Friday, August 1, 2008

Review: The Hollow by Nora Roberts

Title: The Hollow
Series: Sign of Seven
Author: Nora Roberts
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: May 6, 2008
Publisher: Jove
ISBN: 0515144592
ISBN-13: 9780515144598

In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse.

Twenty-one years later, Fox O'Dell and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore.

A boutique manager from New York, Layla Darnell was drawn to Hawkins Hollow for reasons she can't explain - but the recent attacks on her life make it clear that it is personal. And though Fox tries to keep his professional distance, his interests in Layla have become personal too.

My rating:

Three boys who shared their birthday, Caleb, Fox, and Gage, decided to celebrate their tenth birthday at the Pagan Stone, a strange, altar-like stone in the middle of the woods surrounding Hawkins Hollow, the village where the three grew up.

A simple vow to always be friends sealed with their blood, unleashed an entity that‘s been haunting them ever since.

Every seven years, for seven days in the seventh month, the small town of Hawkins Hollow descends into madness. Strange accidents happen; neighbors turn against neighbors, husbands against wives… When the Seven is over, no one remembers anything.

Except the three blood brothers.

Now, twenty-one years later, the three boys turned men know the time might have come to end it. It has grown stronger, but so have them. And they’re not alone anymore.


This is the second book in the Sign of Seven trilogy. While the first book, Blood Brothers, was one of the creepiest (in some parts) book I've read to date, this one does not rise to the challenge.

I liked Fox, his tree-hugging roots clashing with a deep need to fight, and his deep urge to protect his mate with his life if need be. And I'd love to see those "tiger eyes" in person.

Layla was another story. In some scenes I got this crazy urge to slap the stupid girl. This one is most certainly one of the female characters I passionately dislike in fiction. Despite my efforts I just couldn't relate to her. I know we all have issues and worries, but she was a little too over the top for me.

At least the romance between them had a little more time to evolve and become a little more believable than in the previous book.



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