The Hollow by Jessica Verday

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. 
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The beginning of this book didn't impress me but Verday's writing style grew on me. It was slow to start but I quickly grew more interested in the story.

A pretty good summary of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is worked into the story but I thought it helped me understand everything a little better after I'd read the actual legend. However, this isn't necessary to understand and get into the novel. I was just more interested afterward because I could further appreciate her new take on the old story.

Abbey was a very real, intriguing character. You get to know her maybe more than is strictly necessary. I could relate to her sense of humor. I would've liked to get to know Caspian just a little better. I felt that it was hard to care about him when you know so little about him. There are lots of flashbacks to Abbey's past with Kristen, allowing the reader to care about what happened to her friend and want to find out more information about it.

The action really picks up in the last four chapters or so. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving the reader wanting more.

I very much enjoyed The Hollow and plan to pick up the rest of the books in the trilogy as they are released. I do recommend it!

4.5 out of 5 stars