The Hollow Boys · 2023
The Oath We GiveSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Monty Jay
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 11 trigger warnings flagged
The Oath We Give is book 5 of The Hollow Boys by Monty Jay, first published in 2023. Readers shelve it for enemies to lovers, revenge, morally grey and arranged marriage. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, violence, grief. 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: 2023. Book 5 of The Hollow Boys.
The Oath We Give tropes
On this shelf, The Oath We Give is filed under Enemies to lovers, Revenge romance, Morally grey heroes and Arranged marriage. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
The Oath We Give spice level
Is The Oath We Give dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. The Oath We Give scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
The Oath We Give trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 20 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: sexual content, schizophrenia/psychosis, trafficking, death of parent, gun violence, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks/disorders, cancer, mental illness, cursing. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (11) — 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 Oath We Give trigger warnings
The Hollow Boys reading order
The Oath We Give is book 5 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 · 2022
- Book 4 The Blood We Crave: Part Two · 2023
- Book 5 The Oath We Give (this book) · 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 Oath We Give
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- The Lies We Steal
The Lies We Steal
Monty Jay
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Arranged marriage, Revenge romance
- North of the Stars
North of the Stars
Monica James
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers
- The Foiled Plan
The Foiled Plan
Veronica Lancet
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Revenge romance
- Dante
Dante
Sadie Kincaid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers
- Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Melissa K. Roehrich
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Revenge romance, Morally grey heroes
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Morally grey heroes
- Possessive Enemy
Possessive Enemy
Michelle Heard
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Revenge romance
- Devil from Moscow
Devil from Moscow
Sonja Grey
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Revenge romance, Morally grey heroes
Books like The Oath We Give, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of The Oath We Give?
The Oath We Give 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 Oath We Give trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Psychological abuse, Blood, Captivity, Torture. 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 20 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is The Oath We Give dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. The Oath We Give scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in The Oath We Give?
On this shelf The Oath We Give is filed under Enemies to lovers, Revenge romance, Morally grey heroes and Arranged marriage.
Who is The Oath We Give for?
For a reader who wants enemies to lovers and revenge with explicit spice. Look at the warnings before you commit. Start earlier in The Hollow Boys if you can.
What are some books like The Oath We Give?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: The Lies We Steal by Monty Jay; North of the Stars by Monica James; The Foiled Plan by Veronica Lancet; Dante by Sadie Kincaid; Dawn of Chaos and Fury by Melissa K. Roehrich; Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/the-oath-we-give.
Is The Oath We Give a standalone?
No. The Oath We Give is book 5 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 Oath We Give 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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