Review: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  This is out already and if you like historical romances with a slight paranormal element I highly recommend it.  It is well written and well researched.

This was not at all what I expected. It was more of a historical romance than a paranormal romance. I was expecting the latter, but got the former. I was expecting magic to be a much more prevalent element of the story, and while I guess there was what you could consider magic present it is not what I consider magic or a magic system. I think had I read the description a little more closely I wouldn't have expected it to be so paranormal. That being said the book is a great retelling of the original Sleepy Hollow telling and I feel that Palombo did the original tale justice by keeping key elements and spinning her own tale around it.

As far as the romance goes, it was very insta-lovey. I really don't care for that in any romance and this being historically based it just didn't fit the theme. The propriety of the times and the characters just didn't fit their actions. Katrina, our main character, is supposed to be a feminist character for the time. She is well educated, reads all the time, and is headstrong and speaks her mind. From that perspective I can see why this would have a feminist spin. However she makes alot of rash decisions and often leads with her emotions.

Much like the original tale, Katrina is pursued by both Ichabod Crane and Brom Van Brunt until Ichabod's untimely demise. Every suspects our favorite pumpkin headed Hessian has spirited him off to the underworld but as the description of the book says, nothing is as it seems. Katrina and her best friend Charlotte vow to solve the mystery of Ichabod's disappearance. Along the way they find things they did not expect, and Katrina learns that her love may not have abandoned her afterall.

Overall, I think it is my fault that I thought this was a paranormal romance. It was a good romance, I just wasn't expecting it to be what it was. Once I realized it wasn't what I was expecting I was able to enjoy it for what it was. I also went on to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and the story made alot more sense to me. Palombo did a great job with this retelling.



View all my reviews