HOLLOWMERE

The Hollowmere Legacy #1

by Ivy Blackwood

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2026

Reviews

[Adrienne McFarlane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not poorly written. It was just too slow in plot and pace for my liking. It came across as tedious.

[Tm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tame and painfully repetitive

I wanted to like this book, bc I love the genre, but the insane level of repetition and total lack of spice killed it for me. The word specific is used so frequently I found my eyes unconsciously rolling whenever it came up, which was frequently multiple times per paragraph. Also the word quality, and the combination of the two together. Over, and over, and over. The spicy scenes felt like they were written by someone who has never had physical interaction with another human, and were freakishly vague. There was no group interaction at all, and no repeat performances per character. The storyline had major gaps in explanation, and the magic system was barely explained. It was sad to finally get a female lead that goes in eyes open, thinking things through, and a group of guys that act like adults, only to have it all fall so flat as a story.

[Harmony White · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a lot to say about this book, but I will fo my best to keep it short.

I read 77% of this book. I tried really hard to like it, and some parts I did. I liked the fact that Rowan gave slight Autism vibes in the way she saw the world. I liked the way that magic was written, something that I know a lot about given how many fantasy books I have read.

However, there were a lot of things that I wasn't a fan of. I had two main issues with this book. Number one, the timeline.
Let me walk you through it the best I can. When Rowan (the FMC) was 8 months old, her mom went up to the 4 MMCs who at this time were 6, 7, and 8 years old. And asked them if they would be okay with her created a "Ward Bond" between the five of them, they of course said yes. We assume based off of other context clues that this means Rowans mom created the bond at this time and then dies roughly 2 years later due to complications. How do we know this, well Rowan mentions at one point that if her mom was alive during her toddler age she would have some sort of memory if her (she doesn't btw). Regardless, we then move on to present time, Rowan is now 21, and here is where the timeline gets fucked, the MMCs are 22 (Theo and Lucian), 23 (Maybe Cassian we do t actually get told) , and 31?? (Beckett WTH???) years old.... where the fuck did the 6 to 8 year age gap go???... whatever moving on... we then get told that the bond awoken 15years ago, which would put Rowan at 6? But that then wouldn't make since why she wouldn't have any memories of her mom?... oh and finally to go off of that Rowan has been having dreams about the 4 MMCs "before she even knew what they were"...

Moving on. Problem number two, we get the completion of the bond scenes (aka the sex scenes) with three out of four of the MMCs. And are just forced to move on without acknowledging the fact thay we didnt get to see the bonding with Beckett (poor baby) but knowing that it happens. This fact upset me greatly.

So all in all, i rated it 1 star and will not be continuing this book nor any of the other in this series in the future. I hope this helps anyone in the future.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 — Hollowmere by Ivy Blackwood

Hollowmere was an entertaining read, but ultimately it felt like a book with a lot of potential that needed significantly more revision before publication.

My biggest issue was the number of inconsistencies throughout the story. One example that stood out was Rowan’s bond with the guys. We’re told she was bonded to them when she was only six months old, and the guys were around seven years old. Later, when Rowan arrives at Hollowmere Academy, the characters state they’ve been bonded for fifteen years. The math simply doesn’t work. Rowan is twenty-one years old, so if she was bonded at six months old, there is no way the bond could have existed for fifteen years. Small details like that repeatedly pulled me out of the story.

There were also several reveals that felt oddly repetitive. For example, one of the guys has precognition and had seen Rowan’s face before she arrived. This information is revealed fairly early in the book, yet in the final third of the story it is presented again as though the reader is learning it for the first time. Moments like that made the narrative feel less polished than it could have been.

The ending was another disappointment for me. While there are apparently six books planned in this series, the epilogue felt more like a complete conclusion than the setup for a larger story. By the time I finished the book, I didn’t feel any curiosity about what would happen next because the story seemed wrapped up already. There wasn’t a strong hook or sense of anticipation for the next installment.

Overall, Hollowmere wasn’t a bad book—I was entertained while reading it. The characters, world, and premise all had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the inconsistencies, repeated reveals, and lack of a compelling series setup made it feel more like a second or third draft than a fully polished final product. I wanted to love it, but it needed more refinement to reach its full potential.

[Dallass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slow burn of a book. I liked the main character, but it doesn't follow the usual plot of a dark academy book. The characters are known to each other for one thing, and there is no fighting or bullying. No enemies to lovers, so if that is your thing, perhaps skip this series.

I enjoyed the calm that this book has. Without the wildly swinging emotional to and fro from a traditional dark academy enemies to lovers, this just goes along with the unfolding bonds developing between a group of people who have known for years that they belong together. The mystery of the failing ward was important, and thankfully did not fall to the wayside of the personal relationships. I had fun seeing the characters discover the origin of the warding, and the fact that it wasn't all about brute force or magical strength was a nice twist. The only thing I found a bit interesting is that these characters all seem to be about the same age, however it is clearly stated that when Rowan was 8 months old, the boys were 7, 8 & 9 - that means at 21, the men are 28, 29, 30, and not the age they seem to be portrayed as in book. A bit of a continuity problem, but if I ignore that, then it works.

3.5 stars

[Misty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really tried

I really tried to like this book and read it with an open mind. The character ages and timelines don’t make sense based on their actual statements…either she is 15 or 16 years old or she truly is 21. I could not finish the book. I’m 1/3 into the book and “I just couldn’t.” I would hope that the author goes back and takes the criticism from all the other reviewers and puts it to good use. I had to read them just to make sure I wasn’t missing something significant. Nope!

[Sonne Lore · Rating 2 out of 5]

AI

Spice level; half a potato. 🥔
Star rating; ⭐ ⭐ It did manage to keep me on the line, barely, but I am at work, it's night shift, and I am bored. Without those things I would have given up hours ago. It was also very short. It was more annoying to read than anything else, and had the specific quality of being written by a bot that neither understands smut OR the whole dark part of the dark romance.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

So sad.

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise of it was great. The story concept was creative and I so wanted to read the entire series when I started the first book; however there was a lack of emotion, no heart. The characters thought their way dispassionately through every encounter.

I would love to see this story rewritten with true emotion and more detail about the characters interactions, I think it would be a really great read then.

[Leaanne Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most boring book ever.

I really wanted to like it but is was do repetitive. The wording confusing for me caused by unless unnecessary detail that took away from the story rather than add to it.

No world building. He friend she mskes at the start is barley there and pointless.

No chemistry between her and her "mates". It was wooden and was just a task to be completed. There was no relationship no intimacy no real character building. I will not be reading the rest of the series

[Alonna Irizarry · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d at 20%

Why choose/ paranormal/ fated mates

Trigger warning: death of a loved one

The MMCs state multiple times that the bond was formed when the FMC was “an infant”. HOWEVER, the story also mentions that that was 15 years ago. The FMC is revealed to be 21 years old at the start of the book. That math doesn’t track. If it was 15 years ago she would have been around 6 years old. Not a baby/toddler. Maybe that’s nitpicking but I couldn’t get past it.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

confusion

I honestly had to keep going back to make sure I hadn’t missed some information because…how did she find out about the bond? The guys make it seem like she wouldn’t know anything and yet she somehow does? It never mentions her telling her new friend about the bond but yet the friend comes to breakfast with information about it??

That’s as far as I got when I put the book down. I won’t be finishing this or reading the others unless there is a MAJOR rewrite.

[Brittney Lee Rodgers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the characters and the story line/plot is interesting. It just wasn't a cohesive story. The math didn't add up and sections were missed. Beckett's bonding completion was not there at all just skipped straight to Cassian. A little editing and rewriting and this could be a great book. As it is I can't recommend it.

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. The theme should be control and containment. There is not one iota of warmth or human passion and the "climax" was underwhelming. There was very little backstory on anyone and so little contact between all the main characters. Most of the action happened in Rowan's brain and it was so clinically rendered as to read like a text book.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn’t have a lot of meat in the story

Author didn’t add more than 2 outside of the plot characters so finding who the aggressor was was not a mystery. Not a lot of character development or growth from any character. Friend character was pointless and added nothing to the story. Quick read will not be continuing the collection.

[Books & Pinot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so sorry, but this had to be the most clinical and boring writing for what’s supposed to be a fantasy reverse harem….. like where was, well anything? I’m not sure how I got thru it, I think because I can’t stand to DNF a book

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

it was a good book it just didn’t keep my attention I had to stop and start back reading. I can’t say exactly why I couldn’t seem to keep my mind focused on the book it just had something missing.

[Crystal A Kubitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unpleasant

289 times some variation of "the quality of" was used in 244 pages. Story was fine but the writing was torture. I speed skipped to dialogue so I didn't add to my DNF list but this was close. Some other reviews said no emotions, I agree.

[Jennifer Keeling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was enjoying this book for the most part. The further I got there were a lot of things that just were not making a lot of sense. There were certain parts of the story that were just skipped over and I just could not finish it.

[Blackeyes17 · Rating 1 out of 5]

hate the reading style

[Aideenjane Preist]

DNF

[April Dinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a good book it just didn’t keep my attention I had to stop and start back reading. I can’t say exactly why I couldn’t seem to keep my mind focused on the book it just had something missing.

[Icelica De · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it had potential. It was just really slow. I might give it another go a different time. We'll knows, maybe I'll like it then.

[Brittney Bromley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ai author, DNF'd it at 20%