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roseofphantom 's review for:
The Hollow
by Jessica Verday
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think the plot was interesting and loved how Verday tried to incorporate the story of Sleepy Hollow. I also really loved the characters, the characters are definitely the strongest part of this story! Abbey's unique talent for making perfumes is a great trait, and her friendship and love for Kristen feels real and deep. Even though Kristen is told to us to have passed in the very beginning of the book, she definitely feels very alive. The characters and the relationships they hold with each other are definitely Verday's strongest suit!
There were just some things that made it really hard to enjoy. This is a YA book but feels quite a bit more juvenile in writing style, with some mature themes. I also felt the descriptions of some things were a bit long winded and unnecessary (example: I don't think it was necessary to detail her whole Christmas shopping trip when only a couple of gifts were really relevant to the plot). As a result the story dragged in some spots, only for the ending to feel really abrupt and sudden. I also think this novel could have done with a couple more edits? There was some grammar and punctuation mistakes that stuck out very clearly to me.
One last thing that I did enjoy - I like Verday exploring Abbey's mental health a bit, and how everything happening is starting to crash down and break her. Kristen's death is starting to affect her. I really like the way she wove everything together. I could feel it happening slowly and then one last thing just caused her to finally admit she was suffering. It realistic.
It was okay. Interesting story, but it dragged a bit. Just not for me.