Blog Tour & Review: Hollow Magic by Mars Lauderbaugh
You may recognize Mars Lauderbaugh’s art style, since they illustrated the cover of Cemetery Boys! Hollow Magic, their debut graphic novel, is out now. Check out our thoughts below!
Hollow Magic
by Mars Lauderbaughon August 11, 2026
Bookshop
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Rosefinch has been traveling along the weather-beaten coast for two years on a quest to find a witch strong enough to help her control her magic. Her magic is volatile, hard to wield, and Rosefinch is tired of the pain of magical backlash. When she's directed to the sea-side village of Harp, she discovers the ancient castle of a long-lost Witch Queen with the inhabitants long gone; the only remaining soul is a knight encased in solid ice guarding the door.
When she attempts to lift the curse, she frees Thierry, a human with no memory of who they are, wrapped in cursed magic so strong that they cannot leave the castle. Thierry is soft spoken, strong, and in possession of a fey sword that should be impossible for them to have. But they have secrets of their own, as do other members of the Harp family still hidden within the walls.
Harp castle was left in ruins for a reason, and Rosefinch must find a way to cure the curse or lose Thierry—and the chance to learn the truth about the Witch Queen—forever.
Review
Rosefinch is a seventeen year old witch raised in the fey realm whose magic has become dangerous to use, painful, and unpredictable in ways she cannot control. Following a rumor about a witch who might be able to help, she finds an ancient ruined castle and a knight cursed to stand frozen at the entrance. She frees them. And the journey begins.
What Mars does with the page layout is inventive and purposeful, using the space of the page to control pacing and emotion in ways that prose cannot. The color work is rich and specific, the fey realm feeling genuinely other without being cold, and the character design is doing so much work in every frame. Rosefinch and Thierry are visually distinct and expressive in ways that carry the emotional beats without the story having to state them outright.
The queer representation is woven in naturally. Mars is a nonbinary artist who has said they will never say no to trans and queer rep, and that care shows in how the characters exist in their identities without those identities being the conflict. The found family thread that runs through the book is important by the end.
This is a complete story in a single volume, which is increasingly rare and worth celebrating for a fantasy!
Follow the Tour
August 10th
Drunk On Pop – Top 5 Reasons to Read Hollow Magic
Never Hollowed By The Stare – Promotional Post
August 11th
Betwixt the Sheets – Promotional Post
Ilovebooksandstuffblog – Review
August 12th
BookCrushin – Review <– You Are Here
Rampant Reading Reviews – Review
August 13th
dinipandareads – Review
Nonbinary Knight Reads – Review, Favorite Quotes
August 14th
The violet west – Creative post
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post
August 15th
unconventionalquirkybibliophile – Mood Board
August 16th
the nutty bookworm reads alot – Review
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