Hollandos Eyes of the Prince

by P.R.M. Hamer, Bruna Belfort (Illustrator), Ashley Owen (Editor)

Imagine the Netherlands with knights, prophecies, epic battles, and magic

Bente is an ordinary girl from the Dutch town of Molenpoort. Caught between the pressure from her girlfriend and the guilt her family piles on her, she keeps trying to do the right thing. But when a cry for help leads her to the abandoned mill in the centre of town, one step takes her away from everything she knows.

She ends up in Hollandos, a world that mirrors her own in culture and geography but is wildly different in every other way. Yet beneath the wonder, danger stirs. The exiled Prince Viktor is preparing to claim the Starcrown and cast Hollandos into darkness. To return home, Bente must defeat him. But the more she learns about the prince, the more she wonders if defeating him is truly possible.

Will she rise as the hero she always hoped to be, or remain trapped in Hollandos forever?

Genres: Fantasy

354 pages, Paperback

Published February 17, 2026

About the author

Hey! My name is Pepijn R.M. Hamer, and I’m a writer and designer who lives in the Netherlands with my lovely wife, Sterre, my number one fan. In my free time, I enjoy watching movies and series, playing board games, and dreaming up new ideas for Hollandos.

With my background in designing amusement park rides and web shops, I try to blend my creativity with my love for storytelling. My mission is to turn my ideas into fun, adventurous stories inspired by history, magical worlds, epic fantasies, and my own life experiences.

I believes in the power of personal connections and stories that feel grounded. Through my writing, I invite you, the reader, to join me on exciting adventures that spark imagination and discovery.

Reviews

[sanne ♥ (sann_reads)]

Wat een ontzettend leuk en avontuurlijk jeugdboek (10+) was dit! Fans van Narnia en Percy Jackson gaan hier echt van genieten.

In deze middle grade volgen we Bente en haar vriendin Luna (yay, queer rep!), Luna’s oudere zus Sterre en haar vriend Maxiem (bijnaam Sunny). Zij komen via een oude molen in hun dorp terecht in Hollandos, een magische wereld die op Nederland is geïnspireerd.

Het eerste deel van het boek gaat wat trager, omdat de hoofdpersonen kennismaken met de wereld, de magie en de politieke situatie. Maar ongeveer halverwege is het alleen maar actie, en vanaf toen zat ik er lekker in en heb ik het boek in één ruk uitgelezen.

Het wordt een 7‑delige serie, en dat merk je ook echt, want er worden zo veel dingen tegelijk geïntroduceerd en er lopen zo veel lijntjes, dat ik echt superbenieuwd ben waar alles heen gaat.

Absoluut een aanrader voor 10-plussers, maar ook gewoon voor oudere lezers die het leuk vinden om af en toe een uitstapje naar avontuurlijke jeugdboeken te maken!

* Betaalde samenwerking, maar ik deel altijd mijn eerlijke mening *

[Raisa (TBRaisaa)]

3/✨ voor Hollandos van P.R.M. Hamer.

Ten eerste wil ik Pepijn bedanken voor het prachtige recensie-exemplaar.

Ik denk dat ik nog nooit zo’n lekker oer-Hollandse fantasy heb gelezen als dit boek. De broodjes hagelslag, blokken kaas en pannenkoeken vliegen je om de oren en ik vond het echt leuk om al die herkenbare Nederlandse elementen op papier terug te zien.

Dat gezegd hebbende was dit boek voor mij iets te YA. Ik denk simpelweg dat ik niet de juiste doelgroep ben. Naar mijn mening is Hollandos de perfecte fantasyserie voor kinderen in groep 7/8 en de eerste jaren van de middelbare school. Het is namelijk enorm toegankelijk geschreven en de FMC is iemand met wie je je op die leeftijd goed kunt identificeren.

Je merkt ook dat Pepijn dit boek met veel liefde en plezier heeft geschreven en dat het echt een passieproject is. Je voelt al snel dat hij dit stiekem een beetje voor zichzelf (Pepijn, zeg eerlijk, jij bent Sunny he?) en de liefde van zijn leven heeft geschreven.

Tot slot denk ik dat een Nederlandse vertaling perfect zou zijn om de aansluiting met de YA-doelgroep nog sterker te maken. En als er docenten of bibliothecarissen meelezen: aanrader om dit boek onder de aandacht te brengen bij leerlingen, want ik denk dat het echt een leuke toevoeging is, zeker met alle verwijzingen naar de (oer)Nederlandse cultuur en geschiedenis.

[Annette]

This was exactly the kind of book I expected AND hoped it to be! From the very start this book is written like a great adventure. Bente hears a cry for help and together with three of her friends she ends up in Hollandos. The Netherlands, but with knights, magic, and volcanoes.

I’m pretty sure some more critical readers find some flaws in this book, but I just had a lot of fun reading this. I never grew bored. I never wanted to reach for another book. I was happy to read another chapter and another chapter.

I also quite like that the four main characters all have point of view chapters. They’re all so different and this book is showing that they each bring something to the table. I connect with Stars the most, but I hope to see more of Luna in the next book. I feel like she needs some more adventure to show more of herself and I can’t wait to watch her bloom.

I’m incredibly happy that there are six more books planned in this series and I already can’t wait to read the next one!

[R.S.E. Gommer]

I met Pepijn and his lovely wife Sterre at a book festival in Tilburg and when I saw a few months later that his debut novel had just come out, I was very intrigued and decided to pick it up. And I'm very glad I did. The world of Hollandos feels very colourful and whimsical and the four main characters are al very likable (the fact that I'm now realizing that the character 'Stars' might be based on Pepijn wife, makes it that much nicer). It's also good to mention that the design of this book is actually very nice, with all the symbols representing provinces of Hollandos and nicely sprayed edges.

In general I only found the main characters a bit too quick in accepting that they were in a magical world and didn't struggle too much with going on missions pretty quickly, but in a way this was also refreshing and gets the story going quicker.

For a cozy, colourful read with magic and swordfighting, I recommend this one!

[Jonne Roelofsen]

Hollandos, a premise of The Netherlands but then filled with magic. That was what got me interested in reading it. But my interest in it quickly vaporished because the story doesn't work.

This story is overall a warning sign for beginning writers to not publish their story too quickly without having enough practice. I don't know if this author wrote more stories but it reads like this was a first or second draft and his first story. Maybe it started with a fun worldbuilding project and he decided to tell a story in it? I can see some elements where that fun shines through. But that's not enough. Not nearly good enough.

CHARACTERS:

The main characters in this story feel not well established. They are archetypes, but very one note and underdeveloped. Their ages range from 15 till 22 but they all feel like they are 10 years old. Everything is amazing and they don't have a believable inner life. Even when the author tried to give them tragic backstories it just doesn't shine through in how they interact.

- Bente immediately wants to save Hollandos after knowing about the world for 5 minutes. That's not believable. She should be shocked that this world exists. She should try to get back to her loved ones first. It doesn't make any sense that she immediately wants to kill the evil prince when she just heard about his existence and he didn't even do anything to her yet. What psychopath is she?

- Luna is her girlfriend and they love each other. Apparently. Because they tell that to each other but never in their interactions it seems that way. When Luna is introduced it already seems she doesn't care about Bente and is just devoid of personality. Then later she is just rude to her and when they are together she is just on her phone and ignoring Bente. It is also bad because later on the motivation for Bente will be that she wants to go back to Luna and save the world for her. While it seems that Luna couldn't care less.

- Stars and Maxiem are around 22 years old but they also lack a distinct personality. Stars her theory that magic must exist because there were witch trials is very weak, especially if she is considered to be the smart character. Maxiem's role is an infuriating character because he is there to provide comic relief but his jokes are so terrible that I don't believe for one second that other characters consider him to be funny. His whole inner world also revolves around pancakes which makes him frankly too boring because most of his interactions in this book revolve around that gimmick. At the end of the book the author tries to do more with Maxiem being afraid to confront himself with his being sick but I think that should've been brought more to the forefront and informed more of his actions and personality.

- The side characters in Hollandos also feel too much as mascots for the world. They greet everyone happily and with a warm smile, like they are the perfect staff members of a theme park. When the main characters go to a bar they immediately get a free round from the local bar maid who is just happy. They are probably all on magical XTC made in Brabantos.

WORLDBUILDING:

Then I come back to the worldbuilding of Hollandos. And it's lacking. I expected a magical world deeply rooted in Dutch culture. With unique creatures from Dutch folklore, parallels to existing places in The Netherlands and then really gave it a twist. But it simply feels like a generic fantasy world. Sure there are some Dutch words (Afneemenoss is a crime against every magic system ever developed though) but it's all surface level. I think the world created was a good starting point but the author should've spent a bit more time thinking it through to make it a believable world that can exist as a society.

I also think that the decision to write this story first in English was also not a good choice because the Dutch language could've at least made it feel more like The Netherlands with certain expressions and accents. Then it seems like the target audience is also 8-10 years old and I think the main people interested in this would be Dutch children.

PLOT:

The story as a whole also doesn't work because it doesn't seem that it's structured very well. The author went too quickly to Hollandos, probably because that's what he wanted to write about. But that also meant that the contrast with the normal world was not big enough to make Hollandos feel magical. The characters decision were also rushes because of this. Then when Bente arrived in Hollandos it felt like the author didn't know what to do with her so he put in some fetch quests. Like in a video game. She gets this and this is her reward. It's not like it feels inevitable, it doesn't challenge her. Characters barely face any challenge in this story because conflicts are resolved within five sentences and then the conflicts are also just melodrama. Forced because the author knew that he needed some conflict but didn't know how to do it in a believable way. And then the story is just boring.

The villain is also weak. Constantly we hear about the bright green eyes, everyone in the whole world knows about it. It gets repeated over and over again. Then there is a twist that the absoluty best knight that ever knighted is the bad guy! But his build up was so forced that you could see it coming from a mile away and it also didn't make sense that Victor then worked for years to become a random knight for this plan? Or did he kill the original Daniel? It was not clear. He didn't feel intimidating at all. Not at any point I thought it would be impossible to defeat him. You knew that at one point Stars would just use Afneemenoss and tada he would lose his magic. Easy peasy lemon squeezy (would be a better name for that spell).

CONCLUSION:
Overall it may seem like this review is too harsh but it's mostly because I think the story had potential and the author could improve but I think he should learn more about the craft. Do more courses, write more. And then do a couple more drafts for this story. Because it's not a finished product. It seems that the author just rushed to get published and therefore ruining the chance to make this story the best he could make it. And that's a shame because I feel there is talent and love for the project there. But that's not always enough.

[Theo]

I'll be honest: I would not have given this book 4 stars if it alteady had a lot of reviews. As it stands, any rating I give still has a tanglible effect on the score. I know a lot of people will not even consider a book if it has a goodreads rating below 4. By that standard, I am rating this a 4 because it is worth reading to the right audience.

That said, I've aged out of that demographic myself.

You can tell that the author is very passionate about the world he built. Hollandos is a very distinct place and all of the locations have their own charm and personality. What I would have liked to see a bit more is what 400 years of isolation would do to the cultural development of Holandos. I woild have liked to see the story linger more on what it means for the characters to be in a fantasy world that holds so many similarities to their own.

In general I'd say the story suffers the most in not lingering. This was very fast paced. That is not a bad thing, but I think some moments should have been allowed to breathe a bit more to be more impactful.

I'd say the story and the world building is intriguing despite its flaws.

[Kim Heilijgers]

3.5⭐️

Hollandos is a fun YA fantasy. The main character is not perfect but very relatable.
There are many recognizable places in the book since it is similar to the Netherlands. Which I found enjoyable.

Hollandos is such a passion project from the author and you can see the love he poured into it in every chapter.
Thank you Pepijn for sending me the beautiful edition of your book!

[Nienkethepanda | dauntlesswxzard.reads]

Van Pepijn heb ik dit boek mogen ontvangen als recensie exemplaar, waarvoor dank! 🫶🏻

Ik hou ontzettend van fantasy en ben daarom altijd op zoek naar goede fantasy van eigen bodem. Toen Pepijn mij een berichtje stuurde met de vraag of ik zijn middle grade fantasy wilde lezen, heb ik uiteraard meteen ja gezegd en wat heb ik ervan genoten!

Ogen van de prins speelt zich deels af in onze wereld en deels in Hollandos, een soort parallelle wereld aan Nederland. Wat ik zo tof vind is dat deze wereld echt ontzettend goed is uitgewerkt. Het begint al bij de kaart die voorin het boek staat, want die is zowel in- als uitgezoomd aan het boek toegevoegd. Je hebt zo dus meteen een overview van het land en kan ook de details van de steden zien. De kaart is daarnaast ook echt heel mooi! Daarbij komt verder dat het land heel gedetailleerd verwerkt is in het verhaal en daardoor ook echt tot leven komt. Van de verschillende provincies bestaan vlaggen in het verhaal, maar ook dingen die typerend zijn voor de provincies. Zo’n duidelijk uitgewerkte wereld maakt dat het echt een fantasy is en zo aanvoelt, terwijl je ondertussen ook oud-Hollandse herkenningspunten hebt (het Hollandos volk is afgestamd van oud-Hollanders). Echt heel tof gedaan!

Daarnaast is het natuurlijk echt een waar avontuur! Ik moet zeggen dat ik af en toe wel wat details miste in het plot, waardoor er als het ware mini-plotholes ontstaan. Toch is dat voor het grotere geheel van het verhaal echt niet storend, zeker niet als je wat verder in het verhaal komt. Het verhaal in Nederland geeft een goede uitleg voor het escapisme van de hoofdpersonen en het gedeelte in Hollandos is ontzettend spannend, avontuurlijk, magisch en goed doordacht. Daarbij kampen de personages ook met verschillende persoonlijke uitdagingen die voor kinderen erg realistisch zijn, waardoor er ook voldoende stof tot nadenken (en eventueel bespreken, als je het boek samen leest) is.

Kortom, ik vond dit een heel tof verhaal en duik graag zo snel mogelijk in deel 2!

[Deevee]

I am not even that far in the book yet have to be completely honest with that but thats okay, the premise of a fantasy world/version of the Netherlands instandly caught my attention. I will admit the story caught my attention and didn't let go from page one with so many diffrent nods and hints to diffrent Locations in the Netherlands itself there is just so much to explore and learn and nod your head thinking like heey that place sounds familiar. I want to learn more about the whole world of Hollandos and its Caracters and am very currious to see where the story leads.

so because i am not that far into the story yet my review is short but honest that is one of the main reasons i havn't talked about the main caracter of Bente yet i just feel like its to close to the beginning of the book to paint a picture of certain caracters that being main caracters or side caracters keep that in mind when reading this review. The book of Hollandos Started out strong and has me wanting to read more.

[Danny]

Solid 3.5 stars.

The worldbuilding is easily the highlight of this book for me. 5 stars. Especially if you're Dutch or live in the Netherlands. Hollandos is basically an alternate version of our own country. It's The Netherlands but with mountains, volcanoes and magic.

You can really tell the author has put a lot of thought into the world. I especially enjoyed discovering cities and provinces with names that clearly resemble their real-life counterparts.

The story itself was a lot of fun too. 4 stars. On paper, the premise might not sound particularly original: Bente starts hearing mysterious voices coming from an old mill, telling her she needs to save Hollandos. She is then transported to this magical realm and finds herself on a quest to defeat an evil prince.

But I think the originality comes more from how the story is told and the world it's set in than from the basic premise itself. Bente and her party travel through some genuinely interesting places, and every new location adds another layer to Hollandos. That kept me curious about what was around the next corner and made the journey itself just as interesting as the main quest.

The characters were a little more hit-and-miss for me. 3 stars. Bente, Luna, Stars and Maxiem all have interesting personalities and backstories, and I can definitely see the potential in them. I just felt that their development could have been given a little more room to breathe.

There are moments where characters argue or react in ways that didn't completely make sense to me, and occasionally their actions felt more like they were there to move the plot forward than something the character would naturally do. There are also a few moments where a character seems to go through a major change in attitude within three sentences. A bit more gradual development and depth would make those moments feel much more natural.

That said, these are criticisms of a book I genuinely enjoyed reading. The characters have a solid foundation, and I'm interested to see how they develop as the series continues.

But honestly, the real main character of this book is Hollandos itself.

The world is what really pulled me in, and I'm genuinely curious to see where the author takes it from here. There is clearly a lot more to explore, and I definitely want to see it. I was so invested I also bought the ebook so I could finish the story on my commute to work on my ereader.

I'm absolutely picking up the next book. I'm looking forward to seeing where Bente and her companions go next and perhaps more importantly, what Hollandos has in store for them.

[Missleolana]

Tldr: If you look for an easy read in a quirky magical world where young characters believe in themselves while struggling with real and mental monsters, I can recommend this book. Easy entry into fantasy for young teens with a lot of interesting Dutch culture woven into the magical world. A spoiler free review:

With a series' title like Hollandos, what else can you expect but a book chock full of Dutch references and Easter eggs which as a fellow Dutch person hit my funny bone quite often. Mr. Hamer's love for the Dutch culture feeds the entire story and creates a magical world that left me with many questions inviting me towards the second part of the series where we'll hopefully learn more in depth about this world.

This book was an extremely easy read for me. Although there were a few moments where I questioned if things weren't progressing a bit easy, fast or without enough detail, it didn't bother me. In fact, where I generally read fantasy stories with quite convoluted plots, this story targeted at (young) teens was a nice change of pace that made me enjoy it for its effective simplicity: I can't read a book in a day if it's not an interesting story!
After a few chapters I got used to the quick pace and realised that I might as well read the entire story in an afternoon of a sweltering hot summer's day. Zero regrets. Yes, I felt like I noticed the author growing in his writing as the book progressed and that there's room for more growth for both author and characters, but I found the concept and story so fascinating that this didn't stop me from enjoying the book at all. I understand if not everyone feels this way, but I was very curious about what this group of young people would get up to with their almost unwavering convictions in this unfamiliar world. I wanted to know what the antagonist was doing, how the plans of the heroes would work out, and always wondered "okay how will THIS go" about many different situations. I wanted to know how this was going to end. And when it was over, I kept thinking mulling over the story for quite a while after. I have many a thought and feeling about characters I want to grow and things I still want to happen and know more about. Because this is part one of a series, I have hope this will all happen! (Fingers crossed)

I read a nice round story while, at the same time, being fed delicious breadcrumbs that invite towards the rest of the series.
In short, for me this was a fun(ny), quick and easy read that makes me curious for more of Hollandos and character growth!

[Darrell Grotenhuis]

I really, really, really liked this book!
Honestly, this book was amazing. The plot was really well thought out, but it was still super easy to follow, which I loved. I never felt lost or confused about what was going on.

Being from the Netherlands myself also made this book extra special to me. Reading about cities and towns that I actually recognize, even though their names were slightly changed, was so much fun. I also really liked how the map was changed a little compared to the actual Netherlands. It’s such a small detail, but I thought it was really cool and showed how much thought went into the worldbuilding.

Overall, I had such a great time reading this and i can't wait to read the next book(s)!!!

[Melissa Wind]

Its a good story. Although the beginning of the book was a little difficult to get through, after that it was packed with action. The epiloque left me confused and waiting for the next book to come out

[Jor]

Due to the fact that I truly wish for this fellow Dutchie to get the exposure he has truly earned, I will be giving this book a '4 ⭐' on Goodreads but in actuality...

A (still well-earned) 3.5 / 5 ⭐ (Sterre).

Ho boi, where to start? I mean, not like that, since that makes the review already sound heavy from the get-go. But on the other hand, it is aptly said.

Thanks to the great algorithms that churn the wheels of the internet, I was promptly introduced to Pepijn and his work, *Hollandos, Eyes of the Prince*, through an Instagram reel. He invited us (or me, I guess) into his Dutch-flavoured world of Hollandos, told through a handful of POVs.

Now, as a fellow Dutchie, I can say that Dutch-inspired stories are few and far between. The only thing I can name from that category is the near-legendary *De Koning van Katoren*, and I do think the author has drawn some inspiration from the aforementioned story.

Since I am still in a "reading rut" where I can barely sit down to read a book properly, I decided to give this budding author's story a try.

And I am glad I did.

The writing is, as indeed stated several times, meant for the eyes of younger readers. It does not waste any time showing off, so there is no unnecessary purple prose or "I have fallen into a cauldron full of thesauruses when I was little" kind of word usage coming from the author.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of sentences where I was actually impressed by the picture painted on the (digital) pages of my e-reader. Sure, there were a few reused phrases here and there, but if I had a nickel for every YA novel that used the sentence "X sucked in a breath", I'd be writing this review from an exotic location.

However, there were a few instances where I actually perked an eyebrow because some words clearly had no business being used in the setting the story was taking place in.

I mean, Hollandos is very clearly medieval European-inspired, so why on Earth would there be a "dojo" for swordspeople to train in?

I'll admit: It's nitpicky. But the word "dojo" immediately snapped me out of the setting. In a world that is so deliberately built around a European and particularly Dutch flavour, that word carries a very specific cultural association that felt a little out of tone with everything else.

I oftentimes felt that some things were described a little too many times. Like, yes... I know Bente's (our protagonist) sword is called Heldefire and that Sir Daniel's sword is Wilhelmus (... Van Naaaassaaauuuwe, ben ik van Duitse Blooedd...~ 🎵 damnADHD) and that irked me a little.

And some of Daniel's speech could've been tweaked a little more. I don't think one should use the word "Affirmative" outside of army-related operations.

To me, it is important that characters need to invoke emotions and feelings to be believable. That succeeded, although I found myself annoyed and saying "Oh my God" incredulously several times throughout the story.

For instance, Bente's whole motivation could be summarized as "Because I want to be a hero!" or "Who else will do it?" which is very... anime-protagonistic.

All because a voice called out to her.

Though she is called out on it by some of the supporting protagonists, justly so.

I do want to make a distinction here, though. The book is very clearly aimed at younger readers, and I am very much not the target demographic. So some of my complaints about character motivations and development are probably more a case of me wanting something different from the story than the story necessarily doing something wrong.

That being said, I still found myself wanting more.

Speaking of the supporting cast: We have Luna, Stars (since beta readers apparently struggled with the name 'Sterre' but are okay with the awfully named 'Afneemenoss', which even makes a native Dutchie like me bluescreen internally) and Maxiem.

I have... not a lot to say about Luna.

Clearly, she struggles with the changes happening around her and how her girlfriend Bente continuously throws caution to the wind and dives headfirst into danger. I kind of hoped for something special for her, because from the four protagonists, her only "specialty" is "I am neurodiverse", and she leans heavily on Stars.

The latter is not a criticism, because co-dependency exists in the real world.

Now Stars is, next to Bente, the most developed character in the first book and becomes the party's "magician", but serves clearly as the voice of reason.

Which makes her very motherly and caring, and that's good, but at times I found her written a little "too perfect" despite her having troubles of her own.

It felt like she too had to do what she had to do for a world she didn't even know about hours before stepping into it.

Now, Maxiem...

My word, Maxiem.

He took the longest to get used to and, of all the characters, his development is the one I look the most forward to.

Very happy-go-lucky and upbeat, obsessed with both 'Stars', for whom he'd kiss the very ground she walks on, and 'pancakes'. Yet he does have some traits and moments that deepen his character later on in the story.

For example, he gets irritated with Stars because "His Queen" is busy figuring out how to cast spells and whatnot. Meanwhile, he is the person who hyped her up to pursue that very goal.

I'd have promptly asked him to get over himself, but his behaviour is justified by Stars, who apologizes.

Does this give their relationship a realistic layer, or is it naivety? I can't really decide.

Now the story itself is nothing too daunting or grandiose. There are plenty of fantasy story tropes common to stories like this, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The story knows what it wants to be and does not try to reinvent fantasy as a genre.

I still don't really think the "big plot twist" worked because of how abruptly it was dropped on the reader, or because you could see it coming from miles and miles away.

And as other reviews state, the first 'chapters' feel rushed because it is almost evident that the author really wanted to get to the 'main attraction', which was the world of Hollandos.

And Hollandos itself?

Wonderfully creative and clearly the passion project of someone who truly loves worldbuilding.

This is probably the part of the book I enjoyed the most. There is something genuinely delightful about seeing Dutch culture, names, places and history used as the foundation for a fantasy world instead of simply being sprinkled into an otherwise generic European setting. Though I don't know how 'twelve provinces' work for something that is described as a 'world', but I digress. I'm not here to nitpick too much.

But it does come down to my #1 pet peeve of this entire book:

Things. Do. Not. Linger.

There are powerful moments hidden in there but they are not given any more space to 'grow'.

Trauma is told, not shown.

Yes, there are emotions involved, but some of these moments would've been so much more powerful if told through flashback, or simply given more time for the characters to actually process what happened.

Conflict starts, initiated by a character who at that moment was being very hypocritical, which adds a good additional layer to it. But it is not elaborated on further or resolved in a way that felt satisfying to me.

The same goes for some of the relationships and character development. Things happen, characters react, and then the story moves on.

And I think that is ultimately what I wanted most from *Hollandos*: for it to slow down just a little.

There is a lot here that I genuinely like. The world is creative. The Dutch influence is fun. The characters have potential. There are moments where the writing genuinely surprised me with how well it painted a scene.

But sometimes it feels like the story is sprinting toward the next cool thing before giving the previous cool thing enough time to actually sink in.

Now, I know for a fact that the author has taken this to heart and has been working on it.

And that makes me genuinely curious about the next book.

In the end, I just want to say: Writing is difficult. Writing a story is difficult. Writing a story with ADHD is VERY difficult.

God, even writing this review was difficult.

Yet this book is proof that those things should not stop you from trying.

*Hollandos, Eyes of the Prince* has shortcomings, yes, like any other book really, and could've used a few more reiterations during the drafting or editing process, but I don't deem it anyone's waste of time, young or old. If anything, I think there is a genuinely cool book hiding in here, and I want to see where Pepijn takes it.

I am writing this review after finishing the book the same day, the day after the second book was announced, and I will give that one a shot when it comes out.

Now, in true Dutch fashion, I'd like to summarize my book review directly to the author himself by saying:

"Lekker gewerkt, pik." 👍🏼

[Keke]

I received a review copy of Hollandos: Eyes of the Prince.

Overall rating: 3.5
Age range: mostly teenagers (12-15)

Bente lives in a Dutch Town called Molenpoort, where there is an abandoned mill. This mill is more than just a historic building. It is a portal that transports Bente to a world just like hers, yet still so different. There are knights, magic, and a lot of things she cannot explain. But Bente is convinced that she can save this world from the dangerous exiled Prince Viktor. Together with her friends, she sets out on an adventure to defeat the prince and find a way back to Molenpoort.

Characters:
The story follows four friends (family, romantic relationships): Bente, Luna, Stars and Maxiem. They all have their own qualities and issues. In this new world, they have to work together, even when they are torn apart. I love the artwork in the book that represents each character. The further you read, the more you understand why their symbol is their symbol. They are unique, which I love because I could immediately tell them apart. Because this is the first part, sometimes it felt like I didn't get to know them as deeply as I wanted to, especially when it came to Luna and Maxiem. I wished we had more time for their trauma, but also their hopes and dreams. For the number of pages it had, and the number of perspectives we have gotten, I believe we still got to know them well enough.

Plot:
The premise is interesting. The group has to defeat the prince, but before they can do that, they have to be the best version of themselves. This means learning how to fight or learning about Hollandos. For me, this book felt like the Dutch word "queeste", which can be translated as quest, but that doesn't do it justice. This book felt like stepping into one of those old stories about King Arthur, which reinforces the idea that this fantasy novel feels like stepping into an old fantasy world of the Netherlands. The characters learn and grow, and at each step of the way, there is a new challenge to overcome. For me, this was the best part.

Writing:
The writing was good. You can see that P.R.M. Hamer is at home in YA literature. At some points, the chapters could be shortened. Especially the first chapter (Murmers at the Molenpoort Mill) was a bit too long. It is almost eighteen pages and doesn't grab your attention immediately. I think this could have been broken up into two, more action-packed chapters. I promise, you just have to read a bit further. You'll get used to it. Overall, it was nicely written for a debut novel. I'm looking forward to seeing how the writing style will evolve.

Overall:
I enjoyed this novel. The premise was nice. I liked the characters. Sometimes the amount of characters was a bit overwhelming. This also meant that I wasn't really connecting with them the way I wanted to. Still, I'm looking forward to reading all the other parts. After this first book, I have a lot of questions about this exiled Prince, Hollandos, and that magical school.

Also, I just want to add that I love Tinka. She was so Glinda-coded to me. Of course, I love all the other (side) characters, but she was by far one of my faves.

Again, thank you, P.R.M. Hamer, for sending me this copy. I'm looking forward for to the next adventure in Hollandos.

[Raymond Gringhuis]

Waarschuwing: spoilers bij mijn minpuntjes.

4⭐ Hollandos: Ogen van de Prins ben ik gaan lezen nadat ik het boek op TikTok voorbij zag komen en het direct mijn interesse wekte. Het boek hierom ook via TikTok bij Pepijn gekocht. Als 30-jarige man val ik eigenlijk niet meer binnen de doelgroep Young Adult, waarvoor dit boek is geschreven, maar dat heeft mijn leesplezier totaal niet beïnvloed. Integendeel: ik heb er ontzettend van genoten. Ik had het boek binnen een week uit en het las heerlijk weg.

Doordat je bijna ieder hoofdstuk vanuit het perspectief van een ander hoofdpersonage leest, leer je de personages goed kennen. Je krijgt niet alleen verschillende kanten van het verhaal te zien, maar ziet ook hoe de personages zich gedurende het verhaal ontwikkelen.

Wat ik ook erg leuk vond, zijn de verwijzingen naar Nederland. Het voelt geloofwaardig en niet als een parodie. Je merkt dat er veel aandacht is besteed aan de wereld van Hollandos en dat deze niet zomaar als decor dient. Er zit echt een geschiedenis achter en dat maakt me nieuwsgierig. Hopelijk krijgen we in de volgende boeken nog meer te lezen over het ontstaan van Hollandos en de wereld eromheen.

Daarnaast zit het boek vol met echte wtf-momenten. Sommige plottwists zag ik totaal niet aankomen en juist daardoor bleef ik steeds doorlezen. Richting het einde merk je dat er bewust nog vragen open blijven staan. Dat laat goed zien dat het verhaal nog lang niet afgelopen is en dat er in de volgende delen nog veel te ontdekken valt. De cliffhanger had me dan ook echt te pakken. Ik ben ontzettend benieuwd hoe het verhaal verdergaat.

Mijn enige minpuntjes waren de volgende:

Soms ging het verhaal wel erg snel. Af en toe miste ik wat meer diepgang en waren hoofdstukken alweer voorbij terwijl ik nog met vragen zat. Je hoopt dan dat die in de volgende hoofdstukken worden beantwoord, maar helaas gebeurde dat niet altijd. Een voorbeeld is Luna. Zij wordt geraakt door het vuur van de torens en raakt verbrand, maar daarna lees je er eigenlijk niets meer over. Is ze gewond gebleven of is ze volledig genezen? Dat soort dingen had ik graag nog teruggezien.

Het personage Maxiem vond ik geweldig. Alleen voelde het voor mij alsof hij vooral mentale steun bood, in plaats van dat hij echt veel toevoegde aan het verhaal. Voor mijn gevoel was hij er vooral om het verhaal rondom zijn vader en zijn ziekte meer diepgang te geven. Juist in Hollandos had hij, denk ik, nog veel meer kunnen betekenen.


Misschien ben ik iets te kritisch en kijk ik er met mijn volwassen blik nét iets anders naar dan de gemiddelde doelgroep. Maar dat neemt niet weg dat ik ontzettend heb genoten van dit boek. Ik kan dan ook niet wachten om het tweede deel te lezen.

En voor de duidelijkheid: ik bedoel dit absoluut niet negatief of gemeen. Zie het vooral als opbouwende kritiek. Ik heb echt genoten van het boek en kijk enorm uit naar het vervolg. 😁

[Jelle]

Well… this wasn’t on the reading schedule.

I walked into a bookstore, saw a fantasy book called Hollandos: Eyes of the Prince, discovered it was basically a fantasy world inspired by the Netherlands and, being Dutch myself, thought:

Fine. You have my attention. 🇳🇱

And I’m glad I gave in.

The Dutch inspiration was simultaneously one of the most entertaining and most cringe-inducing parts of the experience. 😂 There’s something incredibly fun about recognizing names, places and cultural influences that have been transformed into fantasy… while also occasionally thinking:

“Oh god. This is SO Dutch.”

Underneath that, though, is simply a good fantasy adventure.

It’s very clearly YA, and Hollandos actually taught me something about my own reading tastes: YA probably isn’t my go-to genre anymore. I found myself wanting a little more depth from the characters, their relationships and the world around them. I enjoyed the cast, but I never became tremendously attached to them in the way my favorite fantasy novels manage to accomplish.

That said, the book kept getting better.

The final third in particular really worked for me. The story picked up, some of my expectations were completely overturned, and by the end I was considerably more invested than I had been earlier in the book.

And that’s ultimately what matters: I had fun.

There’s also something that deserves special recognition here: this is P.R.M. Hamer’s debut novel.

Writing and publishing a novel at all is an achievement. Creating an entire fantasy setting with its own identity, characters and mythology—and having enough confidence to build that world around such an unmistakably Dutch foundation—is one hell of a feat for a debut.

Is everything perfect? No. There are places where I would have liked more depth, and my own tastes probably lean toward more adult fantasy nowadays.

But for a first novel?

Damn. Hats off to you, Mr. Hamer.

Eyes of the Prince is accessible, adventurous, charmingly weird and unmistakably Dutch. More importantly, it left me wanting to see where both the author and the world of Hollandos go from here.

Because after finishing it, I have one rather pressing question:

WHO—or WHAT—the hell is Magister Kenau?!

And where has she been this entire story?!

Apparently I’m reading book two.

🇳🇱⚔️ 4/5

[Jasmijn]

Oké, ten eerste vind ik dit echt een HELE moeilijke review om te schrijven. Ik ging dit boek in met de gedachte dat het YA (16-20) was, het is echter geschreven voor kinderen van ongv 12. Hier kwam ik later pas achter dus ik schrok aan het begin erg van het niveau van de schrijfstijl en emotionele diepgang in de karakters.

Tot op het eind van het boek vind ik alle karakters erg flat. Bente is de whimsy over de top mc die niet al te veel nadenkt over dingen(doet me erg denken aan bepaalde anime protags), Luna is de emo overdenkende die eigenlijk bestaat om een rem te zijn voor Bente, en Stars is (dieeeeeeeeepe zucht) magie obsessed (punt) en Sunny houd van pannenkoeken en z’n vader. Argh nu we het toch over hem hebben, Sunny had SUPER interessant kunnen zijn, zijn vader is ziek en vervolgens word hij naar sunshine en rainbows land Hollandos gestuurd, hij is circa een alinea bezorgd over zijn vader. Dit is een terugkerend probleem voor mij, want bijna elk beetje conflict en dynamiek wat gemaakt word is sws binnen 2 pagina’s opgelost. WEES PLS NIET BANG OM CONFLICT OP TE ZOEKEN, DAT MAAKT ALLES INTERESSANT. Alle karakters zijn ook ZO underwhelmed terwijl ze LETTTERLIJK naar een ander wereld getransporteerd zijn. Ik weet niet of het alleen aan mij ligt maar als dit met mij was gebeurd, TRANEN, PANIEK, DRAMA, voor langer dan een halve pagina (maar lowk ben ik ook dramatisch dussss 😛😛). Iedere side karakter die ze ontmoeten is ook echt zo plat als een pannenkoek, bijna iedereen behalve de big bad villain laat alles vallen om onze mcs te verzorgen met onderdak, geld en wat ze ook maar dromen. WAT DA FLIP, miss ben ik pessimistisch en wantrouwend ingesteld maar hOE is iedereen zo gastvrij en vrijgevend. Is de economie daar zo goed????

En dan komt de plot, die is een twijfelende prima. Bentes pov is tot het eind van het boek niet super interessant, ze word vooral op fetch-quests gestuurd die niet heel spannend zijn want ik heb nooit in dit boek het gevoel gehad dat enig karakter in gevaar wa. Bij de rest van de karakters gebeurd er niet al te veel. Ik vond dat de plot pas interessant werd rond het eind, toen kwam er ook meer dynamiek erin. Bij Bente vond ik het toen wel leuk worden. Het eind van dit boek heeft de rating voor mij met een hele punt omhooggebracht. De prose was prima, geen hele brede vocab maar het stoorde niet.

Nu ik deze review schrijf vraag ik me ook af in hoeverre Hamer 12 jarigen onderschat. Tijdens een podcast van fantasyfans.nl zei Hamer dat het een verhaal is wat meegroeit met de lezer en dat de onderwerpen steeds donkerder en heftiger worden. Maar, kinderboeken moeten *juist* donkere thema’s kunnen bespreken. Daarom kunnen kinderboeken ook zo waardevol zijn. Mijn favoriete serie als kind, warrior cats, was echt best duister, het behandelt onderwerpen als dood, moord, geloof en alle soorten veranderingen in je leven. En juist op een leeftijd van 12 is dat fijn om over te lezen, ALLES veranderd dan voor je.

Oké dit was echt een super eclectische review (zoals alles wat ik schrijf 😔) maar concluderend was dit een prima boek. Ik miste vooral meer tijd: Meer tijd met de karakters individueel, meer tijd met de wereld en meer tijd met belangrijke plot points (die zijn er pas rond het eind 🥲). Er is zoo veel wat deze serie interessant kan gaan maken! Vooral als er nog Nederlandse folklore word toegevoegd. Het concept heeft ook echt ZO veel potentie! Ik ga daarom nog wel deze serie verder lezen als de volgende delen uitkomen.

[Johanneke Dubbe]

really awesome world building! beautiful maps and well thought out names and characteristics of the people and provinces. so fun to see a fantasy world based on the netherlands!
something that stuck out to me though was that none of the characters (who are all from the netherlands) made any comment about how much hollandos was like the netherlands?! and i wish that the blurb on the back had not said “the more she learns about the prince, the more she wonders if defeating him is truly the right choice”, because no she doesn’t and i also kinda wish the prince waa actually not evil and totally right about his dad. but that probably just me haha
it was howerver pretty evident that this was the author’s first novel and that the author’s mother tongue is not english, i noticed a few spelling/gramatical errors that probably should have been flagged by an editor.
but overall a fun read and i am genuinely excited for the rest of the series!

[Solange]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed *Hollandos: Eyes of the Prince*!

I’ll be honest, the beginning felt a little rushed to me. There were quite a few things being introduced pretty quickly, and I think some moments could have used a bit more time to breathe. But once I got further into the story, I really started getting into it.

I absolutely loved the world of Hollandos. The whole idea of a magical fantasy world inspired by the Netherlands is just so fun, and I loved discovering all the little details along the way. The characters also really grew on me as I kept reading, and by the end I was genuinely invested in them and wanted to know more about where their stories are going.

It definitely feels like we're only seeing the beginning of a much bigger story, which honestly just makes me more curious about what's coming next.

Overall, I had a really fun time reading this and I'm definitely looking forward to the next books. I can't wait to see more of Hollandos and these characters! ✨

[Lisa]

⭐️1.5

Een Young Adult met Nederlandse elementen en namen erin verwerkt!
Het idee is creatief, maar de uitvoering werkte niet voor mij. Er word je te weinig tijd gegeven om te wennen aan de personages en al gauw stappen we in een wereld vol magie.

Ik kan wel begrijpen dat vooral jonge lezers dit een leuk boek vinden! Zo had mijn 10 jarige ik hier waarschijnlijk wel genoten.

Ga ik deel 2 een kans geven? Nee, dat denk ik niet.

[Mynonnyverse]

The story about 4 strong young people, Bente is hearing a voice; you must have hollandos. If she follows the voice, she enters the magical new world. Her girlfriend Luna, Luna her sister Stars and Stars boyfriend Maxime, think Bente disappeared and going to search for her... Together in a new world with new abilities and Magic, they will meet new friends and having a big adventure together. You cant do big things an your own, you need your friends!!

[Anouk]

Ik vond het leuk om de Nederlandse elementen in Hollandos terug te zien en te herkennen. Wel jammer dat tijdens het “Let’s get bookish” event niet duidelijk werd vermeld dat het boek voor 10+ is. Er is wel young adult vermeld, maar daardoor ging ik er vanuit dat het boek 14+ zou zijn (en gezien de leeftijd van de karakters in het boek zou dit ook meer passend zijn).
Voor 10+ lijkt het me echt een leuk en toegankelijk verhaal, het leest makkelijk weg, maar zelf miste ik wel wat diepgang.

[Indyaallissa]

I loved it, bente is an amazing, strong, and brave girl bringing out suchs power. (Love her girlfriend so much as well) im so happy with the book. The story is amazing and not slow/ to fast at all for me. As a dyslexic person it was easy to read. Cant wait for the rest of the serie🫶

[Iris Jansema]

Dit is precies het type boek wat ik zo nog een keer zal lezen. In het begin was het wel even lastig inkomen maar als je daar doorheen bent dan leg je het boek niet zo makkelijk weer weg

[readbookswithanouk]

3.5⭐️

[Anouk Mannens]

While I loved the premise and the idea of a magical alternate reality of the Netherlands and the plotpoints/storyline of the book, I personally missed moments to connect to the characters until the book was almost over and found it hard to relate to them. Moreover, there were moments where I thought characters acted unlike their established personality, which made certain scenes confusing. I also feel like I would’ve liked to know more about the relationship dynamics in the book, which didn’t really seem present for me apart from the labeling of “girlfriend/boyfriend”, lots of praise and nicknames, and the occasional argument.

This, combined with certain choices in writing style, dialogue and some errors in terms of language, made it hard for me to fall in love with this book.

Overall, I loved the plot idea and certain parts of the execution, but I did not really connect to or have strong feelings for the characters and the completed story in the ways I had hoped.

[Anouk]

Bedenk je Nederland, maar dan volledig magisch met een toverschool, ridders, mythologie en een kleurrijk landschap. Dit boek doet iets unieks en I like it.

Serieus, dit boek las ik in een ruk uit. Het heeft een snel tempo en je wil gewoon weten hoe het verder gaat.

Waar het over gaat? Bente (in het gewone Nederland) hoort een stem bij een mysterieuze molen die roept om hulp. Ze gaat op onderzoek uit en beland in het magische Hollandos. Kan zij de onbekende wereld redden?

Wat ik zo leuk vind aan dit boek zijn de vele herkenbare woorden en woordgrappen die je als Nederlander en mooi uitpikt. Het boek is in het Engels geschreven en ik vond het heel leuk om dan een ridder op het paard Amerigo te zien rijden. Veel namen en spreuken geven een vertrouwd gevoel omdat je weet waar ze op gebaseerd zijn. In het begin snapte ik niet altijd de overwegingen van de personages. Waarom gaan ze niet gewoon naar iemand in de wereld die hen kan helpen? Maar naarmate je verder leest snap je veel beter waarom bepaalde keuzes worden gemaakt.

[Sterre H.]

Ik ben normaal gesproken niet zo’n fantasy-lezer, maar dit boek trok meteen mijn aandacht en heeft me absoluut niet teleurgesteld.

Dit boek geeft in het begin veel informatie over de wereld, maar naarmate je verder leest valt alles steeds beter op zijn plek en word je volledig meegenomen in de wereld van Hollandos. Het verhaal leest fijn en vlot, waardoor je er makkelijk in blijft hangen. De personages zijn allemaal heel verschillend en hebben ieder hun eigen persoonlijke doelen, wat ze geloofwaardig en interessant maakt.
Het verhaal is duidelijk geïnspireerd door de Nederlandse cultuur, en dat zie je op een leuke en natuurlijke manier door het hele boek terug. Het is leuk om fantasy te lezen waarin Nederlandse aspecten zo’n duidelijke rol spelen. In het begin lijkt alles vrij snel en misschien zelfs wat “makkelijk” te verlopen voor de personages, maar gaandeweg wordt duidelijk dat het verhaal veel gelaagder en complexer is dan je eerst denkt. De spanning bouwt zich steeds verder op en neemt je echt mee in het avontuur.

Ik kijk nu al uit naar deel 2. Echt een aanrader!

[Bruna Belfort]

Hollandos was such a pleasant surprise! I couldn't put it down.

It's a fun, light read; at the same time, it's exciting and makes you want to know more about what will happen.

The worldbuilding is very interesting - I can't wait to learn more about it in the next books!

The characters are interesting, and I really enjoyed Bente's character development throughout this first part.

Also, I'd never had much contact with the Dutch culture and it's quite intriguing to learn more about it.

10/10 recommend this book for anyone who likes reading adventure stories, strong character development and well-built fantasy worlds!