Hollen the Soulless

Dokiri Brides, Book 1

By: Denali Day

Narrated by: Shane East

Length: 19 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

He'll mark her flesh. She'll claim his heart.

Always the dutiful daughter, Lady Joselyn is weeks away from marrying a rival lord in order to save her house. However, she suddenly finds herself in the clutches of an ancient beast she’s only ever heard of in legends. More terrifying than that is the beast’s master, a wild man who insists Joselyn is his bride by right, and plans to seal his claim in blood. 

Dragon-rider Hollen has finally captured the woman of his dreams, though he quickly learns waiting for her was less than half the battle. His new bride wants nothing to do with him, and Hollen knows he only has one chance to change her mind. 

Their wills pitted against each other, Joselyn will go to any lengths to free herself from this savage and fulfill her marriage contract. Her father’s life depends upon it. To win her over, Hollen will do whatever he must, even if it means keeping secrets. Even as she plots her escape, Joselyn begins to wonder if one can also be bound by a duty to their own heart. 

Includes "Sven the Collector", a bonus story from The Dokiri Brides series.

©2020 Denali Day (P)2021 Podium Audio

Love It!

I have read this series before (ebook on Amazon) but I love audiobooks and Shane East is *Italian kiss*. You have to give it a try if you love paranormal romance, adventure, sexy men and a good plot. There is excellent and natural character development throughout the book and you never get bored while listening. East portrays the characters well (similar to how I imagined them when I first read the book) and even does female voices and accents beautifully. I will definitely be waiting for the next in Denali Day’s’ series!
*This book does not contain full on steamy scenes but does have implied heat. (Well written and up to the reader to use their imagination).

Long but worth it

I was originally daunted by the length of this book, but the last four house are a short novella telling the story of Hollen's parents.

Now, for the review. Here is what I would have wanted to know before starting this book, and yes, there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

1. This is HEA
2. These are not dragon shifter. They are dragon riders
3. Hollen is amazing. Not once throughout the entire book does he do something infuriating. He's patient, listens, and tries to figure out how to best win his bride without forcing her beyond just the marking in the beginning
4. Joselyn is the primary influence of the conflict between the two main characters. She's sociable and friendly to everyone but Hollen. Despite the amount of chapters invested into her animosity towards him in the beginning, it really only last three days. You can see her struggling with her feelings for him, while still being completely brainwashed by her narcissistic father.
5. Here are the series of events:
• Hollen kidnaps Joselyn and takes her back to his 'tribe',
• Joselyn spends days trying to get someone to help return her to her father,
• Over a few weeks, she freaks out over her feelings for him, and tries to run away on her own
• Hollen rescues her, and she ultimately gives into her feelings and is finally happy for the first time in her life
• By accident, she is kidnapped by her father's men. Hollen goes after her, they are both 'imprisoned' and struggle for escape.
• They are rescued and live HEA

I'm not big on angst and slow-burns. It's not my thing, but this was worth it. What I particularly liked is that Hollen was understanding throughout the entire book, or as understanding as he could be. He grew up with loving parents, where Joselyn did not. It took him time to figure out that this messed her up in the head quite a bit, but he pressed forwards and won her heart.

Overall the angst between the two lasted a little more than half the book.

Petulant

The heroine was petulant for 3/4ths of the novel. I like female characters to be strong and smart.

Left me with a lot of questions.

This book is 20 hours long. Which isn’t an issue, BUT (yep, there’s a “but”) both the crescendo and the conclusion had major problems, as well as the reader not getting full resolution at the end of this book. Even though it’s a series, it appears the successive stories are related to OTHER clan men, not an extension to Hollen and Joselyn, so there’s no reason to assume those issues will be tied up in any following installments.

SPOILERS:
First off, the story doesn’t warrant 20 hours. Not at all. And, unfortunately, because the last fifth of the book is not fully satisfying, I felt like I wasted a lot of time. How did Hollen get captured? This is never addressed and doesn’t really make sense. I wish more time had been spent laying that out and less time in the bulk of the book when Hollen and Joselyn are getting to know each other. Second, there are no consequences for her father? We don’t care what may have happened to her nanny (or whatever she was)? Can Hollen lead the clan anymore considering what happened to him? All of these missteps happen in the last portion of the book and it’s just kind of annoying that a reader spends all the time leading up to it reading/listening just to get some really unsatisfying resolutions.

Shane East was awesome as always. In fact, I may have given up on the book way early were there a less talented narrator.

NonCon Torture & Mutilation

No content warning for NonCon torture and mutilation. Fine if that’s your thing, no shame, but readers deserve a basic one-sentence content warning to decide for themselves if it’s worth the read.

I really wanted to like it

But I didn’t…..I gave this book 6 hours before the constant whining and Tedious repetition of the h motives made me want to shake her. Don’t even get me started on the “Hero”! Too good to be true but weak and cowed by this mean tempered girl he saddled himself with. He is the leader of a clan of dragon flyers but practically cries every time she yells and screams at him (which is A LOT). I like my alpha men to be, well, alpha. I felt like he needed a safe space (or a crying room) in his caves. Ugh-I will be returning this for sure.

VERY uncomfortable with the premise

The writing was good, and the narration was, too. However, I stopped listening when it became clear that the hero's society is based on kidnapping women then marrying them in a ritual that includes carving scars into their bodies.

One Entertaining Narrator!

This is a medieval fantasy with strong willed characters that will have you captivated and eager to turn those pages. The storytelling is some of the best I've ever read! A dutiful daughter meets a wild barbarian that is determined to make her his. The push and the pull between them is delightfully delicious and will leave you smiling gleefully.

Hollen is strong and fierce and no doubt he's brave. He's got brawn and brains and is the total Mr. McHotty, so what's Joselyn's hold up? Well, she is very proper and has been raised to be a lady. She's pledged to another who happens to be a monster among men. She's terrified to marry and terrified to refuse. Her house will suffer if she doesn't do her duty.

The Dokiri Warriors all must seek out a bride. In order to do so, they must leave their mountain home and find a worthy female to fly away with. She doesn't have a choice but to submit. Or does she!? And the longer she stays will she really want to leave?

This series is hawt! It's refreshingly brilliant and spicy while still leaving plenty to your imagination. The covers are all drool worthy! The only issue I really have with this unputdownable series, is that it's all fictitious and there is no Dokiri waiting to whisk me away. That's fairly disappointing. But... I comfort myself that there are many more books yet to read to this series! So... don't wait! Meet your perfect warrior right now! You'll totally thank me. And you'll discover an author that you adore.

Amazing story and performance!

This was a really good read that had me super conflicted while reading it. I was rooting so hard for Hollen and I wanted him to win over his girl and get the relationship he desired so bad but I was also rooting for Joselyn to escape. She was totally justified in her feelings of hating Hollen. He kidnaps her from her home and mutilates her body all without her permission because of his Gods and his beliefs, which Joselyn has no faith in. I was angry for her but once we get to know Hollen and his feelings and thoughts, you get to see that there is a sweetness there and a greater purpose for why he did the things he did. You get to see that he doesn’t want to hurt Joselyn and he really was trying to win her over. I felt her stubbornness and refusal to see the situations for what they were went on too long for me but this book was still a hell of a ride. I loved the world that Denali Day has created and I will be picking up the next book.

All the feels - hate to love

I have never hated main character as much as I disliked Joselyn. She was so damaged and with such a willful stubborn spirit I didn’t see how they would have worked out. On many occasions I found myself cussing out loud that Hollen needs to just return her to psycho father and fiancé coz they deserve each other. Shane East’s reading of Joselyn parts emphasized her nasty spirit and his reading of Hollen made me fall in love wit the barbarian. The depth of character development in this book was so good I couldn’t stop listening . It was so emotionally charged and at times draining . If you want to feel emotional turmoil of indecision , listen to this book because it is well written .
*this book is such a tease - 19 hrs of listening and not even a little steamy scene… why?

Romantic and fun story

Was unexpected twist and very romantic. I loved how it build up. the culture, fantasy and the romance

a Great Romantic Adventure

I didn't hold much hope that this was going to be any good but it intrigued me enough to try, especially as it was part of the included catalogue. Firstly let me just say that Shane East was a brilliant choice for Narrator. The Nan has the Sexiest Viking Voice/Accent and might ge the sole reason I actually picked this up at all after listening to the sample.

The story follows and incredibly Sheltered and manipulated young woman that spent her entire life trying to do her Duty and please her father who is the the most Cold hearted, manipulative piece of Rubbish ever. When she is taken by Hollen, she fights tooth and nail to return to do her Duty. But when this Savage proves to be Kind, Honourable and loyal, and the Dokiri themselves warm and welcoming, she becomes conflicted.

A fade to black style romance that was beautifully told, and frankly carries you away on an epic adventure full of Fantasy thrills !

As for the book itself. What a pleasant surprise! Honestly! I wasn't sure about the kidnapped bride aspect... but as soon as you understand the world and the Dokiri, it made a while lot more sense. This Series mighty be Called The Dokiri Brides, but its about far more. its about a race of Warriors, protecting humanity from things that lurk in the Mountain. its about Family and yes about Love and honour and devotion.

sweet story

Loved the storyline, found it hard to really connect with the "heroine" as for the most part she was quite disagreeable. The hero however was perfect, sweet and understanding. It was a little predictable,but good nonetheless.

amazing audio book

I loved the whole story line, very moving, even when some places seemed to drag a little. the narrator was amazing a bought it to life.

A very, very satisfying audible presentation!

This is a very well crafted narrative about an imaginary world, populated by a high mountainous race or clan which protects “the lowlands” from horrible, lethal and unknown dangers, a function which, in turns justifies the male warriors (and ONLY boys are conceived to this race) in snatching unaccompanied (and luckily virgin) females from the life track they were pursuing and bringing them, however struggling and unwilling, to actually, a wholly better life up high in the high peaks.
Did I enjoy the stories? Absolutely! They were compellingly convincing! (Ok, if I were an editor, I would have used a red pen sometimes, but my slight annoyance wasn’t enough to stop me listening to the absolute end, including the deleted scenes!)
There is suggestion of hot and steamy, but that’s it —- only hints and suggestion. Which, in the hands - or vocal cords - of Shane East that is 90% as good!

I recommend it! Both the writing and especially, the narration.

The narrator is amazing!

The narrator is amazing! I enjoyed this book, but hated when the author used the word 'lust' rather then desire. Also scringed when mentioning that the main character bled during her first sexual experience. Most girls hymens are gone by the time they reach adulthood regardless of sexual activity. It just seemed such an ignorant and old fashioned thing to mention. But otherwise a good story.

Shane East…

The chocolaty smoothness of Shane East is orgasmically addictive, the story is good too, but the narration makes it really special. So, the characters; Jocelyn is really annoying and hard to like and her storyline progresses a little too slowly at times, but eventually gets to the point. Overall I enjoyed the book, again, that voice…red wine, chocolate truffles and a rose scented bath good. Sigh…

Gripping and tense

Well written, exceptional attention to detail. This story is tense, to the point I had to stop it a couple of times and take a breather from the tension. The characters are interesting and well described, and there’s a hefty dose of gore

The narrator brought the characters to life, I enjoyed listening to them all, each one different

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, one of my favourites so far

Really surprisingly good

It would be a lot better if it had a female narrator for the female POV, but still, it didn't stop the experience from being really good and fun. I would recommend to people that like this genre and it deserves a lot more recognition!

Extra Bits

The story was great and the novela lovely and appreciated. The extra scenes, however we're unnecessary.