The Hollow Boys · 2022
The Blood We Crave: Part OneSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Monty Jay
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 9 trigger warnings flagged
The Blood We Crave: Part One is book 3 of The Hollow Boys by Monty Jay, first published in 2022. Readers shelve it for revenge, killer hero, gothic, morally grey, enemies to lovers and stalker. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are blood, murder, violence. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2022. Book 3 of The Hollow Boys.
The Blood We Crave: Part One tropes
On this shelf, The Blood We Crave: Part One is filed under Revenge romance, Serial killer romance, Gothic romance, Morally grey heroes, Enemies to lovers and Stalker romance. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
The Blood We Crave: Part One spice level
Is The Blood We Crave: Part One dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. The Blood We Crave: Part One scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
The Blood We Crave: Part One trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 38 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: death of parent, sexual content, trafficking, injury/injury detail, mental illness, animal death. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (9) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full The Blood We Crave: Part One trigger warnings
The Hollow Boys reading order
The Blood We Crave: Part One is book 3 of 5 in Monty Jay's The Hollow Boys series. Start with The Lies We Steal.
- Book 1 The Lies We Steal · 2021
- Book 2 The Truths We Burn · 2022
- Book 3 The Blood We Crave: Part One (this book) · 2022
- Book 4 The Blood We Crave: Part Two · 2023
- Book 5 The Oath We Give · 2023
Order checked against the StoryGraph The Hollow Boys series page on 13 October 2026. The The Hollow Boys series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like The Blood We Crave: Part One
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Stalk Her
Stalk Her
Ker Dukey
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Serial killer romance, Gothic romance
- Driving My Obsession
Driving My Obsession
Lauren Biel
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Stalker romance, Revenge romance
- The Lies We Steal
The Lies We Steal
Monty Jay
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Revenge romance, Gothic romance
- The Forgotten Phantom
The Forgotten Phantom
Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Stalker romance, Serial killer romance
- Vipers and Virtuosos
Vipers and Virtuosos
Sav R. Miller
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Revenge romance, Stalker romance
- Broken Parts of Us
Broken Parts of Us
Ker Dukey
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Serial killer romance, Gothic romance
- The Oath We Give
The Oath We Give
Monty Jay
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Revenge romance
- Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Melissa K. Roehrich
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Revenge romance, Morally grey heroes
Books like The Blood We Crave: Part One, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of The Blood We Crave: Part One?
The Blood We Crave: Part One spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the The Blood We Crave: Part One trigger warnings?
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Death, Gore, Grief, Psychological abuse. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 38 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is The Blood We Crave: Part One dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. The Blood We Crave: Part One scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in The Blood We Crave: Part One?
On this shelf The Blood We Crave: Part One is filed under Revenge romance, Serial killer romance, Gothic romance, Morally grey heroes, Enemies to lovers and Stalker romance.
Who is The Blood We Crave: Part One for?
For readers hunting revenge and killer hero with explicit spice. Check the trigger warnings before you start. Start earlier in The Hollow Boys if you can.
What are some books like The Blood We Crave: Part One?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Stalk Her by Ker Dukey; Driving My Obsession by Lauren Biel; The Lies We Steal by Monty Jay; The Forgotten Phantom by Kathryn Ann Kingsley; Vipers and Virtuosos by Sav R. Miller; Broken Parts of Us by Ker Dukey. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/the-blood-we-crave-part-one.
Is The Blood We Crave: Part One a standalone?
No. The Blood We Crave: Part One is book 3 of 5 in the The Hollow Boys series by Monty Jay. The series starts with The Lies We Steal.
What order should I read the The Hollow Boys series in?
1. The Lies We Steal; 2. The Truths We Burn; 3. The Blood We Crave: Part One; 4. The Blood We Crave: Part Two; 5. The Oath We Give.
How many books are in the The Hollow Boys series?
The The Hollow Boys series by Monty Jay has 5 main books.
What is the The Blood We Crave: Part One age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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