The Bookish Island: Retelling

Showing posts with label Retelling. Show all posts

11/11/2018

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo | Book Review #125

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo

Are there spoilers?

No.
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Disclaimer:
This book was sent to me by the publishing company in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel
Author: Alyssa Palombo

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Pages: 416

Publisher: St. Martins Griffin

Published: 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling, Historical, Fiction

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Date Read: October 3 > October 14, 2018

Rating: ★★★★★

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.

The Rating:

My Review:

I initially saw this book on Goodreads when they had it up for the giveaway and I quickly applied. And lucky enough I won an arc copy f this book. I just set it aside and in my head, I planed when in October I would read it because I wanted to be in the perfect mood. Since it sounded so good and I also wanted to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Knowing this story was an adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow I decided to read it before this. Though this story is its own completely different thing.

So the time came and I found Sleppy Hollow and read it. But I was slightly disappointed in it. Probably because I found it on Spotify and listened to it. I didn't completely let myself get immersed in it.

The romance part in this was strange to me but I liked it. I was so worried for Katrina (the main character) during the whole story and I wanted her to be cool and for the most part, she was but just not what I expected when I thought of Sleepy Hollow. There was also magic and tarot so I loved those scenes a bunch. Cause I have tarot cards. 😁

Still, the story was amazing on its own. It had fantasy and bits of spooks, and drama, love triangles, and all that good stuff. So even though I was originally going to give this story 4 stars I ended up changing my mind the more I thought about it all. Now I think I it's 5-star material.

Goodreads

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6/23/2017

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro | Book Review

Book Review:
A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1) by Brittany Cavallaro

Spoilers?

I don't think so.

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Title - A Study in Charlotte
By - Brittany Cavallaro
Publication - March 1st 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Format - Hardcover, 321 pages
Genre - Young Adult, Mystery, Retelling, Contemporary

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy.

The Rating :

My Review:

My review in a gif. Which equals 4 stars.

via GIPHY

The Cover:

Although they say never judge a book by it's cover I believe the cover should represent what the book is going to be like or at least some aspect of it.

I'm in love with this cover. That dark navy blue background and the coral and bright blue designs on top are awesome. And I love that the design on the cover are specific scenes in the book.

The Story:

The great-great-great grandchildren of the famous Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet and come together after a murder happens in their prep school.

Relationships:
Charlotte x James
They have the same back and forwards that every other Sherlock and Watson character played on tv or the movies. But with them they are younger and Charlotte is a girl so it's cool that there wasn't much change n how Watson treated her than his classic version.

Family Dynamics:
As for both Charlotte and Watson’s family.
I decided to talk abut both their families together because I don't have much to say about them.
Charlotte's family was fucked up How do you force your children to train since they were kids like that. I don't know much about the original Sherlock Holmes family but that should be a 'once you're an adult you decide' sort of situation. I mean, look how messed up she ended up being. Sure she's a brilliant person and all but she's done drugs ruined a man's life and is in constant danger.
On the other hand, Watson's family was a peach. Yeah, his parents divorced and his dad remarried and had kids but he still loves and cares about him so much. He wasn't forced into being what his ancestor was or he didn't make himself go down that path by stalking the Holmes'. It just happened. They became friends.

Settings:

There were places I was curious about. Like the Lab and Watson's dad's house but other than that I didn't find any other place much interesting. They school seemed cool and all but it wasn't that described nor did the characters pass trough it as much. I don't even remember if they took classes.

Overall:

I thought this was going to be a fun read. But it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. Yeah, there was a lot of classic Sherlock feel but somehow it wasn't the same. And I liked that. It didn't feel like all the other Sherlock Holmes retellings.

via GIPHY

I did think about Elementary because Watson is played by Lucy Lu mostly because instead of Sherlock it's Charlotte.

I didn't really know what else to say because like always I let too many days pass since I finished reading the book.

Get a copy at:
Barnes&Noble | Amazon US