Wake the Hollow

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana! I absolutely love this book from beginning to end. Micaela goes back to Sleepy Hollow after her mother has passed away. She left her mother to live with her more stable father several years earlier. Her friend Bram picks her up from the train station and she stays with him in his apartment. She has night terrors often and hears voices and she is unsure who she can trust. The tone of the story is a bit ominous, which makes it difficult to put down. I enjoy the lines from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving at the beginning of the chapters. The mystery of Washington Irving's descendants grows and so does the danger to Micaela. The suspense lasts throughout the book and the supernatural touch brings the right amount of thrill to the story. Wonderful spookiness!

I received a copy of this book from netgalley for review.

What a fun read. Mica left home with her dad 6 years earlier believing her mom cared more about research than her family. After receiving a note from her mom, Mica decided to go home, but her mom died before she made it. A few weeks later, Mica makes it back and realizes there was a lot about her mom and her past that she didn't know. Mica not only hears voices, but she starts seeing spirits. Not knowing who to trust, she does her best to find the missing diary of Washington Irving that the town believes Mica's crazy mom took. The author does a great job of making the reader question everyone and everything. You don't know who to trust any more than Mica does. I do hope there is another book because I would really like to know if Mica finds the person she's looking for (no names to ruin the book for anyone).

Great book. Awesome characters.

I received a copy of this book through the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. No compensation was given aside from the obvious enjoyment.

I'm a huge fan of literature and folklore. They are aspects of humanity that tells us the inner truth of humanity, not just the facts, but the emotional and spiritual beings that we are. Literature and folklore are important for cultures and the literary contribution of Washington Irving, based on folklore, has been an inspiration for television as well as gives us a look into a community.

Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana is a young adult thriller that combines Washington Irving, the folklore of Sleepy Hollow, and literary heroes into a fast paced read. From the moment the main character, Mica, steps out of the train, I was pulled into the story. I wanted to know her story and see her find the truth about her as a person and the community she ran away from at a young age.

There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming. There was a paranormal element that not only worked with the book, but felt a part of Sleepy Hollow itself. I've never been to the place, but this book made me feel like I was there. I want to see it even more now after reading this.

It is very hard to write about the characters or the story without spoiling anything. I say that a lot, but I tend to blurt out the great stuff when I am excited and this is a book I don't want to spoil. What I will say is this . . .

Gaby Triana expertly weaves a story that kept me going. I was binge reading this book and had a book hangover afterwards. I was unable to find the right book to read after this and had to try out a few before settling on one.

The characters are well written and three dimensional. I fell in love with some characters and wanted to hurt others. I could see the world Triana crafted come to life. I want more. I want there to be another book with Mica. What happened to her after the events of this book?

Honestly, this book is amazing as a stand alone, but I would be thrilled with a sequel too.

After six years Micaela Burgos is now returning to the town of Sleepy Hollow after she received news of her mother’s death. Mica had chosen to leave the town and live with her father in Miami when her mother became obsessed with history and ignoring her daughter when Mica was only twelve and needed a parent in her life that paid attention to her.

The town of Sleepy Hollow was made immortal by literature but it’s a very real place that has Mica drawn into figuring out just what her mother had been obsessed with finding out about their lineage and what really happened to her. Mica is haunted by her dreams and the ghosts of the past during her investigation into her mother’s murder and the town is all on a treasure hunt to claim the reward for anything revealing info into the author of Sleepy Hollow’s past.

I was a bit back and forth with this story as I was reading. I really enjoyed the setting and incorporating the story of Sleepy Hollow into a new modern story but there seemed to be a few holes in the story here and there and a bit confusing to start out as to where it was really going.

For me personally I think what I’d like to have seen was to forget about any kind of romance aspect being added in and focus more on the investigation/paranormal aspect of the book. I think with Mica just losing her mother it felt off to have her worried about the next cute boy she meets throughout the story. And with that being added I think the “ghosts” of the story didn’t get enough attention that they deserved to make it really give the spooky feel that it should have had.

Overall, 3.5 stars for Wake the Hollow. While I enjoyed it I think it could’ve have been done a bit better to rate higher in my opinion.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love fairy tales and folktales and all the assorted retellings & twisted versions that come along with them. There's just something about an author who takes a familiar story and puts their own spin on it without changing the basics of the story. That's just what you get with this take on an old favorite, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Mica hasn't seen her mother in years, since she made the decision to move with her dad halfway across the country. But when her mom passes away, it falls on her shoulders to settle things in Sleepy Hollow before resuming her fast-paced life with her dad. When she returns, however, she finds things very much the same while also being very different. Prejudices against her family still exist, and rumors still run rampant about her mom. Add in an intriguing stranger along with the legend of Ichabod Crane and Mica has one heck of a mystery on her hands. Can she trust her childhood friend or is he on the other side? Was her mom guilty of the crimes everyone seems to believe? And let's not forget her dad. He has his own secrets hidden away.

This was a great story from beginning to end. The author retains enough of the original story to lend a feeling of familiarity while at the same time blending it with new characters and new problems. The mystery aspect was strong, leaving me wondering about bits and pieces until the very end. A good read!

Entangled Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Wake the Hollow, in exchange for an honest review.

Micaela Burgos is returning to Sleepy Hollow after being away for 6 years. Having lived in Miami since she was 12, Mica decided to make the pilgrimage north after receiving a note from her mother. This first contact in years was, unfortunately, too little, too late, as her mother passes away before Mica can make her travel plans. Met at the station by her old best friend Abraham ("Bram"), Mica has the emotional support she needs as she seeks the reasons why her mom never left Sleepy Hollow to join her in Miami. By investigating, is Mica putting herself and the ones she loves in danger?

With a supernatural quality, Wake the Hollow captures the spooky feel of the book for which this reimagining pays homage. With a fast pace and great characterization, this novel is one that readers can enjoy. Fans of Washington Irving and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow will be thrilled with all of the references to the famous novel and might enjoy the possibilities that this book raises. Although some of the plot twists were telegraphed, the overall feeling of this book make it one that I would recommend to readers of YA mystery/thrillers.

Review also posted at: http://underthebookcover.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-wake-hollow-by-gaby-triana.html

4.5/5

Thank you to Entangled Teen for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for review!

When Mica's mother dies, she has to return to the town of Sleepy Hollow that she left six years ago in order to piece together the last note she received from her mom. "Lela, please come home. It's urgent." When she arrives, she remembers exactly why she left in the first place, as the small town syndrome rears its ugly head almost instantly. Rumors and old hatred for Mica's mother fall on to her shoulders, as she tries to figure out what her mom wanted and if her death was really an accident.

Wake the Hollow was such an exciting book to read. I'm a huge fan of all things horror/paranormal, so to be able to read a book that was set in Sleepy Hollow was pretty perfect. The atmosphere of this book was enough to give me chills! Gaby Triana really took this book to the next level with the amount of details woven in to the story. The beautifully creepy pages that started each chapter, as well as the quotes from the original short story really added to the feeling that this book was set in Sleepy Hollow. I felt like I could hear the horseman creeping up behind me and it was amazing!

I had mixed feelings about pretty much all of the characters throughout the book. It was impossible to know who to trust, and who had ulterior motives! At first, I really didn't like Mica. She was really standoffish at the beginning, after first returning to Sleepy Hollow. I suppose I could understand why, with the rumors about her mother going around and her having to now deal with the issues that have been left behind. But thankfully, as the book went on, she kind of fell out of that negative mindset, and I ended up really liking her. Bram, I didn't really trust at all from the very beginning. Even though he was Mica's best friend from childhood, his behavior was just very obsessive and aggressive throughout the whole book, and it was very suspicious. I think I can just throw a blanket of suspicion over everyone from Bram, to Dane, and even Mica's father!

While I got the feeling that there was something of a love triangle between Mica, Bram, and Dane, the book never really went to that point. One thing I dislike in books is love triangles, and Wake the Hollow surprised me by not throwing one in my face. There was a bit of romance between Mica and Bram, but maybe only a small bit of hinted romance between Mica and Dane. So it wasn't what I expected at all, and I really just want to hug the author for the way that she went about writing this love-triangle-that's-not-a-love-triangle thing. Mica did end up going with who I was hoping she would go for, so that was another huge plus!

I touched on the atmosphere of the book, but not the writing. Gaby Triana had me hooked from the very first chapter. Right as Mica arrived in Sleepy Hollow, there were voices and super creepy things happening and I was already flying through the pages wanting to know what would happen next! The writing was so descriptive, and really brought me into Mica's world. I don't know hardly anything about Washington Irving or Mary Shelley, but I could honestly believe that the two of them had a fling and wrote a book together because of how well-written this book was.

With a super fun and creepy plot line, writing that will send chills up your spine, and characters that keep you guessing with each turn of the page, Wake the Hollow is a wonderful pickup that is sure to delight fans of Sleepy Hollow and scary stories in general!

I just finished this amazing book. My faith in this story wavered a bit at the end but a few twists and turns and I'm back to loving everything about this book.

I just love the whole story, the writing and the setting of this. I love how the story developed, every little twist and turn. It kept me entertained and kept the tension til the last page. And the mystery part was also so very well done, same with the supernatural stuff. So yay, for amazing storytelling.

Loved the characters. Especially Micaela and Dane (or whatever his real name is). I also really loved Betty Ann and how she took Micaela in and took care of her. And I'm glad she turned out to be the one person she could really trust, I was worried there a bit. I wasn't to keen with Bram, this isn't really a ship kind of thing. It's just that his personality rubs me the wrong way. Just no.

When it comes to relationships, it wasn't as important to me (I just didn't want Micaela to end up with Bram), I was more intrigued about Micaela reconnecting with her mother. Yes, she is dead, but I still feel like at the end of the story Miceala understood her mother so much more and had a much better view of her than in the beginning of the story. And I also cared much more about what happened to Miceale's mother, what was the deal with the journal and what was even going on. And I'm glad the story focused more on that than on the love triangle, that was obviously there but it wasn't as prominent. Thank god.

Overall, I really loved it. Duh!!!

Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana

This book was fantastic! Every pulse pounding word is filled with mystery and intrigue.
Micaela Burgos grew up in Sleepy Hollow but left with her dad to Miami when her parents split up. After six years away she received a message from her mom asking her to come back. Before she made it back she received news that her mom was dead. So Micaela returns to Sleepy Hollow. Micaela hears voices and sees things, "Ghosts".
This story captivates your full attention as Micaela uncovers clues to her mother's death. The characters are fascinating. I loved Micaela and "Dane Boracich". What a twist! This tale of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving and The Headless Horseman is one you won't forget. With an unbelievable and heart pounding finish that will leave you astounded.

I give Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana 5 stars for it's mystery and intrigue.
I would recommend this book to everyone.
I received this book free for an honest review.