The Headless Horseman Rides Again In “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”

“He would have passed a pleasant life of it, in despite of the Devil and all his works, if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity to mortal man than ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together.” – Washington Irving

I remember reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow when I was younger, but it wasn’t quite like this. I loved how the author took this classic and made it her own.

Ichabod Crane is a geeky schoolteacher trying to better his place in life by getting the hand of a the wealthy girl in town. He has no interest her, just the land and money he would gain. Now mind you, I wasn’t too happy with Ichabod wanting to marry someone only for their money and property. I felt he was shallow and self serving. But I guess you have to do what you have to do.

His competitor is none other than the local hero, Brom Bones. At first I wasn’t too fond of Brom. He was a practical joker and Ichabod was his favorite target. Poor Ichabod. He always tried to stay out of Brom’s way for fear of embarrassment or becoming the bullseye of teasing and torment.

After hearing about the stories of the headless horseman, Ichabob (who was the local ghost expert) was leery of being out at night by himself. He finds himself exactly where he doesn’t want to be, alone at night and having to pass by the headless horseman’s haunting grounds. I thought the author did a great job in scaring the bejesus out of me and Ichabod. Going through the woods at night by yourself is not fun. I could feel Ichabod’s heartbeat as I read the story.

Thinking he is a goner, Ichabod faints out of fear. When he wakes up, he finds himself held captive by the headless horseman. I loved not knowing what’s going to happen in the book I’m reading and this was one of those, “no way in hell is this happening” moments. And you’ll never guess how he gets out of it. Very clever!

Another thing I loved is how we didn’t know of Brom’s desire for Ichabod. Kudos to Ms. Wadsworth for keeping it a secret. I loved it. And to know Ichabod was definitely pining for Brom the same way, and in many of his dreams, made it all worth it for him. I loved how the author chose two very different characters to be together. Brom is burly outgoing and works the land, while Ichabod is lanky, reserved and is quite content to be with his books rather than people. Opposites do attract in this story.

Now, I’ve read that some people had a problem with the fisting scene. I thought it was very erotic and knowing Brom, he is the type of person who wants to possess what he thinks of as his. I thought the scene very fitting for the story.

I absolutely loved the plan they both came up with to be together. At first I didn’t think one of them was going to come through, which would leave the other one high and dry. But we do get our HEA. All’s well that ends well.

I highly recommend this book. It was a fast paced, suspenseful, highly entertaining read.

You can buy The Legend of Sleepy Hollow here: