Romance in Sleepy Hollow

by Marcia Lynn McClure

Tansy felt a warm blush heat her cheeks as her gaze fell to the tall, totally hot guy standing near the back of the touring group. He smiled at her as their eyes met, and she half expected to see two vampire fangs as part of his dazzlingly white set of teeth. He was truly that good-looking-fictional vampire good-looking. So good-looking, in fact, that Tansy was proud of herself for not stumbling over her words as she continued to give her "beginning of our tour" speech. The guy wore jeans and a blue flannel shirt with his sleeves rolled up to just beneath his elbows. He had short dark hair, a flawlessly chiseled jawline, a square, mildly cleft chin, and shoulders as broad as a barn! He was so her exact idea of a dream man that Tansy quickly glanced around to ensure that there weren't any movie cameras rolling or something. The guy was too good looking to be just a regular Joe out for a stroll with the other tourists. But Tansy didn't see any news or TV cameras, so she straightened her posture and tried to funnel her focus back to the group of people waiting for the tour to start.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Novella, Holiday, Clean Romance

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2015

About the author

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Marcia Lynn McClure grew up influenced by the reminiscent stories of rugged, rural Colorado farm life fascinatingly recounted to her by her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts…tales of runaway buckboards, mule-drawn plows and dust pneumonia; verbalized images of stream-flooded meadows, frozen over in winter, where a child could peer through the crystal clear ice in wonder at the small fish, snakes and mice sealed in the meadow grasses beneath; stories of hardship and tragedy, love and loss. But always the stories, and the people telling them, bore evidence of the wonder and worthiness of simpler, yet sometimes brutal, times.

These influential people and the family legends they detailed, coupled with her own life experiences and utterly romantic nature, led Marcia to begin writing novels as Christmas gifts for her closest friends…friends who long for a breath of the past and miss the romance of bygone eras; friends searching for moments of distraction from the stressful, demanding times we live in.

And so, knowing that it is the breath of the past and the "take me in you arms and kiss me" kind of moments that so many women long to relive, Marcia spins her tales of love, life and laughter…adventures woven around those compelling, romantic instances that most appeal to a woman's loving heart. Marcia feels that if her readers close one of her books with a contented sigh and a delighted smile, feeling rejuvenated, cheerful and edified, then she has achieved what she set out to do…shower refreshment and happiness on anyone having experienced the story.

Marcia lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. There she writes her stories surrounded by her beloved friends and family...and the beautiful desert landscape of New Mexico!

Reviews

[Kathy]

Cute story!
Clean (mild language)

[Ellen]

Really, it's not very good, but my co-worker read it to us for a sort-of book club and did a great job with the voices.

2023 challenge: A book that was self-published

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation]

This would be a fun story to read during Halloween. I actually live kinda close (three hours maybe) away from Sleepy Hollow, I really want to visit there before we move next summer. I think it'd be hard to write a story about Sleepy Hollow and not have a bit of mystery thrown in. I liked that we get a nice romance with a little suspense thrown in.

Tansy works at her family apply orchard and also as a tour guide at the local cemetery. Working one night she catches the eye of a handsome tourist, Branch Jackman, who is in town to get ideas for a Sleepy Hollow comic book he is working on. Branch and Tansy have an instant connection and sparks fly.

I thought this was a cute story, the romance was a little fast for me, but since it's a short story I can get behind it. I loved the setting, which made me want to visit there even more now. I liked that there was a little mystery thrown in that helped add to the ambiance. Overall, a cute read.

Content
Romance: Clean, some passionate kissing of course
Language: Mild, a couple
Violence: Mild

[Teya Teya]

9/10/22
I love it! The name Tansy is super, super cute. I love the whole spooky thing going on. I just LOVE it! I love fall and Halloween, so go figure.

Other Years
Another perfect marvel! I am thrilled about the Romance... series. I personally LOVED the wholesaler's hollow theme and vampire reference. So fun and totally Marcia fashion. I loved the reference to a noggin. We use that term all the time.

OOOH so fun and tantalizing to read this love story around Halloween. Psycho and love are in the same book. LOVE it!

[Nikki H]

very clean a little bit of language but that's it

[Cheryl]

Fabulous quick read to get in the mood for all things autumn! In Marcia Lynn McClure's author notes at the back of this book she explains how autumn is her favorite season and she loves everything related to it. "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" by Washington Irving is her favorite story, mostly because of the incredible descriptions he uses. The main character in this story, Tansy, reflects Marcia in her great love for the season autumn. Working in the family orchard and as a tour guide at the local cemetery gives Tansy the perfect outlet for these things she loves. Along comes her perfect man to enjoy the season with Tansy. Throw in some suspense and intrigue and you have the recipe for a MLM classic. As usual the hero is completely sigh worthy. This book is a quick escape from life and a fun read. I love the author notes at the back that tell where some of the antics in this story came from.

[Tracy D.]

Sweet.

I liked the story. The characters were cool, but the romance was a tad bit sappy. Both characters claimed love at first sight, but in reality they were only focused on how hot each other were respectively. Very very clean with an almost dated dialogue. Good for a quick read.

[Melody]

Ended my year with a Marcia book, and started out the New Year of reading with the latest book from her. Nothing could be better, really. :)
Cute little novella that does what Marcia does best- just warms my heart and makes me smile. And swoon. Can't ever read one of hers and not swoon. ;)

[Nellie]

I usually LOVE MLM's books. This was probably my least favorite. I love that she writes so clean. Only a couple cuss words. Cute characters. This is a novella. I just thought is was not quite as good as ALL her others.

[Carisa]

Sweet story

[Lydia]

Corny romance with great kissing (Marcia's specialty). I did like the addition of a mystery.

[Jenny]

5 star narration. 1 star book.

Oh, how I enjoyed having a co-worker read this aloud to a few of us during breaks. I'm positive that this was not written as a comedy, but trust me, it works better when it's read that way. However, even the wonderful narration did not endear this book or author to me.

A few things that I found annoying:

-insta-love + zero character development
-an alarming amount of sentences end with "ya know " or "ya know what I mean?"
-the never ending repetition of useless information
-the lack of plot
-page breaks in the middle of conversations.
-a mystery that made no sense

And for the most disturbing scene I've encountered in a romance novel:
Tansy(our heroine) is encouraged by her mother to "swap DNA" with the hero by running her lips along the mason jar he had been using for a drinking glass. It was "almost like kissing him." Creepy.

Popsugar 2023 - a book that was self-published

[Christina]

Wonderful Novella!

I have loved Marcia's books since she first started writing and a copy of one of her stories was shared with me from a mutual friend. I have gotten so caught up reading many different and new (to me) authors lately that I haven't read some of her newer books. I loved this book!! And this was the most perfect time of year to dive into a book where there is a beautifully descriptive autumn setting. She has such a way with words and descriptions, and of course she has so many toe-curling romantic moments! It was short but well done and a wonderful fall escape for me this November!

[Caitlin]

A perfect fall romance!

I LOVED this book, but I didn't know if was a novella!! I was so disappointed at how short it was! I would LOVE for Marcia to rewrite a longer version and flesh out the story more. I think she could do so much more with this story.
But as long as you realize how short it will be, this is definitely worth the read. A perfect fall romance to curl up with at night!!

[Mandy Lewis]

This was the first book I’ve read by this author in modern time and it just didn’t have the magic I love from her other books. It was super short and unbelievably corny. Storyline was rushed, characters had no depth, mystery was lacking. The part I enjoyed was the setting. I would love to go visit Sleepy Hollow and be immersed in its culture and traditions, especially during the Fall.

[Donna]

This had a slow start for me as the first chapter is about her love of autumn. Later it picks up and the weird history of Sleepy Hollow draws you in. Not my favorite of Marcia McClure but I still am a big fan!

[Raven]

It's okay

I liked the IDEA of the novel, but other than that it fell very flat for me. The characters didn't have depth, th writing was that of a high school writing assignment, and it overall had a dreamy quality to it. It was hard to read but very quick.

[Catherine Elliott]

Marcia Lynn MC Clure is an amazing author!

This tale of a young woman in Sleepy Hallow is intriguing from the start. The author uses her love for everything Autumn to invite the reader to love the Fall as well.

[Melissa’s Bookshelf]

Cute if cheesy novella that can be read in a few hours. The characters seemed a little immature for their ages, but all in all a fun story, especially the setting.

[Rachel]

cute fluffy story!

[Elaina]

Such a cute short book. Wish it was longer and more mystery with the main characters than knowing how each other fell in love so easily. Love the Sleepy Hollow and the Vampire reference.

[Ilia]

Good but short. :)

[NefariousButterfly]

Halloween novella

A story Halloween novella about love at first sight. All while dealing with a ghoulish mystery taking place around the couple.

[Jamille Parks]

Other then the fact that this book ended way too quickly, this was kinda cute little Halloween story.

[Mary Ann Bulloch]

I love all Marcia Lynn McClure books!! I haven't read any of her new ones for a while so when the ebooks went on sale the other day, I had to stock back up!

[Karen Phelps]

Awesome

This story reminds need of Halloween. Where people are dressed up in costumes and play in the cemetery. People jump out to scare you. The atmosphere just felt that way too.
I liked the generations of Apple tree orchards kept in the family. Tansy and Branch relationship is fun. I'm liking that Branch likes to draw. How he is loving the scenery in sleepy hollow. Tansys family are funny. The bridges do make you laugh.
I would recommend this book.

[Kelly]

I didn’t finish reading this one. The story didn’t capture my mind, and when I started skimming over pages, I knew I’d better stop. There were way too many uses of “...you know?” at the end of sentences, as well as the word “awesome.” I considered going back and counting, but thought better of it, since many of the conversations included one or the other.
I have enjoyed Marcia’s stories in the past, so this was disappointing.

[Amy]

Fun Halloween Book

This was a fun fast little story.
I loved all the apples it makes me want to make apple pie and drink hot apple cider. I loved that she named the apple trees.
The cemetery tours sound like so much fun and the little town sounds amazing.
I wish it was longer it seemed very rushed but it was still a fun little book to read.

[Kristen]

This was cute and clean, and fluffy. Nothing to it, except some good ol fashioned love at first sight. A autumn love fest and insta-love after 24 hours.

Moral Note: Cut off swear words, and and a couple of "dangs". Some passionate kisses and some mild violence.

[Laura]

Fun autumn romance.