Review: Legend by Karina Halle

Legend by Karina Halle
Series: A Gothic Shade of Romance, Book 2
Publisher: Ace
Genre: Erotic Gothic LGBTQIA Romance 

ISBN: 9780593952368
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Welcome back to Sleepy Hollow. Though Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod Crane, and Brom Bones have begun to pull apart the bone-chilling mystery of the Headless Horseman, their journey is far from its end. As they share the enigmatic halls of Sleepy Hollow Institute, their lives become increasingly entangled. Amidst their exploration of dark desires, Kat grapples with the affections of two possessive men who hunger not just for her, but for each other.

As their passions deepen, unsettling secrets within the school's ancient coven come to light, threatening to unravel the very fabric of their existence. Each must face a profound test, with one harboring a hidden past that could shatter their newfound unity.

In a suspenseful tale of desire, obsession, and the ever-lurking shadows of Sleepy Hollow, these three souls will be pushed to the brink, facing the chilling consequences of their deepest secrets and darkest cravings.

Return to the dark and haunted world of the Sleepy Hollow Institute in Legend. Author Karina Halle brings her erotic reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to a close as Kat, Crane, and Brom work to unmask the school’s secrets and find a way to break the curse of the Headless Horseman.

I absolutely loved the first book in this duology, Hollow. It’s eerie, imaginative, horrifying, and sexy all at once. Legend maintains those elements, but ups the steam sometimes at the expense of substance. I thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion of Kat, Crane, and Brom’s tale, but not quite as much as the beginning of their story. Kat and Crane remain as curious as ever, which I loved. I liked seeing them both work out the puzzles surrounding them, looking horror straight in the eye and moving forward anyway. Brom is the most mysterious of the lot, feeling somewhat inferior due to his lack of magic. Where Kat’s character was explored in the first book, here it’s Brom and Crane whose history, insecurities, and ghosts must be faced.

Where Hollow raised a lot of questions, Legend provides satisfactory answers. We learn the secrets of the school, of Crane and Brom’s pasts, and who or what the Headless Horseman is. Halle satisfactorily wraps up the story and I only wish we got to delve more into the history behind what happened. The majority of this book is focused on the heat and connection between Brom, Crane, and Kat. Sex, jealousy, rituals, and magic weave through every bit of their relationships, tangling them together sometimes not comfortably. I liked that everything wasn’t perfectly smooth with the three of them and wanted just a bit more of the emotional development between Brom and Crane. As with the mysteries and horror, the love stories and romance are satisfying at the end of the book but there’s so much possibility there that I could have read more to dive deeper.

While I can’t help but compare Legend to Hollow, that doesn’t mean I was let down by the book. I devoured it in one sitting, enjoying the unbridled heat between the three protagonists. The worldbuilding Halle did was so compelling that I – an avowed chicken when it comes to horror – could have spent a long time in it, unpacking all the secrets of the Institute. As it was, I finished this book hoping Halle continues the Gothic Shade of Romance series with the characters introduced in the epilogue. She has a talent for delivering dark and sensual reimaginings of gothic tales.



FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton
Series: Wimpole Street Widows Society, Book 1
Publisher: Forever
Genre: Historical Romance 

ISBN: 9781538769119
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

A vigilante widow and a casino owner are both trying to bluff their way to a winning hand.

Heloise Marlowe has always forged her own path. As a former blacksmith and fencing instructor, she wasn’t just going to sit around knitting after her husband died. The Wimpole Street Widows Society, a secret group dedicated to balancing the scales of justice, was a much better fit for her skills. Her newest mission: seduce the owner of the club Dionysus and gain access to the den’s inner workings. She didn’t mind putting her body on the line, but she wasn’t prepared to gamble her heart.

Ethan Sinclaire has worked hard to clean up his club after the betrayal of his brother. But now, rumors are swirling that his club is just as crooked as before. He won’t let anyone destroy what he’s built, so when Heloise starts poking around, he decides to go all in, in hopes that she’ll show her hand. Enjoying her company is the easy part. Keeping himself from falling—that’s a whole different card game.

To Heist and to Hold is both sensual and surprisingly sweet. Christina Britton’s first entry into the Wimpole Street Widows Society series features a kind, strong, determined heroine and a hero whose stoic mask hides a vulnerable heart.

Heloise is a former blacksmith and a fencing instructor who was taken in by the Wimpole Street Widows Society after the death of her husband. Heloise has a hard time believing people will care about her for herself alone rather than what she can do for them, which makes her very relatable. She and her fellow widows help people in need and this time it’s her sister-in-law who needs assistance. The case takes Heloise into the world of Dionysus and she’s determined to seduce the owner in order to gain access to the back rooms of the club. But Ethan is nothing like she expected. Ethan has been hurt, betrayed, and has pulled himself out of the gutter to be a success. At first, he seems like a broodingly sexy hero but then Britton does the unexpected and shows him to be rather emotional. I loved it and it made the whole book hit differently. The romance starts with heat and desire but what builds is off of emotion. The characters don’t always react predictably because said emotions are in play and it gave the story so much heart which I just loved.

To Heist and to Hold is fast-paced and engaging with romance, intrigue, and memorable characters to make the book appealing. The hunt for who is behind the theft at Dionysus brings the action, but it’s the characters at the heart of it that truly drew me into the story. I adored Heloise and her fellow widows and cannot wait to learn more about them. The same goes for Ethan and his partners at Dionysus. Everyone is intriguing and it makes me impatient to read the next Wimpole Street Widows Society tale.



FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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