THE HAUNTED by Jessica Verday

THE HAUNTED
by Jessica Verday
pub: Aug 31, 2010/Simon Pulse
476 pages/Teen Fiction


Summary:
An impossible truth. An impossible love.

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with—the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead—Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume-making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all.

But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade, and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and to the famous legend that binds their fates—a legend whose dark truths they are only beginning to guess....

Ah, the book to answer all our unanswered questions of The Hollow...ha, not quite.

Abbey is back from her "breakdown" and we spend most of the book with her coping with her b.f.f.'s death, the fact that she's in love with a ghost, and the fact that said ghost and her are unable to touch. Serious bummer. But fear not, Caspian and Abbey's relationship is wrought with more sexual tension and is more steamy than in The Hollow -- fun stuff! At times the romance headed into the 'cheesy' realm but it was still a good time.

There's a lot more character development in this book. I was able to connect and enjoy Abbey's character in this latest Hollow installment. Caspian is somehow adorable and sweet yet mysterious and sexy at the same time. 

AND -- quite possibly the best part -- we learn who Kristen's mysterious "D." is! Exciting, no? But alas, you'll be frothing at the mouth because just because we know who he is doesn't mean we...well, actually know who he is. He's more mysterious than Caspian!

I have to say, the book was slooooooow -  quite a bit of doing the mundane with Abbey. For instance, at one point we go through the process of putting on a band-aid...in detail. Others don't mind this, but if you're like me, I'm warning you, it can bog down the pace. I was also lost as to where the book was going until about page 300. And even then, it was drawn out. 

Now the last few chapters? Whew! Things really picked up. The originality, the creativity, the mystery and intrigue - it all shined. 

And then it ended...in the middle of what I thought was the climax. I was really confused. I think I stared at the last page for a good ten seconds before I thought "Oh, blonde moment," and started checking if I had missed something or pages had been ripped out.

So, while a little confused by the ending, I really enjoy the originality of this series and look forward to the next installment. I'm too invested now!

The Cover:  Awesome! It's not as cool as The Hollow's, but it ranks top notch. The colors are amazing and be sure to check out the texture of the bottle. It's soooo cool.