Series: A Gothic Shade of Romance, Book 2
Publisher: Ace
Genre: Erotic Gothic LGBTQIA Romance
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.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.
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.
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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