Hallowed Games

By: C.N. Crawford

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

If he’s death, I crave oblivion.

Elowen is cursed: she kills with a brush of her fingertips. Her worst fear is hurting the boy she cares for—and her second-worst is the attention of the Raven Lord. Maelor is the lethally beautiful leader of the witch-hunters. And now, he seems like he knows her secrets.

When he arrests her, her only hope is to survive a series of brutal trials. Ninety-nine out of a hundred will die, and magic is strictly forbidden. Strangely, Maelor is immune to Elowen’s touch. The Raven Lord claims to want to help her. But as she spends more time with him, she discovers he has a dark secret of his own. Is he the reason bodies have been showing up around the kingdom, drained of blood?

The more Maelor wants Elowen, the more dangerous he becomes. In a world where trusting someone can get you killed, will this beautiful monster help her survive?

Hallowed Games is the first book in a new series of fantasy romance, morally-grey characters, and deadly trials: perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Serpent and the Wings of Night.

©2023 Corey Press (P)2023 Corey Press

It’s actually worth 2 credits

This book was everything and more. It grabbed my attention from the first page and it never wavered. I need book 2 ASAP!!

Let the Games Begin

This is such a great story, I love the world and the magic system, the “holy” and “witches”.
The corrupt religious zealots, who wish to rid the world of the evil witches, and the games that they force the accused to participate in, in hopes of being “forgiven”
There are so many twists and turns, alliances, secrets, battles and The Resistance.
Will Elwen survive the Games?

10 stars all the way!

Absolutely phenomenal story & with such captivating characters! I highly recommend listening to this!
I think CN Crawford is incapable of writing anything bad!

Wow a great adult paranormal romance

Hallowed Games is filled with witches, witch hunters and vampires. It is exciting, sexy and such an entertaining read! Our FMC, Elowen, is slightly older than many fantasy books out there, pushing into her 30s and as a mid 30 year old reader I was all there for it.

I loved that the connection really holding Elowen to her humanity is a little boy named Leo who she has taken in. There is a clear love interest that plays throughout the story but it’s Leo and his safety that helps Elowen really hold on and push through.

I loved the plot twist at the end and I love how it sets up the direction for the next book!

As always CN Crawford did an amazing job with this series opener. The story is well paced and the dialogue is perfectly placed and adds to the allure of the story.

The narration was done so well. They did a great job bringing these characters to life and adding to their personality.

If you love witch and vampire stories then give this a try!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I’m cursed to kill with a brush of my fingertips. Everyone I touch dies—until I meet Maelor. He’s the mysterious, beautiful hunter of the cursed. And he’s immune to my touch.

The cursed like me are forced into deathly trials every year. Magic is forbidden, and our god chooses only one to grant mercy. The rest will die.

But it turns out, Maelor has a curse of his own. The reason I can’t kill him? He’s already dead. Turns out, he’s a vampire—lethally sexy, and dangerous as hell.

As the trials go on, I find that Maelor is as drawn to me as I am to him. Can this beautiful monster help me become the chosen one, or will our forbidden attraction lead me to ruin?”

HALLOWED GAMES is absolutely FANTASTIC 🤩

From the beginning, you’re thrown into a world where nothing is as it seems. With characters you can’t help but root for (or throat punch) and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end.

VANQUISHED GODS can’t come soon enough!

Strap in as CN Crawford does it again

Strap in for a ride with this one and be prepared for loops and turns.

Part 1 of the book was great setting up the story. Part 2 was straight up Hunger Games, winner takes all. Part 3 was a mind -f.

Book 1 definitely sets us up for a great series ahead and leaves you on a cliffy that asks so many questions. Who to trust? What's the cause? Who's happily ever after material!

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review, but due to personal events couldn't read it in time so I also bought the audio book. Highly recommended to listen to the audio!

the story line

Ive never read a vampire book prior to Hallowed Games, but this one has now got me interested in reading more. Elowen has the touch of death. She is named as one who is kissed by the serpent by her "used to be best friend" ... now she must go to the trials, where only one can make it through to survive will be pardoned. She will do anythingto make it back to Leo. Maelor, the raven lord is immune to her touch and tries to help her through the trials. She finds out that he is a vampire and that he has shadow magic (okay shadow daddy). But she makes alliance ti make it through the trials. Elowen wants to save all of the accused and end these trials for good.she hears about a resistance within the order. Both elowen and maelor are touched by death. Maelor himself being "undead" and elowen is the "mother of death" my favorite quote in the book is "If he is death I craved oblivion."♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Sions is a good character as well. im starting to fall for him too! I definitely wouldnt complain about having either of them! Spice level is 3.5 things are starting to get hot in here!! But its also accompanied by a good plot that kept me equally invested. It ends with a cliffhanger and now I'm (not so) patiently waiting for the second book to come out.

Witch trials with vampires? Yes please!

It's the Salem witch trials, but with deadly games for a chance to get their curse lifted and throw in a couple of vampires to really spice things up! Elowen has a touch that kills. Maelor is the Raven Lord helping keep her alive. Secrets and betrayal galore! Can't wait to see what happens next!

The Slowest of burns but great story.

Narration
Caitlin Davies narration was not bad but i had to put the narration speed to 1.5x. I liked how she was able to change her inflection between characters.

Story
The story took me a bit to get into and the premise of the story is quite interesting. I had to push through the book and all the good stuff happen midstory so you really have to drag a little. Of course, this is a slow burn so i am probably just impatient haha The characters are captivating and had me wanting more of the story.