Series: The Hollow Trilogy
Author: Jessica Verday
# of Books: 3 (The Hollow, The Haunted, The Hidden)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Supernatural, Ghosts
Heat Rating: cold
Thoughts:
My knowledge of Sleepy Hollow isn’t that much–basically I watch the movies around Halloween but only in bits and pieces. So I was interested in reading a series that is linked to the short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
The premise isn’t really anything out of the ordinary in terms of a paranormal Young Adult read, but the legend of Sleepy Hollow adds a different element to it and the mysterious death of Abbey’s BFF does to. This means that this series is a lot darker than many paranormal young adult reads out there so it can be a little solemn to read at times.
The Hollow was an alright start to the series. Because of the darker elements to it, I found it a little depressing to read at times. There wasn’t as much romance / sexual tension as I was hoping for: just little snippets here and there. I feel like the first book was mostly focusing on Abbey trying to navigate her life after her BFF’s death. Which means there is a lot of angst towards her parents and sad teenage girl thoughts. I just kept waiting for something big to happen to push the series into a more exciting ride.
Unfortunately, that big push never really came in any of the three books. They just coasted along revealing little bits and pieces of the mystery but I never got really excited about any of it.
I know a lot of reviewers don’t like the message the last book, The Hidden, sends out to readers and to an extent I agree. It isn’t the way I would have ended the series and I do agree that it can send out the wrong message to young girls but I think it is important to remember that it is fiction–it isn’t real life and that readers must separate the two.
Conclusion:
Overall, the series was just bland to me. It wasn’t exciting and I didn’t completely love any of the characters. The mystery didn’t do much for me and it really isn’t a focus of the series (which is why I continued to read despite the dull start because I wanted to solve the mystery). Cool concept; unfortunately not the best execution (though the covers are really pretty :P). I would pass on this series if I were to see it again.
Rating: 2.5/5
Similar Reads: Immortal by Gillian Shields (Immortal Series #1); Hereafter by Tara Hudson (Hereafter Trilogy #1); and Swoon by Nina Malkin (Swoon Series #1)
Synopsis for The Hollow (from Goodreads):
When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen’s funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey’s life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he’s the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again…but also special.Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen’s betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.