Wake the Hollow - The Horseman May Be The Safest Person In Town!

TITLE: Wake the Hollow
AUTHOR: Gaby Triana
PUBLISHER: Entangled Teen
PUBLISHING DATE: August 2, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Forget the ghosts, Mica. It’s real, live people you should fear.

Tragedy has brought Micaela Burgos back to her hometown of Sleepy Hollow. It’s been six years since she chose to live with her father in Miami instead of her eccentric mother. And now her mother is dead.

This town will suck you in and not let go.

Sleepy Hollow may be famous for its fabled headless horseman, but the town is real. So are its prejudices and hatred, targeting Mica’s family as outsiders. But ghostly voices carry on the wind, whispering that her mother’s death was based on hate…not an accident at all. With the help of two very different guys—who pull at her heart in very different ways—Micaela must awaken the hidden secret of Sleepy Hollow…before she meets her mother’s fate.

Find the answers.

Unless, of course, the answers find you first.

MY THOUGHTS: This book was a very quick read which I found quite enjoyable. Six years ago, Mica left Sleepy Hollow and her mother behind, choosing instead to live with her father in Miami. Mica's mother was extremely wrapped up in the Sleepy Hollow lore and spent her life desperately trying to prove her family's relations to the infamous characters. However, because of her obsession, she lost her husband and her daughter in the process. Now, Mica's mother has mysteriously died and Mica decides to return to her old hometown to get her affairs in order, as well as discover what really happened to her mother and why she was never able to leave Sleepy Hollow behind.

This book has several positive things going for it in my opinion. Triana does a wonderful job weaving the historical lore of Sleepy Holllow, Icbabod Crane and Washington Irving into a present day mystery. She even managed to throw some Frankenstein and Mary Shelley into the mix for some added excitement. Also, the story pretty much kept me engrossed and I pretty much read this in one sitting so that shows that I found it interesting. The ending was pleasantly surprising and if this is in fact a stand alone novel, then it was also a very satisfying conclusion.

Now on to my main complaint - I totally have a love/hate relationship with Mica. I understand she is only 18 (a fact I had to keep reminding myself of repeatedly) and she had a rough childhood in that once she moved away from her mother, there was little interaction between the two and she pretty much felt her mother abandoned her. However, she was one of the most indecisive characters I have ran into in quite a while. There are two male characters prevalent in the book and I won't even call it a triangle because one minute Mica knows who she is interested in and the next she is making out with the other one. I don't believe the relationships ever evolve to the level where you could consider either Dane or Bram a romantic interest. They are a big component of the book but clearly romance isn't (for which I was glad). Also, Mica seemed so confused about what she was planning on doing at times, that even once she made a decision, I just came to pretty much expect her to do something totally different.

As I said, I was very pleased with the ending to this novel and overall, the Sleepy Hollow aspects kept me interested despite my issues with Mica. Once again, I feel Entangled Teen has not let me down and provided me a book in which I was able to lose myself for a few hours and go on another wonderful adventure. If you like the Sleepy Hollow legend or history, then this book is definitely one you should consider. There are enough good things in it that hopefully Mica's immaturity won't bother you as much as it did me.

I was provided a copy of this book by Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS