Sleepy Hollow

By: Dax Varley

Narrated by: Sofia Willingham

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Katrina is still haunted by her encounter with the Headless Horseman - the night he beckoned to her. Now he has risen again, slashing heads and terrorizing the quiet countryside.

Her only joy during this dismal darkness comes when Ichabod Crane, a gorgeous young man from Connecticut, moves to Sleepy Hollow and their attraction turns to romance.

When the Horseman marks Ichabod as his next victim, Katrina, despite dangerous efforts to save him, sees no other choice than for them to flee.

But the Horseman awaits. Now it's up to her to sever the horror and alter the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

©2014 Dax Varley (P)2014 Dax Varley

A twist on a classic tale.

One of my favorite movies is Sleepy Hollow starring Johnny Depp. It is twisted and sick just the way I like things. This story is more of a romance with the headless horseman terrorizing the villagers. I enjoyed this story it was pretty good up until the ending, that part was a disappointment. The biggest draw of the story was who was controlling the headless horseman and while this story tells of how he came to be, the story had so much more potential that fell flat. Plus there were a lot of questions that were left unanswered. But for a book that was on sale it was worth the cost. Narrator was okay, she did fit the main character.

A ghost of another kind

The story is very interesting with a different twist on the hessian. The twist at the end almost made me feel like I was in a Scooby-Doo episode (in a good way) I was very happy to see Katrina and Ichabod run away together.
I won’t lie there were to many “I don’t know” says that I got a little frustrated. The narrator wasn’t bad but she read in a way that I had to go back and listen over again. She didn’t do a good job distinguishing characters and if she did it was too fast that I thought the same character was speaking. All in all it was a good book and perfect for the Halloween season.

Spooky Tale

I love this version of the classic story, with shocking plot twists. The story is well put together and has a great flow. So frequently the bad guy is easy to figure out from the start but with this story I had no idea. It was such a shock at the end.
This story is told from the perspective of Katrina, the daughter to a wealthy businessman. When the schoolmaster is beheaded and surrounded by scorched grass, the town becomes fearful of the hessian's ghost also known as the headless horseman. When the new schoolmaster becomes marked Katrina becomes hellbent on coming up with answers and putting the horseman's ghost to rest, but during a time when people are fearful of the unknown and witchcraft she may have put herself in the line of fire. The Narrator does a fantastic job with all of the voices.

Not a bad book. Three and a half stars!

Any additional comments?

I would have given the book a three and half stars. I liked it more at the beginning but as time went on I found the main character to be selfish, especially when it came to her farther. I felt she did not love him a lot if she was contemplating leaving him without telling him where she was going. I can understand her doing it at the beginning but once she got to know her farther as we did I thought she might change. It would have been clever of her if she could have changed her farther especially when things started to heat up.

I did not like the ending, I felt there was some unanswered questions but I found out that there is a book two which I will read to find out what will happen next.

There is no language or sexual content except for kissing and an attempted rape scene towards the end. There is violence which is to be expected, after all this is sleepy hollow with a headless horsemen.

I would recommend this book to those who love adaptation of Sleepy Hollow.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author.

Good audiobook

Would you listen to Sleepy Hollow again? Why?

The narration was original and the story also.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sleepy Hollow?

The end and the beginning were no surprise.

Which character – as performed by Sofia Willingham – was your favorite?

The main character was my favourite character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would choose the tagline of the book.

Any additional comments?

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Rise Of The Headless Horseman?

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that it was a truly original take on this classic tale

What does Sofia Willingham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I was a bit annoyed at her mispronunciation of a few words that were used regularly (ie scythe) but overall Sofia Willingham's performance was pretty good. Her portayals of the characters were very interesting and lent a depth of emotion I am sure I would have missed had I just read the book. The terror she conveyed was palpable as was the menace from certain characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I needed frequent breaks! The story was amazing but I can only take so much butchering of a frequently used word before I am yelling at an empty room. Too bad they can't go back and fix all instances of that one word... Then it would be amazing!

Any additional comments?

This series must be listened to (or read) in order. This is the first book. I can't wait to listen to the next one!


Sleepy Hollow is a town unlike any other. It is plagued with hauntings of all kinds. There is the legendary Headless Horseman as well as many other more mundane ones. The wailing woman in white they resolved but many others they have not. Why is Sleepy Hollow so haunted? Who hurried the Hessian? Will they ever be able to banish him for good? Or will the Headless Horseman forever stalk the town and its residents?


The first victim of the Headless Horseman (this time around) was the schoolteacher Nicholas. Whatever his past, he was a kind man and a good teacher. Noone knows why he was targeted or the nature of his offense. Who will be the next target? What is the Horseman's connection to Katrina? Is anyone safe?

***This series is suitable for young adult through adult listeners (or readers) who enjoy reimagined classic supernatural horror stories with new unique twists and a dash of romance :)

New take on a classic

Any additional comments?

An original version of the classic tale. The characters are believable and the paranormal romance is well written. I would have preferred a different narrator, but was performed adequately.I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Good story, well read

This audio book was given by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a good story, more of a romance than a horror story but a real page turner ( not sure of the correct audiobook phrase).
The narrator was very good and made it very easy to listen to, most of the time I forgot she was there which for a narrator is a compliment I think.

Excellent voice and characterizations!

Any additional comments?

Sofia Willingham is a fine narrator. Very easy on the ears without distracting from the story, as some narrators do who are anxious to "act". Her characterizations are minimalist, but it was clear which character was speaking. This is a great yarn. I recommend it highly.

Great twist on the Sleepy Hollow Story!!!

I love all things Sleepy Hollow and this book was perfect! I found both Katrina and Ichabod characters to be my favorite yet of any version or story I've read. I felt the fear of the towns people and was sucked in to the book from the very beginning. This is my first book by Dax Varley but I love the style and character development so I'm an instant fan. Sofia did a great job narrating the book and I particularly liked her as Ichabod. I highly recommend this book. I did not see the ending credits coming! It's a great love story filled with paranormal romance, suspension and drama