During times of change, life can feel a little uncertain. I often find that when I’m feeling that way, reading a book I’ve been looking forward to is like a soothing balm on a bothersome itch. What better way to kick off a new year of reading than to pick up the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2024?
Not a lot has changed from when Bittersweet in the Hollow left off. Rowan James and her family are still trying to keep the peace in their small town of Caball Hollow. But something (or someone?) seems to be making beloved objects disappear and leaving gaps in people’s memories, and if it’s up to Rowan, she’s going to sort things out and lay them straight.
Rowan has the ability, be it a blessing or a curse, to detect lies. Though every lie tastes a bit different, there’s no mistaking the bitterness that fills her mouth when falsities are spoken. With this unique trait comes a self-imposed responsibility to act in a manner that won’t bring more negative attention to her family, which means that often, Rowan keeps any lies she tastes to herself until she can pinpoint the origins of the falsehood and decide if she should take action or let things, well, lie.
Caball Hollow isn’t necessarily a place I’d want to live, but I do enjoy the opportunity to visit and become acquainted with whatever supernatural menace is haunting the town currently. Lately, it’s been less otherworldly and more real than Rowan would like- she prefers to fight her battles without a team of amateur sleuths popping up every time she turns a corner, but unfortunately the news must be slow because the fact is, her family restaurant has been serving coffee refills to a group of young people toting cameras and notepads that are looking for a scoop that Rowan is determined to keep out of their hands.
Because there is something newsworthy going on in Caball Hollow, Rowan feels it is connected to her and her family deeper than she can fathom. And the last thing her loved ones need is people sticking their noses into business that is best kept under wraps. The James family protects their own, even if that means being forced to welcome in a young man to their lives that they previously employed and who had at one point attempted to leave the Hollow. Armed with her lie detecting and quick thinking, Rowan tries to keep everything running smoothly in her personal life and the lives of those she cares about. Unfortunately, she’s beginning to realize that she can’t do it all on her own and must share some of her secrets in order to keep other more important ones safe.
The last thing Rowan is thinking about is romance, but if you’re much of a reader, you’ve probably learned that a power couple is often just what an author chooses to keep the spark alive in a story that one hero or heroine just doesn’t have the capability to save on their own. The guy who used to work for her family is not Rowan’s type at all, or maybe he’s so much like her that she’s too annoyed to admit it. Nevertheless, he keeps showing up at the most inconvenient times and making her life harder. Pairing up with him to fight against whatever is causing distress among the Hollow may go against every instinct Rowan has, but the truth tastes far sweeter than any lie she has ever heard, something she can’t ignore if she’s to be the savior in this story.
The best endings to a good book are ones that leave you craving more, only to realize that the story truly is over until another book is released. Waiting for another glimpse into Caball Hollow is something I’ll anticipate but that won’t keep me from finding my next favorite book to hold me over until the next release from Kate Pearsall!
Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy from Penguin Young Readers Group
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 religious exclamation; 30 mild obscenities; 5 scatological words; 5 anatomical terms.
Violence/Gore: A man is mentioned to have recently died suddenly; a car accident is reported to have occurred with one fatality; a girl is mentioned to have nightmares after experiencing near death; a building is mentioned to have scorch marks on it after an attempt was made to try to burn the building and the woman inside suspected to be a witch; a reference is made to vandalism occurring at a small restaurant with threats written on the wall in blood and lots of property destroyed; a legend is mentioned about a large wild cat that lives in local woods; a girl attacks a boy with a fork during an altercation, pressing the tines to his neck but not drawing blood; a girl overhears an argument between men in the woods and then hears what she assumes must be one man attacking the other; a minor girl hears noises outside a secluded cabin in the woods that she is staying at alone, grabs fire poker to defend herself if needed, and opens door to find someone she knows unconscious and bleeding on her doorstep; a reference is made to someone who went missing long ago; a conversation occurs where a car accident and resulting death are referred to; an unresponsive man is found in the woods and rumors fly about who he might be; a minor feels like she is being watched and not long after finds a dead bird nearby; a girl walking in woods she is familiar with thinks she sees a crouched, shadowy figure that then disappears; a brief scene occurs where minors cut their skin and mix their blood to complete a ritual; a girl is chased by a large animal in the woods; a girl bites a boy hard enough to draw blood in a brief scene; rumors are passed around that someone is stealing souls; a man is mentioned to have been murdered long ago to create a tree that connects to a different time, minors dig up his body and discover he must have been buried alive; a girl has creepy dreams of an adder eating a magpie; a minor finds an elderly friend who has died, later realizes she must have been killed after learning of the injuries she sustained before death; a brief scene occurs where a girl is hit in the back of the head and feels the impact caused bleeding, then passes out; a brief scene occurs between a dangerous man and a girl who feels threatened by him and is trying to escape him when the man is stabbed by another man with a knife from behind, some blood is mentioned.
Sex/Nudity: A man is mentioned to flirt with his waitress; a minor boy and girl who have a love/hate relationship kiss each other in a brief scene; minors kiss and embrace in a brief scene with boy running his fingers over the girl’s skin; a brief scene occurs where a boy and a girl kiss.
Mature Subject Matter:
Witches/witchcraft; magic; murder; loss of a loved one; illegal activities (poaching, vandalism).
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Drug use is referred to; cinnamon moonshine is mentioned; drunk people are referred to.
