The Hollow Gods by A. J. Vrana

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Debut author, Vrana, offers up malevolent folklore haunting the outskirts of present-day Vancouver, British Columbia in this first book of a duology. The residents of small-town Black Hollow hold their daughters close and their shameful secrets closer as young girls go missing only to return and die shortly after. Floundering college student, Emiliya (Miya) Delathorne, struggles to find her place in the world. She meets Kai Donovan, a resident loner of Black Hollow who is eerily familiar. Kai has a disturbing tendency to wake up next to the missing dead girls with no recollection of how he got there. Despite this chilling disclosure, Miya finds herself drawing closer to him without fear. The sinister presence that seems to accompany Kai adds further challenge to the growing relationship. When oncology resident, Mason Evans, seeks refuge in Black Hollow from his recent medical fumble, he is pulled into the chilling reality of the town’s Dreamwalker stories. The three unsuspecting players in Black Hollow’s unending cycle of malice discover the extent of vengeance that festers over centuries. This promising paranormal fantasy adds a riveting twist to the well-trodden path of a werewolf story.