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Tales of Weeping Hollow #1

Hollow Heathens: Book of Blackwell

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A forbidden, timeless, and haunting love story.

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Fallon who was taken far away from home shortly after she was born. 
A home that held more than strange traditions and bizarre superstitions.
Twenty-four years later, she returned to Weeping Hollow, a town she’d only heard about in stories during restless nights under a marble moon, in the middle of the night to take care of her last living relative. 
They called the nosy mortician a freakshow–a ghastly thing.
They said I couldn’t go near her.
Still, there was this aching pull to Fallon Grimaldi that I couldn’t escape.
A nostalgic pull as if we’d been here before.

Once upon a time, there lived a mysterious boy named Julian with a curse as old as centuries wrapped around his soul. 
He was one of the four Hollow Heathens, the very dark creatures who caused the town’s people to live in fear. 
And the Blackwell name was stained with darkness and death.
They called him a monster. Cold and hollow.
They said I shouldn’t go near him.
Still, there was this aching pull to Julian Blackwell that I couldn’t escape.
A nostalgic pull as if we’d been here before. 

475 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2020

3814 people are currently reading
86686 people want to read

About the author

Nicole Fiorina

11 books3,263 followers
Nicole Fiorina is the #1 Best Selling Author in Poetry for her debut trilogy, Stay with Me, and Amazon’s #1 Best Selling Author in Gothic Romance for Hollow Heathens. She has four published titles, all translated into multiple languages.

Her writing style and stories are known to evoke imagery and emotion, varying across all sub-genres, settings, and time periods due to her ambition to live a thousand lives. She's a rule breaker who cannot be confined in a box, except when she's in the writing cave. In this case, she will lose track of time and will have to be dragged away. When she's not writing, she's busy being inspired, traveling, or planning her next book—with one hand on her laptop and the other balancing a latte.

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Website ➜ www.nicolefiorina.com
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Reading Order

Stay with Me Series:
Stay with Me
Even When I'm Gone
Now Open Your Eyes

Tales of Weeping Hollow Collection:
Hollow Heathens: Book of Blackwell
Bone Island: Book of Danvers (coming fall of 2021)

Stand-alones:
Ethan (coming end of 2021)
Love Sick Fool (coming Spring 2022)

Ratings & Reviews

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5 stars
5,335 (34%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,041 reviews
Profile Image for Iqra.
706 reviews6,143 followers
February 12, 2023
I’m finally free!!

I liked it but it dragged. It ✨D R A G G E D✨

I was so excited about the romance and then halfway through the book I just disconnected idk why.

Okay, I’ll admit the first half was kshjdjdkd so good. Like damnnn, I was loving it.
The tension was *chefs kiss*
The forbiddenness was on point.
The jealousy was MWAH 🤌
The secret relationship had me by the throat… until it didn’t.

The back and forth was not pretty. I wasn’t invested enough in their relationship for me to suffer through all the drama. So I skimmed. And not to mention how Julian was acting so tortured ALL THE DAMN TIME about what to do. Julian, son shurrup and stop being so whiny.

The world-building was clumsy, I’m sorry. I was almost always confused.
Although, I appreciated the dark goth witchy vibe but the powers?? Hello? why were they like nonexistent? The descriptions were weak at best.

And can we talk about how they were supposed to be 24 and behaved like they were 18?!

The group of friends were sooooo bland. I was not interested at all when they spoke. Except to feel like slapping that guy who was always casting spells on Fallon (blocking out the guy's name was my brain’s version of helping me through this traumatic experience 🤡🔫)

The ones I was MILDLY impressed with were Fable and Phoenix.

Also, I WAS ROBBED!! The only reason I read(skimmed) till the end was bc I was curious how the curse would be broken and this is what I get??
The ending was wayy too rushed like excuse me!? Why wasn’t I given a detailed ten-page essay on how his face was gods gift to mankind?!
After all that time with him wearing a mask bc he’s gonna kill anyone who saw his face (it’s technically his nose if you ask me 🤣🤣) I’m obviously gonna be THIRSTING(!!!) for a proper description of his facial features right?! Like I need to know what was so special about his nose that brought everyone to the brink of death lmaooo

I deserved better 😭🔪

Anyway… I didn’t mean for this to be a long rant review lol. I did like it but it just didn’t serve what I needed in the second half.

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I’m still interested in reading the next one tho… 🤡

𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
Haunted house — neoni
Haunted heart — Christina Aguilera
Fever — elley duhe
Freak show — ALX ft. Nina chuba
I hope for rain — Elliot
Paralysed — Eddie van der meer ft. Jabron
Diamond eyes — fly by midnight ft. Cailin Russo
Witch hunt — Chandler Leighton
Slow down — chase Atlantic
Lips of a witch — Austin Georgio
Black magic — Jaymes young
Hyper reality — Allegra Jordyn
The show — jake daniels
Dreams where you’re murdered — x lovers
Angels don’t cry — Ellise
Bury a friend — Billie Eilish
[I just] died in your arms — hidden citizens

𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:

‘Seconds passed as we shamelessly locked eyes, and my fingers drifted over my smiling lips. I wondered if he was smiling as well behind the mask.’

I walked around him and stepped up on the higher side of the rock. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“And you took that as an invitation?” He turned, keeping his attention on me, watching my every move.

“Lunaticus,” he panted into my mouth. “When the moon has struck you, it’s called lunaticus … and you struck me. Hard.”

‘she buried her face into my neck. I held the back of her head, keeping her here with me. She held on to me. I held on to her.’
Profile Image for Laura Greenhalgh.
187 reviews5,191 followers
November 10, 2025
3.5 stars! The gothic seaside town/atmospheric vibes were immaculate in this. I loved all the mystery, secrets, covens and magic. The PERFECT read for the autumn/winter months for the ambience alone. Julian was a *hot emo sad boy, a tortured soul with a curse that meant he had to constantly wear a mask and hide his face (*but was he hot because we never actually found out??). The only things that stopped this from being five stars for me was that the characters read a bit juvenile at times when they are supposed to be adults and the romance wasn't the absolutely agonising slow burn I typically enjoy and was more on the insta-love side! But the writing and storytelling in this was beautiful and I can't wait to read more of Nicole's books!!
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,939 reviews2,673 followers
March 22, 2021
Eerie, creepy, and witchy!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: ❤️💙💜💛💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📔📙
World building: 🌎🌏🌍🌎
Character development: 👤👤👤👤👤

The setting: Weeping Hollow

The Hero(s): Julian Blackwell – the leader of the Hollow Heathens. The Hollow Heathens are the firstborn sons of the five founding families, though there are only four of them because one of the families died out. They are part of the Norse Woods Coven and are cursed.

The heroine: Fallon Grimaldi Morgan – Her mother died in childbirth and Fallon was taken away by her father, who couldn’t get over the death of her mother. Fallon came to Weeping Hollow to help out her Gramps who she had been corresponding with for a year. He is ill and she wanted to get to know him.

The Love Story: Fallon sees Julian on her first afternoon in Weeping Hollow and is intrigued by him. She is drawn to him and he to her. However, Julian is part of the Norse Woods Coven and Fallon is supposed to be with the Sacred Sea coven.



The two covens ended up in Weeping Hollow after fleeing the witch trials long ago. They each took separate land, but worked together to create a spell that hides and protects the town from outsiders. Though now the two covens hate each other. Fallon’s mother’s family was from the Norse Woods coven and her father was from the Sacred Sea coven. There is a lot of animosity between the two and most of the townspeople assume Fallon belongs to the Sacred Sea coven.

This was a wicked interesting story. There was a lot of mystery, craziness and conflict. There was so much that Fallon didn’t know and her Gramps would only tell her that it is dangerous to know the truth so she is better off not knowing. I liked Fallon, she is a modern day Ghost Whisperer and I always liked that show. She is also a mortician, so that was pretty cool.

Julian is a complex character who has been completely defined by the curse. It is quite a terrible curse though I don’t want to spoil the book, so I won’t say what the curse is. However, it isn’t only the curse that is between them it is the coven feud as well.

This book was confusing at times. I couldn’t seem to keep straight who was who, since there were a lot of different characters. Also amidst the story was a sort of flashback story to the long ago when the town was fairly new. It was a bit confusing when those parts would pop up out of nowhere, but I got it after a while. Julian and the other Heathens are trying to find a way to end the curse and they keep trying different things to that end.

The only reasons I am not giving this a five star review is the fact that I had trouble keeping the characters straight, especially the other heathens, I feel there should have been a bit more background on them so I could relate to each of them. Also it seemed a bit long. Sometimes long books go by so fast because they are so good and other times even good books can seem to go on and on. That was the case here!

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Profile Image for moretomary.
100 reviews8,715 followers
February 4, 2021
FALLON AND JULIAN 🥀🖤

Nicole ruined me with her writing. This was brilliant and woke my love for Wicca. From the aesthetic to the characters I’ve never loved a town the way I love Weeping Hollow. I am dying to read the next instalment and revisit this world.
Profile Image for chloé ✿.
242 reviews4,566 followers
September 17, 2025
time of death: pg 270 (@ 50%)

the gothic vibes: immaculate
the execution: god awful


how is there so much happening and nothing happening all at once? it’s like the author had 15 ideas for a plot but didn’t know which one to choose and committed fully to *none* of them.

to confuse your readers, you must first confuse yourself. 😅

┏━━━━━❂ *sigh* the problems: ❂━━━━━┓

❥ juvenile dialogue (they’re supposed to be 24?!)
❥ an embarrassing amount of angst & whining
❥ 0 chemistry between main characters
❥ insta-lovey
❥ the magic system is poorly executed even though it’s simple?
❥ everyone sucks
❥ *everything* is introduced but nothing is explained
❥ this book is simply too long
❥ better editing is desperately needed

i promise i’m not trying to be a hater. i wanted to love this so badly but it was simply a mess.

i suppose i’ll continue my search for a gothic book that isn’t a disaster…

**available on kindle unlimited

🪄💀🖤🌙 fall tbr jar prompt: a book on my priority fall tbr
Profile Image for benedicta.
423 reviews699 followers
August 14, 2023
1.5⭐️ this book should have ended at chapter 5 😭

A spooky gothic town where nothing happened during the course of the book. The main characters are in their twenties but talk and act like they are 13 or 14. It just dragged on and on.
Profile Image for Brend.
806 reviews1,729 followers
March 24, 2024
I can excuse insta-love, toxicity, weak world building & spineless characters, BUT I draw the line at unnecessary exclamation marks and all-caps-dialogue.
Profile Image for ❁ lilyreadsromance ❁.
2,026 reviews1,144 followers
February 4, 2021
"In Weeping Hollow, there are no answers. Reality bends here. Same with time. Some days it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t. This town can make you go mad the harder you try to figure it out. So, don’t. You have to stay away from the woods. You have to stay away from me."

*sigh* I'm tired. This book sucks the soul out of me.

If this book didn't have some graphic sex scenes, I would've thought it would another typical angsty YA paranormal romance. These characters didn't remind me of another 24-ish people around me. First, they barely went to work. Instead, they spent it by going to bars, the beach, coffee shops and venturing the woods. Second, the freaking angsty stay-away-from-me talk. At this point, I'm just numb with this trope. Third, that finale just confirmed it. I laughed my ass off with the dramatic grand gestures this main character had to do to overcome the curse. I just can't.

In hindsight though, I love the creepy vibe this town was presented to us at first. Hence why I was so excited going into this book. The creepy feeling of someone watching you from the dark, the ghost kid, the empty house during the thunderstorm... I was living for each of these moments! I also love the snippets we got about Sirius and Bellamy and their tragic ending. I might've even gasped loudly at a certain part.

However, reading this book really cemented the reason why I always prefer 1st person POV over dual POV sometimes. There were moments in this book where I went like, 'I wished I didn't know this thing about Kane or about Julian and the reasonings why some of the characters behaving a certain way.' I like to guess these reasons, these moments without knowing what they really are. And having Julian's POV pretty much ruins a certain part of the book, where it told me what the plot was rather than shown.

Oh and one last thing, if let's say, heaven's forbid, someone who colluded with a person who killed my mom came to my home, wanting to clear things out, the day I buried her, you wouldn't be catching me sitting in the same room, much less sharing drink and playing ouija board together. I'll dump her monkey ass off my property and will kill her face the next time I ever see her lying ass betrayer face on my sight. Enough said.

In conclusion, I love the atmosphere and the vibe of the town itself. It was hauntingly disturbing and gloomy. However, I dislike everything else about the book. 😊
Profile Image for ApoorvaReads.
637 reviews426 followers
April 27, 2022
REREAD : 27 APRIL 2022
5 stars ⭐️: still very much in love with this book and all the characters. theres a hole in my chest which will only be filled when i get my hands on bone island, can september come already😩🥺

FIRST READ: 17 APRIL 2021
5+++++ stars ⭐️

“They’re all liars,” I whispered. “But we’re not. This isn’t a lie. This is real. We—” I pushed my hand through whatever magical force he had against me, grabbed the back of his neck, pulled his forehead to mine. Looked into his eyes. “We are real.”


If I was told to read only one author for the rest of my life there’s no doubt it would be Nicole ( I wouldn’t even care that she only has 4 books till now). There’s something about her writing which leaves you speechless, which
leaves you with no choice but to love her. After reading her ‘Stay with me’ trilogy, I knew there was something special about her. I’ve been following her journey since she released stay with me and i have never been more proud of the writer she has become.

Fantasy is a genre which i have never read of before but i knew i could trust nicole with introducing me to this new genre and she did a freaking amazing job. I LOVED IT. Never in my life have I read a book which has transported me into another world and makes me feel like I’m inside the book but Nicole DID it. I’m in awe. I’m in love and I’m in tears cause this was perfection. This year hasn’t even done with yet and i can proudly say this is going to be my top read of the year.
I could feel the book happening in front of me. I could close my eyes for one second and I could feel the power which was around me, i could feel the world Nicole had created.

Her writing in this book was surreal. It’s hard to find an author which checks off each box for you when it comes to books and i can honestly happily say nicole is that author for me. I don’t think i can even say a bad thing about her writing cause its literal ✨perfection✨.

“I love you, Julian Blackwell,” she whispered, her gaze locked on the house before us. “Nothing’s changed. It’s always been you. Every time.”


I don’t know what to say, I’m being honest. I can’t express my feelings and my thoughts in mere words cause i am awestruck. I just want to worship the ground Nicole walks on. The characters in this book were so real, the feelings, their emotions were so real that I couldn’t even believe that this was fiction and not people in real life. You know a book is insanely good when you cant tell reality from fiction.

I’ve never been so tonguetied about writing a review cause I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless here and im sorry, I can’t do much than to tell you to please please read this book cause its something unique and you’re going to love it!! The characters were absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to read the other books in the same world! I trust nicole with everything I have and i know the wait is gonna be worth it!

“Do not fall in love with the moon, they said. 
I fell in love anyway, and they would all laugh. They could not see her beauty. No one would believe me if I said the moon breathed life into me, that it was here, inside her, where I found myself again. They wouldn’t be able to understand. And no one could ever love her as deeply as I did. No one else was made for it, and those who were like me weren’t brave enough. No ordinary being was created to fall in love with the moon, only that of the aberrant. The strange. They said you couldn’t know the moon, touch it, kiss it, make love to it. You could only watch from the dark trenches of the earth, admire it from afar.
Yet, still, I fell in love with the moon. And she, too, fell in love with me.”

Profile Image for ⊹ Gabriela | Asternyx ⊹.
638 reviews505 followers
September 1, 2022
The book got off to a good start, but by the 60% mark I couldn't wait for it to be over.
I found the idea of a town hidden by magic, that seemed to be "trapped by fall", really interesting. A town ruled by two covens, a curse, betrayals, it promised a great adventure, an atmospheric read. It did provide that, I guess.
The romance on the other hand, while I somewhat enjoyed it, it was insta-love, so you can guess why I wasn't that into it. Besides, it turned very cringe so there's that.
The romance wasn't the only thing that bothered me though, as we were left with some unexplained things, confusing moments, and generally cringe scenes (courtesy of Fallon ofc).
We had little character development in an ok plot and mediocre world building.
And don't even get me started on that ending... It was so sudden! I mean I kind of get why but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Profile Image for Júlia.
268 reviews8,740 followers
August 27, 2021
For some dumb reason, goodreads deleted my review for this book. Here I am reposting it. Lucky me I had a copy of this review saved on bookbub, otherwise it would have been gone forever. So thanks for that GR.

TW: Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Crude Language, Psychological Torment, Witchcraft and Ghosts.

“𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎—𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎—𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎, 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕. 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎.”

I have no words for this book. I mean look at the size of the witch tattoo I have on my leg. Did you honestly think there was a single chance I’d hate a book centered around covens, witches, ghosts and curses?

I finished it in a day even though I wanted to take it slow, I couldn’t. It consumed me.

The most unbelievably creative gothic world building. The most incredible characters and the most unique, heartbreaking and spell binding writing. A consuming, tense, romantic, maddening and sensual love story.

It’s like Nicole sat down to write and thought to herself: I am going to write a book for every emo/goth kid out there, who loves Halloween, ghost stories, horror movies and identifies with being the odd one out.

Five starts isn’t enough for this. What a magical read, I feel like I have been trapped in Weeping Hollow and it will never let me go.

Profile Image for Amy [Book Addict Reviews].
2,650 reviews178 followers
August 14, 2025
Hauntingly beautiful. There are no other words that can even begin to describe Hollow Heathens. The descriptions of Weeping Hollow paint such a vivid picture in your mind that is like watching a movie.

This is a story you’ll have to read. It is hard to form the right words to describe how beautiful, magical and mysterious this story truly is. It isn’t your typical romance; it is SO MUCH more than that.

There is a mystery surrounding the town of Weeping Hollow. Two covens rule this town. They keep their town hidden from the outside world. Fallon returns to the place she was born and now she is stuck in the middle of the battle between these two covens. Julian is a Hollow Heathen, a member of the Norse Woods Coven. He is cursed, it haunts him and the fellow heathens and they are determined to end this horrid curse that they were born into.

Julian and Fallon are drawn to each other. From the very start there is a connection between them and that connection only continues to grow stronger as the story continues. Their story is forbidden, beautiful, haunting and all consuming.

Hollow Heathens is mysterious, captivating and addicting from the very start. A MUST READ and I can’t wait to return to Weeping Hollow!
Profile Image for Elena.
116 reviews
April 1, 2023
I'm surprised this has no negative reviews. I really like the concept and the atmosphere but the execution, in my opinion, is poor. The main character is supposed to be 24, I believe? And she acts about 14. The hero is supposed to be dark and edgy but chapters from his perspective remove the mystery and the only thing he does that's 'dark' is randomly make wind storms and kill a few animals. He does eventually kill someone, but that person was deranged and threatening him, so that doesn't count as dark and edgy.

This is supposed to be set in Maine and the author uses things like 'theyah' and 'heyah' to make it clear there's an accent and it's horribly cringey and hard to read. Every character but the main characters use this 'dialect', which by the way why do the hollow heathens not have an accent? Makes no sense.

This isn't really against the book but I found it very creepy and hard to read the graphic sex scenes in this book (which I normally LOVE) because the dedication is to the author's DAUGHTER and how she helped make the book, read it, etc. Sorry, I have no clue how old the daughter is and it doesn't matter, I find it so weird that this book, which is dedicated and contributed to by the author's daughter, has graphic sex scenes. But maybe that's just me.
Profile Image for ❤️Court - Villains Do It Better❤️.
1,088 reviews774 followers
April 4, 2022
2.5 DNF Stars

Started off promising but just when downhill for me.

This book was WAY too long. It just started dragging and felt a bit like a wannabe PD book (not as well written obviously)😅 so i had the hardest time sticking with the story. Especially with how insta and dramatic this was. And I felt literally zero chemistry between them. The hero's POV, while I normally love them, really took away the mystery too and made him seem a bit immature.

The sex scenes were also eh. I think I should have probably read the YA version because the orgy part was such a turn off too. Basically the hero and the other heathens have to release energy by having sex with ow. The time comes when the hero has to do it, but felt uncomfortable because of the heroine, so he decides not to. So him and the girl he normally fcks just get naked and masterbate while everyone else has sex around them and the whole scene was so OTT and just zapped the book of any potential 'good' romance. It sucks because I was excited since he's never kissed anyone before but then I learn he was just too afraid to take off his mask, and the heroine being a virgin made it worse when I got to the weird orgy scene.

Also, the heroine is annoying too. I expected her to be more mature but she's literally so dumb and constantly throwing herself at him and making friends with people who are obviously using her. The whole point of her going to the town too is to be with her grandfather who is dying, who didn't want her there in the first place, and yet she hardly spends time with him. It was a drag being in her head for sure.

Overall, very eh. A lot of other people seem to like it though. I think I've just read so many pnr and fantasy books and I find that whenever a contemporary author writes a fantasy, it tends to be over dramatic and not very well devleloped (like this book) and I end up not liking it, so I shouldn't be surprised. Love the cover though.



Safety: up to 50ish%

Virgin heroine/ non virgin hero

Om drama- wannabe om tries to get with heroine to use her. He touches her and dances with her but that's all I read up to dnf

Ow drama- hero almost has sex with ow halfway into the book. Chooses not to but they still get naked and she has some scenes. I'm not sure how much she appears after the orgy scene in the book though. (This is after him and heroine kiss and do some stuff too)

Cheating- see above. Not really cheating since they arent "officially" togetether but him going there with the intentions to sleep with ow after he's done some stuff with heroine is a bit like cheating in my book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Poppy Sabrina.
296 reviews3,110 followers
April 5, 2025
3⭐️

3 stars for the IMMACULATE vibes of the spooky witchy town, and for the last 10% of the book

However I’m going to be honest, I spent a lot of this book confused?! The story and writing felt very disjointed and I felt like so many avenues weren’t explored properly.

Like I say, I loved the town, I could really picture it and get a feel for it was the perfect setting and I really enjoyed it. There is also some really beautiful writing in parts!

But where it was lacking…

I felt like Nicole Fiorina knew the world she’d created in her head so well it appears she forgot to show it us properly through her writing, it’s like she expected us to already understand what she had pictured (or that’s how it felt)

So this is town that can disappear/reappear at will? When Fallon tries to leave it reappears to her, but why is this hardly spoken about?!

The magic, is so poorly written, hardly used (which is fine) but it just kinda felt like there may as well have not been any and the story could’ve carried on without it.

Fallon arrives making a comments about how she doesn’t know if she believes in witches, she doesn’t question anyone about it, and then all of the sudden she just believes it? But there’s no inner monologue over it, I understand she can see spirits so probably has a predisposition to believe these things but why then write dialogue for her that says otherwise!

Fallon & Julian went from strangers to kinda talking here and there to suddenly having feelings for each other so fast I felt like I had missed a few chapters..

I really LOVE the idea, and the concept and I feel like it was halfway there but it was a bit all over the place for me, I will read book two as I’ve heard it’s better and I’ve grasped it all more now anyway 😅
Profile Image for elara.
231 reviews14 followers
August 20, 2024
nicole fiorina could write romeo and juliet, but william shakespeare could never write julianfallon
Profile Image for Tiffany.
103 reviews613 followers
October 18, 2021
If i could give more than 5 stars, i would. From the very beginning you’re drawn into this captivating world, learning of the covens and family feuds and curses. Weeping Hollow itself is a masterpiece. I loved seeing the map of the town in the book.

The main character Fallon is unapologetically herself. Speaking her mind and always doing what she feels is right. She returns to this town after only hearing stories she half believed growing up, because her grandfather needs help. Gramps was one of my favorite characters. I loved the banter they shared.

Julian, he will live in my head every day for the rest of my life. One of the four Hollow Heathens cursed to suffer his whole life behind a mask. The “monster” of the town who was feared by everyone. But also the one who sacrificed his whole life for his coven. Who gave so much and never got anything in return. His pure soul hidden in the darkness. His willingness to forever be selfless without hesitation. His character pulled me in and i love him so much.

This story broke me and put me back together and repeated that all over again. Forbidden love doomed to repeat history over and over through time. It will take me a long time to move on from this book. The writing was poetic. The story captivating. There was amazing “spice” that was beautifully written. There was humor. There was pain. There was spooky feels. There was an ending that left me crying. So many emotions through this book. One of my top favorites ever.

100/5⭐️
2.5/5🌶
Profile Image for Rachelle .
616 reviews52 followers
December 11, 2024
This was absolute perfection. It's a hauntingly beautiful story of curses and magic and a love that transcends time. The gothic paranormal atmosphere is done so well and just immerses you into this dark, foreboding world so completely.

Julian is such a fantastic character. He is the perfect tortured soul who assumes the role of the villian to save those he loves. This is such a beautiful story of love and sacrifice. The plot had me hooked. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I quite literally couldn't put it down. This is one of those books that makes you forget you're even reading.
Profile Image for ✩ Yaz ✩.
700 reviews3,840 followers
November 14, 2022
3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

They said you couldn’t know the moon, touch it, kiss it, make love to it. You could only watch from the dark trenches of the earth, admire it from afar. Yet, still, I fell in love with the moon. And she, too, fell in love with me.

Hollow Heathens tells the story of Weeping Hollow, a strange hidden small town with a captivating dark gothic backdrop that lends this story a beautifully haunting ambience. We follow on this story Fallon who returns to Weeping Hollow after 24 years where mysteries and sake secrets await her and the enigmatic Heathen known as Julian Blackwell whose soul is infested with a centuries-old curse.

“Love doesn’t live here, only fear grows in Weeping Hollow. Love is a fool’s fantasy and a monster’s nightmare.”

I'll try to keep the review sweet and simple, the book has a great start and immediately hooked me. In certain parts, especially by 40% in, the story dragged for me which is why I found myself skipping some of those parts. The pacing was off to me and I desperately did not want to lose track of where the story was headed. Thankfully it slowly picked up not long after part 2.

I was really impressed with the world-building and found it to be fascinating. I loved the idea of a hidden small town founded by two covens (Norse Woods and Sacred Sea) and all the curses and the mysteries that played a big part into the story and the lives of the characters.

I'm usually a fan of weaving past events into current events when it's done neatly however I think it overwhelmed the story. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to be invested in it because it was such a tragic story that led to what happened in the current timeline but to me it wasn't balanced well with the main story.

I think it's such a big miss that we didn't see much of the other Heathens which I assume each will get a standalone. However, I still would have loved to see more of them and their bond.

The romance I would say starts as an Insta-love with a tinge of forbidden romance. Although I'm not a fan of insta-love but how the relationship is built up after that can make it up for me in some way. I still liked the romance that blossomed between Fallon and Julian but they weren't that fleshed out for me to be invested in them.

I liked some of their romantic scenes especially those emotional scenes towards the end, they really gutted me but it was kind of too late to win me over then.

Rating this book 3.5 does not mean I didn't like it, but the issues I had with it didn't warrant it getting a 4 from me.

I'm still interested to pick up the sequel standalone because this author does have the potential to craft beautiful stories.

Trigger Warnings: including, but not limited to, sacrificial animal death, death of a loved one, adult language, sexual content, gore, and physical abuse and self harm.
Profile Image for Just A Girl With Spirit.
1,402 reviews13.3k followers
October 2, 2024
Reread via audio book. Even better than my pervious read.


4.5 ✨✨

“If you only understood the lengths I’d go for you.”

Y’all this book lived up to the hype of my trusted friends! I was nervous at first because I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit lost in the woods. I felt like I was missing important details so I would start over like 3x. When the audio released I took that as my sign that it was what I was supposed to do—listen.

The unpacking from this dark love story will take days, but man was it worth it. I need the second book badly. I love forbidden romance especially when they are fated mates so to speak. Julian, the hero was everything—do you hear me?! EVERYTHING!! This left me in some kind of twisted way and I would do it all over again.

Dark. Creepy. Witchy. Steamy. Yes!

“I loved her, and perhaps it was a kind of love that wasn’t normal. Perhaps love wasn’t supposed to move something like her, quiet and gentle. Or maybe it wasn’t supposed to move something like me, cruel and unusual. Ours was different—a strange love. A mixture of us. Quiet and cruel, hiding in the depths of darkness before plunging a sharp blade into our hearts.”
Profile Image for ABookLover73.
375 reviews210 followers
October 19, 2020
FIVE FANTASY STARS for Fallon and Julian 💙🖤💙🖤!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Nicole Fiorina has once again shown that no matter what genre it is, it can easily attract readers.

"Stay With Me" series completely won me over and I didn't expect that the new series would surprise me just as much with its interest and amazing storyline.

"Hollow Heathens" is a fantasy romance book that will steal your heart from page one.

Fallon and Julian's connection is unique and beautiful.

If you're looking for a fantasy romance book and you also love Nicole's writing style, then this is the book you need to read next!!!

Highly recommended!!!
Profile Image for Uma, it's a lavenderbookverse.
70 reviews41 followers
January 16, 2022
“So, I kissed the night, got lost in his sky and suspended in his time. I kissed the darkness too, as if it was all I knew because it was a part of him.”

There was something so eternal about Hollow Heathens. It was that kind of a story you dream of, nestled in the warmth of the night, right before you slip into sleep, of a far away world you wish were real and for that instance in time, it is.

Nicole's writing was phenomenal. All the mysterious town lost in time, witchy, rival covens, fall, haunting, fantastical vibes were implemented impeccably. Fallon's and Julian's tale is exquisite! They were intrinsically drawn to each other, a lovely, enigmatic bond forming between them right from the start. The unfolding of all the aspects, my gosh the suspense was everything I wanted.

Okay so I need to talk about the attention dedicated to the Moon, because, yes please let's talk more about her lovely self aka the loveliest jewel in the night sky.

All the stars under the night sky. Each one of them (who are gazing at us as we gaze at them)

“The shape of her smile colored the nightmares in the sky, and I couldn’t bear to touch her without shaking, without seeing her as anything other than a rare girl who had a celestial stamp in all her details.”

P.S : The excellent poetic prose, immaculate yess.
Profile Image for Nicole Fiorina.
Author 11 books3,263 followers
Currently reading
September 29, 2020


The countdown is on! Hollow Heathens will be released into the world in two weeks! If you haven't yet, make sure to reserve your eBook copy during the special pricing period of $2.99 before it goes up on release day.

Pre-order today:
https://linktr.ee/nicolefiorina

Sign-up for the newsletter to stay in-the-know:
www.nicolefiorina.com

I hope you all enjoy the first stand-alone in the
Tales of Weeping Hollow Collection ♥

I've been living in the town of Weeping Hollow for almost a year now, & I am beyond thrilled for you to finally read what I've been working so hard on. I've said it many times before; this book was my Mount Everest. It was my biggest challenge to date, and I am so in love with how it turned out!

This book is for the readers who love small town vibes, ancient curses, and is not afraid of the dark. For the one who believes in magic, a little fantasy, and a whole lot of formidable romance!

Thank you for your continued support,
xx, nicole



Profile Image for ✨Lucy❣️.
99 reviews27 followers
December 7, 2020
description

5+ illuminating stars
Julian Blackwell and Fallon Morgan Grimaldi’s forbidden love spoke to my heart in the most magical way. This dark fairly tale revived a spark I desperately longed in reading. How the love of two star-crossed lovers who were drawn together by grief can find comfort in the one place that has fought to keep them apart.

“Come with me, and I’ll show you everything no one else will. Come with me, and I will tell you things no one else will tell you, I’ll give you everything, feed all your forbidden thoughts, things you never knew you wanted.”

As a child, Fallon was told of tales of a town filled with magic. A place with witches and the supernatural lurking among humans. A place that had been haunting and tempting her fate. A place that she offend visited her dreams. A place her ancestors called home…the Town of Weeping Hollow.

‘She’d one day fall from the night sky and bring me down with her. I knew she was coming. We both had been expecting the moon girl’

Julian Blackwell’s heart had only known sorrow. He lived like a prisoner, living in the shadows among the people of Weeping Hollow. Until, he met the girl with the white hair and the deep blue eyes. The one who would illuminate his dark soul with the light of the crescent moon.

I official kicked off spooky season with a paranormal romance that had me all in my feels. Only Nicole Fiorina’s writing can hook me to step out of my comfort zone and give ‘Hollow Heathens the Tales of Weeping Hollow’ Book 1, a try. I can not stress enough how much this book completely rekindled my love for reading. The book is based in a fantasy world that replayed perfectly in my mind as I read it. From the very beginning I was spellbound to the pages with all haunting stories and suspense connected to the small town. Based on a series with each book read as a standalone. I am beyond ready for book 2 to this enchanting series that has me completely bewitched.

ARC provided by Nicole Fiorina for an honest review.
Profile Image for littlegirlbigbook.
383 reviews221 followers
October 13, 2024
4.75✨ what a fucking story. the intrigue runs so deep and i was blown away

i need to know this curse
i need to know these secrets
i need to know the reasons
i need to know the history

i love fallon. what makes her so special? why is so coveted by the coven? what’s this secret this history, this agreement, this purpose? none of it makes sense and norse woods knows it but sacred sea is in on it. she felt mystical. like everything about her was…curious. not in a bad way like in everyone’s eyes but just such a fascinating character. creature. her ferocity and tenacity and determination were incredible. the way she went from an unwanted “freak” to a sought after friend to a person who finally realized what kind of people she wanted in her life and in what capacity. she’s so alone and so hurt that it breaks me because she deserves to be surrounded by love. finding her people was so special.

i adore julian. he’s so broken in ways he sees in fallon and the way she admits what’s within him about herself. this pull he feels towards her... it’s not even a craving or possessiveness or obsession. it’s like something unknown. something deeper. almost like fate. his relationship with the heathens is so special. the only people who will ever understand and vice versa. he’s just so misunderstood and he is so undeserving of the hatred against him when he gives pieces of himself to everyone. fallon & julian are one of those soul couples. fated. meant to be. there’s no other explanation. their magnetic pull was something so beautiful. they saw each other from the inside out. they found solace and protection and love and themselves in each other.

Profile Image for Marianna Moore.
467 reviews64.1k followers
March 18, 2024
Adult Halloweentown vibes and I ate up every last bit of it!! This book was eerie, spooky, magical, dark, but also cozy. The authors writing was so atmospheric and teleported me into a completely different world with every page I read. I’m OBSESSED!

The forbidden romance in this is GOD TIER. Julian is one of the 4 cursed Hollow Heathens, who’s magic is riddled with darkness and death. To the rest of the town he is viewed as a cold hearted monster… until Fallon returns to the spooky town of Weeping Hollow after 24 years and can’t deny the unrelenting pull she feels towards Julian. Weeping Hollow decides who comes and goes and Fallon is quick to realize there’s no escaping the secrets her family guarded from her for her entire life, even in death. Despite being forbidden by each of their rival covens to go anywhere near eachother…. Both Julian and Fallon will do whatever it takes to be together, even as death follows their every step.

I seriously could not put this book down, i have never read a dark paranormal romance before and this far exceeded my expectations! I cannot wait to continue the series! This wasn’t quite 5 stars for me because I found the ending to be a bit rushed and I would have liked to see the magic system explained a bit better to help deepen my understanding of its role in the plot throughout the book, other than that, love love love
Profile Image for My Introvert Bookish Life.
755 reviews37 followers
October 21, 2022
20.10.22
Re-read via Audible
I never imagined that I could fall in love so completely and wholly all over again- but I did. This was my annual reread and the audiobook brought not just the story characters to life but captured everything that is Weeping Hollow.
This is a forever book and one I’ll never stop recommending. I said it from the beginning that Nicole Fiorina is one to watch, and I stand by this 1000%

Now to wait for Bone Island!

5++ MOONSHINE STARS

ALL THE STARS ISN’T ENOUGH TO RATE THIS BOOK!!

“𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑎𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑡, 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑡, 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡, 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑖𝑡.“

Oh mother of all the words!

I really want to do this review justice but, simply put, this is a book you just need to read and experience yourself. I was utterly captivated by this bewitching story. I’ve finished reading but I’m not done with this book! It isn’t done with me!

I fell in love with Nicole Fiorina’s poetic writing when I first read 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒. I remain in awe of her way with words. 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑠 held me spell bound by the magic she weaved in creating something akin to a literary masterpiece.

I loved the slow and measured build up in Fallon and Julian’s story. Their connection was felt from the very start until the very end. The plot is centred around the cursed Hollow Heathens and the two main covens in the sea side town of Weeping Hollow. Fallon comes to her ailing grandfather- her last living family- to a place and people she has only heard dark tales of. Hollow Heathens is a complex and multilayered story, it was easy to visualise and feel a part of the story and the characters. The off grid town nowhere to be found in Maine is everything I envision a Stephen King novel to be set in, and in my own opinion, the story itself lends a nostalgic tone to his gripping and compelling writing- the caliber of Nicole’s writing is THAT MASTERFUL!!

This is exactly the kind of book you’d want to read all at once and savour at the same time. So I did both! I binged chapter after chapter then I paused as if to rewind time... My heart might’ve died and resurrected a few times!!

I’m fairly new to the Fantasy genre but this book is at the very top with some of the international best sellers I’ve read.

This is a perfect cozy up on Halloween and read book, for lovers of romance and fantasy, and those curious to see what lies beyond.

This book starts off as a slow burn as the world of the Hollow Heathens unfolds. Throughout the pages, there's so much heart-pounding suspense with an edge of your seat intensity. Even after all the pages I still wanted more-MORE of this world, MORE of the other hollow Heathens boys and Fallon’s friends. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

Nicole Fiorina has every promise to be a highly acclaimed author in her own right with her masterful writing and compelling storytelling.

10/10 MOONCHILD STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔
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