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Hollow Huntress
Not yet published
Expected 14 May 26"Careful of the Grim” is etched into the cold stone walls of the Halcyon City Prison—a warning, threat, and reminder that we all die.
But what about living?
And which one should we fear more?
Mara Castten is an assassin—intelligent, calculated, and lethal. Being the top female angel within her Order demands it. She has built her reputation by being ruthless and wild, earning a nickname widely known and feared by all.
Mara has spent over three hundred nights imprisoned after completing an assignment she should have gotten away with. Now she is shackled—by chains that ground and keep her restrained—while they drain her magic, which desperately yearns to burst free.
Over the past year, Halcyon City has continued to thrive, and the Lyre Order has operated without her. But the unsettling news of another Order gaining prominence is spreading quickly, giving the four Orders no choice but to band together for the first time in centuries.
They need her, and in her desperation to be free, she’s willing to do whatever’s asked of her. Or so she thinks.
When she returns to civilization, things aren’t quite as they appear, and when she’s forced to team up with someone she’s despised for years, things only get worse.
That always seems to happen when demons get involved.
Now returned to the world she once knew—once thrived in—Mara Castten faces receiving her next assignment. Having taken enough lives to keep the Grim Reaper in business, she’s now being asked to do the unthinkable—kill him.
“Careful of the Grim,” they whisper as she walks by,
but…
“Fear the Hollow Huntress,” she’ll make them scream.
But what about living?
And which one should we fear more?
Mara Castten is an assassin—intelligent, calculated, and lethal. Being the top female angel within her Order demands it. She has built her reputation by being ruthless and wild, earning a nickname widely known and feared by all.
Mara has spent over three hundred nights imprisoned after completing an assignment she should have gotten away with. Now she is shackled—by chains that ground and keep her restrained—while they drain her magic, which desperately yearns to burst free.
Over the past year, Halcyon City has continued to thrive, and the Lyre Order has operated without her. But the unsettling news of another Order gaining prominence is spreading quickly, giving the four Orders no choice but to band together for the first time in centuries.
They need her, and in her desperation to be free, she’s willing to do whatever’s asked of her. Or so she thinks.
When she returns to civilization, things aren’t quite as they appear, and when she’s forced to team up with someone she’s despised for years, things only get worse.
That always seems to happen when demons get involved.
Now returned to the world she once knew—once thrived in—Mara Castten faces receiving her next assignment. Having taken enough lives to keep the Grim Reaper in business, she’s now being asked to do the unthinkable—kill him.
“Careful of the Grim,” they whisper as she walks by,
but…
“Fear the Hollow Huntress,” she’ll make them scream.
- GenresFantasy
651 pages, ebook
Expected publication May 14, 2026
489 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Breaux
3 books125 followersI’m Kathryn Breaux, the author of the Darkness Series and the upcoming duology, The Death Duet.
My love of reading has ebbed and flowed throughout my life but my love of fantasy has never faltered. Typically, I’m hanging with my family, reading fantasy, romantasy, or thrillers when I'm not writing. But let’s be honest, I’m writing a lot these days.
I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, helping me pursue my dream of being an Author.
I’m thrilled to be reaching for my dreams and I hope you take the leap of faith and chase your own.
My love of reading has ebbed and flowed throughout my life but my love of fantasy has never faltered. Typically, I’m hanging with my family, reading fantasy, romantasy, or thrillers when I'm not writing. But let’s be honest, I’m writing a lot these days.
I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, helping me pursue my dream of being an Author.
I’m thrilled to be reaching for my dreams and I hope you take the leap of faith and chase your own.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 22, 2026
It is currently almost 3 AM as I write this. Just finished this book and I’m wrecked.
To be honest, I haven’t read a fantasy book that has wrecked me in this way in quite some time. I found myself dragging this book out because I didn’t want to be finished.
This book will also go down in history for me as the most highlighted sentences EVER while reading on my kindle. Normally I highlight a few sentences that sit with me, but I was highlighting PARAGRAPHS!!
Set in an urban fantasy setting, with angel and demon assassins working together who have so much bantering and hatred (from one party 😜) left me giddy and excited to keep reading.
This started out with a bang and loved how it unfolded. No confusing world building or hard to pronounce character or cities. Kathryn has such a flow to her writing that I felt as if I was living as Mara.
Normally spice in fantasy books have been so over done, but it was just right.
Crew. He is perfect. How can a demon also have a cinnamon roll interior?!? I fell in love with him the second he opened his delicious mouth.
It ends with a cliffhanger, but Mara, she is such a bada$$ and I cannot wait to see her go full out on those who wronged her.
I feel so lucky to have read this ARC and I will be stalking Kathryn in our street team DMs to get glimpses of updates for book 2.
This will be a duet, which I always love and cannot wait to read what happens next.
To be honest, I haven’t read a fantasy book that has wrecked me in this way in quite some time. I found myself dragging this book out because I didn’t want to be finished.
This book will also go down in history for me as the most highlighted sentences EVER while reading on my kindle. Normally I highlight a few sentences that sit with me, but I was highlighting PARAGRAPHS!!
Set in an urban fantasy setting, with angel and demon assassins working together who have so much bantering and hatred (from one party 😜) left me giddy and excited to keep reading.
This started out with a bang and loved how it unfolded. No confusing world building or hard to pronounce character or cities. Kathryn has such a flow to her writing that I felt as if I was living as Mara.
Normally spice in fantasy books have been so over done, but it was just right.
Crew. He is perfect. How can a demon also have a cinnamon roll interior?!? I fell in love with him the second he opened his delicious mouth.
It ends with a cliffhanger, but Mara, she is such a bada$$ and I cannot wait to see her go full out on those who wronged her.
I feel so lucky to have read this ARC and I will be stalking Kathryn in our street team DMs to get glimpses of updates for book 2.
This will be a duet, which I always love and cannot wait to read what happens next.
March 21, 2026
I received an eARC directly from the author and this is my honest review.
- 🎟️ book 1 of a duet
-☝️ overall, single POV
- 😇 half breed angel assassins
- 🙌 32 year old MFC
- 🗣️ THE BANTER
- 😡 she’s grumpy & 🐓he is a cocky cinnamon roll
- 🔫 Mr. & Mrs. Smith coded
- 🔥 “f**k” it moment
- 🦋 tattoos, one is on his neck 🤤
- 🩸 chosen bond, with blood play soon after
- 🏢 dark urban setting
- 💀 grim reaper, 😇angels, 😈 demons
- ❤️ they apologize to each other 🎉
Overall, this book was 5 stars. The journey was tough and beautiful, with so much meaning intertwined into the story. I could not put the book down and I am looking forward to book 2!
Jumping right in. The book starts off with the MFC in prison, regretting her decisions, and regretting getting caught. It was fun to start the book right at the pivotal moment of her finding out she was leaving prison. During this first chapter we learned that the MFC could easily get sucked into feeling numb, which she did not like, since she had been in the prison almost a year. I found the concept of the preferring pain over numbing quite intriguing and unique, as most MC‘s prefer numbing and avoidance of pain, but here it showed that the MFC was open to feeling the pain. Refreshing take! Although the MFC initially avoided her emotions when she got out of prison, she eventually decided that it was time for her to feel everything. I appreciated her willingness to feel, despite wanting to keep avoiding.
One thing that really stood out to me because it was different was that the MFC did not live in denial about certain things. Specifically, I have been getting so annoyed with books where one of the MCs sees or hears something, and instead of believing it, they say or think “I must be imagining it” and then shake their head. Most people in real life actually don’t think they imagine things, they actually believe they saw or heard something. So, for our MCs to constantly deny something and then justify denying by saying they imagined it, and that happens more than once, is weird. Further, why can’t someone just actually believe they saw something? Why can’t they want to explore it? It just gets so annoying that these characters, who never usually “imagine” things and they’re not imaginable people, can imagine they didn’t see or hear something that was clear. 🙌 That does NOT happen in this book! 🙌 The MFC saw a man in the shadows and she immediately knew who it was. No denying or pretending she didn’t see. Just owned it. Then, when she saw him again, she even thought about how she knew she wasn’t making this up. FINALLY a character who is not “imagining” things. Also, the MFC did not “imagine” the MMC looked at her or was interested in her. She just owned. Again, YES! I loved loved loved this!
What else did I love? ❤️ Well, I absolutely loved the bar scene when the MMC was cocky, arrogant, and witty with MFC, all while the MFC was angry and kept verbally fighting back with him. I loved their banter, it was delicious. I also caught the symbolism of how the demon MMC was downstairs in the basement while the angel MFC was upstairs. During this time, the MMC was trying to get the MFC to come on downstairs with him. Again, I saw this as symbolic of who they were and what was happening more globally between them.
One thing readers, including me, crave is strong, back and forth, flirty yet tense banter. This happened early and often in this book and it was AMAZING. 🤩 After the bar, the banter scenes just kept coming and coming. These scenes made me laugh and brought joy to my soul. I was all for these scenes. The MMC was chill as a cucumber having a great time with the MFC grumpiness, talking back all confident and cocky, whereas the MFC was hot and angry like a pepper, trying to push the MMC away, only egging him on. One of my favorite quotes from one of the arguments they were having early in the book was when the MMC stated, “I don’t take orders from you, at least not yet.“ This was awesome!
⭐️ Alright, now I want to dive into the characters. Since the book is taken from the MFC’s POV, I will start with her. The MFC was a highly traumatized and controlled woman. She did not have a say about much in her life and was abused if she stepped out of line. We learned early that she made a lot of decisions that were selfish, likely born out of trauma and need to survive, and want of approval. She was also a highly emotional individual. She rarely brought logic to the table, and often her emotionally based decisions led to signficantly negative consequences. Prison really changed her and opened her eyes that the man controlling her was evil, leading to her standing up for herself more, fighting back with him, which she was punished for. This MFC had A LOT of anger, rightfully so, and most of the time I loved seeing what she would do with her anger, especially towards those who had harmed her.
Yet, as a book proceeded, I really struggled with the balance of loving the MFC’s feminine rage and irritated with her blind, ignorant rage. She was so angry all the time. When she was angry towards those who had harmed her and was fighting them back, I loved it. However, she had this deep, rooted, rigid and stubborn judgment about the MMC and was unwilling in any capacity to try to change that, despite his MULTIPLE attempts to talk to her. Because of her rigid thoughts and beliefs, she was a violent person who acted in terrible ways, hurting people who did not deserve it. I started getting irritated with her because she just wouldn’t pause and listen. I found that my irritation peaked at the exact same point the MMC’s irritation peaked. He finally broke and called her out for her crap and started setting boundaries with her. He proceeded to call her out after that multiple times and I was so glad he did, including when she tried to gaslight him. He directly pointed out that she was the problem, not him, and I was so glad he did. He did not deserve to be abused by her, especially because he was already being abused by someone else in his life. Although, for a small chunk of the book I became incredibly frustrated with the MFC, I see why the author did this. Writing the MFC this way provoked emotion in me AND this is what made the MFC’s change even more profound.
When the MMC finally had enough, I could not blame him for the boundaries he set. The MFC made it quite clear she didn’t want to be a team with him and she did everything and anything, including shoot and stab him, to get him to go away because she hated him. Then, all of a sudden she felt bad for her behavior, and was surprised that he did not want to be her teammate anymore. I honestly thought, “Too bad MFC, these are the consequences to your abusive behavior.” Although the way the MMC attempted to set boundaries was done in an immature way, it was important for her to finally feel what she made him feel like. Again, I loved that the MMC finally stood up for himself and called her out for her abuse.
After the MMC became mad at the MFC, they both started to change and approach each other with a more opened mind. Then, the MFC regressed back to her old ways, the MMC became mad again, and the MFC again had to learn that her behavior was toxic for both herself and everyone else. The MFC FINALLY developed insight and reflected on herself, deciding to be better. She apologized (yyyeeessss) and became more intentional. As a reader, it was really critical for me to see her not only make a choice to change, but also own her past behavior and apologize. The MFC abused the MMC, including physically and emotionally. This is not something to just move past. It is important to own it and understand the impact of one’s truly nasty behavior on others. Again, the MFC did this and I really appreciated the author taking time to write someone growing in a healthier direction who did not pretend they did not harm someone along the way.
Because of how toxic the MFC’s behavior had gotten, having her reflect, make a choice to change, apologize, be open-minded when her friends gave her feedback, and actually change her behavior was beautiful! Again, her change was profound and I loved watching it. Because you get so frustrated with her, her growth was so satisfying. Again, great job to the author for writing her this way. Now, do not get me wrong, the MFC continued to have big emotions and make big mistakes, but that’s what complex, nuanced characters do and I’m all for it! She couldn’t go from deeply struggling to manage her emotions to having zero issues, that is just not realistic. The MFC made progress over time, learning from her continued mistakes.
⭐️ Now, let’s talk about our MMC. This man also was a highly traumatized and controlled man, as well as was abused when he stepped out of line. He also had big emotions, including anger, but instead of directing that anger outwards like the MFC, he directed in inwards. This behavior is what led to his cocky, arrogant mask, as he was hiding all the pain he was in. The MMC also made huge mistakes in this book and let his trauma and rigid thinking impact him. Just like the MFC, the MMC was a messy and flawed character who also grew a lot in this book. You just wanted to shake him sometimes, but then after he would reflect and recognize his mistakes. He would then also APOLOGIZE, and then do things differently after that. He also continued to be flawed, and again, I was all for it, more realistic. The MCs were both trying to be better for themselves and each other, needing themselves, their relationships, and friendships to do so.
The MMC was a touch her and die kind of guy, but also a loyal cinnamon roll guy to his friends and the MFC. He was fantastic!
⭐️ Moving to the MC’s relationship. I love a story about a couple (who are a good fit) that are loyal to each other, no matter what. Even though these two had a lot of hiccups, they figured it out and became an unstoppable couple. They made a choice to be together and bond, fighting until the very end for each other. This made me so happy and I loved their love.
⭐️ Let’s talk about the side characters:
💫- Damien. I absolutely loved him. I was giggling so much early in the book, especially when he was communicating with the MFC. For example, when Damien had to physically pick up the MFC, he said “Come to daddy.” She sighed and walked forward, thinking “what in the actual f**k is my life?” This was hilarious. After that, he left the MFC some lacey pajamas to wear for the MMC with a letter that he signed “Daddy D.” He was the fun, comedic side character I look forward to and I am so glad the author wrote him. Also, I cannot wait to see how Damien grows with Bronwyn! I loved them together.
💫 - Speaking of Bronwyn, what another fantastic side character. Bronwyn was the MFC’s best friend. At the start of the book, their friendship had been broken and we see the messiness they had to go through to start mending their relationship. My favorite characters are always the ones that are honest and blunt, as well as flirty and fun. This was Bronwyn. Bronwyn called out the MFC for lying and always saying she was fine when she was not. She also called out the MFC for making selfish decisions. Although the MMC played the largest role in the MFC’s character growth, Bronwyn was a close second at supporting, yet pushing the MFC to change.
💫 - Then we have Locke. The mysterious does a lot that we don’t know about yet. I was really thankful that the author made it quite clear, MULTIPLE times that, although he was now bonded to the MFC, it was not a love triangle or anything romantic or sexual. This bond will play a critical role in the next book and it was formed for a reason; yet, readers could see this bond as a why choose decision by the author. Again, the author made it clear, multiple times, that this is NOT that, in anyway, which I REALLY appreciated.
💫 - Shaw. I have to say 1) nice twist on him, the author got me good, and 2) I CANNOT wait to see what happens to him in book 2. The MFC's rage is going to get him and I look forward to reading that!
⭐️ The story. There was a twist around 50% that I didn’t see coming until that chapter. There was another twist around 65%. I will say, these first two twists were not the most shocking, but they were very cool. I feel like the author did a really great job putting little nuggets of truth spread through the book so that, when these twists were revealed, they were surprising, but not shocking. However, I will say, after that, the surprises and twists became HUGE and I did not see many of them coming. There were ones at 67%, 80%, and more after that. This was sooooo good!
This book was a great mixture of plot and action scenes, character growth, and romance. At times the MFC’s struggles and need to grow were more prominent, but then the relationship started to steal the show. However, that sneaky plot would show up and say “nope,” subsequently taking over, pausing the relationship progression. Then, it all became one big jumble of plot, independent growth, and relationship progression. The pacing ebbed and flowed, with the pacing picking up and going by super fast the last 20%.
A big part of the story that I really enjoyed was something I have been wanting in a book for a long time. Specifically I have been wanting more stories where the MCs, who are not supposed to be together, choose to be together and then hide that from the people that tell them they can’t be together. I love the fun games they can play because they really are together, but pretending in front of the powerful people that they’re not. I also really love when this is a mutually chosen decision to hide that they’re together. Usually, books tend to focus on either 1) the MC’s not being together because they “can’t.” And I’m always thinking, why not? Why not be together but hide it? That could create so much more tension, anxiety, and fun push and pull in the storyline. Yet, for some reason, that type of relationship is usually not written, it’s typically the “we can’t be together so let’s not even try, even though we want to be” or 2) they both want to be in a relationship and are willing to try, even if the powers-that-be say they can’t, but only one person wants to hide it whereas the other wants to own their relationship in front of everyone. These two storylines are more commonly written, so I was really looking forward to a book where two people wanted to be together, even if they’re told they can’t, and make a decision to play a game together with the powers people. This was so much more exciting to me! Especially with two really sassy, outspoken, strong characters like this book. I knew this would be a fun ride. Truly, this was the storyline I’ve been waiting for!
Globally, looking at the overall story, there’s so many life lessons. Ownership over self, forgiveness, second and third chances, don’t let trauma control you, stand up for yourself, find those you can trust, loyalty, vulnerability, and so much more!
⭐️ Now, the ending. Wow. That ending had so much action, I could not put the book down. It was shocking, emotional, and devastating. I cannot wait for book 2!
Information for the reader that is not a critique, but something to note.
Readers are really getting bored with these specific tropes for the MCs:
- MMC that is all powerful, special, and the strongest, typically a prince or heir.
- MFC initially is not powerful and typically more “basic,” but we find out she is SUPER powerful, extremely special, and “the one” who will save everyone.
Unfortunately, that is quite close to who the MC’s are in this book. The only difference is that the MFC is not basic, she is a strong and the number one assassin from the beginning, but we learn how much more special she is by the end.
Critique:
I’ve read a few books this year where authors have repetitively used the same word or phrase over 50 times. I truly thought that was bad, but the author used the word “snap“ 250 times. I as so shocked when a person would say something, but the author wrote it as them snapping. I was confused, as I thought it was a conversation but now someone is snapping at the other, why are they so crabby? But, I learned this was just a word the author used constantly and did not indicate someone was actually mad. It was strange to me. I really hope this author takes feedback or has an editor to eliminate the amount of times this is said.
Major major spoiler
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Also, at the end when the MMC is hurt, the two men who just hurt him went where? They just left? Wouldn’t they have wanted to stay around to make sure that MMC died? Why would they let the MFC go near his body and attempt to save him? I did not get this.
- 🎟️ book 1 of a duet
-☝️ overall, single POV
- 😇 half breed angel assassins
- 🙌 32 year old MFC
- 🗣️ THE BANTER
- 😡 she’s grumpy & 🐓he is a cocky cinnamon roll
- 🔫 Mr. & Mrs. Smith coded
- 🔥 “f**k” it moment
- 🦋 tattoos, one is on his neck 🤤
- 🩸 chosen bond, with blood play soon after
- 🏢 dark urban setting
- 💀 grim reaper, 😇angels, 😈 demons
- ❤️ they apologize to each other 🎉
Overall, this book was 5 stars. The journey was tough and beautiful, with so much meaning intertwined into the story. I could not put the book down and I am looking forward to book 2!
Jumping right in. The book starts off with the MFC in prison, regretting her decisions, and regretting getting caught. It was fun to start the book right at the pivotal moment of her finding out she was leaving prison. During this first chapter we learned that the MFC could easily get sucked into feeling numb, which she did not like, since she had been in the prison almost a year. I found the concept of the preferring pain over numbing quite intriguing and unique, as most MC‘s prefer numbing and avoidance of pain, but here it showed that the MFC was open to feeling the pain. Refreshing take! Although the MFC initially avoided her emotions when she got out of prison, she eventually decided that it was time for her to feel everything. I appreciated her willingness to feel, despite wanting to keep avoiding.
One thing that really stood out to me because it was different was that the MFC did not live in denial about certain things. Specifically, I have been getting so annoyed with books where one of the MCs sees or hears something, and instead of believing it, they say or think “I must be imagining it” and then shake their head. Most people in real life actually don’t think they imagine things, they actually believe they saw or heard something. So, for our MCs to constantly deny something and then justify denying by saying they imagined it, and that happens more than once, is weird. Further, why can’t someone just actually believe they saw something? Why can’t they want to explore it? It just gets so annoying that these characters, who never usually “imagine” things and they’re not imaginable people, can imagine they didn’t see or hear something that was clear. 🙌 That does NOT happen in this book! 🙌 The MFC saw a man in the shadows and she immediately knew who it was. No denying or pretending she didn’t see. Just owned it. Then, when she saw him again, she even thought about how she knew she wasn’t making this up. FINALLY a character who is not “imagining” things. Also, the MFC did not “imagine” the MMC looked at her or was interested in her. She just owned. Again, YES! I loved loved loved this!
What else did I love? ❤️ Well, I absolutely loved the bar scene when the MMC was cocky, arrogant, and witty with MFC, all while the MFC was angry and kept verbally fighting back with him. I loved their banter, it was delicious. I also caught the symbolism of how the demon MMC was downstairs in the basement while the angel MFC was upstairs. During this time, the MMC was trying to get the MFC to come on downstairs with him. Again, I saw this as symbolic of who they were and what was happening more globally between them.
One thing readers, including me, crave is strong, back and forth, flirty yet tense banter. This happened early and often in this book and it was AMAZING. 🤩 After the bar, the banter scenes just kept coming and coming. These scenes made me laugh and brought joy to my soul. I was all for these scenes. The MMC was chill as a cucumber having a great time with the MFC grumpiness, talking back all confident and cocky, whereas the MFC was hot and angry like a pepper, trying to push the MMC away, only egging him on. One of my favorite quotes from one of the arguments they were having early in the book was when the MMC stated, “I don’t take orders from you, at least not yet.“ This was awesome!
⭐️ Alright, now I want to dive into the characters. Since the book is taken from the MFC’s POV, I will start with her. The MFC was a highly traumatized and controlled woman. She did not have a say about much in her life and was abused if she stepped out of line. We learned early that she made a lot of decisions that were selfish, likely born out of trauma and need to survive, and want of approval. She was also a highly emotional individual. She rarely brought logic to the table, and often her emotionally based decisions led to signficantly negative consequences. Prison really changed her and opened her eyes that the man controlling her was evil, leading to her standing up for herself more, fighting back with him, which she was punished for. This MFC had A LOT of anger, rightfully so, and most of the time I loved seeing what she would do with her anger, especially towards those who had harmed her.
Yet, as a book proceeded, I really struggled with the balance of loving the MFC’s feminine rage and irritated with her blind, ignorant rage. She was so angry all the time. When she was angry towards those who had harmed her and was fighting them back, I loved it. However, she had this deep, rooted, rigid and stubborn judgment about the MMC and was unwilling in any capacity to try to change that, despite his MULTIPLE attempts to talk to her. Because of her rigid thoughts and beliefs, she was a violent person who acted in terrible ways, hurting people who did not deserve it. I started getting irritated with her because she just wouldn’t pause and listen. I found that my irritation peaked at the exact same point the MMC’s irritation peaked. He finally broke and called her out for her crap and started setting boundaries with her. He proceeded to call her out after that multiple times and I was so glad he did, including when she tried to gaslight him. He directly pointed out that she was the problem, not him, and I was so glad he did. He did not deserve to be abused by her, especially because he was already being abused by someone else in his life. Although, for a small chunk of the book I became incredibly frustrated with the MFC, I see why the author did this. Writing the MFC this way provoked emotion in me AND this is what made the MFC’s change even more profound.
When the MMC finally had enough, I could not blame him for the boundaries he set. The MFC made it quite clear she didn’t want to be a team with him and she did everything and anything, including shoot and stab him, to get him to go away because she hated him. Then, all of a sudden she felt bad for her behavior, and was surprised that he did not want to be her teammate anymore. I honestly thought, “Too bad MFC, these are the consequences to your abusive behavior.” Although the way the MMC attempted to set boundaries was done in an immature way, it was important for her to finally feel what she made him feel like. Again, I loved that the MMC finally stood up for himself and called her out for her abuse.
After the MMC became mad at the MFC, they both started to change and approach each other with a more opened mind. Then, the MFC regressed back to her old ways, the MMC became mad again, and the MFC again had to learn that her behavior was toxic for both herself and everyone else. The MFC FINALLY developed insight and reflected on herself, deciding to be better. She apologized (yyyeeessss) and became more intentional. As a reader, it was really critical for me to see her not only make a choice to change, but also own her past behavior and apologize. The MFC abused the MMC, including physically and emotionally. This is not something to just move past. It is important to own it and understand the impact of one’s truly nasty behavior on others. Again, the MFC did this and I really appreciated the author taking time to write someone growing in a healthier direction who did not pretend they did not harm someone along the way.
Because of how toxic the MFC’s behavior had gotten, having her reflect, make a choice to change, apologize, be open-minded when her friends gave her feedback, and actually change her behavior was beautiful! Again, her change was profound and I loved watching it. Because you get so frustrated with her, her growth was so satisfying. Again, great job to the author for writing her this way. Now, do not get me wrong, the MFC continued to have big emotions and make big mistakes, but that’s what complex, nuanced characters do and I’m all for it! She couldn’t go from deeply struggling to manage her emotions to having zero issues, that is just not realistic. The MFC made progress over time, learning from her continued mistakes.
⭐️ Now, let’s talk about our MMC. This man also was a highly traumatized and controlled man, as well as was abused when he stepped out of line. He also had big emotions, including anger, but instead of directing that anger outwards like the MFC, he directed in inwards. This behavior is what led to his cocky, arrogant mask, as he was hiding all the pain he was in. The MMC also made huge mistakes in this book and let his trauma and rigid thinking impact him. Just like the MFC, the MMC was a messy and flawed character who also grew a lot in this book. You just wanted to shake him sometimes, but then after he would reflect and recognize his mistakes. He would then also APOLOGIZE, and then do things differently after that. He also continued to be flawed, and again, I was all for it, more realistic. The MCs were both trying to be better for themselves and each other, needing themselves, their relationships, and friendships to do so.
The MMC was a touch her and die kind of guy, but also a loyal cinnamon roll guy to his friends and the MFC. He was fantastic!
⭐️ Moving to the MC’s relationship. I love a story about a couple (who are a good fit) that are loyal to each other, no matter what. Even though these two had a lot of hiccups, they figured it out and became an unstoppable couple. They made a choice to be together and bond, fighting until the very end for each other. This made me so happy and I loved their love.
⭐️ Let’s talk about the side characters:
💫- Damien. I absolutely loved him. I was giggling so much early in the book, especially when he was communicating with the MFC. For example, when Damien had to physically pick up the MFC, he said “Come to daddy.” She sighed and walked forward, thinking “what in the actual f**k is my life?” This was hilarious. After that, he left the MFC some lacey pajamas to wear for the MMC with a letter that he signed “Daddy D.” He was the fun, comedic side character I look forward to and I am so glad the author wrote him. Also, I cannot wait to see how Damien grows with Bronwyn! I loved them together.
💫 - Speaking of Bronwyn, what another fantastic side character. Bronwyn was the MFC’s best friend. At the start of the book, their friendship had been broken and we see the messiness they had to go through to start mending their relationship. My favorite characters are always the ones that are honest and blunt, as well as flirty and fun. This was Bronwyn. Bronwyn called out the MFC for lying and always saying she was fine when she was not. She also called out the MFC for making selfish decisions. Although the MMC played the largest role in the MFC’s character growth, Bronwyn was a close second at supporting, yet pushing the MFC to change.
💫 - Then we have Locke. The mysterious does a lot that we don’t know about yet. I was really thankful that the author made it quite clear, MULTIPLE times that, although he was now bonded to the MFC, it was not a love triangle or anything romantic or sexual. This bond will play a critical role in the next book and it was formed for a reason; yet, readers could see this bond as a why choose decision by the author. Again, the author made it clear, multiple times, that this is NOT that, in anyway, which I REALLY appreciated.
💫 - Shaw. I have to say 1) nice twist on him, the author got me good, and 2) I CANNOT wait to see what happens to him in book 2. The MFC's rage is going to get him and I look forward to reading that!
⭐️ The story. There was a twist around 50% that I didn’t see coming until that chapter. There was another twist around 65%. I will say, these first two twists were not the most shocking, but they were very cool. I feel like the author did a really great job putting little nuggets of truth spread through the book so that, when these twists were revealed, they were surprising, but not shocking. However, I will say, after that, the surprises and twists became HUGE and I did not see many of them coming. There were ones at 67%, 80%, and more after that. This was sooooo good!
This book was a great mixture of plot and action scenes, character growth, and romance. At times the MFC’s struggles and need to grow were more prominent, but then the relationship started to steal the show. However, that sneaky plot would show up and say “nope,” subsequently taking over, pausing the relationship progression. Then, it all became one big jumble of plot, independent growth, and relationship progression. The pacing ebbed and flowed, with the pacing picking up and going by super fast the last 20%.
A big part of the story that I really enjoyed was something I have been wanting in a book for a long time. Specifically I have been wanting more stories where the MCs, who are not supposed to be together, choose to be together and then hide that from the people that tell them they can’t be together. I love the fun games they can play because they really are together, but pretending in front of the powerful people that they’re not. I also really love when this is a mutually chosen decision to hide that they’re together. Usually, books tend to focus on either 1) the MC’s not being together because they “can’t.” And I’m always thinking, why not? Why not be together but hide it? That could create so much more tension, anxiety, and fun push and pull in the storyline. Yet, for some reason, that type of relationship is usually not written, it’s typically the “we can’t be together so let’s not even try, even though we want to be” or 2) they both want to be in a relationship and are willing to try, even if the powers-that-be say they can’t, but only one person wants to hide it whereas the other wants to own their relationship in front of everyone. These two storylines are more commonly written, so I was really looking forward to a book where two people wanted to be together, even if they’re told they can’t, and make a decision to play a game together with the powers people. This was so much more exciting to me! Especially with two really sassy, outspoken, strong characters like this book. I knew this would be a fun ride. Truly, this was the storyline I’ve been waiting for!
Globally, looking at the overall story, there’s so many life lessons. Ownership over self, forgiveness, second and third chances, don’t let trauma control you, stand up for yourself, find those you can trust, loyalty, vulnerability, and so much more!
⭐️ Now, the ending. Wow. That ending had so much action, I could not put the book down. It was shocking, emotional, and devastating. I cannot wait for book 2!
Information for the reader that is not a critique, but something to note.
Readers are really getting bored with these specific tropes for the MCs:
- MMC that is all powerful, special, and the strongest, typically a prince or heir.
- MFC initially is not powerful and typically more “basic,” but we find out she is SUPER powerful, extremely special, and “the one” who will save everyone.
Unfortunately, that is quite close to who the MC’s are in this book. The only difference is that the MFC is not basic, she is a strong and the number one assassin from the beginning, but we learn how much more special she is by the end.
Critique:
I’ve read a few books this year where authors have repetitively used the same word or phrase over 50 times. I truly thought that was bad, but the author used the word “snap“ 250 times. I as so shocked when a person would say something, but the author wrote it as them snapping. I was confused, as I thought it was a conversation but now someone is snapping at the other, why are they so crabby? But, I learned this was just a word the author used constantly and did not indicate someone was actually mad. It was strange to me. I really hope this author takes feedback or has an editor to eliminate the amount of times this is said.
Major major spoiler
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Also, at the end when the MMC is hurt, the two men who just hurt him went where? They just left? Wouldn’t they have wanted to stay around to make sure that MMC died? Why would they let the MFC go near his body and attempt to save him? I did not get this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2026
Thank you Kathryn Breaux and her team for this ARC!
Rating: 6⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
God tier book for me.
This story follows Mara Castten, an angel who is a powerful assassin and forced to work with the demon, Crew Bannermin, who she believes is responsible for killing her father.
This is a world of angels and demons. The story had been engrossed from the beginning. Mara is a multidimensional FMC who displays both her strengths and vulnerabilities. I absolutely love that throughout the story she tries so hard to hide from her emotions, that when they come for her she lets them out. A reminder that women can be both strong and in tune with their emotions.
Crew is a fantastic MMC who is also multidimensional. He has a wicked tongue (in more ways than one), he is a demon and makes sure we remember that, but, he also has a soft side, and I love that about him.
The banter between him and Mara is fantastic. I also absolutely love Mara’s inner monologue. She is very relatable, as a character that lacks much self-esteem. Often feeling like she is to blame for her own situations, and becomes self-destructive in the process. Her behavior is real, and she finds those who help her out of that cycle.
I also absolutely loved the found family in the story. Especially Damien, Locke, and Bronwyn. Their banter is also fantastic.
The plot goes through many twists and turns, with so much flying at you that it’s easy to sympathize with the characters and their own frustrations. But it is paced so well. As is the pacing and slow-burn of the romance that develops throughout the story.
I very highly recommend this book and cannot wait for Book 2!
* Rivals to lovers
* He falls first
* She Falls Harder
* She’s protective
* He’s possessive
* Blood play
* Reaper
* Angels and Demons
* City setting
* One bed
* Forced Proximity
* Betrayals
* “Fuck it” moment
* Banter x 10
* Demon daddies
* Assassins
* Female Rage
* Secrets
* Epic side characters
* Spice
Rating: 6⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
God tier book for me.
This story follows Mara Castten, an angel who is a powerful assassin and forced to work with the demon, Crew Bannermin, who she believes is responsible for killing her father.
This is a world of angels and demons. The story had been engrossed from the beginning. Mara is a multidimensional FMC who displays both her strengths and vulnerabilities. I absolutely love that throughout the story she tries so hard to hide from her emotions, that when they come for her she lets them out. A reminder that women can be both strong and in tune with their emotions.
Crew is a fantastic MMC who is also multidimensional. He has a wicked tongue (in more ways than one), he is a demon and makes sure we remember that, but, he also has a soft side, and I love that about him.
The banter between him and Mara is fantastic. I also absolutely love Mara’s inner monologue. She is very relatable, as a character that lacks much self-esteem. Often feeling like she is to blame for her own situations, and becomes self-destructive in the process. Her behavior is real, and she finds those who help her out of that cycle.
I also absolutely loved the found family in the story. Especially Damien, Locke, and Bronwyn. Their banter is also fantastic.
The plot goes through many twists and turns, with so much flying at you that it’s easy to sympathize with the characters and their own frustrations. But it is paced so well. As is the pacing and slow-burn of the romance that develops throughout the story.
I very highly recommend this book and cannot wait for Book 2!
* Rivals to lovers
* He falls first
* She Falls Harder
* She’s protective
* He’s possessive
* Blood play
* Reaper
* Angels and Demons
* City setting
* One bed
* Forced Proximity
* Betrayals
* “Fuck it” moment
* Banter x 10
* Demon daddies
* Assassins
* Female Rage
* Secrets
* Epic side characters
* Spice
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is one of this books that makes you fall in love with reading all over again. I was excited for this book based on the trope list and blurb (which you can find below) and it didn’t disappoint. Kathryn (the author) is now an auto read/buy author and I’ll be screaming about her and this book forever awhile.
The way Kathryn wrote this book and developed the characters and relationships was top teir. While there were dark and heavy themes in this book - it was balanced out with faced paced action and hilarious banter and even more hilarious inner monologues and thoughts.
Usually I struggle with FMCs based on how they’re written. Mara is in the top 5 best FMCs across all genres. I knew from page one I was going to love her. Her character development and growth throughout the book was exciting to read. You could feel her trauma, heartbreak, and her struggles - but you could also feel her strength and sense of humor. She’s an FMC to root for. She the epitome of feminine rage which is valid based on all that has had to put up with. Once she lets her guard down 😭😭. I just love her.
The MMC (BARK 😉 ) - I’m not even sure where to start with this morally black/grey cinnamon roll golden retriever man. There’s so much to say about him and I can’t without giving away spoilers. He’s too tier book boyfriend material and I love the way he was written. Like Mara he has trauma and is riddled with secrets and pain. However hes SUCH a like able character. You think you know who he is but then as you read you find out you know nothing at all. Protect crew at all costs and his love for Mara 😭😭😭😭. And obviously we can’t talk about Crew without talking about the mouth on him 🥵🔥. I volunteer as tribute.
Side characters -I love a true found family story and we got one here. Again won’t say much here (because spoilers) but to be brief: Damien is my man and we will protect him at all costs. Bronwyn is such a badass and Locke I got my eyes on you.
Story- this was a fast paced action packed story with a serious delicious slow burns. The world building wasn’t complicated and once you start reading I guarantee you won’t be able to stop. There we some serious betrayals and plot twists that I didn’t see coming and I was constantly on the edge of my seat.
Since this book has some dark aspects be sure to check out the list (or menu) of trigger warnings.
Tropes:
Rivals to lovers
He falls first
She Falls Harder
She’s protective
He’s possessive
Blood play
Reaper
Angels and Demons
City setting
One bed
Forced Proximity
Betrayals
“Fuck it” moment
Banter x 10
Demon daddies
Assassins
Female Rage
Secrets
Epic side characters
Spice
The way Kathryn wrote this book and developed the characters and relationships was top teir. While there were dark and heavy themes in this book - it was balanced out with faced paced action and hilarious banter and even more hilarious inner monologues and thoughts.
Usually I struggle with FMCs based on how they’re written. Mara is in the top 5 best FMCs across all genres. I knew from page one I was going to love her. Her character development and growth throughout the book was exciting to read. You could feel her trauma, heartbreak, and her struggles - but you could also feel her strength and sense of humor. She’s an FMC to root for. She the epitome of feminine rage which is valid based on all that has had to put up with. Once she lets her guard down 😭😭. I just love her.
The MMC (BARK 😉 ) - I’m not even sure where to start with this morally black/grey cinnamon roll golden retriever man. There’s so much to say about him and I can’t without giving away spoilers. He’s too tier book boyfriend material and I love the way he was written. Like Mara he has trauma and is riddled with secrets and pain. However hes SUCH a like able character. You think you know who he is but then as you read you find out you know nothing at all. Protect crew at all costs and his love for Mara 😭😭😭😭. And obviously we can’t talk about Crew without talking about the mouth on him 🥵🔥. I volunteer as tribute.
Side characters -I love a true found family story and we got one here. Again won’t say much here (because spoilers) but to be brief: Damien is my man and we will protect him at all costs. Bronwyn is such a badass and Locke I got my eyes on you.
Story- this was a fast paced action packed story with a serious delicious slow burns. The world building wasn’t complicated and once you start reading I guarantee you won’t be able to stop. There we some serious betrayals and plot twists that I didn’t see coming and I was constantly on the edge of my seat.
Since this book has some dark aspects be sure to check out the list (or menu) of trigger warnings.
Tropes:
Rivals to lovers
He falls first
She Falls Harder
She’s protective
He’s possessive
Blood play
Reaper
Angels and Demons
City setting
One bed
Forced Proximity
Betrayals
“Fuck it” moment
Banter x 10
Demon daddies
Assassins
Female Rage
Secrets
Epic side characters
Spice
Read
March 23, 2026This story drew me in immediately with its striking blend of angels, demons, and an urban fantasy backdrop that feels both familiar and refreshingly distinct. The introduction of blood as a central element carried faint echoes of vampire lore, yet it was woven into the narrative in a way that felt wholly its own—adding an extra layer of intrigue to an already compelling world.
Crew and Mara completely stole the show for me. Their banter was effortless and electric, the kind that reveals just as much as it conceals. I especially loved the subtle evolution of Mara’s feelings—how her shift from resistance to reluctant trust unfolded gradually and authentically. It never felt rushed or forced; instead, it honored who she is at her core. And Crew… he is the epitome of a morally gray MMC. Impossible to fully trust, yet even harder not to root for. I found myself wishing for more of his POV, if only to linger a little longer in his complexity.
The dynamic between Damion and Bronwyn also caught my attention, and I’m eager to see that relationship explored in greater depth. There’s a spark there that feels like it’s only just beginning to ignite.
And then there’s the Locke connection—quietly threaded through the story in a way that leaves so many questions in its wake. I’m deeply curious to see how that thread unravels moving forward.
The ending came quickly, almost breathlessly, leaving behind a wave of emotional whiplash. It was intense, a little disorienting, and undeniably impactful—closing this chapter with both a sense of devastation and a fragile thread of hope.
I’m already anticipating what comes next.
Crew and Mara completely stole the show for me. Their banter was effortless and electric, the kind that reveals just as much as it conceals. I especially loved the subtle evolution of Mara’s feelings—how her shift from resistance to reluctant trust unfolded gradually and authentically. It never felt rushed or forced; instead, it honored who she is at her core. And Crew… he is the epitome of a morally gray MMC. Impossible to fully trust, yet even harder not to root for. I found myself wishing for more of his POV, if only to linger a little longer in his complexity.
The dynamic between Damion and Bronwyn also caught my attention, and I’m eager to see that relationship explored in greater depth. There’s a spark there that feels like it’s only just beginning to ignite.
And then there’s the Locke connection—quietly threaded through the story in a way that leaves so many questions in its wake. I’m deeply curious to see how that thread unravels moving forward.
The ending came quickly, almost breathlessly, leaving behind a wave of emotional whiplash. It was intense, a little disorienting, and undeniably impactful—closing this chapter with both a sense of devastation and a fragile thread of hope.
I’m already anticipating what comes next.
Review of advance copy received from Author
6 ⭐️ 🫶🏻
Thank you to the author for the eARC!!
I literally inhaled this within less than 24 hours.
Think a city of gods and monsters but with Mr & Mrs Smith vibes.
The book follow our FMC Mara after she gets released from prison back into her Order. At the beginning you really see her struggle with her mental health and being back into normal everyday life (and the mental health rep was done soooooo well in this entire series). She’s recruited by the leader of the order to complete tasks with someone she hates (since she thinks they are responsible for killing her father) …enter our MMC Crew. He’s the happy, sarcastic, and light to Mara’s dark, broody, and tragicness. The pair of them have to work together and get on the same page for an end goal between both of their orders.
Things done extremely well: the banter 💯, the found family, the side characters were to die for and I’m rooting for them just as much as the MC’s, the secrets that are unraveled at the ending 🫢, the romance, the growth of the MC’s. I mean literally everything was perfect
Things I take offense to: that ENDING WAS CRUEL. If you don’t like to feel emotionally damaged at the end of a book waiting for a sequel, then don’t read this, but if you do like me then run to read it ASAP ‼️
Ready to feel and experience Mara’s rage in the next book 👼 😈
Thank you to the author for the eARC!!
I literally inhaled this within less than 24 hours.
Think a city of gods and monsters but with Mr & Mrs Smith vibes.
The book follow our FMC Mara after she gets released from prison back into her Order. At the beginning you really see her struggle with her mental health and being back into normal everyday life (and the mental health rep was done soooooo well in this entire series). She’s recruited by the leader of the order to complete tasks with someone she hates (since she thinks they are responsible for killing her father) …enter our MMC Crew. He’s the happy, sarcastic, and light to Mara’s dark, broody, and tragicness. The pair of them have to work together and get on the same page for an end goal between both of their orders.
Things done extremely well: the banter 💯, the found family, the side characters were to die for and I’m rooting for them just as much as the MC’s, the secrets that are unraveled at the ending 🫢, the romance, the growth of the MC’s. I mean literally everything was perfect
Things I take offense to: that ENDING WAS CRUEL. If you don’t like to feel emotionally damaged at the end of a book waiting for a sequel, then don’t read this, but if you do like me then run to read it ASAP ‼️
Ready to feel and experience Mara’s rage in the next book 👼 😈
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
i dragged my feet to finish the ARC for Hollow Huntress.
A book that held me in a death grip for days. I was scared to finish.
Why?
I fell in love with the characters—those imperfect, each in their own way broken but so relatable characters. Mara, the Angel assassin, full of pain, doubts, and regrets, unable to see past the hate and the wall she built over years to protect herself and her grief.
Then there is Crew, Demon assassin extraordinaire, full of himself, cocky, and just too motivated to press every button Mara has.
Paired up with each other to investigate a murder and finding the culprit, who they assume is no other than THE Grimreaper himself, while working through a list of "assignments", preferably without killing each other. This proves to be semi-successful. Luckily, both heal rather well.
Unfortunately, the reason behind the murder is not the only secret.
Crew seems to be hiding things, having his own agenda. And if there is one thing Mara hates almost more than Crew Bannermin, then it is a lying Crew Bannermin.
There is lots of banter, some stabbing, and shooting.
The spice is spicing, if I may say so and the emotional damage hits full force.
Thank you Kat for this roller-coaster of a first book.
I can't wait for the second one.
A book that held me in a death grip for days. I was scared to finish.
Why?
I fell in love with the characters—those imperfect, each in their own way broken but so relatable characters. Mara, the Angel assassin, full of pain, doubts, and regrets, unable to see past the hate and the wall she built over years to protect herself and her grief.
Then there is Crew, Demon assassin extraordinaire, full of himself, cocky, and just too motivated to press every button Mara has.
Paired up with each other to investigate a murder and finding the culprit, who they assume is no other than THE Grimreaper himself, while working through a list of "assignments", preferably without killing each other. This proves to be semi-successful. Luckily, both heal rather well.
Unfortunately, the reason behind the murder is not the only secret.
Crew seems to be hiding things, having his own agenda. And if there is one thing Mara hates almost more than Crew Bannermin, then it is a lying Crew Bannermin.
There is lots of banter, some stabbing, and shooting.
The spice is spicing, if I may say so and the emotional damage hits full force.
Thank you Kat for this roller-coaster of a first book.
I can't wait for the second one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Review of advance copy received from Author
♾️ stars
What to expect
🪽 Rivals to lovers
🪽 He falls first
🪽 She falls harder
🪽 Angels and Demons
🪽 Forced proximity
🪽 Betrayals
🪽 Fantastic banter
🪽 Female rage
🪽 Spice 🌶️
🪽 Dark urban setting
WOW!
This book is god tier read for me. I loved every second of reading this book. Did it emotionally destroy me.. YES!
The FMC Mara has quickly become one of my fav FMC’s she is a total badass. But holy hell has she been through it.
Mara is a lethal angel, she is cunning and intelligent and is the top of her field within her Order.
You begin this book with Mara in prison for an assignment she should have gotten away with.
Our MMC Crew (who is now my top book boyfriend 🔥)
This man is giving total broody morally black vibes! And I love him!
The side characters in this are amazing and the banter between everyone is 🤌🏽
The tension between the main characters is top tier! And the spice is spicy 🌶️ 🥵
This book is fast paced with extremely high stakes. It will ruin you and then ruin you again. But it soo worth it!
Can’t say much more as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
Highly highly recommend!
Cannot wait for book two!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
🖤ARC Review🖤
I’ve just gotta say—from the very first chapter to the last page, I was completely hooked!!!
The banter? Chef’s kiss. The side characters?? I fell in love with them just as much as the main ones!
We’re thrown right into the story with Mara Cassten, our FMC—and when I say badass, I mean badass. She’s the top angel assassin for the Lyre Order, known as the Hollow Huntress because of who she becomes when she’s on a mission. For the past year, she’s been rotting in prison after being set up, and let me tell you… she hated every second of it. But suddenly, she’s pulled out because they need her for an impossible task.
And to make things even better? She has to team up with her enemy—Crew Bannermin, the top demon assassin. He’s the heir to the Jade Order and is absolutely obsessed with Mara… which makes it even better because she cannot stand him.
Watching these two be forced to work together? Elite. And of course, their first assignment puts them in one bed… you already know what that means 😏
I won’t spoil too much, but Mara and Crew?? Top-tier enemies to lovers. I was eating it up the entire time 😍
I’ve just gotta say—from the very first chapter to the last page, I was completely hooked!!!
The banter? Chef’s kiss. The side characters?? I fell in love with them just as much as the main ones!
We’re thrown right into the story with Mara Cassten, our FMC—and when I say badass, I mean badass. She’s the top angel assassin for the Lyre Order, known as the Hollow Huntress because of who she becomes when she’s on a mission. For the past year, she’s been rotting in prison after being set up, and let me tell you… she hated every second of it. But suddenly, she’s pulled out because they need her for an impossible task.
And to make things even better? She has to team up with her enemy—Crew Bannermin, the top demon assassin. He’s the heir to the Jade Order and is absolutely obsessed with Mara… which makes it even better because she cannot stand him.
Watching these two be forced to work together? Elite. And of course, their first assignment puts them in one bed… you already know what that means 😏
I won’t spoil too much, but Mara and Crew?? Top-tier enemies to lovers. I was eating it up the entire time 😍
March 23, 2026
Hollow Huntress is action packed while ripping your heart out and stomping on it! That ending has be feeling UNWELL and I’m not okay!!!
Thank you Kathryn Breaux and her team for the eARC! I’m beyond honored and so thrilled I got to read this in advance of its release 😍🥲
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HH is a dark, urban fantasy with angels and demons, betrayals, assassins, female rage, and found family. Our FMC, Mara, is an angel who is released from prison after almost a year from a job gone wrong. She is thrust back into her angel Order very quickly to take on the most dangerous job - kill the Grim reaper. She is forced to team up with the top assassin in the demon Order and the one she hates the most - our MMC, Crew. From there, the adventures they go on lead to many discoveries about who they are, who their family is, and what is really going on in their city.
Friendships are tested, fates are revealed, betrayals are abound, heartbreak is prevalent and you will be BEGGING for book 2 like me!
Hollow Huntress is a great fantasy for fans of morally grey characters, emotional damage, top tier banter, burn the world for her MMCs, and the maximum amount of female rage.
Thank you Kathryn Breaux and her team for the eARC! I’m beyond honored and so thrilled I got to read this in advance of its release 😍🥲
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HH is a dark, urban fantasy with angels and demons, betrayals, assassins, female rage, and found family. Our FMC, Mara, is an angel who is released from prison after almost a year from a job gone wrong. She is thrust back into her angel Order very quickly to take on the most dangerous job - kill the Grim reaper. She is forced to team up with the top assassin in the demon Order and the one she hates the most - our MMC, Crew. From there, the adventures they go on lead to many discoveries about who they are, who their family is, and what is really going on in their city.
Friendships are tested, fates are revealed, betrayals are abound, heartbreak is prevalent and you will be BEGGING for book 2 like me!
Hollow Huntress is a great fantasy for fans of morally grey characters, emotional damage, top tier banter, burn the world for her MMCs, and the maximum amount of female rage.
Review of advance copy received from Author
"𝑰𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅."
It has been a minute since I've been so CONSUMED by a book and Hollow Huntress deserves the hype! I ate up every single second of it!
We have Angels, Demons, the Grim Reaper(!), assassins, hot men (and women!) with wings, found family and spiiiiiice! The characters were enticing, all the descriptions and details were vivid, and the story was so captivating! I couldn't put it down! It just kept getting better and better.
From the jump, you know our FMC, Mara, is a badass half-Angel assassin, while our MC, Crew, is a half-Demon assassin from a rival Order. They're both VERY good at their jobs and do NOT want to work together. This is enemies to lovers (she shoots AND stabs him🤗) and it's soooo satisfying!
The ending is wild, emotional, and devastating! The emotions that the MCs feel at the end is palpable. It's soo good!
I was in Kathryn's DMs for 24 hrs straight yelling at her. Seriously, go read the book! Preorder it! Devour it! Scream about it!
(Huge thanks to the Kathryn for this arc!)
It has been a minute since I've been so CONSUMED by a book and Hollow Huntress deserves the hype! I ate up every single second of it!
We have Angels, Demons, the Grim Reaper(!), assassins, hot men (and women!) with wings, found family and spiiiiiice! The characters were enticing, all the descriptions and details were vivid, and the story was so captivating! I couldn't put it down! It just kept getting better and better.
From the jump, you know our FMC, Mara, is a badass half-Angel assassin, while our MC, Crew, is a half-Demon assassin from a rival Order. They're both VERY good at their jobs and do NOT want to work together. This is enemies to lovers (she shoots AND stabs him🤗) and it's soooo satisfying!
The ending is wild, emotional, and devastating! The emotions that the MCs feel at the end is palpable. It's soo good!
I was in Kathryn's DMs for 24 hrs straight yelling at her. Seriously, go read the book! Preorder it! Devour it! Scream about it!
(Huge thanks to the Kathryn for this arc!)
Review of advance copy received from Author
What an honour it was to have the opportunity to read such an Epic ARC 🙌 I LOVED IT!!!!
This was hands down one of the most amazing dark romantasy books I have had the pleasure to read 😍
If ever there was a book that ticked all the boxes for me this one would be it - it had compelling storyline with strong, supernatural and appealing characters, and plenty of action both with the plot twists and smut 🔥
The story follows Mara who is an assassin angel who gets released from prison and she is thrown in to work with a superhot demon she hates with a passion, yet all isn't as it initially appears and the plot thickens...
I really love books with supernatural beings and kickass characters, and this book delivered an unique plot with the best romance & spice weaved in as well ❤️🔥 I was so impressed that this book delivered true dark romance fantasy storyline tailored for mature audiences. This book just hit it spot on, and even opened up the waterworks 🥹
Can't wait for the sequel!!!! Chef's kiss 🤌💋
This was hands down one of the most amazing dark romantasy books I have had the pleasure to read 😍
If ever there was a book that ticked all the boxes for me this one would be it - it had compelling storyline with strong, supernatural and appealing characters, and plenty of action both with the plot twists and smut 🔥
The story follows Mara who is an assassin angel who gets released from prison and she is thrown in to work with a superhot demon she hates with a passion, yet all isn't as it initially appears and the plot thickens...
I really love books with supernatural beings and kickass characters, and this book delivered an unique plot with the best romance & spice weaved in as well ❤️🔥 I was so impressed that this book delivered true dark romance fantasy storyline tailored for mature audiences. This book just hit it spot on, and even opened up the waterworks 🥹
Can't wait for the sequel!!!! Chef's kiss 🤌💋
Review of advance copy received from Author
Hollow Huntress
♾️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
AGHHGHHH this book!!!!
I’m freaking out!! I literally just finished, and I couldn’t wait to share my review! It has been a minute since I’ve read a book where it hooked me from the very beginning and I absolutely flew through it.
There are angels and demons, the grim reaper, voids, high elders all separated into Orders. Mara is the high assassin of the Lyre Order, she receives orders from their High Elder Lowell Lyre to eliminate targets and voids (beings without an order). Mara believes Crew Bannermin, a demon hybrid and heir of the Jade Order, assassinated her father.
Mara and Crew are forced to work together to take out rogue voids that are thought to be creating their own Order. What they don’t know, the Lyre Order and Jade Order High Elders have teamed up to create a new world.
Will Mara and Crew be able to outrun their fate or create a new destiny?
Available May 14, 2026
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of the ARC team for Hollow Huntress, book 1 in the Death Duet by Kathryn Breaux!
♾️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
AGHHGHHH this book!!!!
I’m freaking out!! I literally just finished, and I couldn’t wait to share my review! It has been a minute since I’ve read a book where it hooked me from the very beginning and I absolutely flew through it.
There are angels and demons, the grim reaper, voids, high elders all separated into Orders. Mara is the high assassin of the Lyre Order, she receives orders from their High Elder Lowell Lyre to eliminate targets and voids (beings without an order). Mara believes Crew Bannermin, a demon hybrid and heir of the Jade Order, assassinated her father.
Mara and Crew are forced to work together to take out rogue voids that are thought to be creating their own Order. What they don’t know, the Lyre Order and Jade Order High Elders have teamed up to create a new world.
Will Mara and Crew be able to outrun their fate or create a new destiny?
Available May 14, 2026
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of the ARC team for Hollow Huntress, book 1 in the Death Duet by Kathryn Breaux!
March 24, 2026
This book completely consumed me. I couldn’t put it down for a second, and even now, five days later, I still can’t stop thinking about it.
If you love “he falls first,” true enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and found family… this book delivers ALL of it perfectly.
And Crew… I have no words. A morally grey demon MMC?? I’m done. I would absolutely crawl for this man. The tension and chemistry between him and Mara… it’s everything.
But it’s not just the main characters. The side characters deserve all the hype too—Damien and Locke??? Oh my god. These men. Their dirty mouths, their banter, their humor—I was giggling every single time they showed up. And Bronwyn? Absolutely amazing. What a badass.
The dialogue is genuinely one of the strongest parts of this book. The banter feels so natural, sharp, and funny, and it balances perfectly with everything else going on—even when the world is literally falling apart around them.
And the plot twists?? Done exquisitely. Just when I thought I had things figured out—I didn’t.
I cannot wait for Book 2!!!
If you love “he falls first,” true enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and found family… this book delivers ALL of it perfectly.
And Crew… I have no words. A morally grey demon MMC?? I’m done. I would absolutely crawl for this man. The tension and chemistry between him and Mara… it’s everything.
But it’s not just the main characters. The side characters deserve all the hype too—Damien and Locke??? Oh my god. These men. Their dirty mouths, their banter, their humor—I was giggling every single time they showed up. And Bronwyn? Absolutely amazing. What a badass.
The dialogue is genuinely one of the strongest parts of this book. The banter feels so natural, sharp, and funny, and it balances perfectly with everything else going on—even when the world is literally falling apart around them.
And the plot twists?? Done exquisitely. Just when I thought I had things figured out—I didn’t.
I cannot wait for Book 2!!!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I honestly cannot put into words how much I loved this book! This is definitely more than 5 stars, God tier reading for me. The hype leading up to it I knew it was going to be a great one but it still blew my expectations out of the water.
It had seen it described as Crescent City meets 007 meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith and that is so spot on. Crescent City is one of my favorites ever and I would put this one right up there with it.
The tension, the banter, the spice and the friendships were all fantastic. And the emotional damage with the ending is real. I need the next book already to see what happens next. With the way it ended the next one will be epic.
Thank so much to the author for the arc of this book!
It had seen it described as Crescent City meets 007 meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith and that is so spot on. Crescent City is one of my favorites ever and I would put this one right up there with it.
The tension, the banter, the spice and the friendships were all fantastic. And the emotional damage with the ending is real. I need the next book already to see what happens next. With the way it ended the next one will be epic.
Thank so much to the author for the arc of this book!
Review of advance copy received from Author
First of all, thanks to the author for the ARC opportunity!
Second, wtf to the author!? I'm hollow after that amazingly soul crushing experience. I dont know what to do with myself now... I finished the book after less than 48hrs, at 11pm and just stared into the darkness for a good 30min after.
Hollow Huntress is an enthralling story about love, loss, and personal growth. With angels, demons, and death himself, along with basically all the best tropes. From rivals to lovers and he falls first to feminine rage, assassins, forced proximity, one bed, tons a banter, and spice
🌶🌶.5 Ugh, and can we just take a moment for the delicious MMC, Crew. 🥵
I can't wait for the next book!
Second, wtf to the author!? I'm hollow after that amazingly soul crushing experience. I dont know what to do with myself now... I finished the book after less than 48hrs, at 11pm and just stared into the darkness for a good 30min after.
Hollow Huntress is an enthralling story about love, loss, and personal growth. With angels, demons, and death himself, along with basically all the best tropes. From rivals to lovers and he falls first to feminine rage, assassins, forced proximity, one bed, tons a banter, and spice
🌶🌶.5 Ugh, and can we just take a moment for the delicious MMC, Crew. 🥵
I can't wait for the next book!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Have you ever wanted to be shattered on the ground, in a million tiny pieces of emotional devastation? Then Hollow Huntress is for you!
Compelling characters in a fucked up world where the system and the odds are stacked against them? Check. Trauma so ingrained that they can't see what's always been right in front of them? Check.
Kathryn does a fantastic job of weaving a story through emotional moments, comedic timing, and a world that feels real and reachable. If you are a fan of Crescent City, House of Devils, or other modern fantasy worlds that rip you to pieces then I highly recommend adding to your TBR!
Compelling characters in a fucked up world where the system and the odds are stacked against them? Check. Trauma so ingrained that they can't see what's always been right in front of them? Check.
Kathryn does a fantastic job of weaving a story through emotional moments, comedic timing, and a world that feels real and reachable. If you are a fan of Crescent City, House of Devils, or other modern fantasy worlds that rip you to pieces then I highly recommend adding to your TBR!
March 24, 2026
✨ARC✨
🤍🪽😈🗡️
This is Book 1 in The Death Duet
OMG 🤯 This was such a good and addictive read! I absolutely loved Mara and Crew’s story! This book has such great tension and banter. The plot twists in this story will have your jaw on the floor! The cliffhanger will have you throwing the book and sitting in silence not knowing what to do next. Mara is strong and independent. Crew is obsessive and protective. They are the true enemies to lovers because they may have tired of 🗡️☠️each other a few times. I can’t recommend this book enough! The next book in the series is not a want but an absolute need!
“Careful of the Grim”
🤍🪽😈🗡️
This is Book 1 in The Death Duet
OMG 🤯 This was such a good and addictive read! I absolutely loved Mara and Crew’s story! This book has such great tension and banter. The plot twists in this story will have your jaw on the floor! The cliffhanger will have you throwing the book and sitting in silence not knowing what to do next. Mara is strong and independent. Crew is obsessive and protective. They are the true enemies to lovers because they may have tired of 🗡️☠️each other a few times. I can’t recommend this book enough! The next book in the series is not a want but an absolute need!
“Careful of the Grim”
March 23, 2026
Thank you so much Kathryn for the arc of this book and having me on your street team!!
Wow. Where to even start?!
This book had me hooked by page 1. Something about it just drew me in and I couldn’t put it down. I loved everything about this.
Mara is a badass and I loved her strength and wittiness! Crew was hilarious and I loved how flirty he was with her from the beginning! The tension and yearning was just perfect. & then when the spice hit, omg I was livingggg for it!! So hot!
Highly recommend this book!!
Wow. Where to even start?!
This book had me hooked by page 1. Something about it just drew me in and I couldn’t put it down. I loved everything about this.
Mara is a badass and I loved her strength and wittiness! Crew was hilarious and I loved how flirty he was with her from the beginning! The tension and yearning was just perfect. & then when the spice hit, omg I was livingggg for it!! So hot!
Highly recommend this book!!
Review of advance copy
🩷Arc Review🩷
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶🌶🌶🌶
"ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔰. 𝔅𝔲𝔱...𝔉𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 ℌ𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔰"
The way I KNEW Kathryn was going to wreck my entire soul with this book is actually pretty on point for her 😂
Hollow Huntress is by far one of the best books I've had the absolute pleasure of reading.
There's action, there's lust and there's plenty of moments where you'll stare off into the void because this is one story that just keeps you wanting more!!
I loved everything about this one, y'all and I promise you want to add this one to your TBR!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶🌶🌶🌶
"ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔰. 𝔅𝔲𝔱...𝔉𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 ℌ𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔰"
The way I KNEW Kathryn was going to wreck my entire soul with this book is actually pretty on point for her 😂
Hollow Huntress is by far one of the best books I've had the absolute pleasure of reading.
There's action, there's lust and there's plenty of moments where you'll stare off into the void because this is one story that just keeps you wanting more!!
I loved everything about this one, y'all and I promise you want to add this one to your TBR!
Review of advance copy received from Author
REELING IS NOT EVEN THE CORRECT WORD I FEEL FROM THIS!!! I ABSOLUTELY FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS WHOLE STORY. THE BANTER THE CHASE THE HOLLOWNESS AND STRAIGHT TO THE BETRAYALS. CRUEL FATHTERS A FATE YOU CANT OUT RUN. THIS STORY HAS IT ALL BUT THE LOVE,PASSION, AND ANGER DEEP WITHIN THAT BLOOMS. I FEEL THESE CHARACTERS TO MY BONES!!! I CANT BELIEVE THE THRILL AND EMOTIONS FROM THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE...MY ANGEL, MY DEMON 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Review of advance copy received from Author
Received this book as an ARC and absolutely loved it. The storyline was unique enough that even with familiar magic systems of angels and demons, this felt different. The relationship building was really strong with a good amount of spice coming in at the right time in the book. And while I can normally see plot twists coming, there were a few thrown in here that surprised me. Well done! Looking forward to Book 2!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book had me hooked from the first page. Its full of action and banter that is so good 🔥
Mara the fmc is a fierce assasin who has to work with Crew, her rival. Crew is a demon with a golden retriver side. The way he slowly breaks Maras walls and loves her for who she is 🖤
Also how the found family comes together. It also has great worldbuilding. The ending broke my heart yet so curious about the chaos book 2 will bring ❤️
Mara the fmc is a fierce assasin who has to work with Crew, her rival. Crew is a demon with a golden retriver side. The way he slowly breaks Maras walls and loves her for who she is 🖤
Also how the found family comes together. It also has great worldbuilding. The ending broke my heart yet so curious about the chaos book 2 will bring ❤️
Review of advance copy received from Author
man was this consuming. I was crying so much at the end. i can't believe how insanely powerful the fmc is after being tortured either. I loved everything about this story. I never knew what would happen and I love that it was a guessing game. I really want her to get some revenge on a certain character, I really hope that's in the next book! loved the plot, the spice, the secrets and the betrayal, i did NOT like crying at the end though 🥺
Review of advance copy received from Author
I absolutely LOVED this book! I am blown away from the plot. I can't even put into words on how much I loved it. I 10000% can not wait for book 2.
I was having a great time in the beginning, with all the banter and yearning. but, by the end my heart is broken. I didn't think this is how it would end and I am upset that I don't have book 2 for answers.
Please release it soon 🥲
I was having a great time in the beginning, with all the banter and yearning. but, by the end my heart is broken. I didn't think this is how it would end and I am upset that I don't have book 2 for answers.
Please release it soon 🥲
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Completely devastated.......but in the best way!! Crew and Damien had me giggling the entire time. Mara is fierce. Lies and hidden truths, reluctant allies to lovers, hidden agendas and fates. The banter is the best and you will be giggling the entire time. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book and the massive rage and revenge that it will ensue.
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