In this haunting companion to Bittersweet in the Hollow, a girl who can smell the lies of others uncovers the incendiary mysteries of her small Appalachian town.
Everybody lies. And in knowing their lies, I become the keeper of their secrets.
As Caball Hollow slowly recovers from a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.
18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell lies on the teller’s breath—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long struggled with her gift, which has taught her that everyone distorts the truth, and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old rival Hadrian Fitch shows up on her front porch—bloodied and bruised and asking for the kind of help only she can provide—her first instinct is distrust.
Except Hadrian’s attack isn’t the only strange occurrence. Now small items are disappearing, but rather than report the losses the owners act as if their missing things never existed. Rumors of a new monster prowling the Hollow begin to swirl. But how can Rowan smoke out the culprit in a town full of secrets? And worse, how can Rowan trust beautiful, solemn Hadrian when every other word he speaks has the distinct burnt smell of a lie?
This is book two, or a companion novel, in the Bittersweet in the Hollow series. I didn’t read book number one (I just jumped in without realizing it was book 2 🤷🏼♀️. It’s very me), and I had no trouble whatsoever keeping up or understanding the plot. In fact, I loved this story. I can’t wait to read the first book.
I love that the James women are wonderfully relatable, except for the fact that they can work magic. It just makes the magic in the book seem so real, like these types of things happen every. Rowen was especially relatable, in my opinion. I loved going on this mysterious journey with her.
I honestly wasn’t Hadrians’ biggest fan, but the guy grew on me! By the end of the book, I was absolutely smitten! And not to give anything away, but his question about that particular phrase that he says to her at the end of the book (iykyk), I was simply swooning. I want more!
One of my favorite things about this book is that the nature, the animals, the woods, all of it is like a character all of its own. It just gave the story so much personality!
Is this one on your TBR?
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