Crane By Stacey Rourke- My Review
Crane By Stacey Rourke
My Review
Introduction:
Having been a fan of Stacey Rourke’s work for years I’m ashamed to say I’ve read little of her work. I’ve got a lot of her titles on my TBR, but at this point adding a book to my TBR feels like throwing it into a hellmouth. As in, I’m probably going to forget all about it and if I go looking end up with singed eyebrows. The Legends Saga caught my eye through one of Stacey’s TikTok’s, which featured lots of headless horseman imagery and a spooky asf soundtrack to match. Long story short, I was sold, and went and downloaded the book immediately, vowing that I would get this book read within the next few weeks. Shockingly, I kept my promise to myself, and boy am I glad I did.
About the book:
Crane- The Legend’s Saga Book One
By Stacey Rourke
Synopsis
The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.
Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.
What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?
Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.
But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?
My Review:
My Rating:
★★★★★
I was sold from the beginning on two factors with this novel. The first was that Stacey Rourke wrote it, and I’m obsessed with her work after being sucked into her Little Mermaid Retelling- from Ursula’s POV- which had me absolutely sobbing. (And I don’t cry at books easily, FYI) The second reason was that it has to do with the Headless Horseman and the legend of Sleepy Hollow, which I feel is a seriously underrated and badass legend. Not enough books cover the headless horseman, and I was SOOOO glad to find one that did. I also loved the overall feminine power vibes I got from the protagonist of this novel, who in the end actually SPOILER ALERT embraces the spirit of the Headless Horseman and becomes him. (Axe, sword, and Magical dark pony included…)
Anyway, be kind rewind. I’m getting ahead of myself.
The two points of view in this novel are in the modern day- Ireland’s point of view, and Ichabod Crane’s POV, which takes place shortly after the revolutionary war. I thought the dual POV of the story really worked here, and even after Ichabod met his untimely end and became the horseman, we still got more information about the original incident in sleepy hollow via Rip. I loved his character, and especially loved watching him trying to get to grips with the modern-day world after Ireland finds him in the secret room in her basement.
Ireland was a badass character, a seeming theme with Rourke’s female protagonists, and I loved seeing her as a councillor, how she handled the kids with her sass and seemingly unlimited patience. I would have punched Mason. Hard. I also loved how her first reaction to Noah was throwing scalding coffee at him. I mean, how endearing? To add more attractiveness to an already attractive male love interest, I also loved how accepting Noah was of Ireland in the end. Most men would have written Ireland off as a psychopath and been done with it, but not Noah, who simply accepted Ireland and her situation with what I thought was grace and a distinct lack of being a douschebag.
The story carried across the pages at a great pace, and I was consistently surprised and amazed by the twists and turns crafted by the author. I thought how the legend and the modern day killings intertwined was masterful, and really enjoyed the personalities of the characters. I feel like, as a writer myself, it can be hard with characters from older time periods to make them unique within the etiquette and proper culture of the era, but this story had unique and three-dimensional characters from all time periods, yet another comment on Rourke’s ability to craft a captivating tale.
To conclude, if you love the headless horseman, if the idea of hoofbeats in the mist gives you goosebumps, this is the story for you. I’m excited to check out the next instalments of the series, and have promised myself it won’t be too long before I dive back into this world. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Ireland, Noah, and Rip, and really encourage any horror or fantasy reader to check this out if you’re looking for something a little bit different.
CRANE AESTHETIC GALLERY
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