The Mortal Sleep

Hollow Folk #4

by Gregory Ashe

Months have passed since the events at Belshazzar’s Feast. Vie Eliot, reluctant psychic and self-appointed defender of the small Wyoming town called Vehpese, knows that trouble is coming, but for the time being, he wants to spend as many happy days as he can with his boyfriend.

Until one night, two men arrive and blow up a car. They threaten to do more damage unless Vie leaves town. Immediately.

That same night, a woman appears at Vie’s door, asking Vie to look for her missing children. The job seems simple: they have been taken by their estranged father. But in Vehpese, nothing is simple—especially not the disappearances of children.

As Vie searches for the children, he discovers that he is not the only one looking for them. Worse, Urho Rattling-Tent and Lady Buckhardt, a seemingly immortal pair of supernatural creatures who have plagued the area for centuries, have begun to assemble an army, and Vie and his friends are outmatched. As time begins to run out for the missing children, Vie draws closer to a final battle with Lady Buckhardt and Urho, a battle he knows he is not prepared to win.

Before he can conquer his physical demons, Vie must find answers about himself and his own past and what he has heard other supernaturals call the mortal sleep. Those answers might give him the knowledge he needs to defeat Urho and Lady Buckhardt—if the truth doesn’t break Vie first.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Contemporary

493 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2019

About the author

I'm a long-time Midwesterner. I've lived in Chicago, Bloomington (IN), and Saint Louis, my current home. Aside from reading and writing (which take up a lot of my time), I'm an educator.

While I enjoy reading across many genres, my two main loves are mystery and speculative fiction. I used to keep a list of favorite books, but it changes so frequently that I've given up. I'm always looking for recommendations, though, so please drop me a line if you have something in mind!

My big goal right now is one day to be responsible enough to get a dog.

Reviews

[Lisazj1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

No. Not just no, hell no. 😡

[alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.25] i am beside myself right now. how naive of me to think i knew what true emptiness was.

Greg taught me otherwise.

i'm starting to think the series name was meant to represent its readers at the end of the journey all along, because i'm feeling awfully hollowed out right now.

hair? ✨ gray ✨
hydration status? ✨ like the desert ✨
life expectancy? ✨ -267 years ✨

my doctors are racking their brains over my sudden decline in health, and if only i could articulate why. so i present to you my shoddy attempt at verbalizing the black hole in my heart despite my brain still struggling to crawl out from under its own broken shambles (cuz this girl needs to find an outlet for this first-ever impulse to give a book both 0 and 5 stars somehow 😫).

of course it's littered with spoilers, so for newcomers to the series, let me leave you with this: please don’t let my rating for this final book deter you from picking this series up.

GA unapologetically proves time and time again that he is a master wordsmith, a cut above the rest, and it was clear that in the two years leading up to this finale, he found an effective style that takes gritty and evocative to new heights. Vie’s headspace is funereal, affecting, and you will ache for a sliver of justice to be enacted in a world as bleak and unforgiving as his.

Vie's journey coming to terms with his trauma, evolving powers, and relationships is powerful in and of itself, and i don't want to discourage anyone from reading his compelling life story.

my rating (which is always subject to change) reflects my internal dissonance with a few, albeit major, creative decisions similar to my Redirection experience: i wasn’t upset by what happened, but how it happened.

maybe the way Vie handled things brushed my personal landmines. maybe i'm projecting. maybe it's Maybelline.

but no hard feelings yeah? hope y’all still accept the invite to my funeral service, all expenses paid for by Mr. Gregory Ashe himself 😌

----you are now entering the spoiler splash zone----
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the good.

➀ Emmett.

in which a poor young man endures his very own tokyo ghoul torture moment 💀

He pulled the ruined lip between his teeth again; that was a new habit. The thought pulsed, a low, lava red at the back of my brain, that maybe he had learned that habit to keep himself from screaming.

the split-body scarring....absolutely brutal. luckily we're spared the gruesome details, but we're offered enough tidbits to feed our imagination and it ain't pretty. this sacrifice blew Emmett's infamous fckboi persona away in a raw, blinding light, exemplifying the lengths he was willing to go to protect the boy he loves. it's heartbreaking to think a portion of their bond's strength is derived from the shared trauma wrought by Vie’s vile mother 😔

while i expect most had qualms about his decision to drive off into the sunset on his motorcycle alone, i had a ton of respect for Emmett's choice - another facet of what we dare to do for those we love in acts of self-sacrifice.

➁ Hannah and Tyler.

from their first appearance in book 1, i pledged to keep these two safe, even if i had to use my very last drop of life force. thank goodness they made it to the end in one piece (for the most part 😭) - a very satisfactory wrap-up on this front.

➂ the end as a marker for the true beginning of Vie's path to healing and recovery.

GA could've concocted an HEA of epic proportions where everything was wonderful and dandy, but the end result would've been rife with sludge-thick artificial preservatives. this choice rang true to Vie and his story.

➃ the toxicity in Vie and Emmett's relationship was acknowledged.

we have two deeply scarred (both physically and emotionally) boys with electric chemistry who understand each other in ways no one else can; however, it's clear that they also bring the worst out of each other because of their unhealed trauma. Emmett's admission that they aren't good for each other is honest, and it was honorable of him to step back when Vie couldn't.

➄ Vie's name.

took me four books but the double meaning with the verb "vie" in the sense of grappling with his own identity and purpose, as well as the other characters vying for him is *chef's kiss*

the not-so good

***full disclosure: Team Austin is where my support lies, but also neither love interest was my ride or die because i’m a strong proponent of Vie joining Team Single as a Pringle until after Therapy 🤣

✨updated 2023 take sparkle sparkle✨:

y’all know how i said Vie was just trying to find an excuse to distance himself from Austin?

the more i think about the ending, the more i start to believe Vie's choice to run away with Emmett was made because it's the path of least resistance (aside from also being an act of self-sacrifice so Austin can live a safe & normal life, and that of obligation or repayment to Emmett for all that he’s sacrificed for him - but they all show that Vie views himself as disposable, and to have that shoved in our faces at the end of book 4 was the worst blade to the heart 😭).

like one of the biggest hurdles in his relationship with Austin stems from Kaden’s involvement, which dredges up all of his relationship trauma with Gage, fears of being played behind his back, and feelings that ultimately force him to engage with his complicated relationship with love and the people who have hurt him that he still feels some love for, like his parents.

and i think part of him wanted to twist Austin's words and stir up the mess that he did in order to prove his point in a self-fulfilling prophecy where his insecurities lash out the only way they know how. all before Austin has a chance to tire of him and potentially inflict Gage 2.0 pain. all the while, Vie's in this victim mindset because "look at examples a, b, and c,” and he repeatedly emphasizes that "*Austin* broke up with me" when that was the result he was pushing for from the start.

Vie loves them both, and knowing that Emmett is just as, if not more, scarred and broken, i think his retreat to Emmett offered the perfect escapist comfort. but instead of addressing their baggage, they swept any underlying issues under the rug and covered them up with passion and chemistry, which don’t get me wrong, they're wonderful to read in Greg's dazzling prose, but i can't imagine Vie and Emmett lasting very long given their mutual encouragement of self-destructive tendencies either.

my initial knee-jerk reaction was that Austin was Vie’s second choice, but what if he’s just the scarier one?

initial takes (1, 2):

➀ the love triangle.

...which came across as less of a triangle and more of a vague < or > sign, with Austin as the faint/nonexistent side.

soaring from the high of the previous book, i found the dynamics this time around to be jarringly unbalanced. i didn't anticipate my respect for Vie to falter or falling out of love with Vie and Austin’s relationship to this degree.

why you might ask? 👇

➁ Vie's treatment of Austin.*

to be completely honest, there reached a point where i couldn’t tell Austin apart from chopped liver.

their conflict leans heavily on miscommunication - my greatest nemesis of a plot device 😤 - where recordings are taken out of context or less-than-optimal conversations are overheard, and instead of asking for an explanation, he forces things to snowball until he can lash out with such force. reactions like that had me convinced he was trying to find an excuse to end things with Austin.

that would've been fine were i persuaded he acted out of love, but when he runs away and into Emmett's arms (who says no the first few times Vie tries to start the horizontal/vertical tango with him, but Vie gets what Vie wants) right after the break up, i was gutted that he barely spared Austin a single thought. AND THE SELF-DELUSION. he's wholly committed to detaching himself from his actions, claiming “[Austin] broke up with me” when "i made him break up with me" is a fundamentally different truth. wake up and smell the roses, buddy 🤡

throughout the book are also examples of winding passages interrupted by previously said lines to reflect chaos and conflict within Vie's mind. in the scene mentioned above, i imagined Austin-related thoughts intermixing and escalating to a degree where Vie blends the two boys he loves together in both the mental and physical space, until not even the reader could tell one apart from the other - only to get a bucket of ice cold water thrown over my head because Austin was a forgotten entity. the dearth of intrusive thoughts was a hit to the ego as an Austin fan 🤣 i wanted ALL the mayhem here because Vie's internal turmoil with this choice has been eating at him throughout the entire series. plus, it would've given his existing feelings for Austin a chance to balance out the copious Emmett scenes. without it, the dynamic just didn't sit right with me, and Austin might as well have been a dirty sock you toss in the hamper.

i recognize Vie is 16/17 years old, likely read the wrong teen magazine dating advice column and activated horndog mode to drown himself in Emmett as a supplemental unhealthy coping mechanism, but i'm also petty af and need to be shown the obvious to wrap my head around impulsive decisions 🙈

➂ Vie's lack of agency.

when Vie isn’t focused on Hannah and Tyler or engrossed in his love interests, i walked away with the impression that he was as passive as a rock in this book. he spends an inordinate amount of time burning bridges and worrying himself sick over everyone's safety, while his friends are busy off-page planning how to defeat the big baddies and hoarding secrets, purposely sidelining Vie until the final battle.

his long-awaited choice to decide between Austin and Emmett was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. i am said camel.

as for my reasons, when Vie is in the midst of contemplating the Big Question, Kaden comes out of nowhere to explain six ways to Sunday why Vie is the absolute worst choice for Austin, and if he truly cared for him, then he should leave him be. so of course, what does Vie do? he morphs his reasoning into: who would i hurt less? that Kaden is correct. that he should choose Emmett because he owes him for everything he's done, which sounds more like an obligation, a favor to repay, than a romantic gesture imo. when Vie suggests to Emmett that they run away together, this not only gets turned down, but he is also told to go back to Austin. WHICH HE DOES. the umpteenth whammy. from beginning to end, Vie is told what to do and run with it, and i just wasn't a fan 🥲

➃ the final battle.

the hodgepodge of romance ping pong and Vie's general lack of involvement in planning overshadowed/muddled the buildup & worldbuilding for me. the main villains turned out to be the few Native American characters we were introduced to, and maybe this odd pivot in direction would’ve made more sense had they not remained vaporous entities, but alas, they were just the token evil beings for our heroes to defeat. i also found some of the storylines were tied up in somewhat anticlimactic fashion - then again, i was running on fumes by this point so that could also be it 😂

➄ the ending.

once again, i'm too petty to have stories end without a good grovel, but if i can't get groveling, the next best thing is ambiguity. instead of responding to any overtures of love, i wish Austin had simply promised to be there for Vie as he takes steps to get help and left the rest up in the air.

their relationship has its own warehouse of issues ("are we in a fight?" being their catchphrase says a lot about their dynamic), and even if Austin is the best for Vie in the moment, is Vie the best for Austin? (me and Kaden agreeing on things eww.) with how things progressed, i can't help but believe Austin can do better. even if Austin turns out to be a “for now” rather than a “forever,” a delay in rekindling their relationship would've made a world of difference for me.

the non-romantic relationships weren't as prominently showcased as i'd personally hoped either. Sara's moments are relatively one-sided, and it was maddening how Vie could spout out ilys to everyone except the one lovely woman who deserved it most 🤧 but above all, what happened to Becca's all-day shine?? she was demoted to understudy and never got her chance to step on stage during this last act's entire run. after all they've weathered in these books, why did they become afterthoughts?

hopefully the slew of unanswered questions will be addressed in the spin-off because i need to know the fate of Vie's mom, first and foremost (give us a Vie vs. Evil Mama face-off 🔥🔥🔥), and if the guy who never seems to die returns, he'll just be living up to his name lol

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PHEW now wasn't that a mouthful 🥴 i know i ranted on and on, but i promise each and every word was said out of love. i'll be on my merry way to rest my weary fingers, but if you made it this far, thank you! you deserve all the cookies your heart desires *aggressively throws my cookie stash at you through the screen*

ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ

Mr. Big Empty - 4.5⭐
All the Inside Howling - 4⭐
The Dust Feast - 4.6⭐
The Mortal Sleep - 3.25⭐

ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ

[~Mindy Lynn~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars!

I was pretty sure this was going to be a 4 star read for me. It would have been the first time I'd given this author anything but 5 stars. But alas, it was the ending that changed my mind. The only reason I was even contemplating 4 stars was because this book absolutely had my emotions all over the place. If I'm gonna be 100% honest with you, and I always am, it was because I was infuriated most of the time with Vie. I even cursed Gregory a few times for wrecking my heart. Ugh, this book!

I don't know how to say what I need to without possibly spoiling something SO LOOK AWAY or just ignore this paragraph. Mr. Ashe... You have a way of just destroying a reader. Well, this reader. Good Lord, I haven't cursed out loud at a book in a really long time. I banged my kindle against my bed screaming a war cry of NO!!!!! a handful of times. I had to sit my kindle aside and actually take a couple breaks to get my shit together. You want to know why I was so distraught Mr. Ashe? Two names; Vie and Austin. You know what you did. Ugh! You absolutely shredded me with their separation. Yes, SEPARATION! I refuse to use the B word because even with him and Emmet having their ENTANGLEMENT, (LMAO) my heart refused to believe that was it. I've said this before about GA's writing and I'm gonna say it again because this book proves I was right. This author has a way of breaking your heart only to put it back together by the end of the book.

The book had a lot more action going on then it did in the previous books. There are quite a few big showdowns that happened that will have you glued to the pages. They definitely had me on the edge of my seat. Especially the one with Krystal. That one was crazy good.

The conversation with Vie and Austin at the end was emotional and finally, honest. I was so relieved when Vie just broke down the rest of his walls and gave it all to Austin. But I really think that without Emmet, Vie wouldn't have admitted it to himself let alone Austin.

Emmet.. My heart broke for him. It really did. I know I wasn't a Emmet and Vie fan, but I have always been an Emmet fan. I knew that him and Vie were too toxic to be what the other one needed. They both deserve someone like Austin and I am looking forward to reading Emmet's story and for him to find his HEA.

I feel like Austin and Vie are a bit unfinished. I think since the Epilogue was devoted to Emmet and where he is at in his life at the moment that we didn't get any real closure for this couple. So I'm hoping this means a short story might be in the works and praying that maybe even another book might be in the future for these boys. Mr. Ashe??? LOL

This was a really great series that I am so happy to have had the pleasure and opportunity to have read. I loved it and recommend it to anyone who loves some supernatural with their mystery.

Happy reading dolls! xx

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathy Shin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been writing reviews for over a year now. And within that period I've had the pleasure of experiencing a whole range of emotions--from hair-pulling anguish frustration to joy and nervousness and anxiety.

This is my first time being scared of writing a review.

Like, really fucking scared. Like, shaking in my chair scared. Because I could string together every language that has ever existed in this world, scrawl them into a 1000-page epic, recite it from dawn to dusk until my throat is torn, and still come up with nothing that could describe what this book means to me. And that kills me.

My brain tells me I need to spend several weeks on this review at the very least. But my heart tells me no, I need to do this right now. Because all those immediate emotions that I'm feeling? They're the ones I need to seize. And because fears need to faced when they're at their freshest.

So, okay.

This is a book that feels entirely too big to fit in this universe let alone my heart. One that I want to clutch so hard to myself that I become it, or it becomes me. And I would happily give up half of my consciousness, half of my soul, for it to live and grow inside me. But then I realize there's no need because it's already claimed it from Book 1.

And when I walk, it walks with me, anchoring my steps. When I look out into the morning light, it looks out with me, radiating hope. When I'm crumpled on the ground it's there, pulling me up.

Which all sounds a little crazy. It sounds like the ramblings of a soon-to-be maybe-killer ("Well, that Kathy. I mean, she was pleasant. Polite. Never caused any trouble. Although...she did say all those things about that book that one time. Guess that should have been a warning bell, huh?") But "crazy" just about defines this book. Because perfection doesn't exist. Shouldn't exist. And yet it's sitting right here in my hand.

So what can I tell you about The Mortal Sleep?

I can tell you how heartstoppingly beautiful Ashe's writing is. I can tell you how his characters aren't characters; they're people existing in some other reality, other dimension, projecting their lives into his brain, and now they live in these books like it's where they always belonged--across ink and paper, instead of flesh and blood--and their relationships are so exquisitely developed that they become your relationships.

I can talk about how the buildup of tension, with regards to both plot and character development, is off-the-walls phenomenal. I can talk about how he's raised the bar for storytelling from book to book and how he has surpassed it yet again. I can talk about how series finales are so, so incredibly hard to nail, and yet he does it (because of course).

But what makes this book a veritable masterpiece (and I don't use that term lightly), what makes it stand shoulders every other book I've read in the past two years, is that it peers into every dark crevice of the characters' pain and suffering--into the heart of what makes us us--and it Does. Not. Flinch.

The line between honesty and gratuitousness is a thin one when it comes to stories that try to tackle depression and suicidal behaviour. Gregory Ashe walks it while balancing four different genres and reciting poetry that would make the angels weep. Without condoning it, the book doesn't shy away from the ugliness and the violence that comes with mental illness.

And it's not pretty. It's not sugar-coated.

But it's true. It's so, so fucking true.

Like, there's a scene where Vie goes out his way to deliberately hurt his boyfriend (using words), and at first he tells himself that he's doing it as a favour--he's doing it to push him away, to save his life. But then it morphs into something uglier. Because sometimes you turn other's words and actions (even the innocuous ones) into ammunition against yourself--reasons for why you're unlovable and discardable. Because sometimes you're hurting so much and you don't know how to deal with it, so it overflows onto the people you love. Because sometimes you're hurting so much that you want them to feel just an ounce of it, and you derive a kind of awful, aching almost-pleasure from that. And on the heels of that comes blackness and self-loathing.

All of that. And all the reasons why we might hurt ourselves (and, in turn, the ones we love). And hate ourselves. And try to end ourselves.

Just...How.

How do you put that mess of emotions into words that I can recognize?

This book gets so many things so right, so real, that it felt like I was experiencing them again for the first time. And I was shaking and crying so hard that I had to go take multiple walks to calm myself down (and this was past 12 AM).

And I honestly don't know how he does it. Maybe it's magic. Or pure talent. Or power sourced from earth's core. I don't know how he does it, but he does it and I'm thankful to the point of tears because I can look at Vie's scars and look to my own and nod and say "Okay." And that's enough.

This book (and series) is a bulwark against the voices urging me in the middle of the night, whispering that surely this time I can get the dosage right. And I know it can be so much for so many of you too. For all of you who have been broken and ground down. Because in spite of how dark it gets, this is a series about hope. And love--so, so much love. Finding it. Losing it. And slowly, oh so slowly learning that maybe, just maybe, you're worthy of it and every other goddamn thing that life has to offer.

The Mortal Sleep has taken the top of my Best of 2019 list (and my heart and my sleep and my every waking thought) and it won't be moving for the rest of the year.

[h o l l i s]

Surprising no one I'm leaving this unrated because I have a looot of conflicting feelings about this one. Never let it be said that Ashe doesn't go big and go hard when it comes to an ending; particularly one where he can lean into a paranormal element and do, basically, whatever he wants.

This was so many things. Full of action, high stakes, big reveals, big devastations, heartbreak, heat.. everything. But I have so many questions still left unanswered (maybe because there's more of Vie's story still to come at some point) but also this was messy right from book one through to the end. I sort've expected Vie to be in a better space by this point, to be handling things differently, but if he had then so much of this particular instalment wouldn't have been needed, I guess? But even his friends, conspiring and keeping secrets and watching, like.. I just felt no one handled things the way they really should've.

Maybe it can be blamed on their age (seventeen by this book, grr, arg), maybe it's just all the trauma, I don't know, but hoo boy. I don't even really know how to put it into words. It's just a lot.

Now that I've made it to the end (she says, with a question in her tone), I'm able to take a peek at the spinoff (though it's no longer a surprise as the epilogue sets it up for all to see) and part of me is very intrigued at how Ashe is going to make that work whilst the other part is cautiously side eyeing it. But I'm obviously still going to read it. Just try and stop me.

[Claudie ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd read: Feb 2023

This reread almost killed me… 💀 I had to take breaks every few chapters, because my emotions were all over the place. 💔

I want to kick Vie’s ass for his indecisiveness. I want to hug Emmett and protect him from the world. Austin… I don’t even know what I think about him and Becca right now, knowing what they’d hidden from Vie.

And I still don’t accept this fucking ending! Thankfully, Flint and Tinder is almost finished. If GA won’t give that poor boy the HEA that he (more than!) deserves, I will blow a gasket.

***

Okay, so it’s finished. And I don’t know how I feel about that. My gut’s all twisted, but then again, that’s been going on and off since the beginning of this series.

Setting aside all the X-Men-level action that went down here and which was a pretty good conclusion overall, this last installment was a real emotional shredder. It made me feel like something exploded in my chest, like someone took out my heart, trampled all over it, and put it back in. Fucking hell, but this series is an angst bomb. It strangles and eviscerates. Vie’s head is such a dark place to be in, and it’s damn exhausting after four books. I’m totally drained. 😵

I don’t accept this ending. Logically, I can understand that the HEA I wanted wouldn’t seem like a realistic way to wrap things up, but I DO. NOT. ACCEPT. this ending. After getting so much shit thrown at him from every side, Emmett deserved more. That boy practically laid down his life for Vie, and he overcame so much of his own emotional blocks in the process, it’s crazy. For making himself vulnerable like that, for everything he did, he deserved something more.

I’ll just keep telling myself that they’re still kids, and that down the road, when they’re all stitched up and healed, some version of my dream ending will come to pass.

[Siavahda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay

It’s over

Now to figure out what to do with the rest of my life

I guess it’ll take me at LEAST that long to put the pieces of my heart back together

I love that self-publishing is a thing now, for a whole lot of reasons. But in my personal experience, 99 times out of 100, if a book is self-published it’s going to end up on my DNF pile. I will not pretend even for one second that a book being traditionally published means it’s good, but...it’s basically a truism at this point that a lot - maybe even most - of self-published books probably shouldn’t have been.

The Hollow Folk series is one which justifies the existence of self-publishing. Hells, the Hollow Folk books make me forgive the self-publishing world for Freaking Shades of Freaking Grey.

That is how damn good they are.

They’re deceptive. They don’t look like much. The covers are simple; the price is suspiciously low (I have only anecdotal data, but self-pubbed books that cost so little are usually some of the worst); the blurbs sound – well, like blurbs. When has a book ever been done true justice by its blurb? Read the summaries of each book, and you’ll only glimpse the faintest outline of what this story actually is.

You can try and force these books into boxes, if you want. You can try and say they’re mysteries, and they’re urban fantasy, and hey, look, the main character is 16, that must make them YA! But you’re going to be wrong – you can’t help being wrong – because this series defies any attempt at pigeon-holing. Books like these are why self-publishing needs to exist – because a trad publisher would have a nervous breakdown trying to force them onto one specific shelf, in one specific genre; trying to figure out which audience to market them to. For the most part, trad-publishing likes their books neatly categorised, pinned to cardboard like butterflies for display, and Hollow Folk is not a butterfly.

It’s a phoenix, and it will set your soul on fire and burn your heart to the ground, and it’s so fucking beautiful that the pain of it being over is a thousand times worse than what it puts you through.

(It’s okay. Phoenixes rise from the ashes, and Hollow Folk shows your heart how to do the same. It’ll put you back together after taking you apart. Just don’t expect the process to leave you unchanged.)

Here is the basic, briefest glimpse of what this story is: there’s a boy who’s a little bit psychic, and a lot messed-up, and he doesn’t mean to get pulled into solving a murder, but he does. He fights so hard to be good, although he’d never put it that way; he doesn’t think he has any goodness in him. But he does: so much that when the monsters come, he never even considers not being on the front lines. He never even considers not being the front line. He makes friends and enemies and he falls in love. There are mysteries and murders, fights and battles; there’s typical teen drama, and drama far less typical. There’s healing and redemption, harsh truths and gentler ones, and finding a way to live with both.

There is, if it’s something important to you (it was to me) a lot of queerness. Not in the sense of a huge spectrum of diversity – there are several gay male characters, one bisexual, and an older male character who is definitely attracted to men, but I don’t remember if the latter is explicitly gay or if there’s the possibility that he’s bi or pan. But in the sense that queerness is an explicit and integral part of the story, of the main character’s arc/journey, then yes, there’s a lot of it, and personally I was glad of it. I can’t remember ever reading a more realistic depiction of a young gay man – all his various other issues aside, Vie’s approach to his sexuality and his romantic relationships felt real. Yes, he thinks plenty about sex. Yes, he stumbles and fucks up sometimes. (Okay, a lot. But most of those times aren’t due to Normal Teenager-ness, and are thus not being counted right now. We’ll get to those in a minute). He talks and thinks and acts like a teenager; not the sterilised, prettified version of a gay teen we see plenty of in fiction, but so real and raw that I was catapulted back a decade and felt 16 again myself.

And that’s one of the things I really want to talk about – how incredibly immersive this series is. Pick it up, and it won’t let you put it down. I lost entire days to these books, and I don’t want them back. Anyone who’s experienced a book hangover knows what I mean when I say that every time I had to take a break from Vie and his story – to eat, to sleep, to go to work – I felt disorientated and unreal, and all I could think about was getting back to whichever book I was on. I usually can’t stand first-person narration, but Vie – Vie wasn’t even talking to me, okay; he was me, or I was him. I hurt when he hurt and I was happy when he was happy; I pined after the people he did and hated the people he did. I could smell the dust and damp and air freshener, I could feel the breeze and the heat and the tarmac under his feet when he ran. And I can’t dissect for you how Gregory Ashes accomplishes that; I can’t pull apart the way he uses words to figure out how Vie managed to pull me in and keep me. I can only tell you that he does. The outside world just stops existing when you open these pages, in the very best of ways, and I’m genuinely stunned that these books aren’t bestsellers. Every time I mention Hollow Folk to someone, and they don’t know what I’m talking about...guys, these books should be as well-known as Harry Potter. How they’re not is beyond me.

Maybe it’s because they’re too dark for a lot of people. They might be; Vie, whose head we’re in for the entire series, has been viciously abused for years. His scars aren’t just physical (although he has a tragic number of physical ones too). He has serious anger management issues and terrifying self-loathing; his sense of self-worth is somewhere in the minuses. He doesn’t know how to trust. He self-harms. He lies. And that’s only him; that’s not even starting on the things the villains get up to (although to be fair, much of that occurs off-screen and is never described explicitly, for which I’m very grateful). Vie is not a wet blanket, which some people might dismiss him as after the description I just gave; he’s more like a hand-grenade, destructive to the people around him and most of all to himself. He’s not passive, as many heavily depressed people become; he’s active, pre-emptive when he can be. Hollow Folk is very much character-driven plot, not plot-manipulated characters. I don’t want to give the wrong impression here.

But put it all together and I can understand why these books might just not work for some people. Some people will definitely find them triggering. But I am reminded of the Sherman Alexie quote that punched me in the gut when I found it at 16;

‘I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons – in the form of words and ideas – that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.’

I’m 26 now, not 16. But having been physically abused by my own mother – although not, thank all the gods, to the extent Vie was...I won’t say that Vie’s story is cathartic. At least, not for me. But it is true. What Ashes writes, the way he writes it – that is what it’s like. He gets it right, and there is something very important to me about the fact that Vie is the first abuse-victim I’ve ever seen in fiction who is really, genuinely, not nice about it. In more than the ‘occasional sharp tongue’ way, or the ‘shutting down, I’m-not-going-to-talk-about-this’ way. Vie does things that are not acceptable and not okay, even though the reader can completely understand why he does them – we know his motivations and thought processes, even if other characters don’t. And I’m sure there are people who will be shrieking at the pages and wishing they could shake him for being so stupid. I ended up in tears, not just because Vie’s situation is heartbreaking – even when he is violent, for example, which, neither the narrative nor the rest of the cast ever suggest is acceptable – but because I got it. I’ve been where he is, and I’ve never seen it captured on page so well.

Vie is not nice about it. A lot of victims are not nice about it. I don’t think most of us get as bad as Vie gets, but a lot of survivors, a lot of people with mental health problems – I’ll get back to that – are not nice about it. Are not easy to live with. It’s painful and difficult not just for survivors, but for the people around them, and damn it, that needs more acknowledgement, we need to talk about that more. The difference between understandable and acceptable behaviour; how behaviour can be unacceptable even when it’s understandable. Hollow Folk nails it, and you know what, we need to talk about male survivors in general a hell of a lot more.

I’m not happy that a character I adore went through hell. (Several characters I care about). But I’m incredibly grateful for the conversation-starter, and the acknowledgement, and the respect and accuracy with which that side of the story is handled. So I understand that it may be too much for some readers. But for some others, it might mean as much as it meant to me.

I finished the last book at one in the morning. I spent a long time awake, thinking about how, when someone finally points out that Vie is clinically depressed – how that was a surprise to me. I was diagnosed years ago and am doing great now, but Vie’s head-state made so much sense to me that I just accepted it, without making the jump to ‘oh, he obviously has depression!’ (I got to, ‘he desperately needs therapy.’ But I didn’t diagnose him until it was literally stated on-page). And I’m not sure I’m putting this into words well, but – that’s how well Ashes nails it. It’s so accurate, it’s so real, that I snapped back into the same head-space with Vie, because it’s indistinguishable from where my own head used to be. I don’t mean in the sense that I’m now having a depressive episode or anything; just that, I remember that being the norm, and I accepted it as the norm again, because I’ve done it before, and Vie’s trauma and scars read just like the real thing.

I don’t have words to acknowledge how much skill that takes, as a writer. I’ve been in no small amount of awe ever since I realised it.

What else can I say? Does the plot really matter, next to all that? There are bad guys – terrible ones. There are mysteries and psychics and full-on comic-book-hero superpowers. The fight scenes are incredible; the story never stumbles or lags; the sweetness (and there are more than a few beautiful, precious moments throughout the series) is almost painful. There are injuries, real ones, not the kind you can magic away. Everything is realistic: how much it hurts, how hard it can be, how much it matters.

A quick word on the ending, including very minor spoilers: I cried. Not because it was an unhappy ending – it wasn’t. But there’s a bittersweet aspect to it, especially since I felt that the last book kept hinting, leaning, towards a polyamorous ending that I was hoping for so much – but that’s not the ending we got. And you know what: it’s good that it didn’t go there. It couldn’t have gone there. These characters are 16, and they all have their own wounds, and the ending we got was the one the story needed: one with love and hope and the promise of healing. I would have written a poly ending, if this had been my story; and I would have been wrong to do it.

I mention this because I was – I am - incredibly heartbroken that the fairytale Happily Ever After I wanted didn’t happen, and this surprises me. I’m ambivalent about romances, generally; I’ll happily go along with the one the story’s presenting to me, and sometimes I even enjoy and appreciate that aspect of the plot. But I’m not a Shipper, capital S. Love triangles usually just make me shrug; I don’t mind one way or the other, as long as it’s a happy, healthy relationship by the end. So I was stunned by the strength of my own reaction to the ending, to the triad-that-wasn’t. That’s not me. I don’t do that. I certainly don’t curl up in tears because it hurts so badly.

I present this as further evidence that Ashes is an amazing writer. Because I think you can infer from it how well he crafts his characters, how much emotion he makes the reader feel, how immersive the story is. It wouldn’t hurt so much if I didn’t care, and I wouldn’t care if the Hollow Folk books weren’t as perfect as they are. If Gregory Ashes wasn’t so great a storyteller that he made me care.

I hold out hope that perhaps, someday, there’ll be another book – or even a short story – where my ship gets together; when they’re older and healthier and all is well. It will remain my headcanon whether it gets written or not.

But it was, in the end – however much it hurt – the perfect ending to a perfect series. I don’t think I can say any more than that. These books will stay with me forever, unspeakably precious to me in ways I doubt I’ll ever be able to fully verbalise. If you don’t pick them up, you’re doing yourself an injustice.

Thank you, Gregory Ashes, for these books. You’ve got a fan for life.

[thunderlightning · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Purposeless

This book made me realize I fucking read 4 books with absolutely no resolution. I hate this book. I hate that I couldn’t stop reading it because i was soooo desperate for a conclusion.

Instead of a structured book that will end the series with a bang, the author turkey stuffed this book with so much shit you will feel them coming out of your nose.

What is going on in this series you may ask? Everything. Abusive dad deadbeat dad. Abusive psycho mother. Cheating ex boyfriend. Love triangle. Love square?. Dead girls. Dead boys. Half brother. Brother dead too. Million and one villains with not enough motive. SO MUCH BEATING. Mental health issues. Self harm. Suicide attempts. Drug dealing. Super powers. Super villains. Ghosts. Astral projection.

Ok ok ok i’ll stop. But trust me there IS more. It’s like the author did an auction on what this book should be about and he did every single suggestion.

Was it horrible? Well, it wasn’t a complete chaos. Just so many things that don’t make sense. So many things that will make u want to smash Vie’s head into a concrete wall.

Also Vie. God give me patience. Fuck this. We just keep watching him fuck over and over again with Austin and everyone in his life. I mean I get his life is genuinely fucked up, but like did we really read 4 books for 5% character development? Really? The story is “he is fucked up” and the end is “he remains fucked up but with a boyfriend”???

Also speaking of boyfriends....fuck you Vie. I lost a bet with my sister because i was so SURE about who he will end up with.

Like I don’t get what the FUCK happened in the end. Vie picked Emmet but Emmet rejected him bec they’re too toxic for each other. What did he do? He went back to Austin and spewed some bullshit about love and Austin—of course—took him back regardless how Vie has been a big bag of dicks and slept with Emmet and did every single horrible thing in the boyfriend book.

It felt like he was lying to Austin. I felt disgusted tbh. The ending was absolute shit. A pile of crap. Like Emmet didn’t want him so he settled for the next best thing—actually that’s exactly what happened. If this is love I don’t want it.

This book everyone hyped about but it felt like it’s elbows were in it’s ass. I skimmed 40% of the scenes. I hated every character (except Becca) at least once. It was a fucking exhausting read that I couldn’t seem to put down.

I didn’t hate this series but im so freakin glade it’s over.

[Silkeeeeeereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I can’t express how much I love this series. And yes, I need to see these three as grown-ups. I’m going to feel like something is missing for a while now. Happens with great series hangover.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brain is mush since it’s towards the end of the week. I have yet to review the previous book and not up for reviewing this one yet either. I’ll try to write something this weekend before I forget all my thoughts. Because I have OPINIONS about this one.

[Aimora · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending left me wanting. I felt bad for Austin for most of the book. I'm wondering if the ending is set up to allow for future books with the same love triangle, and I don't know if I can handle any more frustration from wanting to slap some sense into those boys.

[Ash&#x1f349; · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐️

I feel like I need to go to therapy after finishing this.

First thing I wanna say is that there should’ve been another chapter before the prologue or just a longer prologue. I wanted to see Vie open up more to Austin cause I thought that’s what we’d get but it was more Austin opening up to Vie. I’m also really torn on Vie ending up with Austin, not because I don’t like them together but i feel like Vie is only choosing Austin because Emmet left, but at the same time I know he loves Austin but I just wanted to see some more scenes at the end where Vie finally acts like he loves him more then Emmet so they can both be truly happy. Also the fact that Vie didn’t feel much guilt over sleeping with Emmet so soon after Austin annoyed me. I know he was pissed over what he heard on the tape recorder, but it didn’t even spare Austin a thought when he got with Emmet or even after. I was so proud of Emmet trying to push Austin away and I would’ve been happier if Austin had just listened. It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of Austin and Vie having a happy ending together when Vie has so much he should’ve told Austin about what he did, like planning to run away with Emmet, and I know Vie has suffering a lot but I would’ve liked to see him feel remorse at the end. I think if this love triangle wasn’t so bloody uneven I would’ve easily given it 5 stars.

On another note, all that action was amazing. I am so totally living for all the x-men style stuff with everyone’s powers, my favourite scenes where the ones with everyone showing off what they can do. It’s crazy to think of how it all started with one boy and some psychic powers and then it developed into a whole team of badass people with powers. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book of this sort of genre with people living in the real world and having powers but it’s definitely something I’ve discovered I love and want to read more of.

This book was such a step up in writing compared to the previous ones, and I don’t usually notice these things. I guess because there was a two year gap between this book and the last one, it allowed the author to develop his wiring skills and it really really showed.

[Update]
I keep randomly tearing up over this and I can’t stop please send help

[Josy · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ 4.5 stars ~

Trigger warnings: self-harm, physically and emotionally abusive parents, violence, and murder

I thought a loooong time about how to rate this book. My status update when I finished it was "1700+ pages of beautiful & heartbreaking writing done but the ending left me kinda hollow. See what I did here? Anyway, I guess I get why it ended the way it did & I guess it was the right ending for this series but I'm not sure I like it & I wish it had ended differently. Is this really the end of the series?? If I knew there'd be a 5th book or even a short story, I could hold out hope for the ending I wished for." and this still holds true almost 7 months later.

BUT, I finally decided that just because I didn't like the ending, I couldn't in good conscience give this book - this whole series in fact - fewer stars than it deserves.

It's dark and twisted and there are some pretty horrible scenes to get through but in the end, it's also beautiful, emotional and real.

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna re-read this series at one point and maybe - hopefully - by then I will feel differently about the ending.

edit: Just a heads up - Although these books often are categorized as Young Adult/New Adult, I wouldn't recommend this series for younger readers. The characters fit into this category but due to its dark themes, I don't think it's suitable for young readers. BUT I also don't have kids, so I could be completely wrong about this and it actually is a series kids should read.

[BevS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! What a series...and just a quick heads up, descriptions of self harm appear in this story. This is definitely not a standalone read, you MUST read the previous books to get some idea of what is going on/has gone on...both in Vie's head and in the heads of the people he calls friends/family.

A lot of this story was fairly dark AND fairly grown up too for a YA read, and I have to say Vie did things that I wasn't happy about...not at all, but Vie would say that Austin had broken up with him and Emmett had practically offered himself as a human sacrifice for Vie's crazy mother to torture, so maybe in Vie's mind that makes what he did with Em OK...but not in mine I'm afraid 😕.

There were some epic showdowns in this one between Lady/Urho and their gang and Vie and his supporters. Some people didn't make it to the end of the story, but children were saved, loyalties tested, useless fathers punished and all was right with the world at the end. The epilogue was...different, but my heart broke a little for Em I have to admit and as Vie's birth person [mother is a wholly inappropriate word for her 🤬...] is still out there, maybe there'll be another story down the line.

[Carol (bookish_notes) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am…upset. Yes, I kind of knew what was coming already since I’ve seen people talk about the ending, but after having read the ending? I HATE IT HERE.

Content notes include depression, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, ableism, homomisia, kidnapping, graphic violence, deaths, death of a sort of pet (spiritual guide), mentions of an animal being tortured, mentions of past domestic and emotional abuse, drug use, and mind control.

WARNING: THIS IS GOING TO BE A SPOILER POST

Look. There’s always going to be someone who winds up unhappy when a book series centers around a love triangle as the romance. You’re either a fan of one love interest or the other. And only if you’re lucky, the MC will end up in a polyam relationship with both love interests and everyone winds up happy in love.

That’s all well and good IF that had been the case, but that is not what happens here.

Unfortunately.

This is the last book in a very long and angsty series. Vie is in love with two boys - a bully turned kind, compassionate boy, Austin, and dark, broody, and FIRE, Emmett. The series has never shied away from the fact that Vie loves both boys. But the question is never raised whether he could be with both. I was initially either/or with the boys when I read the first 2 books, and wouldn’t have minded who Vie chose in the end. HOWEVER. This book plays us all. We find out at the NINTY-SEVEN PERCENT (97%!!!) mark that Vie chooses Emmett. But Emmett REJECTS him after telling Vie he loves him????? Then next we see Vie going back to Austin, and how does that feel? Always knowing that Austin in the second choice? Vie was ready to leave all of Vehpese behind to be with Emmett, for as long as Emmett wanted him. But you’re telling me that Vie has to end up with Austin (after being with Emmett for a LOT of this book mind you) and we’re supposed to be OKAY with this?

Because I am not okay.

There’s also a bitch of an epilogue that is just all Emmett writing to Vie months later and telling him that he loves him and WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT?

In the third book, Emmett says he’s playing the long game with Vie and they’ll be together one day, and it is because of this that I am 100% in denial that this is the end of Vie and Emmett’s love story.

I know there’s a spin-off with Emmett and their previous high school English teacher and man with fire for powers, Jim (and I already had THAT rant so I won’t do that again here). Do I acknowledge this? I do not. I’m a glutton for punishment, so I’ll still read the spin-off series. But I will like it? Personally, I don’t think so.

It’s so weird how the first book is one of my faves and this series just went down from there. It’s a compelling series, don’t get me wrong. But the ending? No, thanks.

So, plot. I guess I should talk about that.

It’s action-packed, but WAY too complicated. The first 75% or so is interesting and lots happen. I read all that in about a day or 2? But then there’s a lot of info dumping and stumbling around to figure into an ending and just couldn’t find myself caring? And the whole showdown was confusing, like Vie was just monologuing the whole thing and I couldn’t figure out what the hell was happening. To have the whole ~saved by love~ stuff at the end was cringe. I did like seeing River again though.

The Native American aspect of the entire storyline? Didn’t love it. What was even the point except that they were the big bad and were behind all the Vehpese child kidnapping and deaths over decades? I didn’t love the direction this series went.

There’s also a few unanswered questions at the end of this, besides the whole Emmett deal which I’m assuming gets answered in the next series. Like, does Vie’s mom get to just go on as she is and live her life? What happens to Vie’s dad? I don’t think he died, right? And what about the Biondi and why was Lawayne even at the cabin? Also, what about that one guy who can’t die? He’s not dead. What about Austin and Kaden’s BFF, Colton? Doesn’t he think it’s weird his two friends keep disappearing and getting beat up and he’s not involved in anything? There was hardly any Becca being kickass like the other books and that was sad. She was my fave, and I don’t what happened here.

I wouldn’t necessarily say this book ends in a HEA, or even a HFN for Vie, because ending up with second choice Austin seems like a disaster waiting to happen. I actually like Austin, but I think since him and Vie are teenagers, I don’t see them ending up together forever, you know? They’ve been through a lot and I’m not convinced after reading this book that they’ll really be it for one another. I hate to say it, but Kaden is right on that front. And I don’t even like Kaden.

If Vie and Emmett both get the therapy they obviously need, and they meet again one day in, I don’t know, 10 years or something when they’re in a better, healthier place, what’s to say Vie wouldn’t end up with Emmett? I get that they’re bad for each NOW, but what about down the road? I mean, look at the journey Hazard and Somers took before they wind up together as adults, or North and Shaw. I’m just saying, Austin just seems like a “for now” instead of “forever”.

I think this last book was disappointing on a lot of fronts and I am sad. This series had SO MUCH potential, but this wasn’t it.

[Kenny Danewitz raveh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a task finishing. I loved book 1+2, gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Book 3 was not as good, plot wise but I loved it how I was keep changing my mind about who Vie will finally choose. That had never happened to me, I always have a favorite (well, I always had a favorite, who writes love triangles anymore???) but this book was quite a disaster in every way you look.
The Paranormal story was just messy, no more Mr big empty but not one, but two new villains? I hate it when this is happening, this is totally disrespectful to the old villain, being tossed aside like nothing after keeping Vie (and us) on his toes for over 2 books.
Didn’t get the mess, the new characters out of nowhere, the new Emmet (Heroine? Really? Why would Vie have no issues at all with that)
And the way everything was just raps up like in 2 seconds.
Bad guys dead (both Dad and L with Austin the walking dead hero) and no actual answers or reasons from Mom or Dad. I wanted them both to suffer.
The love triangle was exhausting. Hated Emmets behavior, the “Nickname”, the hot-cold attitude, the never claiming Vie and still pushing him away at the end even when Vie made his choice (in the most shitty, insulting way I must say) to Austin, the ultimate, oblivious second choice.
Book one got to “My favorite” shelf and book four was a struggle finishing so I guess this tells me something about keeping with this author.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was one heck of an emotional ride. My head hurts from crying through the last few chapters and I don't even know what to say in a review other than I will always and forever be Team Emmett.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible series... this had a bit of a Dean Koontz vibe to it.. eerie, twisted and had me on edge. This is pretty raw & gritty so if you’re looking for fluff this is not for you. Extremely well written - I was hooked.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOBODY TOUCH ME.

This book was just... wow. Greg did a great job making me believe the path we were on, and made it hard to know exactly where I stood on ANYTHING. So honestly, I just enjoyed the ride.

This was the build up to everything Vie has learned about himself and where the Feast was heading and holy crap... I seriously loved how everything ended up going down. Vie has come so far...

I actually did end up really liking where Vie ended up at the end. I feel like ultimately, it will be what's best for him and the healthier decision. But now I need just a little more. Will I ever not need just a little more from Greg's books though? I'm never done with his characters.

This series will forever stay with me...

*SPOILERS BELOW*
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Sometimes I found myself thinking about how maybe Austin, while being a very good person, made Vie feel like he wasn't good enough and like he was less than. But then again, Vie doesn't feel good enough for ANYONE. So is it really better to be with Emmett, who he felt he deserved because he was just as messed up?

I love Em, and I love Austin. But while I was actually happy that Vie wouldn't be left with the "what if" with Em, I really feel like they would have just continued to be toxic together. There's no way either of them would have been happy long term with the way the other was treating themselves.

And then we have angel-baby Austin, who needs to find his own footing and really come into himself. I loved how the end really brought them together in a deeper way, because they both recognized the things they needed to work on. Which is why I now need a novella of like, a couple years later and them doing better together and happy.

[ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to say yet. I thought about it all day and I’m still…. review to come sometime. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact did I waste my time reading the series or was it worth reading?


Book 4

Gregory has a MO with his characters.
With Vie and Austin it’s Kaden/Emmett
With North and Shaw it’s Tucker
With Hazard and Somerset it’s Nico/Cora
With Theo and Auggie - it’s Cart
With Tean and Jem - it’s Ammon
Hmmm a pattern.

⚠️⚠️⚠️TWs⚠️⚠️⚠️
Homophobia, extreme violence, suicidal ideation, cutting/self harm, drug use, parental abuse and death 💀

Gregory Ashe is the master of writing the gray moral character. Vie is definitely that. He’s changed a ton since book 1 but also not so much. His obsession with Emmett is on full display in this book. It’s really quite ugly what the obsession has done to him.

This book was WAY too long. Needed major edits. Several situations were repeated over and over.

The final battle, like with Mr. Big Empty, was VERY anticlimactic. Like seriously WTF. Urho and The Lady in the end were not a big challenge as we were led to believe. Austin killed another of Vie’s family members that was also anticlimactic. I was hoping he’d suffer a bit more the dad. Ugh. Plus Luwayne dead. Quite easily. What ever became of mommy dearest?? After she messed up Emmett??

The end was meh. It seemed Austin was the 2nd choice and honestly I do not see it lasting more than high school for him and Vie.
Emmett’s a mess. What became of his character and his journey was probably the worst story arc of them all AND now he gets a spin off series. BIG meh. By the end, everyone will live but will they be happy about it and do I really care
🤨🤪😵‍💫😵‍💫

[**KAYCEE** · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mortal Sleep
(Hollow Folk #4)
by Gregory Ashe
491 pages
Published 4.5.19
by Hodgkin and Blount
________________________________________________________
**4 stars**

This was an incredible YA series that took a lot of imagination. It’s a paranormal/suspense/YA romance.
The 4th book and (probable) last book in the series saw Vie and his friends work together to beat the bad guys.

It also told the story of a 16/17 year old boy who has demons of his own, but is a better person than he gives himself credit for. He struggles-I mean STRUGGLES-with his feelings for 2 very different boys. Vie hasn’t had any love in his life and with his teenage angst and lack of experience, tries to navigate his feelings and emotions.

I feel for Vie. I don’t think I could have decided between Austin and Emmett. Both these boys are perfect yet awful for Vie. I felt the torment.

I loved the cast of secondary characters who played major roles in the story. Suspended disbelief is needed often, but I didn’t feel it took away from the story. As a YA story, sex is off page, but that didn’t detract from feeling the connection Vie felt for the boys. However, I felt more of a connection occurred between Austin than Emmett.

The first half of the book was mostly narrative and I did a little skimming as Vie went through all his thoughts and decisions. I also found the narrative lacking in any type of emotion. Vie seemed almost robotic as he fought evil. I would have liked to ‘see’ the incredible struggle that had to have occurred within Vie. Not just the actions of what was occurring.

This was a tentative HFN, but the book left room for another installment.

[Starstruck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointing end to a series that had so much potential.

YA PNR is the perfect framework to portray troubled MCs who undergo real character growth. After four books Vie is essentially the same person, with exactly the same issues as he has in book one. I don't expect him to have overcome years of abuse but it's so disappointing that his experiences haven't resulted in any change.

Almost all of the adults throughout the series are terrible abusive caricatures. Vie's friends hide things from him even though they know he has reasons not to trust easily. Their behaviour predictability leaves Vie is stuck in a loop of self-harm and self-sabotage that isn't resolved. It didn't help that the descriptions of the self-harm felt uncomfortably fetishistic.

By the final chapter the paranormal plotline wasn't wrapped up. Even though some of the big bads were probably dealt with most of the questions raised were still unanswered. The romance ended with the MCs in a worse place than they were at the start of the book.

If I'd known how the series was going to end I wouldn't have picked up the first book.

[Margot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Austin Miller deserved so much better.
I gave this book 5⭐ because the plot was amazing but the characters... I wanted to kill them all. Not you Becca, sweetheart.
I really, really, REALLY HATED what happened here between Vie, Austin and Emmett. The plot was interesting, it didn't need any extra drama.
I love Vie, bless him, but I also hate him. Yes, he has problems. Yes, he has issues. But he also is a bloody hypocrite and he doesn't deserve Austin Miller.
Austin was always Vie's second choice. Always. And I hate it.
I am glad that Emmett decided to leave and he tries to sort himself out. For himself.

[Kathleen in Oslo · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a lot. Back to uber-grimness. Not sure if I'm annoyed I spoiled myself about the romantic endgame, or glad. Maybe glad, because I think I would have been even more annoyed by how it panned out if I wasn't already braced for it. Also not sure how I'd categorize the ending: HFN, I guess, but yeesh. Color me unconvinced.

I am quite curious about the spinoff series, because GA was way more invested in one of those MCs than he was in the one who ultimately "won" the love triangle. But first: a break from this desolate universe. Certainly a compelling and highly readable series, but not one I'm keen to revisit -- Vie was an interesting character, but the romance was too pallid.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn.

[nana · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 86%

looked up the ending and skipped to the last chapter. i just want austin to be happy and i spent every page i've read of this book wishing i had never started this series.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, if the previous books were brutal this one is straight-on savage. It's a difficult, hard book to read. Awful things happen, none of these kids is safe and none of them emerges intact from the events in this story.

And something that is more evident here than in any of the other stories in this series is the almost absolute absence of adults. Sarah is the only one who is really present. Yeah, Austin's parents show up at the hospital, but where are they when he disappears once and again? Where are Becca's parents? and Temple Mae's? and Kaden's? and Emmett's? And the ones who are there are either distant (the professors) or dangerous (Ginny, Lawayne, Vie's dad and mom). These kids are alone, facing the worst nightmare you can imagine. They are terrified but they will not stop fighting. I love that about them, but I also hate it. Because they are fucking kids! They shouldn't have to do any of this! They fucking shouldn't!

They are so many moments that I had to stand up, get physically away from the book and take a breath. Or one hundred. And there were moments in which I want to take Vie away from everything and everybody and shake him, make him understand... and then, I remember that he's a traumatized 16 years old, who learned early in life that nobody can be trusted, that nothing good stays forever and that he is and will always be a fucked-up mess. It's heart-breaking, but that's vie's truth.

But you know what I loved more in this book? When Vie needed to reach out for love, when he went seeking for a memory of love, it was Sarah who come to him:
How long since I’d last crawled into bed at Sara’s house, knowing that she was downstairs, knowing—even though she’d never said a word, never even talked a circle around it—that she’d do anything to keep me safe, and that knowledge had been warmer than any quilt or down comforter, it had been stabilizing, it had been—
Sara is his home, whether he knows it or not.

The final show-down was epic, every one of them willing to go to hell and fight the monster. And do you know what I liked the most about this circle of friends? They might have conflicting interests, they might even hate Vie a bit, but they also love him. Because love is complex, is not a yes or no emotion, it isn't based on logic and it does not work as maths; you can't add or subtract depending on how the other acts: you love them and you hate them and, sometimes, at the very same second. You can't help who you love, how much you love them or for how long. It just happens. Yes, you can walk away, and you can try to protect yourself, but that won't stop the love.

So, did I like the ending? Yes and no. I loved Emmett here, he did the right thing, he walked away to get better, to heal. Even when it hurt like a bitch he did the right thing.

Vie? I don't think going back to Austin is a good thing for either of them, but, again, they are kids, they are alone and afraid. They need a safe place and they think they can find it in each other. I disagree, but what do I know? I'm an old cynic woman who doesn't believe that second choices will ever work.

There are some threads with no resolution: Vie's mom, Kyle, Mrs Meeham? (Sorry, I can't remember her name right now). I think some of those might be ended in the spin-off series, but, if they aren't it still will be okay. Life hardly ever gives us a nice resolution with a tight, pretty bow at the end. I can live with that.

What I want to see is these characters, all of them, even Kaden the rat, getting better, reaching for happiness, and having a chance to a better life. So, that's what I'll be looking for in the next books :P

Did I enjoy this series? Well, it broke my heart around ten times for each book, it almost stopped my heart at least as many times, my consumption of alcohol and tissues picked up and I cried and shouted and punched walls, so... I'd say yes. My usual level of reaction to Mr Ashe's books was reached :P

[Shelba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did find a lot of the action sequences a little hard to follow in this one... not that I don't always find them hard to follow in general, since I can't visualize things to save my life.

I really enjoyed this series and how things wrapped up.

On the one hand, I didn't think I would care for this series with it's supernatural elements, as that's not really my cup of tea. But on the other hand, I love Gregory Ashe's writing, and it the end, my enjoyment of his writing overwhelmed my dislike of supernatural themed books.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never read Gregory Ashe and want an indication of what you could be in for, here it is: it took me two days to read the last 15% of this book and four days before I felt even the slightest bit capable of putting my thoughts about it in order. Ashe is not a soft touch when it comes to his characters, he's brutal to them at times, and Vie Eliot does not escape that treatment just because he's a newly-minted seventeen-year-old. In fact, he suffers more for it in some ways because he has little to no agency in his own life. And he punishes himself for that as a means of seizing a false sense of control. Life in the small town of Vehpese, Wyoming, is messy and complicated and dangerous, and the attempted resurrection of a malevolent spirit while children go missing, some to return with inexplicable powers, makes it more so. There are no guarantees going in that anyone is going to survive, which is why it took me so long to get through the final pivotal scenes of this book—I wasn't sure if I could face losing any of these characters I'd spent three books getting to know and growing to love, and my raging case of savior complex came out in full-force.

Within the paranormal war being waged on Vehpese is Vie's greater battles with depression, self-harm, the aftermath of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents, the insecurity of the new home life he does not want to lose, the disbelief that he's worthy of loving, and the reality that he's in love with two very different boys—Vie truly is one of the most aptly named characters I’ve ever read. The Hollow Folk series is not anything like a typical teen romance, though, and the fact that Vie loves both Austin Miller and Emmett Bradley, believably so, causes its share of conflict. Austin is the soft place for Vie to land while Emmett is the blunt-force object that keeps pummeling Vie in cruel and unusual ways, partly out of Emmett's own sense of self-recrimination but mostly because he loves Vie and is terrified for him. Emmett is so out of his depth that he feels helpless and yet is willing to sacrifice parts of himself for the greater good. Austin and Emmett are saint and sinner, good vs bad boy, and Vie is those things rolled into one. Austin is the sword and Emmett is the shield, and as Vie enters a literal battle for his life and the lives of those he cares for, he cannot do it without either of them and survive it.

And all too often the question is, does he even want to?

As always, Gregory Ashe wrings every ounce of emotion from his readers, which is a hallmark of his writing. Becoming invested in his characters isn’t a matter of choice, it’s a matter of fact, and I love picking them apart to learn what makes them tick. The setting is as bleak as the tone, the action scenes vivid and riveting, and I white-knuckled my way through them. And, this book ends in the only way it could have done with any plausibility—no tidy resolutions or trite answers for the sake of a happy-ever-after, only the reality that life happens one day at a time and no one knows what the future will bring, but somehow, even in the messiest of times, love finds a way. The ending is so untidy, in fact, that I’d love to get a short story someday that lets me know Vie is okay. Although, I should probably also be careful what I wish for.

I love this series and am sad to see it come to an end. The Mortal Sleep is yet another win from an author who has quickly become a must-read fave. The need for therapy now, and all 😉

[Lucia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The mortal sleep

1/5

CW: self-harm, suicide, domestic violence, depression, just general violence, physical abuse, homophobia, bullying, homophobic slurs, pedophilia, sexual abuse, torture, homophobic slurs, self-harm (burning and cutting)

It was kind of obvious that Emmett and Austin had some kind of plan with the others, and it would have probably ended up with them asking for forgiveness because they were just doing it for Vie's sake. I don't care. You don't betray like that someone who is self-harming, suicidal and has literally no faith in humanity because he's been beaten up first by his mom and then by his dad. I don't care what kind of magnificent plan they had. You just don't do it.
And for real Austin? After they all betray/lie to Vie about something they're plotting, he literally runs away and just by accident they meet again at the hospital. He listens to you professing your feelings to your best friend while said best friend tells you that you should break up with him because he is crazy and not worth it. And the first thing you tell him is 'what did you do to her (Becca)?' because she is crying? You don't even think that he might be upset and not wanting to talk to anyone and you just attacking him first thing is not going to improve the situation?
Also Becca, stop fucking crying for everything. Vie told you twice to leave him alone, if he snapped the third time you can only blame yourself. I'm not trying to justify Vie's behavior or his self-harming but, seriously, fuck these people.

I really don't care who Vie ends up with, the only way I would be happy would be if he runs away from that city and finds someone who actually cares about him.
Both those relationship are toxic. On the one hand, we have Vie and Elliott, there is definitely more chemistry between them, but they're also cutting themselves and doing heroin. This whole romanticization of self-harm actually made me sick. On the other hand, Austin and Vie are always fighting and afraid of talking to each other because they know they can hurt each other as soon as they speak. Their 'couple's phrase' is "Are we in a fight?". It's not cute, it's dangerous and emotionally abusive. Yes, they have their good moments, but they are ALWAYS fighting and that is not what a healthy relationship is supposed to be like.

I'm only focusing on the relationship parts because the plot per se didn't make sense. I thought that the first book would be an introduction and that's why it was confusing. Then we went on to the second and the third and things still didn't make any sense. Here we are, final book and things ended and the whole story just doesn't make any sense. There are so many questions left unanswered and so many parts that could have been used better. Why did they need to create these kinetics? Why are they divided in territories? Why did Vie's mom awaken him? Was she purposefully creating a psychic? What is this mafia family role in all of this? What would Lawayne get out of this? What is Emmett's dad role in all of this?
So. Many. Questions. The story had potential but it really wasn't developed at all. The author created an antogonist who was evil just for the sake of being evil. He is part of a tribe we know nothing about, the name just got sprung on us and we're supposed to just take it as it is.
Overall, I pushed through this series because I was genuinely curious and hopeful that the plot and the characters would improve, but that wasn't the case and the more I went on, the more problematic this book became.