Book Review: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel
By: Alyssa Palombo
Published By: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Page Count: 416
Page Count: 416
Source: ARC kindly provided by publisher
Historical Fiction - Romance - Mystery
With October upon us, what could be more fittingly spooky than revisiting the haunted hamlet of Sleepy Hollow? Though I was familiar with the characters of the story (thanks to Scooby Doo and the TV series Sleepy Hollow), I decided to read Washington Irving's original The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in order to have a background against which to consider The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel.
Spellbook is essentially the same story as the original, but told from the perspective of Ichabod Crane's love interest, Katrina Van Tassel. In the original, we learn almost nothing about her other than she is the only child of wealthy parents, likes to flirt, and enjoys singing. While adhering to those specifications, Alyssa Palombo broadens Katrina's world by adding in the character of Charlotte Jansen, Katrina's best friend. Palombo also creates tension between Brom Van Brunt (the man who ultimately marries Katrina in the original) and Charlotte based on Brom's fear of Charlotte and her (possibly) occult powers.
I adore the kind of stories that inhabit the spaces between the lines of famous books. Getting a peek behind the curtain appeals to my both my curiosity and my love of what-if scenarios. With a title that includes the word spellbook, I came to The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel expecting some deeply eerie witchery and a story line that would challenge the assumptions of the original. Sadly, that was not my experience. While I liked the addition of Charlotte with her herb lore, visions, and tarot cards, and loved the friendship between her and Katrina, the story didn't really offer extra insight into the existing characters. Much of the dialog between Charlotte and Katrina, and indeed all of the characters, seemed either repetitive or like they were saying things just for the reader to "hear" rather than each other. All of which made the reading feel slow and frustrating to me, and caused me to wonder if this story might better have been told in novelette or novella length.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I don't know how else to put it. I liked the concept of it, but for me the story suffered from pacing issues and just seemed to drag on and on. It may be my frustrated expectations of genuine spookiness, or that the story was told in the wrong format, but The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel was not the book for me.
Summary:
When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.
But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.
Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo's The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won't erase.
Spellbook is essentially the same story as the original, but told from the perspective of Ichabod Crane's love interest, Katrina Van Tassel. In the original, we learn almost nothing about her other than she is the only child of wealthy parents, likes to flirt, and enjoys singing. While adhering to those specifications, Alyssa Palombo broadens Katrina's world by adding in the character of Charlotte Jansen, Katrina's best friend. Palombo also creates tension between Brom Van Brunt (the man who ultimately marries Katrina in the original) and Charlotte based on Brom's fear of Charlotte and her (possibly) occult powers.
I adore the kind of stories that inhabit the spaces between the lines of famous books. Getting a peek behind the curtain appeals to my both my curiosity and my love of what-if scenarios. With a title that includes the word spellbook, I came to The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel expecting some deeply eerie witchery and a story line that would challenge the assumptions of the original. Sadly, that was not my experience. While I liked the addition of Charlotte with her herb lore, visions, and tarot cards, and loved the friendship between her and Katrina, the story didn't really offer extra insight into the existing characters. Much of the dialog between Charlotte and Katrina, and indeed all of the characters, seemed either repetitive or like they were saying things just for the reader to "hear" rather than each other. All of which made the reading feel slow and frustrating to me, and caused me to wonder if this story might better have been told in novelette or novella length.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I don't know how else to put it. I liked the concept of it, but for me the story suffered from pacing issues and just seemed to drag on and on. It may be my frustrated expectations of genuine spookiness, or that the story was told in the wrong format, but The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel was not the book for me.
Summary:
When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.
But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.
Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo's The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won't erase.
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