Summary:
Kat Van Tassel’s life was predestined from childhood; she was to marry her best friend, Brom Bones. But Brom vanished from Sleepy Hollow years ago, leaving Kat alone to enroll in Sleepy Hollow Institute, a shadowy university for advanced witchcraft run by her powerful family. And now she finds herself drawn to the school’s enigmatic new teacher, Ichabod Crane, as he delves into dark magic.
When Brom returns, suffering from amnesia and a dark transformation, the trio must confront gruesome murders attributed to a vengeful spirit, The Headless Horseman, while navigating their tangled relationships.
As Kat, Ichabod, and Brom seek answers, their bonds deepen, and forbidden desires take hold. But Sleepy Hollow holds secrets more sinister than they imagined. The Headless Horseman lurks, threatening to claim them, while something even more terrifying looms in the shadows. Embark on a journey of dark mysteries, desire, and danger in the eerie heart of Sleepy Hollow.
Review:
Okay, this book was a lot spicier than I anticipated. I don’t have any issue with sex scenes in books, but I was a bit surprised at how much there was. Yes, I was aware that this is a “why choose” type of romance–which, again, totally fine!–but I guess I wasn’t expecting quite as much as there is. At times it felt like it got in the way of the plot in a way that I can’t quite define. It just didn’t quite fit into the tale every time.
The overall premise is an interesting one: Katrina and Brom are actually close friends and intended to be married, which is different from the original where there really isn’t an indication of how well the two know each other. This version of Ichabod is in a position of power over Katrina–he’s a teacher, as he is in the original, but in this story he’s a professor at the school that Katrina attends. The school itself is one that teaches witchcraft, bringing the supernatural into all aspects of the story, not just into those that touch on the Headless Horseman. There’s also some kind of connection between Brom and the Horseman, which is a neat way to play with the idea from the original that Brom actually was the Horseman that chased Ichabod away from Sleepy Hollow.
There are lots of intriguing details about the school itself, such as the ghostly presence that Ichabod keeps encountering, the stories of strange happenings around the campus, and the involvement of Katrina’s family. I found those parts to be the most atmospheric and interesting to read. But again, the worldbuilding seems to give way to the relationship drama among Katrina, Brom, and Ichabod. I would have liked to have seen more development of those aspects of the book.
On top of that, I just got bad vibes off of Ichabod. He comes across as extremely controlling and creepy. There were moments where I found his actions extremely off-putting and unsettling. I know that this is supposed to be dark academia and dark romance, but I just kept seeing red flags in Ichabod’s behavior that I couldn’t ignore. It’s possible that this sub-genre just isn’t for me.
So, my final analysis is that this is a book with good worldbuilding but bad character execution. I won’t tell you that it’s not worth reading, as I’m sure this kind of book has an audience, but parts of it didn’t sit well with me.
