her disapproving parents forced her to leave before the summer was over, shattering young love and leading to an unspeakable tragedy.

In the aftermath, Callie was left broken, and changing her name was the only way she knew how to move forward and rediscover who she was meant to be.

After discovering old photographs in her grandparents’ attic, Lily Mackenzie is inexplicably drawn back to in the picturesque town of Hollow Creek. One wild night with a handsome stranger she was never supposed to see again, newfound friendships and an unraveling town mystery pull her deeper into another legend of the past, until flashes of a tragic summer and a forgotten love begin to resurface.

With each new revelation, the lines between past and present start to blur, and the growing connection between Lily and Oliver starts to feel hauntingly familiar. And when the truth finally forces itself into the light, colliding past with present, Lily and Oliver must find a way to forgive the past and embrace a love always destined to be.

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2025

19 people are currently reading
13 people want to read

About the author

Lara Bruni

10 books20 followers
3rd Place Winner in the Paranormal-Romance category for The BookFest for Dark In Blood Fall 2024***

3rd Place Winner in the Romance-Suspense category for The BookFest for The Hollow Spring 2025***

International Impact Book Award Winner 2025/Romance category for The Hollow***

1st Place Winner in the Small Town Romance/Comedy category for The BookFest Fall 2025 for Hearts Fire**

Lara Bruni is an Award Winning author who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. In her down time, she loves to lose herself in the pages of a good book and enjoys watching rom-com and action movies.

The first book in the new Heartstruck series: Hearts Fire is OUT NOW.

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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Lil Bit Reads.
243 reviews11 followers
May 18, 2025
Oliver is a local construction worker by day and a women chaser by night. We briefly met Lily in the first novel of the series. She and Oliver had a brief but steamy encounter one night and have been fighting their attraction ever since. They both have tragic pasts that have left them extremely guarded and cautious. The passion between the two of them is unparalleled. Oliver has a dominate side and a dirty talk vocabulary that made me blush a few times. Lily is his perfect match in every way. Now, in addition to the slow burn pull between the two of them, there is also a town mystery that they need to solve.

Hollow Lake by Lara Bruni is the second book in the Hollow Creek series. This novel follows the stories of Oliver and Lily with a continuation of Noah and Kate’s story from the first novel. As this novel has a town mystery involved, it cannot be read as a stand alone and I highly recommend reading the first novel before starting this one.

I am really looking forward to the final installment in this series and the much anticipated stories of Mark and Emma!

I recommend this novel for mature audiences only due to sexual content.

I received this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
250 reviews7 followers
April 30, 2025
A great second book in this trilogy. I've been anxiously awaiting Oliver's and Lily's story and I was not disappointed. It's so sweet that the couple fell in love 2x in their life with eachother and had no idea. Lots of ups and downs, and add in the mystery of the town and their ancestors. I'm on edge waiting to find out how it all wraps up in the next book !
1,066 reviews21 followers
May 23, 2025
Fifteen years ago Callie had been sixteen years old and had a whirlwind summer romance with Oliver Cassidy. It had ended in heartbreak, her disapproving parents had forced her to leave before the summer had ended, shattering their young love and it led to an unspeakable tragedy.

In what's left of the tragedy, Callie is left broken, and she realizes that the only way she can move forward is to change her name and try to rediscover who she was always meant to be.

Lily Mackenzie discovers some old photographs in her grandparents' attic and is drawn back to into the picturesque town of Hollow Creek. Lily spends a wild night with a handsome stranger, a man she was never supposed to see again, but she also finds new friendships and the unraveling town mystery pulls her deeper and deeper into the legend of the past, at least into flashes of that tragic summer and a forgotten love suddenly start to resurface.

Every new revelation starts to blur the lines between the past and present and the connection between Lily and Oliver begins to feel hauntingly familiar. And when the truth forces itself into the light, forcing the past and present to finally collide head-on, Lily and Oliver have to find a way to forgive the past they cannot change and embrace a love that was always destined to, a love no one could stop or stand in the way of.

I love Lara Bruni and her Hollow Creek series. And Hollow Lake is such a perfect addition to the series. I loved this book. I loved getting to be reunited with the characters that I have come to think of as friends and I loved getting to know Lily and Oliver so much better.

I think that Oliver's reaction when the big REVEAL happened was on par. I think that anyone put in that situation would have reacted that way. I know that if I was in Oliver's position I probably would have had a similar reaction.

But, I am so happy that Oliver and Callie were able to work through the issues that the big REVEAL brought up. They are such a cute couple. They have this chemistry that is full of sparks and watching them have the chance to fall in love not once but twice was so sweet. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we got to see Oliver take Callie back to the fireflies for a second time, that would have just been the icing on the cake.

Another thing that I loved about Hollow Lake was that we also got to know more about the history of the town, the ancestors who are connected to the town, and how the main group is connected to the town. And I loved how we got to see all the mysteries connected to the town were first discovered, how they are linked to the main group, and it's just all so very interesting. This book is just one that hooks you from the first page and keeps you reading till the very end.

It's so enjoyable to have gotten the chance to see a little bit more of Emma and Mark's connection grow and strengthen throughout this book as it starts to lead up to the next book. I can hardly wait for book 3.
Profile Image for Charlene Alana  Henderson .
1,322 reviews33 followers
May 15, 2025
OMG! this series holy fucking cheese balls! I'm hooked, engrossed, obsessed, addicted, invested, you name it , that's what iam. Just like book one I absolutely devoured it as soon as I got it, I just couldn't wait any longer to sink my teeth into it, page after page I just kept turning needing to know more. It's such a wild rollercoaster ride with twists and turns, ups and downs, that you don't see coming at all, and will have you on the edge of your seat and your heart racing.

I was super excited to be back in hollow creek with Callie aka lily and Oliver and the towns mysterious adventures, let me tell you it didn't disappoint at all.

These two share a past, a past that had heartbreak and running away. Until one of them ended up back because the town called to them. One night with a mysterious red head and Oliver couldn't get her out his mind. Now they share friends and maybe a future, a chance at love again.

We get to delve more into the town and more is revealed, as well as taking on an emotional journey getting to know more about what happened to these two. Their chemistry is explosive and burning the pages down. It's action packed, has fucking amazing characters, plot and storyline. And was written wonderfully as always.

I can't wait for mark and Emma's story next. Highly recommend!!!!!

Profile Image for Shelly Neinast.
Author 4 books23 followers
May 29, 2025
Past tragedy leads to shocking future

A shocking read for book 2 of the Hollow Creek trilogy. This book possessed numerous actions, suspense, romance, young love, tragedy, deep friendships, and forgiveness.
I found book 2 very intriguing and hopeful that all the characters would be able to find the answers to the towns historical and mysterious past.
The storyline was fast-paced and made the reader want to know more about what would happen next.
The characters were very likable and realistic, and you wanted to follow them in whatever they were doing or going.
I love reading Lara Bruni's novels as they make the reader feel so good and put them on the edge of their seats with the mixed suspense and romance intertwined to provide a great enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Jaime Cantrell.
598 reviews14 followers
June 22, 2025
Hollow Lake is book two in the Hollow Lake Trilogy. Holy smokes just when I thought it couldn’t get any better! This is Oliver’s and Callie’s (Lily) Story. I loved this book so much. My heart broke for Callie and Oliver. Young love sometimes ends in heartbreak. Then years later, unbeknownst to Oliver, they are reunited, only Callie is no longer Callie. Lily comes into the picture and Oliver is rather clueless, and his friends are both worried about him and hopeful. I love that this book dives deeper into the town’s mysteries and background. This book was definitely a page turner, edge of your seat kind of book for me. I cannot wait for the next book, although I will be said to leave Hollow Creek and its mysteries behind.

As always be mindful of trigger warnings, what I like you may not.

Happy Reading!
Profile Image for Tina.
134 reviews6 followers
May 6, 2025
This was another great read in the Hollow Creek series. I loved getting to revisit these characters and learn more about Lily and Oliver.

I did think Oliver overreacted when the reveal happened and I was yelling at him, but I'm glad they got their HEA. Their connection was full of sparks and them falling in love twice was just adorable. I do wish there was a scene at the end where he took her back to the fireflies though! I was waiting for that to happen.

I enjoyed getting more in the history of the town and the ancestors connected to the main group and the mysteries around all of that continue to be fascinating. Definitely another page turner!

I really enjoyed the bits of Emma and Mark connecting more and more throughout as the lead up to the next book, can't wait for book 3.
Profile Image for Allison Comis.
870 reviews11 followers
June 21, 2025
Oliver

This was the 2nd book in the series. Can’t wait for the 3rd to see how this all plays out. This is a love story with some mystery of the towns history from the 1800’s. When Oliver was younger Mark, Oliver and Noah were out in a clearing doing target practice. Callie was out wandering and she came across the boys. They hung out together that day. Every day since it was her and Oliver that spent a lot of time together. She went to her families cabin every summer. Her parents weren’t happy with her spending all her time with him. The next day her parents told her they were leaving early. There was an event that changed her life that day!
228 reviews1 follower
May 5, 2025
I am LOVING this series so much!

This is Book 2 of the Hollow Creek Trilogy which is Callie and Oliver's story.

OMG so much happens in this book - the plot is fantastic. I'm really engrossed in this story and the mysteries of Hollow Creek.

I'm so glad Oliver got his HEA.

The 6 main characters in this series are so imbedded in my heart. I love them so much.

Oh and the spice is delicious.

Cannot wait for Book 3 - Mark and Emma's story - I have been obsessed with them since Book1!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
3,419 reviews19 followers
June 7, 2025
Hollow Lake is the second book in the mysterious Hollow Creek Trilogy which features Lily/Callie and Oliver who have a past relationship history. They have a second chance of finding love amidst trying to solve a township mystery. Their story has realistic characters, returning characters, plot twists, suspense, a traumatic past, steamy chemistry, and a cautious romance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Book Addict.
790 reviews6 followers
May 12, 2025
WOW...bit of a mystery.... star-crossed lovers... with a back story, a few twists and sprinkle some romance and .... mix in a bit of witchcraft and you're in for a hell of a ride..... If you miss this one out you're the loser.... RECOMMENDED.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Monica Graham.
389 reviews8 followers
May 9, 2025
Hollow lake

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great follow up. I really like how the mystery of the town continues to develop. The connection between lily and Oliver was great and spicy.
Profile Image for Beverly.
277 reviews4 followers
July 9, 2025
Amazing, beautiful read. My favorite is still book one with Noah and Katie, but this series is lovely. It's just an extension of the first book and ties all the characters together.
Profile Image for Julie.
120 reviews4 followers
May 30, 2025
In this second installment of the Hollow Creek trilogy, Hollow Lake, we lean more about the history of this small town, and also take the journey through Olivier and Lily's story.

As the story progresses, you start to understand the journey Callie and Oliver have been through, and why they are the people they are today, and the unexplainable pull towards each other they have.

Ultimately, this is a story of two people who have a deep connection. The question becomes, will history repeat itself or will they be able to hold their destiny in their own hands.

I really enjoyed how this story links in so much of the towns history to the founding families, and hopefully we learn more in book 3 when we discover Mark and Emma's story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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