Makeshift

The Hollow #1

by K.H. Helens

Ana wakes up in the hospital 3 weeks after the night that changed her life forever. She must navigate her trauma, learn to trust her instincts, and learn that sometimes asking for help is a sign of strength. But she was thrust into a dangerous world without her knowledge or consent, and soon realizes that the true danger may be closer to her than she thinks.

Makeshift is part one of The Hollow series, ending in a mild cliffhanger. This is a reverse harem/why choose novel, which means the main character does not have to choose between the men (wolves). If polyamory ain't your thing, feel free to move right along!

Trigger/adult content warning: violence, non-explicit references to sexual assault, talk about mental health issues including suicide attempts, explicit consensual sex scenes between the FMC and her harem, as well as M/M scenes between some of the men.

Genres: Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Romance, Why Choose, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 16, 2021

Reviews

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
Loved this shifter RH. I do not trust Lisa whatsoever. Can't wait to read the next book.

[Ashley]

Ummmmm. Why are there so many 4 and 5 star reviews? I am being serious right now.

A few things.

WTFork was up with that prologue. I know they are supposed to be all vague like and pique our interest, but I literally was reading sentences over and over trying to figure out what the heck was going on. It was needlessly confusing.



Then the start of the book threw me a little. We end a chapter with Ana and her family being approached/attacked in a parking lot. The next chapter starts with Ana in the hospital after being missing for three weeks. I would have liked more details about what happened outside of Ana's recounting what happened to the detectives.

What really bothered me though was Ana figuring out she was pregnant. So many things wrong. First of all, she gets sick after eating breakfast and her first thought is pregnancy. Not, "I must have eaten something to upset my stomach," or "maybe I'm coming down with something." Nope, vomit=pregnant.



THEN, she's just skipped over the fact that in order for her to be pregnant, she would have had to be sexually assaulted. She's not interested in letting the cops know, which for sure could help with them believing some of her story. Plus, it could give them a lead (when she's far enough along obviously) but whatever. Anyways, she tells NO ONE. She's just going on about it like "No big deal, I was assaulted, now I'm pregnant... lemme order some prenatal vitamins, research dietary restrictions, and figure out what all I need for a baby." (I'm not exaggerating!) Mind you, this girl suffers from some serious anxiety, she's just survived a traumatic event and now she finds out she's carrying her attacker's kid and she's all nonchalant, concerned about what groceries she should be buying.



Let's not forget, someone needs to give this girl some math tutoring. 3 weeks missing + 1 week in the hospital does not equal 9 weeks pregnant. Seriously... it's not rocket science.



"Resolved, for now, I decided to to a bit of research. Based on the date of my last period, I'd be like nine weeks pregnant now, right?"

Again, I reiterate, she said she was a virgin. If her only sexual encounter was the one with her attacker, which happened FOUR weeks prior.. howTF did she come up with nine weeks?

So, needless to say, I won't be finishing this book. I also won't be leaving a rating because I don't think it's fair to the author since I technically didn't read the entire book. Who knows, maybe it gets better as the story progresses. Personally, I think I wouldn't like it based on what I've read so far and the issues I've seen so far lead me to believe that the main character is, to be frank, an idiot. She seems inconsistent and I don't see that improving.

Bummer, the blurb had me kind of excited.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the storyline but...

This is a solid 3 star rating. It could have been a 5 though, with some help in edits.

I loved the storyline but this book needs some much desired editing. The author had the tendency of writing in first person view and in the same sentence switched it to third person view. For example there were paragraphs that went "I this and that then she" right afterwards, in the same sentence. It can't be I then she in a third person view. That just makes the sentence confusing and makes no sense. There were also sentences that started with "The" then just ended and a new paragraph was started right below it. Other issues such as missing words, etc. were found throughout the book. Personally, I would love to review the arc version and help with edits before it is published. I love reading books from new authors I've yet to encounter that have a great storyline but would also have great ratings if decent edits were done prior to release.

Enough of that though. The characters were likeable. The heroine was damaged but showed some great strengths and resilience. The alpha male characters each had their own issues but were great for the female character. I'm interested to see how the supporting characters will help the heroine and how intertwined their lives will be. Even the villain is someone I want to see; see how it all plays out.

Overall, I am very interested to see how the author will write the next installment, how the plots will thicken as well as the relationship between the H's/h.

[Taylor Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

17% and I'm not continuing.

The FMC got sexually assaulted after watching both of her parents get shot in the face, then loses her job. And her first thought is, you know what? I'm going to keep this baby, even though I'm in a crisis, can barely function, the baby came from rape, and I have no health care. I'm also not going to tell anyone at all about it, and just order some vitamins.🤦🏻‍♀️

First, what the fuck. That's gross, cringe, and what the fuckery rolled into a ball. Who would want to read that story? Ew.
Second, see the first point.

[BookFiend · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are things that I liked, and there were things that I didn't like as much about this book. I enjoyed that the FMC wasn't a perfect Mary Sue, but I felt her flaws were much more told than shown. She's apparently been in therapy for years, because of crippling anxiety, etc., but she experiences a very real trauma and suddenly has no problem meeting new people, going dancing at a club, etc. Aside from one flashback during a doctor's visit, we see very little evidence of her issues once she is 'with' her men. I also really didn't like the portion regarding her sister. Her sister is kidnapped, but Ana apparently goes on just thinking of her as dead. She features in Ana's thoughts very little. She knows she was abducted and kept as a hostage for weeks on end, so the likelihood is that her sister is being held somewhere, but she never references that. She seems content to avoid the detectives rather than trying to hear how things are going with finding her sister. Even when they find her sister's necklace, there's no wondering about where or how she is. Also, she talks about her favorite part of her sister being how she was a great buffer and support system when going places. That's a pretty terrible thing to have as your favorite part of your sister. I did find her ease at accepting a polyamorous relationship to be pretty unbelievable, even with mating bonds, considering her history, but I liked how the men thought about her and went out of their way to support her independence rather than smothering her with 'caring'.

Oh, and two plot points drove me absolutely bonkers: Ana spends a week in the hospital after being found following her three-week abduction. She leaves the hospital, gets sick, and immediately knows she is pregnant - and tests positive. UM, THE HOSPITAL WOULD HAVE TESTED FOR THAT. How in the world are we supposed to believe that an abduction victim that is unconscious for almost a week doesn't have any bloodwork done (despite referencing that a sexual assault examination was done)? There is just no way they would not have tested for that and told her. She also is taking all these long, hot baths when you aren't supposed to be in hot water longer than 20 minutes when pregnant. All I could think about were the neural tube defects forming.

The editing was a distractor for me. The point-of-view would sometimes change in the middle of a sentence. For example, the author will begin one of Ana's sentences using I and then switch to she in the middle of it when she's talking about herself. I kept getting confused thinking that she had switched to one of the men's POVs, but, no, she just had Ana thinking about herself in third-person for some reason.

[Amanda Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has such an interesting premise and so much potential...and it didn't do any of it justice. It just really desperately needs a good editor; names were inconsistent, timelines were all over the place, and despite the FMC being kidnapped and her family murdered, it didn't really seem to impact her. Just saying, if I had been kidnapped, had amnesia, and woke up in my dead family's home for the first time since returning and felt sick, my default response wouldn't be "let's go to the grocery store because I think I'm pregnant!" And there was just a lot of that kind of cringeworthy happenings, which totally turned me off the book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ana's birthday went from a great dinner with her family to being attacked in the parking lot and missing for 3 weeks. With no memory of her missing weeks, her parents dead and her sister missing/possibly dead, Ana is left grieving and trying to pick up the pieces of her life. She also has to deal with shadows and animals around her home and the feeling of being watched. This leads Ana to running right into Abel and bring him a thank you for helping her. This one run in also leads her to finding potential happiness and a feeling of home with Abel and his brothers that has been missing since her family died. Evil is stalking Ana, will they be able to save her. I am really looking forward to book 2 and finding out what happens with Ana, the guys, and misfits. Good debut novel.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[TipseyBookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the night of her 23rd birthday Ana’s life is changed, she has little memory of what really happened, but in trying to move on, she finds 4 guys and a wolf who she feels an instant connection to. I really liked Ana - she has always had anxiety, and I felt the anxiety and ptsd were handled well. I liked the guys, and I really want to know more about Marsh. While I did feel the beginning was a little slow, once she meets the guys i really got pulled in, and by the end I was hooked! I can’t wait for book 2!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many feelings about this book, I’m not sure where to start. From the beginning you’re invested in the story of Ana and how she’s going to move forward, but then she finds Makeshift Mile and everything falls into place. OH, at the spicy scenes are FIRE. I definitely wasn’t ready for the book to be over. Already excited for the next in the series!!

[peggylovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Ana had to experience and the mystery that surrounds that night will keep you intrigued. The men are to die for. This book is really good and cant wait for the next book, especially on how it ended.

[TMackWriting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read. It started off a little slow for me but it jumped right into things and I was able to fully immerse myself. You quickly become invested in Ana and just want to explore the men in her lives. I cannot wait for the next one.

[Symantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shifter RH. It was okay. Not good enough to continue on. There was some annoying editing mistakes that kept tripping me up.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I loved the characters in this series so far. The guys all have their own personality. This is slow to medium burn. I can't wait to read more.

[Alyscia Northrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love. The dynamic between Ana and the men are everything. I love the small mysteries and you guess and GAH. I just love it and I am so ready for the next one!

[Chey · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault and death are mentioned in this novel***

Ana is a normal woman who is just making her way through, trying to figure out what she wants to do with it. That is until tragedy strikes and her world is turned upside down. She finds herself on a farm with four men and is finally beginning to piece back her life. But there is still someone out there intent on getting a hold of her.

Makeshift is a wolf shifter novel, with a few different takes on how wolf shifters are, but that doesn't deter this from being an incredible and inmersive novel. Ana is so relatable you can almost feel her pain and emotions and knowing what happened to her just makes everything she goes through that much worse. The characters are strongly developed and pull you in immediately, making you wish you could find a farm with four big men.

[Charlie Tickell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the storyline alot and will definitely read the next book. All of my issues were with the editing. Alot of missing words or wrong word used , changing from first person to third person POV and mixing up characters it took me right out of the story every time I had to reread a line 3 or 4 times to try and make it fit for it to literally be wrong. Hopefully in the next book they have done a better job.

[Jade M.]

Prologue has a rape scene and we are told she’s a 23 year old virgin in the first chapter. No thank you

[Illusode · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
Really sweet once you get past the prologue

So this kind of drops you into the deep end first. The prologue is narrated by the villain and wow, what a crap bucket of a donkey THIS guy is! After that, we get a whiff of sweetness and bright innocence--this is the female MC and that impression never leaves. Ana is sweet, shy, but strong willed. When she meets the guys, the contrast is strong. Luckily, the male MCs are practical, respectful, honorable, and supportive. Really, their interactions with each other and Ana are golden. Sexual tension and laughs abound.

My peeves are with the overdone features of the genre. Yet another tiny female MC, always giant male cryptids. As a tall female from a family of tall people... it's not my thing and often laughable what passes for 'big'. Sigh. Then there's some 'Mars needs women' trope, although this gets redacted some by female alphas and supportive rehab community; the guys are growly but sweet gentlemen. It's a good thing there's so much respect and sensible communication, because there is another peeve. Misappropriated alpha male wolf behavior. Overbearing, possessive, horny, dominant ... (Were)wolves bear the brunt of the trope and it all gets blamed on their predatory, beastly behavior in the wild which actually doesn't exist. You're probably thinking of primates . Next peeve is that 'supernaturals are immortal'. Y'all, young woman/extremely elderly man is too skeevy and needs to stop.

Despite all my peeves and whining, I enjoyed the story. Many things impressed me. Consistent characterizations and rational world-building, responsible community, more socializing and communication than mindless sex, hot sex, respected strong female characters, bisexual relationships. Yum, yes please, more!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jess]

TW: rape, pregnancy as a result of rape, trauma discussed on page
I don't know how the author thinks that this is trauma informed but they may want to look up what that actually means. The prologue is written from the villains point of view and has graphic depictions of him murdering five police officers who are trying to rescue his victims, he murders the women he has kept captive, he refers to them as breeders, and there is a graphic depiction of him raping someone from his perspective which is awful. Just because you use vague language doesn't make a graphic depiction of rape from a rapist's perspective trauma informed.
Then, the main character watches her parents be murdered and is kidnapped along side her sister. After losing three weeks of memory while in captivity she spend a week in the hospital where she is unhelpful when the detectives are interviewing her. They are trying to find information and hopefully find her sister alive but she is completely uninterested in talking to them about her sister's safety. The hospital allegedly did a rape kit but told her she was too healed to determine conclusively what had happened and then the character goes home, takes a pregnancy test, and discovers she is pregnant. So obviously the author doesn't understand what occurs when a person who can become pregnant spends time in the hospital after being taken captive and sexually assaulted. The character then decides to KEEP THE BABY because it share the DNA of her dead family. While glossing over the trauma and harm of raising the child of the rapist who kidnapped herself and her sister. She also refuses to communicate with the Detectives who ARE TRYING TO FIND HER SISTER. Honestly, I couldn't read a book about a woman keeping her kidnapper and rapist's baby while ignoring her missing sister.

[Coffee And Wander Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally learned about this book on TikTok, and I have to say that I really enjoyed this shifter romance. The story starts out from the viewpoint of the villain, which was an interesting concept. I don't think I have read any POVs from the bad guy in any recent books, or possibly any at all. So, it was kind of refreshing to have a new perspective on the story.

The main female character is abducted and impregnated within the first few chapters. So, please, check your triggers! She ends up running into a guy, faints, and then goes to his farm to thank him. On this farm, there are four other very handsome guys (plus a wolf), and they all turn out to be her mates. The rest of the book goes on into the storyline of who impregnated her and why.

These five shifters are total cinnamon rolls, and I loved them! they all have their own unique personality and have all been touched with a compelling backstory. I enjoyed having some of the story in their points of views. I'm not sure who my favorite is, but the best thing about a reverse harem? You don't have to choose!

Overall, I would give this four iced coffees. I am excited to see the growth in the plot and characters. I am also excited to see what happens after that cliffhanger! I guess we shall see. This is a light, fun read, with some dark themes throughout. I know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but just give it a try!

Review posted at www.coffeewanderbooks.blogspot.com

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makeshift is about Ana our protagonist working through her trauma, and being alone in the world. She doesn’t have many places to turn to, and through some events finds Makeshift Mile Farm, full of hunky men who instantly realize their connection to her.

This book was great. I was a little worried when starting it that I would get a little bored since it seemed to drag a tiny bit in the start. But I honestly think it’s cuz I’m impatient more than the book.

I think my only “issue” with the book, is that I wish she relied on her girlfriends more. I wish she called them to get feedback or thoughts. I wish she was a tiny bit more independent and her backbone a tad more sturdy. She just seems to take everything in stride after crying about it for a day. Is that a bad thing? No.. just not as realistic.

The book does end on a cliffhanger. And it isn’t the cliffhanger that I expected.. and I’m incredibly pleased about it. I can’t wait for the next book and I’m slightly mad it is gonna take so long to come out.. Come on! Hurry it up!

I’d highly recommend this book, it does a lot better than most, the guys are great, and I’m excited to see where it goes!

[Catherine Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!

Ana, a young woman, whose life changed drastically in one night, has to learn to trust herself, and those around her. Which, after a trauma like hers, is not easy to do.

Able, Maks, Vasya, Sasha and Marsh, well, what can I say? They are 5 sexy Russians and I’m a little jealous of Ana. Lol. When Lisa sent Ana to Makeshift Mile, neither of them had any idea what would happen upon her arrival. They both thought she would simply be going in search of a job in a safe place. They were both right, and wrong. There are so many twists and turns in this book that I could not put it down! It’s currently 1:40 am and I have to be at work at 7:30! That’s how good it is!! I cannot wait for the next book and feel zero guilt about the incessant nagging I will be doing on her FB page. You just absolutely HAVE to read this book!!! And the fact that it’s her first published novel makes it even better!! Though there were a few typos and grammatical errors, they did not detract from the story at all and did not distract me from being completely absorbed in this book. I’m pretty sure KH is gonna have to file a restraining order if book 2 doesn’t come out soon!

[Nicki Heiman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not done well.

I read this book because of an advertisement on TikTok the author made and honestly I’m pretty annoyed. What she claimed the book was all about has nothing to do with the book at all.
This book is in desperate need of an editor. The timeline is all over the place. Names are not consistent, point of views are not consistent, information specific characters have are not consistent.
This girl is a virgin, she’s sexually assaulted but has no idea this happened to her, she just saw her parents get shot in the face, her sister is kidnapped, she’s lost a bunch of time and wakes up in a hospital with no real memory of what happened to her after the death of her family, she goes to her parents home for the first time since witnessing their murder and gets nauseas, her first thought is oh no I might be pregnant??? I better go to the store and buy pregnancy tests??? What?
I was just assaulted, I don’t like people even before this, lost my entire family, I’m clearly in crisis but man I want a baby. >.> ok.
Allegedly she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks before her assault but this plot line is pretty quickly abandoned.

[Michelle’s · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, good descriptive book. The FMC suffers amnesia from when her family were killed and she was abducted. She finds out she is pregnant due to the abduction she can’t remember. Around the same time as she’s processing this, she meets Able, a wolf shifter doing a produce delivery in town from his local farm. Ana goes out to the farm where she meets the rest of Able’s pack. Ana starts helping out at the farm and moves in with the pack after her house is destroyed by an arson attack....by her mysterious abductor. Ana starts forming relationships with the four guys and Marsh (in his wolf form). When she goes to visit her therapist and friend Lisa, there is a further potential abduction as she has been stalked by Malcolm (this book’s bad guy). Marsh saves her but is injured and it’s now Ana’s turn to spend some time with him, still in his wolf form. This is where the book ends with a small cliffhanger.

[Mairalynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a book that is worth five stars. I'll be honest with you here, I didn't like the MC at first. She seemed a little pick-me ish, but you can tell how much she grows through the book, and if there's one thing I'm a whore for more than anything else in the world, it's personal growth. Helens had every opportunity to make this just another wolf shifter RH but instead she took the concept that so many write, and made it into something so very beautiful. (absolutely nothing against the other ones, I read them both). This book somehow made me laugh and cry at the same time. Absolutely will always reccomend this book, please read it, your life will be changed.

On a different note, there were definitely parts that the editor didn't catch before letting the book be released, typically having to do with POVs. But other than some light confusion at some parts, they really didn't make that much of a difference or hinder the reading.

..... What are you still doing here? Go read this!

[Elizabeth McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana was an introverted girl who had just lost her family through a brutal murder and experienced a devastating experience that she couldn’t remember. Vasya, Able, Sasha, Maks and Marsh were a pack of wolf shifters that owned a farm and helped rehabilitate wayward shifters. Through a series of events Ana ended up with her mates, Vasya, Able, Sasha, Maks, and Marsh but they were faced with obstacles from the first meeting. As they began their interesting and exciting courtship, revelations were revealed as secrets, danger, love, and anxiety were all experienced while they learned about each other. Fun read

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joan Woodcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story could have been so good, the premise itself is interesting, but the execution fell short. Everything is rushed, nothing is explained, and the ways characters think and interact is illogical at best. After her parents are murdered, and her sister missing, she wakes up in the hospital weeks later, is released and goes home, where after experiencing some nausea comes to the conclusion that she is pregnant. She doesn't tell the police, she doesn't tell her therapist, and the doctors at the hospital didn't do any bloodwork on her? She definitely would have had a mental freak out, but instead she immediately accepts it and wants to keep the baby. That is in no way what would logically happen.

[Annette Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! This author hits all the right notes! Five hot sexy men(one in wolf form), two cute teenagers, a beautiful broken woman, her friends new and old, and an extremely cruel evil man! Tragedy, action, heartbreak, betrayal, suspense, danger, pregnancy, abuse, and a stalking evil, keeps them on their toes and bounds them together! This plot pulls you in, keeps you guessing, and hanging on to their tale! You cry with her, suffer her heartbreak and hopelessness, rejoice when she finds her mates, and a wonderful love, and can’t wait to see what happens next! A new favorite series, a fantastic magical adventure , and an author to watch, because she is awesome!

[Krystle Schwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makeshift was good read

I enjoyed this more then I thought I would. The description of this book does not give it justice. There are trigger in this book for sexual assault, mental health, suicide and I may have miss some other ones. If those are red flags for you don’t pick this up. This is a RH but it’s kind of a slow medium burn level for relationship. I like the story and the MFC. The guys in the book are good guys as well. There not all that cookie cutter and the female is not as well. I am looking forward for the next book because we were left on a cliff at the end.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story starts out with everything going wrong for Ana. There are trigger activities and violence. Ana has to figure out who to trust and figure out what happened the night of her birthday and see if she can find her sister. Support comes in the form of multiple protective shifters and an RH romance. The romance part is really good and the men are supportive. For me, this was a bit too emotional since I prefer to be relaxed and laughing not cringing with each violent action.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.