Review: Severed

Title: Severed
Author: Dax Varley
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 258
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Synopsis:
Katrina's still haunted by her encounter with the Headless Horseman-the night he beckoned to her. Now he has risen again, slashing heads and terrorizing the quiet countryside.

Her only joy during this dismal darkness comes when Ichabod Crane, a gorgeous young man from Connecticut, moves to Sleepy Hollow and their attraction turns to romance.

When the Horseman marks Ichabod as his next victim, Katrina, despite dangerous efforts to save him, see no other choice than for them to flee.

But the Horseman awaits. Now it's up to her to sever the horror and alter the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

What I Think:
With the new Sleepy Hollow show coming out, and Halloween just a few weeks away, this is the perfect time of year for Varney to come out with her young adult romantic mystery novel, Severed. I liked this story. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't push me to that level. This was a really interesting take on the Sleepy Hollow tale. From what I remember of the original story, there is little left the same other than character names.

There was something about the book that I liked, but it is hard to put my finger on it. I know the reasons I didn't like parts of it, but it still had a certain something in it that made me want to continue reading it. One part of it was that the concept was very interesting and made me want to know more about what was going on. Another part of it was the mystery was so complex and engaging that you want to see if your guesses about who is behind everything was right. Sadly, for me the ending was disappointing and I did not get all of the answers I wanted.

Katrina was a fun character, but she felt a little too modern for the time period. Girls back then wouldn't go around kissing men in semi-public places and being allow with various men. Like with many YA romances, Katrina fell in love with Ichabod at first sight and was willing to put herself and others in danger for this love. Withing days and weeks of knowing him she was ready to turn her back on all of her friends and the only family she has in order to run away with him.

I was excited to reach near the end, so I could finally find out who was behind it all, but the twist felt flat to me. Overall, it felt more like the middle of a story than an entire story. The beginning gave the reader questions that were never answered and the last words of the novel hark back to these questions with no hit that there will be a sequel.

Rating: 2.5/5