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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
An easy and fast read with a not entirely unexpected twist at the end. I enjoyed this book, but feel Abbey isn't developed enough as a character. Perhaps she will blossom for me as I continue to read the rest of this trilogy -- I should start book 2 soon. I'm interested to see where Verday takes the relationship between Caspian and Abbey, as well as what else she has to reveal about Nicholas and Katy.
Amazingly written. If you are into paranormal romance, this is the book for you!
slow-paced
Frankly this was the most boring thing I've read in a long while. It was an absolute struggle to get through and the ending did not justify it for me. In fact I think I hated the ending, but that's very much a personal preference thing.
Abigail’s best friend, Kristen Maxwell, hasn’t been found for 68 days and is believed to be dead. Kristen’s family decided to have a wake and a funeral for her anyway. Abbey becomes furious when some older ladies say that they thought she’s dead because of drugs.
Abbey eventually heads out to the cemetery to get away from everybody and watches a grave being dug up. She thinks she saw a dark figure, but just ends up leaving and gets ready for the funeral. When the funeral is over, she sees a guy in the distance. The guy has white, blonde hair that has one black streak through it. She tries to go to him, but the rain and wind becomes too hard.
Later at the Maxwell’s house, she seems him again, but this time he talks to her. The guy, Caspian, tells her is there because of her when she seems afraid. Abbey finds it hard at school, and her mom and principal try to get her to participate. The only solace at school is Ben, a guy that wanted to know Kristen better. Will Abbey be able to cope with her loss?
When I saw how long this book was, I was hesitant to start it. I read some reviews where most of them hated how detailed the book is. It does have quite about of details, but for once I didn’t mind. I usually want the book to have a lot more dialogue, but then again it’s a 500 plus page book. I loved reading about the memories that Abbey has of Kristen. I wish there were more of Kristen though.
I knew this book was inspired by The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but didn’t really see that much influence other than the town and having the grave of Washington Irvine. The legend does make more of an impact later on in the story. I loved that each chapter began with a quote from the legend.
I did like Caspian for the most part. There’s something he says near the end that made me mad. I can’t wait to see how Kristen’s secrets play out
Abbey eventually heads out to the cemetery to get away from everybody and watches a grave being dug up. She thinks she saw a dark figure, but just ends up leaving and gets ready for the funeral. When the funeral is over, she sees a guy in the distance. The guy has white, blonde hair that has one black streak through it. She tries to go to him, but the rain and wind becomes too hard.
Later at the Maxwell’s house, she seems him again, but this time he talks to her. The guy, Caspian, tells her is there because of her when she seems afraid. Abbey finds it hard at school, and her mom and principal try to get her to participate. The only solace at school is Ben, a guy that wanted to know Kristen better. Will Abbey be able to cope with her loss?
When I saw how long this book was, I was hesitant to start it. I read some reviews where most of them hated how detailed the book is. It does have quite about of details, but for once I didn’t mind. I usually want the book to have a lot more dialogue, but then again it’s a 500 plus page book. I loved reading about the memories that Abbey has of Kristen. I wish there were more of Kristen though.
I knew this book was inspired by The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but didn’t really see that much influence other than the town and having the grave of Washington Irvine. The legend does make more of an impact later on in the story. I loved that each chapter began with a quote from the legend.
I did like Caspian for the most part. There’s something he says near the end that made me mad. I can’t wait to see how Kristen’s secrets play out
This is another one from the bottom of the TBR pile (sorted by date, not necessarily interest) and it's another that just fell flat for me. For being such a long book, nothing freaking happens. Or things do happen, but there's no urgency to them until possibly the end and that's probably because we get seriously cliffhangered. Nothing is resolved, at all, and this is the second book by the author I've read that's done this so I assume this is just her shtick.
Sigh.
It doesn't help that the book promised in the blurb is not really the book you get. I was looking forward to a mystery about a missing, presumed dead, best friend with a side order of mysterious love interest. I was actually okay with the idea of getting a book about the grief of losing your best friend but we don't really get that, either.
Was Casper the friendly ghost being a ghost supposed to be a twist? Because I'm pretty sure even much younger!me would've spotted that twist a mile away.
The book wasn't without good things. I didn't mind Caspian when he did show up and had more care and thought been given to the build up of a relationship, I'd probably be on board. (Insta-love works so rarely but is used so often.) Nick & Katy are interesting and even that angle is intriguing but nothing is done with it in this book. Abbey's perfume making and dream shop? Love them.
I want to know what happened to Kristen but I'm not sure that's a question I'll ever get answered.
Sigh.
It doesn't help that the book promised in the blurb is not really the book you get. I was looking forward to a mystery about a missing, presumed dead, best friend with a side order of mysterious love interest. I was actually okay with the idea of getting a book about the grief of losing your best friend but we don't really get that, either.
Was Casper the friendly ghost being a ghost supposed to be a twist? Because I'm pretty sure even much younger!me would've spotted that twist a mile away.
The book wasn't without good things. I didn't mind Caspian when he did show up and had more care and thought been given to the build up of a relationship, I'd probably be on board. (Insta-love works so rarely but is used so often.) Nick & Katy are interesting and even that angle is intriguing but nothing is done with it in this book. Abbey's perfume making and dream shop? Love them.
I want to know what happened to Kristen but I'm not sure that's a question I'll ever get answered.
So, just for the record, I really wanted to love this book. The book description made it sound dangerous, exciting, suspenseful and romantic. I had a lot of expectations going into it and unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with the book.
First of all, it was not all at what I expected. From the title and description, I was expecting lots of paranormal/supernatural activity, but there was hardly anything paranormal/supernatural about this book. Honestly, when I saw that it was called the Hollow, I expected witches; which is my fault, I shouldn't assume. But, then the main character, Abbey, is really into making perfumes and mixing herbs and what not, so I definitely thought it was witches, but no. The Hollow simply refers to the setting of the book, the infamous, Sleepy Hollow. Again, one would think the book would be crawling with supernatural activity..
Although I expected the book to be something other than what it was, I still tried to keep an open mind. I read and love plenty of books that deal with everyday circumstances, so I thought I may still enjoy the Hollow. But I could not connect to the main character, Abbey or her love interest, Caspian. Unfortunately, I found them both one dimensional and their romance underwhelming. In fact, I thought Caspian was a creeper from the beginning. I get that he was suppose to be mysterious and all, but honestly, he was just stalker-ish. He shows up at Kristen's funeral and then goes to the collation. He shows up in the basement, when Abbey is alone, and tells her he came for her... but he has never met her before. Anyone else have red flags going up? Then, it took over 150 pages for them to have really any interaction at all after that and then Caspian would randomly appear throughout the book. Then, after they've known each other for like 2 weeks, and interacted for a grand total of like 5 hours, they are desperately in love. I hate when romances are rushed like this, it is just so unrealistic.
The pacing was also a huge problem for me, which is a huge problem with a book this size. There are 500+ pages and it takes forever for anything to happen, and I mean anything. There is hardly any character development, mystery or suspense throughout the book. The mystery with Abbey's dead friend is kind of one the back burner throughout the book. In fact, the big secret Kristen was hiding was not that shocking. I mean, it could be a secret anyone has. I don't want to spoil anything, but its really not that big of a deal.
Overall, I had a very, very, difficult time finishing this book. I don't know if it was simply that I was expecting something else from it or what, but I did not enjoy it. The characters fell flat for me and the pacing was completely off. I will not be continuing this series.
First of all, it was not all at what I expected. From the title and description, I was expecting lots of paranormal/supernatural activity, but there was hardly anything paranormal/supernatural about this book. Honestly, when I saw that it was called the Hollow, I expected witches; which is my fault, I shouldn't assume. But, then the main character, Abbey, is really into making perfumes and mixing herbs and what not, so I definitely thought it was witches, but no. The Hollow simply refers to the setting of the book, the infamous, Sleepy Hollow. Again, one would think the book would be crawling with supernatural activity..
Although I expected the book to be something other than what it was, I still tried to keep an open mind. I read and love plenty of books that deal with everyday circumstances, so I thought I may still enjoy the Hollow. But I could not connect to the main character, Abbey or her love interest, Caspian. Unfortunately, I found them both one dimensional and their romance underwhelming. In fact, I thought Caspian was a creeper from the beginning. I get that he was suppose to be mysterious and all, but honestly, he was just stalker-ish. He shows up at Kristen's funeral and then goes to the collation. He shows up in the basement, when Abbey is alone, and tells her he came for her... but he has never met her before. Anyone else have red flags going up? Then, it took over 150 pages for them to have really any interaction at all after that and then Caspian would randomly appear throughout the book. Then, after they've known each other for like 2 weeks, and interacted for a grand total of like 5 hours, they are desperately in love. I hate when romances are rushed like this, it is just so unrealistic.
The pacing was also a huge problem for me, which is a huge problem with a book this size. There are 500+ pages and it takes forever for anything to happen, and I mean anything. There is hardly any character development, mystery or suspense throughout the book. The mystery with Abbey's dead friend is kind of one the back burner throughout the book. In fact, the big secret Kristen was hiding was not that shocking. I mean, it could be a secret anyone has. I don't want to spoil anything, but its really not that big of a deal.
Overall, I had a very, very, difficult time finishing this book. I don't know if it was simply that I was expecting something else from it or what, but I did not enjoy it. The characters fell flat for me and the pacing was completely off. I will not be continuing this series.
I knew I was in trouble when I hit the 200 page mark and still didn't feel invested in this book. Abbey is an interesting narrator and her struggle with her best friend's death felt real. But her narration was erratic in tone and voice. Phrases and passages were repeated almost verbatim and the book just took too long to get the point--so long that by the time things started coming together I was no longer interested. I love the premise (though it's not really at all the plot presented by the jacket flap), I love the cover, I love the Sleepy Hollow connection. But try as I might I just couldn't connect with this one.
I've heard people sing praises and limmircks about this book. So, when I put it on my to-be-read shelf, I thought, it has to be pretty decent. I read the summary and that confirmed it: With a mysterious death in Sleepy Hollow of all places, this just has to be good.
Oh, if only.
I've had bad luck lately with books. First Blood Magic now this. And the fact is, it was the same general problem in each book: I WAS BORED.
I don't blame the writer for this, I really don't. I blame the editor. So much of this book could've been cut out. Only abotu 200 pages are actually about Kristen's death and the mystery around it. What are the rest of the 300 pages then, you ask? I'll tell. There are day to day stuff like I got up, I brushed my teeth, I took a bath, I beat my head against the wall because I was so frickin bored. (Ok, maybe that last one was me.) Seriously though, we have these random daily converstaions between Abbey and her mother, Abbey and her father, Abbey and Caspian that don't go anywhere, they don't show anything, they're pointless. When you write a book, everything has to have a point. You cant be so in love with your prose that you write every single blink your character does because the readers will get BORED. Anything that doesn't reveal something about a character, that doesn't lead to something, that doesn't have a point, should be edited out.
Second thing, Caspian. YAWN. Really? If a guy ditched me after every three hours with some lame excuse, I would start questioning it. Abbey never does. She just lets him go, happily day dreaming about their future together. If that were me being given the cold shoulder randomly, I would confront the bastard about it. Abbey just stews about it, thinking she did something wrong, and then makes him an apology gift in the form of cookies even though SHE DID NOTHING WRONG! CASPIAN WAS JUST PSMING!! Seriously, their conversations are literally this.
Douche--Uhm. I mean, Caspian: Don't go near the bridge.
Abbey (too busy staring into his eyes): Ok.
Capsian: I'm serious. Don't go there. And don't ask why. I have to go.
Abbey: Ok.
Caspian: But I want to see you again. But I'm busy with--shifty eyes--stuff.
Abbey: Ok.
Caspian: Meet me at this secluded location here where we can be alone before I bail on you...AGAIN. Abbey (not even questioning the disturbing fact that this guy seems interested in her and yet they've never meet and he refuses to meet anyone she knows and wants them to always meet in secret and her friend was a similiar situation before she died): Ok.
....Do you see my frustration? Do you see it dear reader? Do you feel it? I was aggravated with this. And we don't even find out what the big secret is until like the last 100 pages. Instead, we have to read about Abbey picking out an outfit, Abbey talking with her mother about some meaningless shit, Abbey swooning over Caspian and never questioning how creepy he is.
It's sad because this book had potential. In the beginning, I was intrigued. The cover's beautiful. The writing was decent and though the font was large and too spaced out for my tastes(yes, I notice these things) the plot was interesting and I wanted to know more. I mean, it's 500 some pages. At first, i thought "Yes, 500 pages of mystery and action." It quickly became apparent though that the pacing was horrible and I had to sludge through somebody's diary to get a novel. I quickly became bored and found myself dreading picking up this book. And what's really sad is one good editing job could've fixed this.
P.S: I liked the fact that Abbey was into making perfume. It was unique and interesting and it gave her a goal in mind. Still, I found it confusing after a while for her to reaccount everything she did to make perfumes since I have no experience in the field. That's what earned this book an extra star though: the interesting chracter trait actually shown rather than told.
Oh, if only.
I've had bad luck lately with books. First Blood Magic now this. And the fact is, it was the same general problem in each book: I WAS BORED.
I don't blame the writer for this, I really don't. I blame the editor. So much of this book could've been cut out. Only abotu 200 pages are actually about Kristen's death and the mystery around it. What are the rest of the 300 pages then, you ask? I'll tell. There are day to day stuff like I got up, I brushed my teeth, I took a bath, I beat my head against the wall because I was so frickin bored. (Ok, maybe that last one was me.) Seriously though, we have these random daily converstaions between Abbey and her mother, Abbey and her father, Abbey and Caspian that don't go anywhere, they don't show anything, they're pointless. When you write a book, everything has to have a point. You cant be so in love with your prose that you write every single blink your character does because the readers will get BORED. Anything that doesn't reveal something about a character, that doesn't lead to something, that doesn't have a point, should be edited out.
Second thing, Caspian. YAWN. Really? If a guy ditched me after every three hours with some lame excuse, I would start questioning it. Abbey never does. She just lets him go, happily day dreaming about their future together. If that were me being given the cold shoulder randomly, I would confront the bastard about it. Abbey just stews about it, thinking she did something wrong, and then makes him an apology gift in the form of cookies even though SHE DID NOTHING WRONG! CASPIAN WAS JUST PSMING!! Seriously, their conversations are literally this.
Douche--Uhm. I mean, Caspian: Don't go near the bridge.
Abbey (too busy staring into his eyes): Ok.
Capsian: I'm serious. Don't go there. And don't ask why. I have to go.
Abbey: Ok.
Caspian: But I want to see you again. But I'm busy with--shifty eyes--stuff.
Abbey: Ok.
Caspian: Meet me at this secluded location here where we can be alone before I bail on you...AGAIN. Abbey (not even questioning the disturbing fact that this guy seems interested in her and yet they've never meet and he refuses to meet anyone she knows and wants them to always meet in secret and her friend was a similiar situation before she died): Ok.
....Do you see my frustration? Do you see it dear reader? Do you feel it? I was aggravated with this. And we don't even find out what the big secret is until like the last 100 pages. Instead, we have to read about Abbey picking out an outfit, Abbey talking with her mother about some meaningless shit, Abbey swooning over Caspian and never questioning how creepy he is.
It's sad because this book had potential. In the beginning, I was intrigued. The cover's beautiful. The writing was decent and though the font was large and too spaced out for my tastes(yes, I notice these things) the plot was interesting and I wanted to know more. I mean, it's 500 some pages. At first, i thought "Yes, 500 pages of mystery and action." It quickly became apparent though that the pacing was horrible and I had to sludge through somebody's diary to get a novel. I quickly became bored and found myself dreading picking up this book. And what's really sad is one good editing job could've fixed this.
P.S: I liked the fact that Abbey was into making perfume. It was unique and interesting and it gave her a goal in mind. Still, I found it confusing after a while for her to reaccount everything she did to make perfumes since I have no experience in the field. That's what earned this book an extra star though: the interesting chracter trait actually shown rather than told.
*2.75 STARS*
Synopsis;
After the mysterious death of her best friend, Abbey is trying to put her life back together. But with all the rumors and secrets looming over her head, she is finding it a bit difficult. Especially with the sudden appearance of Caspian, a boy that seems to know more than h helps, and Abbey soon falls for him. Can she figure out what really happened to her best friend? And will it involve Caspian?
My Opinion;
I really wasn't expecting much from this, and somehow I was still let down. If I had read this at a different time, I would have most likely DNFed it. But I was sort of in the mood for a shitty quality, late 2000's YA novel. But just because I was in the mood for it, doesn't make the quality any better. For such a long book (509 pages) not much happened the whole time and it was very repetitive..
A big issue I had was the way the characters spoke to each other. It as very formal and robotic. Definitely didn't flow like a normal conversation would in real life.
Another odd thing I had problems with was the main character constantly using the phrases "I will have to remember to..." or "I made a mental note to...". Like just get a fucking to - do list! I know, a weird thing to be bothered by but she just said it so often!
I was expecting a spooky read, and this wasn't really it. I read this for Halloween and it just wasn't really like that. I was picturing 'Halloweentown' spooky and got 'Twilight' spooky.
The biggest issue I had though was that the synopsis promised Abbey trying to figure out what happened to her best friend and, I would say about halfway through the book, we had completely gotten away from that. It just wasn't the main point. We were more focused on Caspian the whole time.
Something I really did like was Abbey's perfume making. I don't know if the author makes perfume herself but it was so interesting to me to read the whole process of doing it and all that goes into it.
I also like the town tie-ins to 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. It added a nice touch.
Synopsis;
After the mysterious death of her best friend, Abbey is trying to put her life back together. But with all the rumors and secrets looming over her head, she is finding it a bit difficult. Especially with the sudden appearance of Caspian, a boy that seems to know more than h helps, and Abbey soon falls for him. Can she figure out what really happened to her best friend? And will it involve Caspian?
My Opinion;
I really wasn't expecting much from this, and somehow I was still let down. If I had read this at a different time, I would have most likely DNFed it. But I was sort of in the mood for a shitty quality, late 2000's YA novel. But just because I was in the mood for it, doesn't make the quality any better. For such a long book (509 pages) not much happened the whole time and it was very repetitive..
A big issue I had was the way the characters spoke to each other. It as very formal and robotic. Definitely didn't flow like a normal conversation would in real life.
Another odd thing I had problems with was the main character constantly using the phrases "I will have to remember to..." or "I made a mental note to...". Like just get a fucking to - do list! I know, a weird thing to be bothered by but she just said it so often!
I was expecting a spooky read, and this wasn't really it. I read this for Halloween and it just wasn't really like that. I was picturing 'Halloweentown' spooky and got 'Twilight' spooky.
The biggest issue I had though was that the synopsis promised Abbey trying to figure out what happened to her best friend and, I would say about halfway through the book, we had completely gotten away from that. It just wasn't the main point. We were more focused on Caspian the whole time.
Something I really did like was Abbey's perfume making. I don't know if the author makes perfume herself but it was so interesting to me to read the whole process of doing it and all that goes into it.
I also like the town tie-ins to 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. It added a nice touch.