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Hollow Girls
Twenty four years ago, Olive and Stacia went into the woods. Only Olive returned, with no memory of what happened. Now, Olive's father has vanished, leaving behind research which indicates that he has found out what lives in the woods.
It wakes up every twelve years, taking only children. It has been doing so for at least two hundred years. And it is waking again.
Forced to return to her hometown, Olive finds her memories returning.
What she remembers from the days leading up to Stacia's disappearance is magical, almost impossible to believe, but she knows that she must return to the woods--to face what lurks there, to save her father, and to find out what happened to Stacia.
“Beautiful, poetic, and gutting. Hollow Girls is a captivating novel that will lure you deep into the woods where magic and darkness entwine. There is so much heart to this story of friendship and blood where oaths and secrets continue to unravel until the very last page. Bring an offering to the Fae, and come along on this memorable journey.”
--Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil’s Dreamland.
It wakes up every twelve years, taking only children. It has been doing so for at least two hundred years. And it is waking again.
Forced to return to her hometown, Olive finds her memories returning.
What she remembers from the days leading up to Stacia's disappearance is magical, almost impossible to believe, but she knows that she must return to the woods--to face what lurks there, to save her father, and to find out what happened to Stacia.
“Beautiful, poetic, and gutting. Hollow Girls is a captivating novel that will lure you deep into the woods where magic and darkness entwine. There is so much heart to this story of friendship and blood where oaths and secrets continue to unravel until the very last page. Bring an offering to the Fae, and come along on this memorable journey.”
--Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil’s Dreamland.
185 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2024
About the author
Jessica Drake-Thomas
8 books26 followersJessica Drake-Thomas is a poet and PhD student. She's a poetry editor at Coffin Bell Journal. She's the author of Burials, a gothic horror poetry collection.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 19, 2024
Decades ago, two friends went into the woods amid a slew of other vanished girls over the years. Only one returned.
Happy release day, and thank you to the author for a copy to review!
Hollow Girls had the feel of a good Friday horror flick - girls going missing for years in the small town of Blackwell, whisperings of fae in the woods, a dual timeline of Then and Now Olive to investigate it all.
The prose was excellent, embellished perfectly when it came to the creepiest moments, and straightforward in keeping the mystery fast-paced during others. It really kept me guessing - kids going missing? An otherwordly monster, or a more human evil?
Olive was an interesting protagonist. Quiet and traumatized after the disappearance of her best friend Stacia, she moves away to become a mortician, consoling people amid some of the worst moments of their lives. I liked that we didn't get too much detail on Olive's life - it let the reader step into her shoes better to solve what's going on. She's admirably calm during some of the scariest moments.
The ending was terrific. This is a great new release from Cemetery Dance, a mystery with friendship, magic and deep affection at its core.
Happy release day, and thank you to the author for a copy to review!
Hollow Girls had the feel of a good Friday horror flick - girls going missing for years in the small town of Blackwell, whisperings of fae in the woods, a dual timeline of Then and Now Olive to investigate it all.
The prose was excellent, embellished perfectly when it came to the creepiest moments, and straightforward in keeping the mystery fast-paced during others. It really kept me guessing - kids going missing? An otherwordly monster, or a more human evil?
Olive was an interesting protagonist. Quiet and traumatized after the disappearance of her best friend Stacia, she moves away to become a mortician, consoling people amid some of the worst moments of their lives. I liked that we didn't get too much detail on Olive's life - it let the reader step into her shoes better to solve what's going on. She's admirably calm during some of the scariest moments.
The ending was terrific. This is a great new release from Cemetery Dance, a mystery with friendship, magic and deep affection at its core.
January 29, 2024
I absolutely adored this beautiful, heartbreaking story. What a journey! Lovers of dark fairy tales, twisted mythology, and all things witchy are going to devour it. I really don't want to say too much because this book unravels its layers so wonderfully throughout -- and discovering the secrets along the way is part of the fun!
April 19, 2024
Mkay, well— that ending felt like a door slammed in my face.
The rest was good. I didn’t know anything about it… I just saw the cover. A sequel could be written.
A revenge sequel. I mean justice. Yes, justice.
The rest was good. I didn’t know anything about it… I just saw the cover. A sequel could be written.
A revenge sequel. I mean justice. Yes, justice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2024
Loved this book
Wow 😯 what a great creepy book.
Every page I read had me wanting more!
I almost finished this is one setting but had to attend to something, if not for that I would have finished.
This book has a witch, fae, "goblins" and the ending is such a twist 🙀
Wow 😯 what a great creepy book.
Every page I read had me wanting more!
I almost finished this is one setting but had to attend to something, if not for that I would have finished.
This book has a witch, fae, "goblins" and the ending is such a twist 🙀
March 15, 2024
This was a great book!!! There were enough twists and turns to keep me from wanting to put the book down! The darkness and mystery of what happened years ago was an awesome storyline. I definitely wasn’t able to guess what was going to happen next and how things all played out in the end. There was a little confusion for me towards the ends of the story with some of the flashbacks, and current timelines, but overall it was a very exciting read!
March 15, 2024
Whoa. This book was so good! I will definitely be looking at the woods differently. I was so emersed in this story, I simply couldn't stop reading. I love a good witch story and a creepy fae tale, and this book delivered both, merged so well.
January 24, 2024
I don’t want to say too much about Hollow Girls, because I have the upmost honor of providing a blurb for the cover. If you like Darcy Coates or Katrina Monroe, you have to read this one. I loved it
March 10, 2024
Jessica Drake-Thomas' 'Hollow Girls' is a plainly told, cool-headed story of Olive, a young mortician who's forced to return to her hometown and solve the mystery of her best friend's disappearance in the woods a quarter century ago. The cool-headedness is only apparent though; Olive is a deeply traumatized soul, marked by issues of abandonment: first her mom left the family, then her best friend vanished, and now, seemingly out of the blue, her father is also missing. The disappearances are nothing new: small children keep disappearing in the area for at least a couple of centuries. What explains these disappearances? And why has Olive herself been spared? The book has answers, and the resolution combines many horror tropes otherwise unconnected: a sort of coming-of-age story, a creature feature, a haunted cabin, persons with uncanny abilities, queer horror. The prose is beautiful, occasionally making the story feel more like part of something far larger than a creepy story in the woods. The ending is satisfying; perhaps more than satisfying, it matters. I'll definitely read more by this author!
March 16, 2024
What is creeping in the woods? For over 200 years, children are going missing. Two young girls go searching for the missing children ... but only 1 comes out. After losing her memory, Olive finds herself remembering that horrible day when her own father goes missing. This book was a fast and satisfying horror read. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
Creepy insert from the book...
A chill travels over my skin. As I watch, horrified, the creature’s breath spreads across the surface of the glass. The finger, nail dragging across the glass, writes in the fog. It’s in a language that I don’t understand, but I know I once did.
Creepy insert from the book...
A chill travels over my skin. As I watch, horrified, the creature’s breath spreads across the surface of the glass. The finger, nail dragging across the glass, writes in the fog. It’s in a language that I don’t understand, but I know I once did.
March 24, 2024
Fantastic yarn that centers around two young girls who go into the forbidden woods. They are visited on these trips by the fae, but something far more ominous waits for them. I can only hope that there’s a sequel, because I would really love to know more about the fae as well as their queen.
June 1, 2024
Oh my goodness!! What a great story. Jessica Drake Thomas hit it out of the park with this one.
A story that takes place over hundreds of years involving Fae, Witches and ghosts. It switches between three time frames. Year 2000, 2003 and 2024.
Olive and her childhood friend Stacia find a cabin in the woods that belonged to Annabelle Parker and her daughter Viola, 200 years before. They frequent the cabin often and experience unbelievable and magical moments as they also stumble across a beautiful and uplifting cave filled with warm embracing light belonging to the Fae. Until Stacia suddenly disappears. The story comes back to 2024 where more young girls have disappeared. Olives dad has been studying and documenting happenings in the Deading Woods since Stacia’s disappearance. And then he disappears no one knowing whether he was taken or followed his own path to find the truth about the woods and also his wife’s disappearance.
This story is well thought out. The writing concise and perfectly worded without an abundance of over exaggeration and embellishments, it’s all in the right amounts. Everything is perfectly stated, yet you want to savor all the details. I embraced all the characters and found myself very sad when some met untimely deaths.
I am hoping there will be another book by Thomas as the ending leads us to believe that revenge will be motive for Olive to find closure in the centuries old evil traditions. Olive deserves retribution for all the losses she has unknowingly experienced because of a promise.
A story that takes place over hundreds of years involving Fae, Witches and ghosts. It switches between three time frames. Year 2000, 2003 and 2024.
Olive and her childhood friend Stacia find a cabin in the woods that belonged to Annabelle Parker and her daughter Viola, 200 years before. They frequent the cabin often and experience unbelievable and magical moments as they also stumble across a beautiful and uplifting cave filled with warm embracing light belonging to the Fae. Until Stacia suddenly disappears. The story comes back to 2024 where more young girls have disappeared. Olives dad has been studying and documenting happenings in the Deading Woods since Stacia’s disappearance. And then he disappears no one knowing whether he was taken or followed his own path to find the truth about the woods and also his wife’s disappearance.
This story is well thought out. The writing concise and perfectly worded without an abundance of over exaggeration and embellishments, it’s all in the right amounts. Everything is perfectly stated, yet you want to savor all the details. I embraced all the characters and found myself very sad when some met untimely deaths.
I am hoping there will be another book by Thomas as the ending leads us to believe that revenge will be motive for Olive to find closure in the centuries old evil traditions. Olive deserves retribution for all the losses she has unknowingly experienced because of a promise.
July 20, 2024
For 200 years children, mostly girls, have been vanishing into the Deeping Woods. When protagonist Olive loses her best friend Stacia to the forest in 2003, her world is shattered. Fast forward to current day 2024 and now her father is also missing. Olive vows to put an end to the thing that lives in the forest of Blackwell.
Shorter books generally warrant a lower rating for me personally as there just isn’t enough time to build a completely story with enough depth. This book has an amazing cover and great reviews so I blasted through it. The whole book is sort of based around black magic / witchcraft / faes/fairy lore. Normally I would absolutely love that but this book came off as very juvenile. I wasn’t a fan of the authors writing style. Sentences are extremely short and also bullet point like, dialogue felt very scripted (almost like watching bad acting), and there just wasn’t a natural progression of the characters or the story. The ending was really nice. It perfectly wrapped things up and truly was the best part of the entire book. Honestly, I think if this were a much longer book I’d have rated it higher since I felt it lacked depth but the actual premise of the story was great. Probably wouldn’t recommend this one and not quite sure if it really falls under the horror category. For me personally, I’d sooner just classify this as a creepy fairy tale (literally)
Shorter books generally warrant a lower rating for me personally as there just isn’t enough time to build a completely story with enough depth. This book has an amazing cover and great reviews so I blasted through it. The whole book is sort of based around black magic / witchcraft / faes/fairy lore. Normally I would absolutely love that but this book came off as very juvenile. I wasn’t a fan of the authors writing style. Sentences are extremely short and also bullet point like, dialogue felt very scripted (almost like watching bad acting), and there just wasn’t a natural progression of the characters or the story. The ending was really nice. It perfectly wrapped things up and truly was the best part of the entire book. Honestly, I think if this were a much longer book I’d have rated it higher since I felt it lacked depth but the actual premise of the story was great. Probably wouldn’t recommend this one and not quite sure if it really falls under the horror category. For me personally, I’d sooner just classify this as a creepy fairy tale (literally)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2024
A fabulous surprise!!!
When I first chose this book, it looks kind of intriguing, but I figured it would be just another lost girl kind of story wow was I pleasantly surprised. The story was nothing that I imagined it would be, it was so good I couldn’t put it down. I am an avid reader, and I haven’t run across this story type before, so that was also a pleasant surprise. There was nothing predictable about it give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
When I first chose this book, it looks kind of intriguing, but I figured it would be just another lost girl kind of story wow was I pleasantly surprised. The story was nothing that I imagined it would be, it was so good I couldn’t put it down. I am an avid reader, and I haven’t run across this story type before, so that was also a pleasant surprise. There was nothing predictable about it give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
March 24, 2024
Brilliant str
Hollow Girls a riveting fairy tale and horror story. Once started I could barely put it down. Masterful storytelling. I can only is that a sequel is in order because I want to move about the fae, and especially the Queen.
Hollow Girls a riveting fairy tale and horror story. Once started I could barely put it down. Masterful storytelling. I can only is that a sequel is in order because I want to move about the fae, and especially the Queen.
May 6, 2024
A satisfying, straightforward folk horror that reads like a movie. slightly predictable but executed beautifully. This is a book I would probably revisit again after a heavier read. looking forward to reading more from this author.
March 22, 2024
I absolutely was surprised with the ending. The book kept me engaged and couldn’t put it down, until my eyes couldn’t stay open anymore.
July 9, 2024
Wow
This book kept me captivated the entire time. I wish I could find more books that keep me captivated the way that this one did.
This book kept me captivated the entire time. I wish I could find more books that keep me captivated the way that this one did.
August 7, 2024
An enjoyable story with an interesting and unexpected twist at the end
August 26, 2024
Good folk horror
I always enjoy new takes on the Fae, especially in urban and small town settings. This story is interesting, with intriguing characters and a great surprise ending.
I always enjoy new takes on the Fae, especially in urban and small town settings. This story is interesting, with intriguing characters and a great surprise ending.
August 26, 2024
3.5 rounded up to 4
September 14, 2024
3.5 stars
April 29, 2024
🌲 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨
Twenty four years ago, two girls went into the Deeping Woods, and only one returned. No one knows what really lurks in the woods, but there are theories. Olive, the only survivor, goes on another journey of her own when he father disappears after investigating what it is that wakes up every twelve years to take the town’s children. He’s left behind research, and clues, and Olive knows she must return to the woods to save her father and find out what happened to Stacia so long ago.
Full of darkness and magic, witchy dark fairy tale world vibes…𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 will make you both intrigued to venture into the woods, and frightened of what may be lurking there. The mystery surrounding the disappearances had a true crime/detective feel to it, even though this is by no means true crime. I did absolutely love the mystery though…the twists and turns…trying to piece everything together…especially when Olive’s memories for the day her friend disappeared begin to return. I also really appreciated the “realness” of Olive’s character. I could see myself acting and feeling much as she did throughout this whole ordeal.
If you’re a fan of folksy horror that keeps you turning pages, this may be one for you! (Plus, another little plug, if you haven’t read Drake-Thomas’s dark, gothic poetry collection, 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴, doooo iiiit!!!)
🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
*Thanks so much Cemetery Dance and Jessica Drake-Thomas for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Twenty four years ago, two girls went into the Deeping Woods, and only one returned. No one knows what really lurks in the woods, but there are theories. Olive, the only survivor, goes on another journey of her own when he father disappears after investigating what it is that wakes up every twelve years to take the town’s children. He’s left behind research, and clues, and Olive knows she must return to the woods to save her father and find out what happened to Stacia so long ago.
Full of darkness and magic, witchy dark fairy tale world vibes…𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 will make you both intrigued to venture into the woods, and frightened of what may be lurking there. The mystery surrounding the disappearances had a true crime/detective feel to it, even though this is by no means true crime. I did absolutely love the mystery though…the twists and turns…trying to piece everything together…especially when Olive’s memories for the day her friend disappeared begin to return. I also really appreciated the “realness” of Olive’s character. I could see myself acting and feeling much as she did throughout this whole ordeal.
If you’re a fan of folksy horror that keeps you turning pages, this may be one for you! (Plus, another little plug, if you haven’t read Drake-Thomas’s dark, gothic poetry collection, 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴, doooo iiiit!!!)
🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
*Thanks so much Cemetery Dance and Jessica Drake-Thomas for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 23, 2024
I had the honor of reading an ARC of Hollow Girls by Jessica Drake-Thomas, which was an intriguing supernatural read. Olive and her soul sister, Stacia, went into the woods 24 years before…there they discovered a cabin along with the Faes. One day Olive left the woods, but Stacia did not. Olive was never the same after losing her best friend. She returns to her hometown many years later when her father goes missing. In efforts to find her father, Olive is forced to face her past…including the day Stacia went missing. She learns a lot about herself and her family. There is a lot of mystery, which will keep the reader interested in Olive and her journey to find her father and the truth.
The book was released on Amazon on March 15th.
The book was released on Amazon on March 15th.
April 10, 2024
Thank you Cemetery Dance Publications & Jessica Drake-Thomas for this great read.
I absolutely sped through this book. I was intrigued as the protagonist slowly pieced together her memories, there were some creepy moments and the ending got me good!!! Unexpected and just the best way to tie it up.
The mixed timelines were done really well and the plot itself was creepy and addictive.
This read is a quick one, the pace was just right and consistently built until a very unexpected ending! Look forward to more from this author.
I absolutely sped through this book. I was intrigued as the protagonist slowly pieced together her memories, there were some creepy moments and the ending got me good!!! Unexpected and just the best way to tie it up.
The mixed timelines were done really well and the plot itself was creepy and addictive.
This read is a quick one, the pace was just right and consistently built until a very unexpected ending! Look forward to more from this author.
April 15, 2024
I would give this book a 4 out of 5. The story was compelling and draws you in. The main character is down to earth and real and then you get that twist you don’t expect which makes it even more interesting. As you get more and more of the story there’s a creepy factor that comes along with it. It’s short and sweet and to the point so if you are looking for a novella with folk tales and otherworldly creatures this is it.
March 17, 2024
Thank you, Jessica Drake-Thomas
This is an interesting, mysterious story of going on a hike into the woods. It takes place twenty years into the future. I did enjoy the twists and jumpscares in the novella.
This is an interesting, mysterious story of going on a hike into the woods. It takes place twenty years into the future. I did enjoy the twists and jumpscares in the novella.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews