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Headless
Go ahead; believe your silly legend....
Cora Whitt has watched Sleepy Hollow revel and profit on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for years, but she knows the truth behind the legend. There is no Headless Horseman, no headless Hessian out for revenge. Nope. Just a girl who fell for the wrong guy and got herself killed. And damn right she's out for revenge. Who wouldn't be? It was all her friend Washington "Irvie" Irving's idea to change the story and have it published.
Now more than two hundred years later Cora is living with one foot in the land of the living and one foot on the other side; a photographer by day and a vengeful spirit astride a ghost-horse named Blood by night. Until a ghost from her past stirs up trouble...
This is not a love story...
When Chance Jordan receives a cryptic note from his father begging him to investigate a series of unusual deaths plaguing the Hollow, he walks into a situation he was not expecting. Nothing in his hometown of Sleepy Hollow is what it appears, especially not the beautiful girl his father claims he knew thirty years ago. There's something off about Cora Whitt, a girl cloaked in secrets. Yet their sexual chemistry is so off the charts Chance can't force himself to stay away.
Murder, mystery, and legend converge in Headless, a dark, sexy reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Cora Whitt has watched Sleepy Hollow revel and profit on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for years, but she knows the truth behind the legend. There is no Headless Horseman, no headless Hessian out for revenge. Nope. Just a girl who fell for the wrong guy and got herself killed. And damn right she's out for revenge. Who wouldn't be? It was all her friend Washington "Irvie" Irving's idea to change the story and have it published.
Now more than two hundred years later Cora is living with one foot in the land of the living and one foot on the other side; a photographer by day and a vengeful spirit astride a ghost-horse named Blood by night. Until a ghost from her past stirs up trouble...
This is not a love story...
When Chance Jordan receives a cryptic note from his father begging him to investigate a series of unusual deaths plaguing the Hollow, he walks into a situation he was not expecting. Nothing in his hometown of Sleepy Hollow is what it appears, especially not the beautiful girl his father claims he knew thirty years ago. There's something off about Cora Whitt, a girl cloaked in secrets. Yet their sexual chemistry is so off the charts Chance can't force himself to stay away.
Murder, mystery, and legend converge in Headless, a dark, sexy reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
- GenresRetellingsFantasyRomance
264 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 2018
124 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Fenner
12 books133 followersTAYLOR FENNER is the author of eleven Young Adult and New Adult novels and novellas. Her Young Adult Fantasy Retelling, CURSEBREAKER, was shortlisted for the 2017 Ozma Award for Fantasy Fiction, and her standalone fantasy novel, MONSTERS & MIST, is a Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner and was also shortlisted for the 2021 Ozma Award for Fantasy Fiction.
Taylor is a thirty-something-year-old book junkie who devours books in most genres, although she has a soft spot for thrillers and horror novels.
Taylor lives in Wisconsin with her escape artist cat, Houdini, and a British shorthair cat, Makita, who might have eaten her last owner. Besides writing, by night, Taylor works the night shift as a dispatcher in a possibly haunted police station. When not working on her next novel, you’ll find Taylor traveling or planning her next adventure, watching horror movies - she says classic horror is the best - reading or watching shows about creepy history, indulging in sugary coffee drinks, singing badly along to songs on Spotify in the car, and obsessively planning for Halloween starting in July (it’s never too early). You can follow Taylor on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
Taylor is a thirty-something-year-old book junkie who devours books in most genres, although she has a soft spot for thrillers and horror novels.
Taylor lives in Wisconsin with her escape artist cat, Houdini, and a British shorthair cat, Makita, who might have eaten her last owner. Besides writing, by night, Taylor works the night shift as a dispatcher in a possibly haunted police station. When not working on her next novel, you’ll find Taylor traveling or planning her next adventure, watching horror movies - she says classic horror is the best - reading or watching shows about creepy history, indulging in sugary coffee drinks, singing badly along to songs on Spotify in the car, and obsessively planning for Halloween starting in July (it’s never too early). You can follow Taylor on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 7, 2018
It's almost here! P.S. You can order signed/personalized paperbacks of Headless here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RLWF...
December 31, 2018
Wowow this book was the perfect blend of urban fantasy retelling and romance! I had so much fun reading this one, even though I've never actually read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow (gasp).
I don't even know if I would call Headless a retelling, but more inspired by the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Even so, a lot of the references were pretty clear even to someone like me who doesn't know much about the classic tale. Besides that, this story was an amazing spooky urban fantasy with erotica elements, a blend that I've never seen in a book before. There are some adult themes to the romance, but the plot is fantastic besides that. Fenner expertly weaved Cora and Chance's perspectives together to create a riveting story and an adorable romance.
The characters are definitely a strong point of this book. Cora is a fascinating character, and her arc is well developed and satisfying. I also loved her love interest, Chance, who is complex enough to have that bad-boy vibe we all love without being problematic (for the most part). I found myself just as invested in his arc as Cora's. There were also great side characters, and the villain was sufficiently terrifying.
Read this book if you like: romance, spookiness, great worldbuilding, intriguing character voice, adult themes, well-developed characters, retellings and historical elements, mysterious plots, scary villains, contemporary settings
Don't read this book: if you don't like romances that get steamy, OR if you are looking for pure erotica...that's only a tiny part of this book, if you want a long urban fantasy series, if you don't have any suspension of disbelief, don't like quick romances (like semi-instalove)
Overall, I adored this book and I'm so glad I read it. It got me out of my reading funk! I wish I read it back around Halloween-time, because it's got that perfect spooky vibe. This is a romance I'll remember for a while, and it definitely crawled onto my list of favorites this year!
I don't even know if I would call Headless a retelling, but more inspired by the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Even so, a lot of the references were pretty clear even to someone like me who doesn't know much about the classic tale. Besides that, this story was an amazing spooky urban fantasy with erotica elements, a blend that I've never seen in a book before. There are some adult themes to the romance, but the plot is fantastic besides that. Fenner expertly weaved Cora and Chance's perspectives together to create a riveting story and an adorable romance.
The characters are definitely a strong point of this book. Cora is a fascinating character, and her arc is well developed and satisfying. I also loved her love interest, Chance, who is complex enough to have that bad-boy vibe we all love without being problematic (for the most part). I found myself just as invested in his arc as Cora's. There were also great side characters, and the villain was sufficiently terrifying.
Read this book if you like: romance, spookiness, great worldbuilding, intriguing character voice, adult themes, well-developed characters, retellings and historical elements, mysterious plots, scary villains, contemporary settings
Don't read this book: if you don't like romances that get steamy, OR if you are looking for pure erotica...that's only a tiny part of this book, if you want a long urban fantasy series, if you don't have any suspension of disbelief, don't like quick romances (like semi-instalove)
Overall, I adored this book and I'm so glad I read it. It got me out of my reading funk! I wish I read it back around Halloween-time, because it's got that perfect spooky vibe. This is a romance I'll remember for a while, and it definitely crawled onto my list of favorites this year!
December 29, 2018
Once again Taylor does an awesome job making a creative and fresh retelling! She took the Legend of Sleepy Hollow that we all know and love, flipped it on it's head and made this steamy, amazing read. I genuinely struggled to put it down because I had to know what else she changed! And Cora and Chance are pretty awesome too ;)
Oh, and this book is real steamy in a couple spots. REAL steamy. Slap an M rating on it steamy. xD Just as a heads up for younger readers :3
tl;dr - You'll lose your head over this Sleepy Hollow retelling! ;)
Oh, and this book is real steamy in a couple spots. REAL steamy. Slap an M rating on it steamy. xD Just as a heads up for younger readers :3
tl;dr - You'll lose your head over this Sleepy Hollow retelling! ;)
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October 3, 2021**Star ratings withheld from indie books. Just my personal choice as an indie author.**
This book is a fascinating blend of genres I've never read together (some I've never read at all) -- urban fantasy, legend re-telling, horror, mystery, suspense, drama, romance, and erotica. LOL! It's quite the conglomerate. I've never seen/read any Sleepy Hollow stories, with the long-ago exception of "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (or whatever that old Disney flick was called). I'm quite positive that what inkling that gave me of the original legend was almost if not totally irrelevant in light of this loose re-telling, lolol. I will say that this book seems to assume the reader already has knowledge of the original legend in detail, but not having it doesn't necessarily take away from the enjoyment or understanding of the HEADLESS story.
Taylor Fenner does a great job of pulling the reader in with her straightforward narrative style, and she doesn't mince many words. While some authors give long, winding sentences full of flowery language, Fenner is concise. To the point. But it's always in a way that makes sense and feels natural to the story. It just...fits. It's evocative in her own style.
Cora and Chance are engaging characters, and there were several nights that I stayed up way late flipping page after page, effortlessly caught up in their story and the goings-on of Sleepy Hollow. I love that I was able to read this during fall, too, because it was the perfect fall read! Spooky vibes galore, of course.
I do feel compelled to let young readers or other Prudies like myself know that this book does have some intense content in the way of profanity and very graphic sex. Just forewarning.
This is an ideal book for those who like creepy vibes, supernatural storylines, urban legends, steamy romance, and cozy small towns with an edge. I do not suggest this book for those who dislike romance (specifically, the steamy kind), have an aversion to violence or "big" profanities, or can't handle typos/fast n' loose copyediting.
_____
These opinions are expressed from a place of my personal reading preferences and can be taken with a grain of salt. I am not an authority on anything; just a fellow reader. If you disagree with me completely, you have that right.
This book is a fascinating blend of genres I've never read together (some I've never read at all) -- urban fantasy, legend re-telling, horror, mystery, suspense, drama, romance, and erotica. LOL! It's quite the conglomerate. I've never seen/read any Sleepy Hollow stories, with the long-ago exception of "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (or whatever that old Disney flick was called). I'm quite positive that what inkling that gave me of the original legend was almost if not totally irrelevant in light of this loose re-telling, lolol. I will say that this book seems to assume the reader already has knowledge of the original legend in detail, but not having it doesn't necessarily take away from the enjoyment or understanding of the HEADLESS story.
Taylor Fenner does a great job of pulling the reader in with her straightforward narrative style, and she doesn't mince many words. While some authors give long, winding sentences full of flowery language, Fenner is concise. To the point. But it's always in a way that makes sense and feels natural to the story. It just...fits. It's evocative in her own style.
Cora and Chance are engaging characters, and there were several nights that I stayed up way late flipping page after page, effortlessly caught up in their story and the goings-on of Sleepy Hollow. I love that I was able to read this during fall, too, because it was the perfect fall read! Spooky vibes galore, of course.
I do feel compelled to let young readers or other Prudies like myself know that this book does have some intense content in the way of profanity and very graphic sex. Just forewarning.
This is an ideal book for those who like creepy vibes, supernatural storylines, urban legends, steamy romance, and cozy small towns with an edge. I do not suggest this book for those who dislike romance (specifically, the steamy kind), have an aversion to violence or "big" profanities, or can't handle typos/fast n' loose copyediting.
_____
These opinions are expressed from a place of my personal reading preferences and can be taken with a grain of salt. I am not an authority on anything; just a fellow reader. If you disagree with me completely, you have that right.
January 19, 2019
Why did I wait so long to finish this book? So so good I loved the new spin on an old favorite. Cora's story broke my heart some. How strong she was but how she didn't realize how great she really was. I love how Chance took that faithful chance at the very beginning even if it got wonky and turbulent. I wanted to throat punch the sheriff and Carletta what a shady hag is all I'm saying she kinda reaped what she sewed. I love how Beau loved Cora even if she didnt love him back in that same way just overall great story I look forward to reading more. Would be awesome if Beau got his own happily ever after so good
November 1, 2018
Against all, it is a love story after all. And addionally we have dark powers, revenge, stalker, strange circumstances, unexpected feelings and dead bodies (well it’s Sleepy Hollow after all). Really love the book and characters; Cora, Chance, Andi and Beau are really lovable. Can’t tell you more without spoiling, you will need to read it yourself.
April 29, 2020
Wow this was steamy! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews