Review: Traitors by Willa Hollis

August 20, 2026

Synopsis:

She’s been lied to. So has the whole world.

Seraphine Austen, raised by the Ravellian rebels, has spent her life below, hidden in the shadows after a ruthless regime drove magic wielders and Nulls into hiding below ground. Above, Whitefall, a projected idealistic society, keeps peace and order by practicing law over lore. Gifted with dangerous power, Seraphine has never known independence, instead fiercely protected by her father, the Ravellian leader. Tired of hiding and burning with anger at the injustices above, she’s ready to step into the light and prove herself.

He carries the truth that could change everything.

Tark Lowell is the son of the regime itself. As the Commander of Whitefall’s military forces, he enforces order without mercy and is loyal without question. Burdened by duty and the weight of those he’s sworn to protect, the pressure of it all threatens to expose him.

When Tark captures Seraphine after a mission gone wrong, their meeting creates a chain of events neither anticipated. Ugly truths are exposed, and loyalties fracture, blurring the line between enemy and ally.

Surrounded by deception, Seraphine and Tark must decide whether trusting each other is the greatest risk or their only chance at survival—because how do you trust someone who’s betrayed the only world you’ve ever known?

We’re all traitors in the end.

Review:

The above world is an illusion. A world where magic is considered dangerous, and a false sense of security and belief is forced upon everyone except the rulers.
Meanwhile, the below world is where people have hidden or fled to. It is not the most luxurious place to live, but anything is better than a death sentence.
This is essentially the starting point of the story, where we meet Seraphine. She is caught during one of the missions, and when she learns that not everything she was told is as simple as she was led to believe, it sets off a chain of events.

It is quite easy to get into the story, and the world-building was done well. It is not overly complex, but it offers enough to instantly grab my interest and help me connect with the main characters’ POVs and the situation they find themselves in. Both are victims of circumstance. Initially, they are on opposing sides of the conflict but quickly learn that they have more in common than they originally thought. They come together for a common goal, which also leads them to connect on both an emotional and physical level.
Did I enjoy the dialogue between these two? Absolutely. Neither of them backed down, and it came across very well that they started to form a connection early on, even if neither of them wanted it initially.

The overall story and characters were something I felt instantly connected to, and it was such an easy read. There were some things, though, that did not fully resonate with me. A few developments just felt a bit too easy, and the timeline for everything they achieved felt somewhat condensed. This was one of those situations where a few more pages could actually have been beneficial (which is something I rarely think).

🌙 Recension: Traitors by Willa Hollis
📚 Genre: Fantasy, Romance
📅 Release Date: August 20, 2026
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle Unlimited
📱 Read as: Kindle
💸 I received a free copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
📆 Pages: 340
⭐️ 3.5/5