Cool concept unfortunately not the best execution (though the covers are really pretty :P). 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). It wasn’t exciting and I didn’t completely love any of the characters. Overall, the series was just bland to me. 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. 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. They just coasted along revealing little bits and pieces of the mystery but I never got really excited about any of it. Unfortunately, that big push never really came in any of the three books. I just kept waiting for something big to happen to push the series into a more exciting ride. Which means there is a lot of angst towards her parents and sad teenage girl thoughts. I feel like the first book was mostly focusing on Abbey trying to navigate her life after her BFF’s death. There wasn’t as much romance / sexual tension as I was hoping for: just little snippets here and there. Because of the darker elements to it, I found it a little depressing to read at times.

The Hollow was an alright start to the series. 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 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. So I was interested in reading a series that is linked to the short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. My knowledge of Sleepy Hollow isn’t that much–basically I watch the movies around Halloween but only in bits and pieces. Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Supernatural, Ghosts # of Books: 3 (The Hollow, The Haunted, The Hidden)

The haunted by jessica verday