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The Haunted (The Hollow #2)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 7,218 ratings · 487 reviews

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...more

Hardcover, 467 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Simon Pulse

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Jan 26, 2012 Kira rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Kira by: Goodreads

Shelves: ya, awesome-ya, ghosts, better-than-the-first-one, could-have-been-worse, not-amazing-but-not-shit, train-wreck-romance, tstl-heroine

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. One word sums up this book in my mind, and I hope it does in others too: beautiful.

I loved this book. It was an astronomical improvement on The Hollow, and although I did enjoy the first book as a nice bit of fluff, this one blew it right out of the water. I love it when, in a series, you can see the author's writing gradually growing and improving - another thing I loved about this book. Verday has proved her worth in the YA machine; her characters are deep, captivating, and real enough to blee...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Apparently, I marked this book as read when I started my Goodreads account in 2010, but I don't remember it at all. After finishing it, I figured it must have been because I was trying to block it out.

First of all, I felt the book was too wrapped up in the romance to have much of a story. Basically nothing happened except (view spoiler) And the way Abby reacted to th...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Evelyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-and-urban-fantasy, judge-a-book-by-its-cover, books-i-have-reviewed, 2011-reads

Again, this novel was okay...I said in my last review for The Hollow that I probably wasn't going to read the rest of this series but I forgot that I already put the next book on hold so when it came in I thought I should give it another chance. Again it just felt kind of 'blah' to me, just like the first one. I did a lot of skim-reading because the main character isn't interesting enough to me for me to read the 200+ pages about her day to day life. (Her perfume making wasn't really as importan...more Again, this novel was okay...I said in my last review for The Hollow that I probably wasn't going to read the rest of this series but I forgot that I already put the next book on hold so when it came in I thought I should give it another chance. Again it just felt kind of 'blah' to me, just like the first one. I did a lot of skim-reading because the main character isn't interesting enough to me for me to read the 200+ pages about her day to day life. (Her perfume making wasn't really as important or written about in this story, weirdly enough given the cover art.)

I also didn't really get Caspian in this book. He changes his clothes? So because his clothes are physical things that Abbey and everyone can see, do his clothes just float in the air? They must, because when Caspian goes to grab Abbey a snack when they are at the hotel together, she says it might look suspicious if ‘food is floating in the air.’ So when he walks around with her do people see floating clothes?
Also Caspian can pick up objects but he can’t touch Abbey? That seems kind of stupid…the author just did that so there would be sexual tension between them, they both can’t have what they want which normally would be sexy but all evidence points to the fact that he can pick up objects and change his clothes and draw and stuff so why wouldn’t he be able to touch her? I think the author should have stuck with him either being able to do it all, touch everything/everyone or be unable to do anything.

And Abbey completely threw me off. At one point, Caspian did something 'totally swoon-worthy' and Abbey said to herself 'that was totally romantic...and kind of creepy.' Well, which one is it? Is he lovely and romantic or is he a creepy ghost? Either she loves him with all her heart like she claims at some points or she doesn't. She also said at one point that she was falling in love with him, and this was sometime in the middle of the novel and I was like...uh what? Doesn't she already love him by this point? I don't get it.

Also a minor thing but Ben and Abbey said they saw a Japanese restaurant/bait shop but then later it was a Chinese/bait shop. Those are pretty fundamentally different...so was it won-tons or sushi? Maybe Jessica should get a new editor or stop boasting about how she hand writes these books and gets spell-check and so on. (Uh sorry if that sounded mean! Just not a fan of these books :(
(less)

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May 29, 2010 Mary Brinkley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm sure it will be just as amazing as the first one!!!!

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 24, 2011 Joy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, library-book, to-buy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review originally written here at my blog http://insidetegansbookshelf.blogspot...

The Haunted is the second book in the Hollow Trilogy, following on from where we left of in The Hollow. Abbey is still at her Aunt's farm trying to get better after she believes she had a mental break down because she was seeing a dead boy.

Abbey is happy staying at the farm but is drawn back to Sleepy Hollow to give a speach at the opening of the new bridge that is being dedicated to her deceased best friend,...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Shanon (Escaping With Fiction) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite

Holy crap!!! I just finished this book and it was even more awesome than the first book, "The Hollow"! I am completely blown away and excited by every bit of new twists and information I learned while reading "The Haunted". I am so in love with this series and super taken aback by Jessica Verday and her ability to come up with such a unique story. In this book you learn more about Caspian, Nikolas, Katy, and even Ben. As well as some new, interesting characters. This book had me laughing and yel...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Kim Chappell rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Abbey comes back to Sleepy Hollow, she wants to leave everything behind, but she can't. She throws herself into making her perfumes and has Ben tutor her to try and pass chemistry. She even thinks he may be her answer to get over Caspian. But She can't forget Caspian she thinks of him everywhere she looks and thinks she sees him at every turn she makes. She eventually sees Caspian and realizes she doesn't want to be without him. She works with Ben 2 days a week on chemistry and starts work at he...more Abbey comes back to Sleepy Hollow, she wants to leave everything behind, but she can't. She throws herself into making her perfumes and has Ben tutor her to try and pass chemistry. She even thinks he may be her answer to get over Caspian. But She can't forget Caspian she thinks of him everywhere she looks and thinks she sees him at every turn she makes. She eventually sees Caspian and realizes she doesn't want to be without him. She works with Ben 2 days a week on chemistry and starts work at her uncles ice cream shop. The rest of the time she spends with Caspian or working on her perfumes and business plan.

Strange people have been coming around and when Abbey meets them she gets a strange vibe from them and doesn't understand what they want. They went to Nikolas and Katy for anwers. She ask them what a revenant was, that Vincent said he was one. The told her they are sent to help the half cross over to the Shade half. A shadaw caught between two worlds. They told her she was Caspian's other half, his living half. his partner and companion. "A soul mate." Its called a coupling and we can't say what happens when you and Caspian are completed. Then Katy drops the bomb and tells Abbey that this means she's going to die soon.

She realizes how much she loves him but how she isn't ready to die. Caspian reminds her that he is dead and how much better she would be without him and that if they weren't together this wouldn't be happenting. But she tells him he isn't going to do this to her again that he broke her once with the "I only want to be your friend crap" and he wasn't doing that again. She told him before I knew you were dead and after I chose you and I love you. But she decides she needs to see where he is buried and so they take a trip to West Virginia. They only way she can think to make her parents let her go she tells them she is going to see a college there and she wants to go alone, but they want her to go with a friend. It comes out as a joke that Ben can go with her but then the actually agree to it. Caspian tells her she isn't going with out him. Caspian is jealous of Ben and has a hard time in the car. But once at the hotel he and Abbey have the room to themselves. Things get intimate and she realizes why she is so in love with him and he watches over her while she sleeps. That morning she takes a shower and she comes out in a towel and he almost loses control but she says he's not playing fair because he has on clothes. He immediately takes off is shirt and she tells him to wait and runs to the bathroom to get her lotion. When she comes out she takes the towel off her head and shakes out her hair, and the rubs one leg with lotion and Caspain is licking his lips and can barely speak. He tells her she has another leg and she laughs. Then the Ben knocks to ask if she's ready to leave. Caspian tells her it isn't over yet and she tells him promises promises. The next day the take a cab to his home town and he shows her where he grew up. His childhood home, where he played on the railroad tracks, the elementary school he went to, and them of course the cemetery. She thought it would upset her more to see his gravesite, but his was the oppisite. The trip was good for her and they head back home after she leaves some flowers for him.

When she gets dropped off by Ben she goes in and finds her parents aren't home waiting for her. But Vincent is in her room and scares her. He is sitting on her bed in the middle of funeral sprays in a black suit with is hair dyed like Caspians. The grabs her and tries to kiss her. She tries to get away and can't. The starts breaking her perfume bottles and then breaks the entire cabinet her parents fixed for the perfumes and she is screaming at him. Caspian comes in and attacks Caspian and they fight. Vincent leaves as the other Revenants come..... They say they are here for me to take me and I know I will be able to be with Caspian, but all I could say to them was "I'm not ready." (less)

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Feb 15, 2013 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books, favorites, own

"Popping the bag open, he held it out to me, 'Want one? Come on, try 'em.'
'Funyuns make you fart,' Caspian said, and I exploded in laughter."

Caspian is the most amazing, romantic, heartbreaking, handsome, hot, and funny fictional character I know. I love him!

I loved this book! I fell in love with Caspian in this one. Like I said in my review for The Hollow, Caspian didn't steal my heart like fictional hotties tend to. He swooned me you guys, absolutely "twisted" my arm into falling for him.

We...more "Popping the bag open, he held it out to me, 'Want one? Come on, try 'em.'
'Funyuns make you fart,' Caspian said, and I exploded in laughter."

Caspian is the most amazing, romantic, heartbreaking, handsome, hot, and funny fictional character I know. I love him!

I loved this book! I fell in love with Caspian in this one. Like I said in my review for The Hollow, Caspian didn't steal my heart like fictional hotties tend to. He swooned me you guys, absolutely "twisted" my arm into falling for him.

Well, my affection for fictional beings is besides the point for this review, so I am just going to move on...

The Haunted starts where The Hollow left off, Abbey living with her aunt for a few months. After living with her aunt, and after many sessions with her therapist, Abbey comes back to Sleepy Hollow sooner than when she hoped to have returned. Upon returning, Abbey runs into Caspian, but of course. After wanting, and trying desperately to forget him, she can't help but fall for him. Yes, their in love and it is so cute. Mind you, cute things never last long. Caspian and Abbey learn how difficult and life-threatening their relationship can be. Well, we learn of some secretes, we're introduced to new characters, we learn of a specific type of people, we learn more about Caspian and his relationship with Abbey, and we learn that upon completing this one, you need to desperately continue on. Unfortunately I cannot hit the book store right now (curse you homework), but I am gladly picking up the next and final instalment while picking up Clockwork Prince. Tuesday, hurry up and be here will you!

The first book was slow with a fast paced and thrilling ending. This book is no exception. To be vaguely honest, this book is exactly like the first. Slow throughout the book, and than the last hundred pages were exhilarating. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. My questions were being answered, there were new discoveries, and Caspian and Abbey got pretty steamy. Gah, I never knew 100 pages could fly by so fast. Though, just because it was slow does not mean it wasn't enjoyable. A slow ride is fun. It's fun being inside of Abbey's head, almost following her around. It's nice when you want to just relax and enjoy the book. A book with so much going on can be breath taking. That's good sometimes, but other times you want to actual be able to breath!

Some people say the plot wasn't well developed. I don't agree with you people. I feel like the author leaves some gaps in her plot so she can tie in everything for her last book. A little mystery never killed anyone... And no, the cat died from curiosity, not mystery :)

Wow, I just realized how unprofessional this review sounds. That's okay, cause my reviews aren't meant to be professional. Gotta have a little corky reviews sometimes, right? I do hope you still enjoy this review, despite my corkyness.

My rating: 5 funyuns!

Funyuns, farts, corkyness,

-Angela(less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Gladys Gonzales Atwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

"This book fascinated me as much as the first installment, The Hollow. The love story between Abby and Caspian is utterly wrong but so beautiful! In the first book Abby believed she was crazy! Crazy to believe she was in love with someone or something that was suppose to be dead! Her discoveries at the end of The Hollow lead to a long stay with her Aunt who helped her find her way. Only to return home in the second installment, The Haunted, to be right back to square one. CRAZY... Crazy in love...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, wishlist

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 11, 2011 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-time-travel-romance, favorites

This was my favorite book of 2010. While I liked The Hollow,I LOVED The Haunted. I couldn't put this book down without becoming cranky. This book really made me come to love Abbey and Caspian. I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens in November, and what Abbey's fate is.

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Sep 20, 2012 Heather Hall rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jessica Verday is an amazing auther. I have read hundreds of books in my life but she is without a doubt one of best auther's I've had the privalegde to read books from. Her characters are so real, the story so well written that I keep forgetting it's not real. She can so perfectly make you feel exactly what the characters are feeling. The ache and the joy and fear, the romance and life. It's all captured so perfectly, I don't know how she does it. I highly recommend her books to everyone. If do...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love caspian so much! I loved this story its up there in my top 10!

1 like · like · see review

Oct 15, 2012 Caidyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Basic summary is that she falls in love with a dead guy and makes friends with people who are really dead and who were in the Sleepy Hollow legend. I liked the idea of being able to talk to the dead as well as sleepy hollow, which is a famous American tale. But, honestly, it turned into a Twilight like tale. When Abbey, the heroine, was around Caspian, or even Ben, it turned cliched and she lost her usual sarcastic spunk that I grew to love in the first book. If you haven’t read the first book,...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Bitten By Books rated it 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
The Haunted- picks up with Abbey spending her summer at her aunt and uncle's farm. To reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget Caspain, the boy she fall in love with by the same bridge her friend Kristin drowned at.. The same boy that must not exist, cannot exist.... Because she found out the truth.... that he is dead... When she arrives back to Sleepy Hollow, Abbey tries everything to forget him, like schoolwork, perfume-making and even grow a closer friendship with her cute and fun...more My Review:
The Haunted- picks up with Abbey spending her summer at her aunt and uncle's farm. To reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget Caspain, the boy she fall in love with by the same bridge her friend Kristin drowned at.. The same boy that must not exist, cannot exist.... Because she found out the truth.... that he is dead... When she arrives back to Sleepy Hollow, Abbey tries everything to forget him, like schoolwork, perfume-making and even grow a closer friendship with her cute and funny lab partner Ben... But Abbey can't run away from fate forever..... Because her and Caspain are not only tried to each other, but also to the the town of Sleepy Hollow and the famous legend behind it.... With danger creeping in every corner.... It's up to them both to protect the town and each other......

My Thoughts:

- At first I was kind of afraid of how this book was going to begin, with how The Hollow ended... But now that I read it, I see that didn't have to be afraid. Because Verday once again had me suck in and on the edge of my seat, with the plot and mystery of Abbey and Caspain's world and wouldn't let me go until the end..

- It was fun rendering the world that Verday creating and see how much has change since the first book.. I also enjoy, how though out the book you see the old Abbey slowly changes and grows stronger and how things start to unfold around her.. The relationship between Abbey and Caspain also starts to grow the more there with each other, and secrets untold are finely being reveal and are answer.... You also learn more behind Caspain's back story along the way too, and how they are both tie with Sleepy Hollow....

-With it's twist and turns and more secrets to be revealed.... you too will be suck in and at the edge of your seat, just wondering what would happen next... So if your a fan of intense love mystery, dark secrets and a legend that has you on the edge.... Then- The Hollow and The Haunted are the right books for you...

-And I give this book 5/5 stars....
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Oct 25, 2011 Erin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-read

In some ways, The Haunted is an improvement over its predecessor. Abbey actually makes some decisions, and there is a villain to make things more interesting. However, the book suffers from the same pacing issues as The Hollow; nothing really happens until the last 100 pages. It also ends with a ridiculous cliff-hanger ending. I understand that Verday (and her editor, if she has one) wants readers to buy the final book in the trilogy, but stopping mid-scene just seems...manipulative.

The logisti...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Lucy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

The Haunted actually surprised me. I was expecting to give up halfway through. I’m not a fan of the series and I only had two reasons for reading it: (a) Because I had a long flight with little else to read; and (b) Because I wanted to know if Verday would acknowledge all the plot-holes I fell through at the end of The Hollow. Surprisingly, she did. A few of them, anyway.

This is by no means a positive review. I still have a lot of complaints about the series and I definitely wouldn’t recommend i...more The Haunted actually surprised me. I was expecting to give up halfway through. I’m not a fan of the series and I only had two reasons for reading it: (a) Because I had a long flight with little else to read; and (b) Because I wanted to know if Verday would acknowledge all the plot-holes I fell through at the end of The Hollow. Surprisingly, she did. A few of them, anyway.

This is by no means a positive review. I still have a lot of complaints about the series and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. But while I don’t like the way Verday chose to reveal the mythology behind her story (ignore it completely for a book and a half and then rush through it all in one short scene) at least now I have some answers to the questions that made me want to tear my hair out while writing my review of book one. Granted, the answers still annoy me slightly. And there’s still plenty of plot-holes the readers should watch out for. (view spoiler)

Again, one of the main problems I had with this one was the pacing. The first hundred or so pages seemed to drag. When a plot finally started to emerge, it was written so poorly that anyone could have seen the direction the story was heading in. And then we get another few hundred pages of nothing until the last ten or so pages… where once again the story ends on a cliffhanger anyone could have seen coming. Still, I’ve given this one an extra star because the story does, at the very least, seem to have a plot now. And despite my extreme dislike of the main characters, I found myself sympathising with them at points. I doubt I’ll be reading the last book of this trilogy though.(less)

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Aug 24, 2011 Dark Readers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Abby is back and in an even more exciting adventure than The Hollow. So far The Haunted is defiantly my favourite out of the series.

Why you ask? Well the Amazing twist to the headless horsemen story. Its amazing how Jessica has made up her version of it, adding her pinch of salt to the soup mix is absolutely captivating. You learn more about Caspian, How he died, his childhood and actually how's he's truly feeling about Abby.

Once again from my Hollow review I'll talk about Caspian and Abbys rela...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not as good as the first one, I have to say.
A lot of obvious questions weren't asked and things were conveniently forgotten sometimes while other things weren't addressed at all.
It seemed to me like this book did nothing to further the story, most of the time. The book could have been half as long for all the faffing about doing pointless things that were included.
I suppose the same could be said for The Hollow, but at least THEN there was a reason for the dilly dallying - she was coping with gr...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book continues exactly where it left off. Abbey think she has gone crazy and is coming home from the therapist. She spent the last few months trying to get herself together from all that she has been through. Just when she think she is getting better, secrets began to unravel and Abbey is left with more questions.

I admired Abbey more in this book because she took care of herself. She was doing her best to get back on track and well despit her effort things may never go well for her. The Hau...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglsitting.com

Jessica Verday’s recently published The Hollow, an update on the popular legend of Sleepy Hollow, drew a bit of a buzz around the bookosphere, but saw mixed reviews, with most reviewers finding it an ambitious effort that didn’t quite stay with them in the way that a good spooky story should. When I requested a review copy of The Haunted, I admit to doing so under the mistaken belief that it was the first in Verday’s trilogy, and so u...more This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglsitting.com

Jessica Verday’s recently published The Hollow, an update on the popular legend of Sleepy Hollow, drew a bit of a buzz around the bookosphere, but saw mixed reviews, with most reviewers finding it an ambitious effort that didn’t quite stay with them in the way that a good spooky story should. When I requested a review copy of The Haunted, I admit to doing so under the mistaken belief that it was the first in Verday’s trilogy, and so upon realising that I was already a book behind, put off getting to this one for some time. However, having zipped through it on an appropriately dark and stormy night (summertime Melbourne does dark and stormy very well, unfortunately), I’m happy to note that Verday’s sophomore effort stands quite apart from the first in the trilogy, if a little less so from the third–more on that later.

Summary

Still recovering from the sudden death of her friend Kristen, Abbey had spent the past few months holed up with her great-aunt. The combination of the familiar, out-of-the-way place, the counselling that she’s receiving, and the time that has passed are all helping Abbey come to terms with her loss, but the reader quickly finds that Kristen’s death isn’t the only loss haunting Abbey. Abbey, it turns out, is also reeling from the realisation that the boy she has fallen completely and madly for (after all, is there any other way to fall in love as a teen?) is…well, a little more ghostly than she’d imagined. Soon enough, though, it comes time for Abbey to return home, and despite her efforts to maintain her composure, her fragile state threatens to overwhelm her at every turn. Of course, we’re not talking simple things such as failing chemistry, dealing with a summer job, fending off the advances of a male friend, and suffering through an awful birthday dinner here, although these things admittedly factor in, too–rather, Abbey finds herself attempting to identify Kristen’s maybe-killer, stalked by eerie shade-like beings, and outrunning a fellow who’s about as far from Mr Nice Guy as you can fathom. And there’s also that small matter of what to do about her ghostly boyfriend….

My thoughts

Those who haven’t read The Hollow will be relieved to find that for the most part The Haunted stands well enough alone, with the back story explicated in such a way that it’s hard not to grasp what’s going on. There were only one or two things that I found weren’t immediately clear (and still aren’t): Abbey’s ghostly boyfriend’s habit of calling her Astrid (calling your lover by another girl’s name is a major no-no in my book), and the relationship between said boyfriend (Caspian the friendly ghost) and Abbey. Otherwise, The Hollow‘s main plot elements seem to have been integrated well enough–perhaps well enough that other readers’ comments about the book being so light on plot as to be able to be done away with altogether might well be correct. However, while my nitpicks do seem rather pedantic, similar issues crop up throughout the book, and I found myself frowning at the lack of cohesion of particular plot elements within The Haunted. Verday has a tendency of throwing in snippets that while heavily sign-posted and apparently meaningful, don’t seem to be picked up later on in the book. There’s the appearance of the shade-like couple, who make a few dramatic entrances, and then are left well enough alone until the very end of the book; Abbey’s mother’s drunken birthday escapades, which while seeming to hint at alcoholism, are not further addressed; the weird maybe-romantic-maybe-platonic relationship between Ben and Abbey, which isn’t really dealt with in enough depth; and Abbey’s hobby of perfume-making, which despite apparently being a huge part of her life, is scarcely touched on. This lack of follow-up affects other areas of the narrative, too, with characters left in living rooms or generally waiting around whilst Abbey rushes off without warning. It’s as though none of the characters actually exist when Abbey isn’t there–none of them seem to be well-rounded enough as to have a daily life to go about when she leaves them hanging.

One of the first things one notices about The Hollow is its length: the book clocks in at close to 500 pages, which is on the lengthier side for a YA, even if we are dealing with generous margins and double spacing. But its heft isn’t due to the complex and challenging plot that one might expect to find within its pages. Rather, The Haunted spends rather a good deal of time on the narrative set-up, and equally as much working through scenes that border on the mundane. I have to admit that by the end of the novel I’d become rather an expert on Abbey’s breakfast habits and ablutions preferences, and can’t help but feel that a little editorial whipper-snippering might have helped things move along a little. This isn’t to say that Verday’s writing is dull, however. Rather, her writing flows quickly and neatly despite the torrent of the mundane, and I think that in a novel or two she’ll really hit her stride when it comes to pacing. Still, it’s in part because of this uneven use of page extent and narrative pacing that the ending feels like such a cheat. It’s in the last twenty or so pages that things really pick up, and Abbey begins to uncover all sorts of fascinating and potentially dangerous information. Secret identities are unmasked, new and truly creepy actors suddenly come on stage, and the ins and outs of the whole star-crossed lovers situation are explained. But then the book ends. It’s not a cliff-hanger as such (although my goodness, do I loathe a cliff-hanger in fiction–stop that right now, YA authors!), but rather just a lack of extra pages in the book. I found myself checking to see whether my copy was in fact a proof copy that might well have been missing a chapter or two, but apparently not. If the earlier parts of the novel had been whiz-bang and action-packed, I might have felt more forgiving, but it’s a touch frustrating to have read some five hundred pages of discussion about irrelevant stuff such as Funyuns and Cheez Doodles (whatever on earth they are), only to have the meaty bit of the novel sawn in twain, with all the good stuff saved for later.

Still, Verday’s voice manages to buoy the book, and even though there are slow points and bits that don’t quite make narrative sense, there’s an essence of genuine readability here, and you’ll find yourself reading along in spite of any misgivings you have. While there’s no great depth to many of the characters, they’re all sympathetic enough that you care about what happens to them. The strength of Abbey’s relationship with Kristen is certainly key to Abbey’s identity, and Verday does a good job of rendering her grief in a realistic way–one can feel a palpable undercurrent of remorse and emotional turmoil throughout, and while it’s occasionally heavy-handed, it feels appropriate. Similarly, while I typically find the romantic relationships in YA paranormals highly problematic, Verday creates in Caspian a character who is quite intriguing–and, joy of joys, who isn’t even an alpha male! Their relationship is certainly a challenging one, however, and while I don’t necessarily approve of beyond-the-grave love affairs, Verday addresses the challenges the pair will undoubtedly face down the track in an interesting and thoughtful manner. She problematises their relationship by contrasting it with the sort of relationship she could have were she to begin an affair with Ben, and does so in quite an interesting fashion. Moreover, while there’s often a sense of conservatism to these relationships in YA fiction (with messages about self-sacrifice, saving oneself, and subjugating oneself), Verday manages to step back from all of this by having Abbey and Caspian explore the boundaries of their relationship. Okay, so ghost kisses make for some occasionally cringe-worthy reading, but it’s an interesting concept. Moreover, the role Abbey plays in Caspian’s life (death?) is, while not necessarily entirely healthy, quite interesting in and of itself: we see the way in which Abbey both anchors him to our world and is a precipitative force that challenges him to action.

Conclusions

The Haunted certainly has its fair share of flaws, and I can see exactly why readers of The Hollow might have had issues with Verday’s work. However, there’s something in Verday’s style that keeps you reading despite these problems, and those who do will find that The Haunted offers up some interesting food for thought. Plot-wise, it’s slight, and the pacing is certainly an issue, but Verday provides us with likeable everyman characters, an intriguing setting, and some interesting themes addressed with a slightly different perspective from the big-hitters in this genre. It’s not a stand-out novel, but I think that with a few more novels under her belt, Verday will certainly be hitting above her weight.(less)

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Feb 07, 2011 Christy And Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Abbey comes home, she has taken some much needed time away from Sleepy Hollow. She had to get away, from everything and ... everyone. She is terrified that she will see him again. See Caspian. But in her deepest desires, that is exactly what she wants.

Being guilt tripped into working for her uncle at the ice cream shop again brings in another round of problems. unfortunately Abbey doesn't realize exactly how bad it is until it's almost too late.

Vincent is a jerk. Cocking and pushy, mean and ove...more

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Sep 19, 2010 A&E rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 wa...more 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.(less)

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Mar 03, 2011 Mailis Viiand rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, ya

Ok, so my question why can Caspian pick up things but cannot touch Abbey is answered. And the answer is, just because it would make things too easy for them. The almost touching gives some moments gentle sexiness so i have no longer beef with that. I am quite happy how things have improved with the story and the second in the series is much better read than the first. I guess it would not be a big loss if you'd skip the first book and just start with this one.
I did have moments where Abbeys pare...more

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Jun 22, 2010 Amy Jacobs rated it 4 of 5 stars

After the disappointment that The Hollow left me with, I was anxious to read the next in the series to see if it would be better. I am so glad I gave this author another chance!

Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow after a breakdown caused by the death of her best friend Kristen and falling in love with a dead boy. She has been living with her Aunt and finally comes home after the completion of the Sleepy Hollow bridge to dedicate it in the memory of her friend. She is scared to return to the town that...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Monica&spikey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ghosts

I have read these books before now, so there are some thins I knew about these books before going to into them. like, Caspian’s a ghost.
But it’s been a while since I’ve read them, so I find myself delightfully surprised by things I didn’t remember. i.e., Kristen’s secret diary, Cacey and Uri, etc.
The Ultimate Question: what happened to Kristen?
Well, we now know who did it. And (kind of) why. But I won’t be satisfied until I know the how as well. And the why behind the why (view spoiler)...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Brit rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It was far better than the first one and all the questions that the first novel, The Hollow, were answered as soon as this book hit the shelves. Personally I had no idea that Jessica Verdey was even writing a second novel yet alone a third. I am so pleased with this. The characters are amazing Abbey is so well rounded and not to mention Caspian is wonderful (mysterious, sexy, alluring, gorgeous, sweet). I have to keep reminding myself that he is just fictional because the thin...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

After I read the Hollow, I was hooked!! I thought it was a wonderful book and was very excited to dig in and devour The Haunted. I'm not going to summarize or recap because a lot of people already do that. Just wanted to add that I thought Jessica Verday did an amazing job adding new twists to the plot and keeping her readers hooked as she did with the Hollow. I'm proud of Abbey in this book because she really grew as a character. In The Hollow she was sad and broken and just flat out lost. The...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Sarah Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked The Haunted a lot better than The Hollow, but I'm not sure if its because its a better book, or because I'm more used to the characters/writing style.
The pacing seemed a lot better anyway, I seemed to read it in a flash, whereas The Hollow ( although it probably took be about the same time to read) felt like it was at a snails pace. Normally I quite like books that describe nearly every detail of a situation, going through the characters life day by day, and I think by the time I got to...more I liked The Haunted a lot better than The Hollow, but I'm not sure if its because its a better book, or because I'm more used to the characters/writing style.
The pacing seemed a lot better anyway, I seemed to read it in a flash, whereas The Hollow ( although it probably took be about the same time to read) felt like it was at a snails pace. Normally I quite like books that describe nearly every detail of a situation, going through the characters life day by day, and I think by the time I got to the Haunted I had learned to just enjoy a book and feel free to just coast along in the boring bits of a book.
However I have clearly identified the main reason why I liked it better: Abbie spent less time looking for Caspian. It was so frustrating in the first book that she could never find him and that she went for weeks sometimes without seeing him and she had no way to contact him. But in the Haunted, she finds out where he lives - a mausoleum - so its a lot easier for her to find him when she needs him as she just goes over to his place. Also, most of the mysteries surrounding Caspian are resolved, for example when he can and can't touch her. Although there are still a few niggling uncertianties about Verdays ghosts that I'm still unhappy about:
1) If Caspian can touch objects, and when he's holding them people see them floating, why can't people see the clothes he's wearing. Their real clothes because he saved them from the salvation army, so how come people can't see them.
2) If his clothes are real, and Abbie's clothes are real, and he can move objects, why can't he touch Abbie's clothes, and why can't she touch his clothes, technically they should be able to make out through cellophane, haha.
3)Maybe, lets say for instance, everything in contact with Caspian that used to be his, is part of his being, so its invisible too, and maybe Abbie's clothes are part of her being too but other things should still be able to work, for example, Caspian would be able to hold a bottle in his hand, so hecould put lotion on his hand,then smear said lotion on Abbie because the lotion was a third party object.
I loved how Abbie and Caspian finally got to know each other without all the cheesy " I'm a mysterious hot boy who thinks your beautiful" stuff that made up most of their dialogue from the first book. Of course there was still a little of that, but I think their relationship is a lot more believable now. You can probably tell that every scene where Abbie and Caspian couldn't touch was just killing me, but I loved the whole tragicness of it, it was even worse than Twilight for agnst levels.

I'm not a big fan of Ben, and there's an obvious (Twilight) love triangle set up between Caspian, Abbie and Ben. But thankfully not much seems to be going on between Abbie and Ben, so hopefully it will stay that way because even though I quite like geeks, Ben just does not live up(excuse the pun) to Caspians charisma.

Abbie annoyed me a little less as a character in this book, because I think once she takes a moment to sort herself out, she can be quite a reasonably strong person. She took everything in her stride and her reactions were quite realistic when something weird happened. She just seemed like your average teenage girl, she wasn't overly dependant or independant on anyone. But she still annoyed me a little( for reasons see my reveiw to the Hollow).

Anyway, there's still a lotta mystery in Sleepy Hollow, namely the revenants which I found a little strange. I thought the way they were introduced was a bit cheesy and the way they leave a taste of burnt ash in Abbie's mouth and are able to manipulate her emotion ( in a very Jasper Whitlock type way)was all a bit weird.

The book ends on a major cliffy, but whatever happens to Abbie in the next book, she better be able to touch Caspian at some point, if the desires killing me, I don't know what its doing to her.(less)

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Feb 11, 2011 Nairabell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, teen-ya-paranormal, 5-star

Abbey has been desperately trying to forget Caspian, the boy she fell in love with only to discover he was already dead. Traumatised by the discovery and doubting her sanity Abbey left Sleepy Hollow for the summer, but now the summer is over and it is time for Abbey to return. At first she throws herself into her schoolwork and concentrates on her friendship with the definitely alive Ben. Then Caspian reappears in her life, and Abbey realises you can't outrun your destiny.

This is the second par...more

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About Jessica Verday

Jessica Verday is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hollow Trilogy, published by Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. She wrote the first draft of THE HOLLOW by hand, using thirteen spiral-bound notebooks and fifteen black pens. The first draft of THE HAUNTED took fifteen spiral-bound notebooks and twenty black pens. THE HIDDEN took too many notebooks and too many pens to count. Find out m...more

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Quotes from The Haunted

“My world slowed and I closed my eyes. “I am going to give you my heart now,” I whispered. “Please don’t break it again.” — 157 people liked it

“You want me to have feelings?" he said. "I already told you that I love you. What else should I say? That I long to be near you every second of every day? I see colors, only around you....I smell perfume, only around you. God, it's like...like I'm alive again. Sometimes I go crazy just wondering if I imagined it all, and I wait to see when it...you...will be taken away from me."

"I feel all these things, Abbey," he continued on. "Rage that I can't run my fingers through your hair. Sorrow that I can't lay my face next to yours. Agony that I can't steal the breath from your lips. I can't eat or breathe or sleep for wanting to touch you, and yet I don't eat or breathe or sleep. I'm just here. Stuck in between.” — 55 people liked it

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The Haunted (The Hollow #2)

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