The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo

I knew I had to know Katrina's side of the story what really went down and I was not disappointed. The book grabbed my attention from page one when it started with 'Washington Irving got it wrong.' I was all in. There was this dark seductive yet haunting vibe throughout the whole book and with the gloomy rainy weather we were having here in Seattle the mood was set just right for me to get into this novel. I have always been enamored with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and when The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow landed at my doorsteps I was thrilled.

It has a wonderfully spooky setting and the author tells some entertaining and creepy ghost stories throughout the novel. This novel is the perfect read for this time of year and leading up to Halloween. I felt that the author did a solid job, keeping the major characters and plot points, and still creating an original retelling. I loved that the author added another strong female character and that the two women supported each other throughout the story, no matter what happened. She was accused of being a witch and while she was never harmed physically because of it, it hurt her reputation and the people of the town are distrustful of her, though they are still willing to take advantage of her services. Charlotte is a healer and herbalist in the town of Sleepy Hollow, and Katrina’s best friend. She introduced the character of Charlotte, who I thought added a lot of depth to the story. I enjoyed Palombo’s take on Katrina’s side of the story.

In this novel, she is a strong and intelligent woman in a time were education was not valued and women were expected to play a specific role in the household.

In the original tale, Katrina was just a minor character, her only purpose was to provide a woman that Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones could fight over. This novel was an interesting retelling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I have watched the many movies and TV shows, all with their unique interpretations of the tale and I was excited to add this novel to the mix. I have always had a fascination with the story of the Headless Horseman. Described as a feminist retelling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, it follows the story of Katrina Van Tassel and her love affair with Ichabod Crane.

As soon as I saw The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo available to request on Netgalley, I immediately knew I has to read it.