Book Review: Crane by Stacey Rourke

Read: November 1-3   Verdict: 3 Stars

When Ireland Crane moves to Sleepy Hollow, mysterious things start to happen. And those mysterious things include a headless horseman chopping off people's heads, weird dreams and a narcoleptic man who has, apparently, been asleep for centuries waiting for Ireland's arrival.

I don't the know much, or anything really, about the legends around Sleepy Hollow and the horseman, nor do I know the famous figures at the center of the story. However, I do love the show Sleepy Hollow so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ichabod Crane was a central character in the story. Because I love the show and it's returned for a new season, I think I found it hard to separate the Ichabod and Katrina from the show, with the same characters in the book. But Rourke was able to out her own nice little flair on the story of the Headless Horseman and Crane's involvement. 

The weird distance I felt with Ichabod spread to other characters as well, namely Ireland and Noah. Even at the end of the book, I didn't really feel I knew her. I think part of this may have been the mindset I was in while reading the book. I'm not sure if I really focused enough on the story, maybe if I was, I would have bonded with Ireland a little bit more. There were hints of her coming to Sleepy Hollow to get away from other things, and I just didn't feel that her douchey ex was all of that reason. I also hate the cliché of a douchey ex. Though the fridge story was funny.

A little bit of the descriptive language was a little bit too cringey for my taste. The "soft waves" of Katrina's blonde hair caressing her face like the sea on sand, and her satin soft skin. No thanks.

There was definitely a lot of action in the latter half of the book when Ireland finds some things out, and I really liked the addition of Rip as a character in the modern day world (and it reminded me of Ichabod's story in TV show Sleepy Hollow, minus the stress-induced narcolepsy). I do wish that maybe he had been more help but hopefully that will come in the next book. The two timelines started to come together nicely as the reader finds out more, though I'm still not 100% sure I get the whole "Hessian" thing but that's just me.

I will be continuing on with this series, if not to just gush about the beautiful covers.