I’ve been following Bethany Atazadeh’s youtube channel for some time now for the author content, so I was excited to get a chance to read one of her books early through netgalley.
Once upon a time this book was plotted publicly on her youtube channel. I remember watching the first few streams, and I was very curious to see how she would pull off some of the ideas discussed there, but it turned into a really cozy little fantasy.
To me, this read very YA. There’s not a lot of tension really, one thing very clearly leads into the next, the romance is more like new high-stakes friendship, and things just sort of happen because they’re supposed to, not because they HAVE to. But really, it’s a good book to pick up when you just want to sit down and take a load off, you know? I felt very calm and peaceful as I read it, which was actually really nice.
This was one of those books that I wasn’t sure how it was going to resolve as the pages kept inching toward over and there was still so much to resolve, but honestly, I think that was my favorite part. Everything was wrapped up very well during the climax and resolution. With how much was left to solve, it was quite an impressive feat!
Personally I don’t really get the Pride and Prejudice vibes that are being marketed. It was almost more of a Beauty and the Beast thing, which I think was the original intent? Ah, just my two cents on that.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title::Liar in the Hollow Court (The Courts Beneath #1)
Author::Bethany Atazadeh
Genre::Cozy Fantasy
Publisher::Indie
Length:: 375 pages
Published:: May 1st, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars