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The Hollow and the Haunted is something I have been looking for, for a very long time, a series that may at last fill The Raven Cycle shaped hole in my life. Filled with affection, psychics, intrigue, and the looming threat of a rich boy dying, Raines has crafted something wonderfully intense and absorbing.

The action, and gothic edge, of the Lockwood & Co. books meet the emotional power and intricate relationships of The Raven Cycle series, in what is sure to be a YA stand-out. Filled with sadness, duty, love, friendship and enough witty repartee to make you laugh out loud, Raines has stormed onto the scene with a debut so utterly beguiling, I am still thinking about it days later. I sometimes say I will continue series I start on NetGalley, but rarely can I say it with 100% certainty, I want to see how this story ends, but more than that, I have become a Camilla Raines auto-buyer based on this excellent debut alone.

The Hollow and the Haunted follows Miles Warren, a closeted teenage psychic recently plagued by worrying premonitions. As an empath, Miles shouldn’t be foreseeing anyone’s death, but, if he had to choose, front row seats to the untimely demise of Gabriel Hawthorne, middle son of the illustrious Hawthorne family, would certainly not have been his first choice. Add a long running family feud, Gabriel’s shocking lack of social skills, Miles’ need to keep their budding partnership from his family, and the sparks of something that is absolutely not a crush (despite what Miles’ cousin Charlee might imply) and you’ve got the recipe for a pretty excellent YA novel.

It is hard to pinpoint what about this book makes it so successful. In part I think it is Raines’ ability to bring us into Miles, to see how he navigates the world, follow his logic, and truly understand what it is he’s hoping to achieve. In part, I think it is Raines’ ability to make Gabriel so perfectly lovable, for all his sharp edges. And in part, I think it is the story, which spirals inexorably towards tragedy, the tide held back only by the will of a single young-man, whose earnest, good natured care feels so perfectly enough. I was absorbed by this tale, and charmed by its characters, but it is both of those elements layered together that makes this a truly brilliant example of YA fiction.

5 stars, and more praise than I can put into words. An utterly wonderful novel, in what will likely become one of my favourite series. Thank you to Camilla Raines, Titan Books, and NetGalley for a galley of this in exchange for an honest review.