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This is the first book in the River Styx Heathens series, a second-gen The Hollow Boys<\/a> spin-off.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This book grabbed hold of me and did not let me go! <\/b>A dark NA romance with tortured characters, drama and epic emotion, this is a fantastic read, and I loved it!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Ponderosa Springs, this version of Romeo and Juliet isn\u2019t a tragedy. It\u2019s war.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Jude Sinclair is West Trinity Falls\u2019 favorite exiled loner.<\/p>\n Cocky. Insufferably hot. Family foe.<\/p>\n Raised across the tracks in a rival town, he reeks of trouble. Which is the one thing I\u2019ve always had a problem avoiding and now that he\u2019s just down the hall, it\u2019s harder to resist the pull.<\/p>\n My father made one rule when Jude moved in, never trust a Sinclair.<\/p>\n The last thing I need is for my new foster brother to make me question my loyalty with his filthy smirks and poet tongue. But with every forbidden kiss and secret hookup, I quickly find myself faced with two options.<\/p>\n Betray my family? Or betray my heart?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This book grabbed hold of me and did not let me go – 5 huge stars!<\/b><\/p>\n This is the first book in the River Styx Heathens<\/i> series, a second-gen spin-off from The Hollow Boys<\/a><\/em> (though it can stand alone). It\u2019s a dark NA enemies-to-lovers romance with tortured characters, drama, epic emotion, and a fantastically forbidden Romeo and Juliette vibe. It\u2019s a fantastic read, beautifully written, and days after finishing it, and I\u2019m still thinking about these characters and their incredible story. I loved this book so much!<\/p>\n Seraphina Van Doren is the daughter of Rook and Sage (from The Truths We Burn<\/a>. She is 18 years old and a self-declared science geek, however four years ago she was the victim of a devastating assault, which has left her changed. She has kept the incident a secret from her family and friends, not wanting them to feel guilt or take vengeance on her behalf, instead she has locked it away and become somebody she barely recognises \u2013 an attention-seeking party girl who lets nobody in, who keeps herself separate from her family and the people that love her the most. It\u2019s a heartbreaking life she\u2019s living, but she doesn\u2019t know any other way, and oh, I hurt for her.<\/p>\n The pain of silence will forever be worth it because it keeps her safe. It keeps them all happy, unburdened. I\u2019ll go to the grave with this hurt because they are worth it. They are worth everything.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jude Sinclair is the son of Easton, Hollow Boys<\/i> series bad guy. Also 18, he grew up with his abusive father and has never known love or family, and he\u2019s full of anger. He has been unfairly branded with his father\u2019s crimes and is an outcast who is looked down upon by the entire town and he\u2019s desperate to get out and start a new life where nobody knows him. But in order to get the future he craves, he is forced to stay in town, and in a delicious twist, he is taken in by the very people his father hated the most \u2013 the Van Doren family – living in the room right next door to his arch enemy, Seraphina.<\/p>\n Phi and Jude share a palpable hatred. She believes he was involved in the attack on her, when in reality he actually had no idea. Her search for vengeance changed his life and they have hated each other ever since. Their aggressive dynamic leads to a hate-filled steamy encounter that left them both stunned at their chemistry, yet their animosity continued. But with them sharing the same roof, their forced proximity allows them to truly see<\/i> each other, and their twisted past brings so much emotion as things start to change.<\/p>\n Seraphina Van Doren has spent years mastering the art of hiding in plain sight\u2014 locking herself in her own personal hell, building walls too thick for anyone to climb. When he looked at me, really looked at me, it was like he saw everything. Every crack and splinter in my facade, every jagged piece of me that\u2019s come undone, every sharp shard no one else would dare to touch. He saw it all and didn\u2019t run. Didn\u2019t look at me differently. Though Phi has a loving family and close friends who want to support her, Jude is there for her in a way that nobody else is. He truly sees her, he understands her pain, and he patiently and determinedly breaks down her walls, giving her the freedom to be her true self, and I loved watching them open up to each other.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can hate that it\u2019s me all you want, but that vicious fucking heart of yours? It\u2019s aching to be soft.\u201d Jude pauses, his thumb tracing a slow, deliberate line along my jaw, and I feel my pulse quicken. \u201cLet it, Phi. Let it be gentle, just this once. You deserve that. Worry about it being me later.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Their dynamic is so well written. From hate to wild passion to sort-of-friends and then so much more, I felt every shift in their dynamic, and was right there with them, feeling it all, as they fall hard for each other and create their own little world where they can just be<\/i>.<\/p>\n The guy I swore to hate forever is the only one who\u2019s seen every broken, ugly piece of me.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cRight here, right now, we\u2019re no one. There\u2019s no history. No last names. You\u2019re just Jude. I\u2019m just Phi. We can create something that\u2019s ours.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s sexy and wild, dramatic, heartfelt, sweet and playful, and I felt everything<\/i> as they open up and be vulnerable with each other, leaning on and supporting each other, and finding something so special together, and it\u2019s so, so beautiful.<\/p>\n Hating him used to be my armor. As long as I could despise Jude, I could surrender my body without handing over the rest of me. It kept me safe, locked behind walls he couldn\u2019t climb. But that shield? It\u2019s cracked, the pieces slipping through my fingers like sand. The rest of the Hollow Boys<\/i> family are a big part of the story, and I LOVED seeing the troubled Hollow Boys all grown up and uber protective fathers and \u2018uncles\u2019. Phi\u2019s parents, their friends and children have become a huge found family; the parents are best friends with special uncle\/aunty relationships with each other\u2019s kids, and the kids themselves are super-close, each other\u2019s \u2018people\u2019, and I loved seeing all of the different relationships in the group. Of course, they\u2019ve all noticed the change in Phi, and they\u2019ve all been there for her, but it\u2019s the relationship with her father and mother that really bought the emotion for me as they are patiently there for their girl in the only way she will let them.<\/p>\n \u201cI know we\u2019ve been out of sync for a while,\u201d he says quietly, his tone steady yet laced with pain. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I did\u2026 or what changed. But no matter how far you think you\u2019ve wandered, no matter how lost you feel, I\u2019ve always got you. You\u2019re never too far gone. Home\u2019s always right here.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cI know that weight on your shoulders is heavy. I can see it. When you\u2019re ready, I\u2019m right here, baby. I\u2019m strong enough to help you carry it, always.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s so much emotion in this story, and I felt so much while reading. I was so drawn to both Phi and Jude \u2013 to their individual stories, their strength and their pain, and I love them as a couple, fighting for and supporting each other through so much. But the Van Dorens and the SInclairs are enemies from way back, and just because Rook and Sage brought Jude into their home doesn\u2019t mean they will be happy to see him with their little girl. So, we get this sensational forbidden romance aspect which just makes the love story more exciting, and the resolution to the story is intense and beautifully written, with Jude and Phi\u2019s love for each other shining through every moment.<\/p>\n Maybe love isn\u2019t meant to be easy. Maybe it\u2019s meant to be this\u2014 two people desperately trying to find each other across the chaos, across the darkness, across everything that should\u2019ve kept us apart.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I love this book so much. It made my heart pound as I raged, cried, cheered, smiled and fell in love with these two characters and their beautiful story.<\/p>\n Jude Sinclair did not fix me \u2026 But Jude is the person who makes it feel lighter. Who helps me carry it, who walks beside me as I navigate healing.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While there are some dark themes, it\u2019s not as violent or shocking as The Hollow Boys<\/i>, which I appreciated. Those books pushed the boundaries a bit for me, but this one was right on target balancing dark romance with beautiful emotion and well-deserved redemption for both of these amazing characters.<\/p>\n I loved being back in this world, and cannot wait to continue on with the series.<\/p>\n A huge 5 stars and a fave for 2024.<\/p>\n An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Second-gen spin-off series from The Hollow Boys<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Wrath of an Exile (#1)<\/strong> (Jude & Seraphina) Whisper of a Shadow (#2) <\/strong>(Ezra & Andromeda) More books to come…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Monty Jay likes to describe herself as a punk rock kid, with the soul of a gypsy who has a Red Bull addiction. She writes romance novels about insane artists, feisty females, hockey players, and many more.<\/p>\n When she isn\u2019t writing she can be found reading anything Stephen King, getting a tattoo, or eating cold pizza.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0Facebook Reader Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Amazon Author Page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wrath of an Exile by Monty Jay is live! This is the first book in the River Styx Heathens series, a second-gen The Hollow Boys spin-off.\u00a0 This book grabbed hold of me and did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,52,86,50,49,972,13,9,29],"tags":[1173,634,1573],"class_list":["post-76876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angsty","category-drama","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-favourite","category-feeeeeeels","category-forbidden","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-monty-jay","tag-release","tag-river-styx-heathens"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Wrath-of-an-Exile.jpeg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jZW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nAnd to her credit, no one has noticed.
\nBut that\u2019s because no one has ever really looked.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nHe stayed.
\nAnd for a split second, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn\u2019t alone, drowning in my pain.
\nSomeone had started treading water with me.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAnd Jude\u2019s hands are right there, catching the fragments before they fall away completely.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\nRiver Styx Heathens<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>To be released 2026<\/p>\n
\nMeet the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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