A Guide To The Hollow Boys Series By Monty Jay

Book Reviews
Written By Shenaye Suggs
 
“They should learn to warn others about the children that are left to cultivate with the absence of light. When you take away their luster, the darkness doesn’t just become a part of them, they become the darkness.”
— The Lies We Steal, Book One
 

What’s It About?

The Hollow Boys is a 5-book dark college school romance series written by Monty Jay.

This series centers around 4 boys known as The Hollow Boys: Alistair, Rook, Thatcher, and Silas — as they go on a mission to uncover who killed Silas’ girlfriend Rosemary. The town they hail from is filled with secrets and once they open Pandoras’s box, everything just seems to keep tumbling out. The town is seeping in darkness and secrets, in murder and greed and power. But as they weed out the evil ones bit by bit, they also find their own happiness through the women they meet: Briar, Sage, Lyra, and Coraline.

The series is full of twists and turns, and I’ll be honest…just straight up darkness. It will grip it, make you sad, angry, happy, and even give you a good laugh. With well written characters, a really good plot, angst, and plenty of spice, it’s definitely a must read.

The full series is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can find it in my Amazon Shop here, or you can click the images below to go to each book separately.

Tropes Include: dark romance, college romance, bully romance, secret society, and more.

The Setting

Ponderosa Springs is a town that feels as if it’s been lifted from the pages of a Stephen King novel. Situated on the misty, windswept coast of Oregon, the town is known for its towering Ponderosa pine trees, which form a dense, shadowy forest around the town, giving it a constant air of mystery and seclusion. The light rarely touches the ground here, as the sun’s rays are often obscured by a perpetual blanket of fog that drifts through the trees, making the entire town seem like it’s suspended in time. This eerie atmosphere is heightened by the sound of crashing waves against the rugged coastline, the cliffsides adding to the town’s isolated, otherworldly feel.

Despite the heavy, almost oppressive sense of foreboding, Ponderosa Springs is a place of opulence and wealth. The elite residents here live in sprawling mansions tucked away behind iron gates and well-manicured lawns. The Victorian architecture of many buildings adds to the sense of history and grandeur, yet the darkened corners and winding cobblestone pathways give the town a menacing edge. It’s a place where secrets are whispered in the fog, and power is wielded in hushed tones behind closed doors.

Ponderosa Springs is home to several key locations, each with its own distinct character and influence over the town’s elite society.

The Main Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are 9 that the books center around: Briar, Alistair, Sage, Rook, Lyra, Thatcher, Coraline, Silas, and Rosemary.

Other main characters are coming soon as soon as I finish each book’s notes!

The Side Characters

While there are many characters in this book series, there are a few side characters that you’ll find make a big enough impression.

My Rating For The Whole Series

Series Rating Coming Soon!

Book One: The Lies We Steal

My Personal Rating — ★★★★★ — 5/5 Stars

The Lies We Steal is a dark college enemies-to-lovers romance written by Monty Jay. It’s book one in the Hollow Boys series.

This book grabbed me from the beginning. You meet Briar, a new scholarship-type student at Hollow Heights University. Her uncle, who is a professor there was able to get her in. Hollow Heights, however, while it is full of wealth, it also holds lots of secrets, as does the town of Ponderosa Springs where it’s located. One of those secrets is the mystery behind a girl named Rosemary who just recently passed away. The guys set on uncovering the mystery are Alistair and his crew [Thatcher, Rook, and Silas].

On their path to finding out what really happened to Rosemary [who also happened to be Silas’s girlfriend and a good friend of the whole group], they meet Briar…and not in the best way. As Briar and her newfound friend Lyra traipse about in a local cemetery, they witness the boys ‘questioning a witness’. Let’s just say they see something they’re not supposed to and the boys immediately launch into bully mode to keep the girls in line. What Alistair doesn’t expect, however, is to fall so deeply for Briar’s fire and resistance. And what Briar doesn’t expect? To fall so hard for one of the ‘darkest’ men at school.

This story has twists and turns. It gives off gothic vibes and dark academia vibes, but also haunted and just plain messed up. This town, the parents who run things…I can’t even begin to put into words. Monty Jay has so beautifully captured so many dark situations and emotions. My melancholic heart just could not stop turning the pages. It’s so well written and I fell in love with each of the characters. And, since I’m a sucker for happy endings, I greatly enjoyed seeing how Briar and Alistair’s love story came together.

This book, while it wraps up Alistair and Briar’s story, it also end on a cliffhanger, propelling you into Rook and Sage’s story in book 2 — a book I immediately downloaded and began to dive into . I give this book 5/5 stars. It’s book 1 in a 4-book series, full of spice and angst and is available on Kindle Unlimited. You can get book one in the Hollow Boys series here.

A Playlist For The Hollow Boys

Below, you’ll find a playlist full of songs that either matched the vibe of the school, the students, the main characters, or the events that occurred throughout the series. You can listen below via Apple Music or Spotify.

Don’t forget to give me a follow on whichever platform you use most and add the playlists to your library as new playlists and music are always being added!

Did you listen to the playlist? Let me know what you thought of it in a comment below or tag me on instagram [@shenayesuggs] or use my hashtags #shenayesuggs or #thatgirlsreads so I can see that you’re listening!

Get Your Hollow Boy’s Series Merch

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An Important Note

For Authors

Are you an author wanting art for your book? I can help you with that! Send me a quick message via my contact page here to get the ball rolling.

For Readers

Are you a reader wanting to see a specific book or book series covered on That Girl’s Reads? Send me a quick message via my contact page here and I’ll add it to my TBR.

This post contains affiliate links. Also, all character and setting images [minus any collages] have been generated using AI.

Shenaye Suggs

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