Raising the Horseman

"Nor what I was expecting. Kind of a slow book. Was hard to get into, and the ending...well, could've been a better..."

"I really enjoyed this book, I just wish their was more care put into crafting the scenes in Kat’s parts of the story. Also, I feel this story would have benefited from targeting an older audience. It felt in places like the author wanted to add more but couldn’t for whatever reason. Overall still a fun read though, and perfect for the Halloween season ^^"

"I started reading this book yesterday and finished today! I absolutely loved this book! Such a good story I couldn’t put this book down! YOU GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!"

"*4.75*<br/><br/>This was a buddy read with a coworker friend of mine! We both picked this up during a Barnes & Noble select hardbacks 50% off sale a while ago, and were a little hesitant. With both of us being a part of the LGBTQ+ community and being used to being queerbaited we were anxious (well I can't speak for them if they were fully anxious but I know I was anxious in my own way) about that happening in this case. It didn't. And I was pleasantly surprised that the author herself is bi, as the writing felt really really accurate. The emotional abuse from male partners, the breaking of those cycles within families, they were written really really well. <br/><br/>I loved the foreshadowing/hints when Isadora introduced herself with the last name "Crow" and then in the next Katrina diary entry we see Baltus refer to Ichabod as "Crow" instead of "Crane" which I am very proud of myself for catching onto. I loved how both Regina and Trina were so accepting of what their daughters wanted, truly just wanting to see them be happy, coming to terms with the fact that may mean break in tradition. <br/><br/>I liked how the main two generations, the "original" and the "modern day" seemed to parallel but that Brom wasn't quite Blake as he recognized what he had done wrong and knew how to fix it and stood up for Katrina regardless in front of Ichabod. Isadora seems to break the cycle that her Uncle started with Katrinas in regards to her relationship with Kat. <br/><br/>I also have to remark on how I'm so glad this sort of book is out there in the world. This is clearly YA and I think something like this, which explore gaslighting and emotional abuse and manipulation from romantic/intimate partners and trusting your gut feelings in these situations, and how I can see this book saving young girls lives in the future. <br/><br/>The only reason I knocked it down .25 a star and not quite giving it five stars (though for Goodreads I've rounded it up to those five stars) is because I felt like it was quite obvious that the ghost Kat had been seeing was the original Katrina and I found it odd that it took her so long to catch on. I also honestly would have loved this to be longer, and to have more deeply explore the relationship between the Headless Horseman and Katrina rather than a hurried explanation during the epilogue. Otherwise, this was nearly perfect, and I can see myself reading this every single autumn."

"An interesting take on the Headless Horseman tale that does not actually center on him. This is a very disney-esk story. Great for many ages and very smooth to read."

"⭐️3/5"

"Great story. It’s LGBT friendly and age appropriate content for young teens. You get to see the story of two people, the original Katrina from the headless horseman story and her descendant. Highly recommend giving this a read if you are into ghost stories and both modern and time period stories."

"The person who narrates the audiobook does terrible voices; our teen leads sound super whiny and the male characters sound like stereotypical male voices. I wonder if their was even a book editor for this cause there are alot of redundant lines like the author was trying to fluff the word count. There are good ideas in here that do make the book worth continuing but I picture this book being one that would get a more adventurous and action packed ending if it was adapted to a movie. "

"I love everything about this book"

"<i>"Once you cross that bridge, my friends, the ghost is through; his power ends!"</i><br/><br/>2.5/5<br/><br/><a href="https://ebookreview.dreamwidth.org/116008.html">Book Reviews</a> | <a href="https://www.pillowfort.social/darkphoenix">Pillowfort</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Revengelyne">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2673832736">Bookbub</a> | <a href="https://spoutible.com/Utena">Spoutible</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/revengelyne/">Instagram</a>"