A Gothic Shade of Romance Series by Karina Halle – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

A Gothic Shade of Romance Series by Karina Halle – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:56:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.books2020.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png A Gothic Shade of Romance Series by Karina Halle – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com 32 32 Legend (A Gothic Shade of Romance #2) Read Online Karina Halle http://www.books2020.com/legend-a-gothic-shade-of-romance-2-read-online-karina-halle Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:56:18 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/legend-a-gothic-shade-of-romance-2-read-online-karina-halle Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Authors: Karina Halle Series: A Gothic Shade of Romance Series by Karina Halle
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Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)

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In the scorching and riveting conclusion to Hollow, a dark academia and gothic romance reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod Crane, and Brom Bones have unraveled the bone-chilling mystery of Sleepy Hollow's Headless Horseman.

But their journey is far from its end. As they share the enigmatic halls of Sleepy Hollow Institute, their lives become increasingly entangled, both emotionally and intimately. Amidst their exploration of dark desires, Kat grapples with the affections of two possessive men who hunger for not only her, but for each other.

As their passions deepen, unsettling secrets within the school's ancient coven come to light, threatening to unravel the very fabric of their existence. Each character faces a profound test, with one harboring a hidden past that could shatter their newfound unity.

In a suspenseful tale of desire, obsession, and the lurking shadows of Sleepy Hollow, these three souls will be pushed to the brink, facing the chilling consequences of their deepest secrets and darkest cravings.

Watch your head.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Playlist

Full playlist can be found by scanning the image below or entering the following URL: bit.ly/HOLLOWPLAYLIST

“Pleasure” - +++ (Crosses)

“New York” - The Kills

“Invisible Hand” - +++ (Crosses)

“Going to Heaven” - The Kills

“Corrupt” - Depeche Mode

“In the Air Tonight” - Natalie Taylor

“Feral Love” - Chelsea Wolfe

“Last Rites” - +++ (Crosses)

“Daffodil” - Florence + The Machine

“Built on Bones” - Emily Scott Robinson

“Werewolf Heart” - Dead Man’s Bones

“Me and the Devil” - Soap&Skin

“Burn the Witch” - Queens of the Stone Age

“Bitches Brew” - +++ (Crosses)

“Phantom Bride” - Deftones

“Stripped” - Depeche Mode (single version)

“Ghost Ride” - +++ (Crosses)

“House of Metal” - Chelsea Wolfe

“Halo” - Depeche Mode

“Total Depravity” - The Veils

“Sinner in Me” - Depeche Mode

“Dusk” - Chelsea Wolfe

“Kingdom Come” - The Kills

“In Chains” - Depeche Mode

“Runner” - +++ (Crosses)

“Bones” - Finnegan Tui

“Flatlands” - Chelsea Wolfe

“Seven Devils” - Florence + The Machine

“Crawl Home” - Desert Sessions

“Anhedonia” - Emma Ruth Rundle/Chelsea Wolfe

“Snake Song” - Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan

“Mercy in You” - Depeche Mode

“Light as a Feather” - +++ (Crosses)

Prologue

Brom

A year ago

The creature stalks towards me.

Darkness coming out from darkness.

He’s inside my head, inside my nightmare.

He’s stepping out of my mind and into the hall.

The hall outside the room.

Malevolence pours under the doorway, flowing toward me like oil.

The creature forms here.

Tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked in night.

Missing a head.

He’s holding something in his hand behind his back.

Something that drips onto the floor.

I see a hint of long blonde hair hanging.

The color of cornsilk.

I know what it is.

I open my mouth to scream.

The headless man brings the object forward.

It’s Kat’s severed head, her blue eyes frozen in terror.

“Let me inside,” the man says in a deeply inhuman voice that sinks into the marrow of my bones. “Let me inside and I’ll put her head back on.”

I sit straight up and scream. It echoes in the room and for a moment I don’t remember where I am.

Then someone sits up next to me. A man.

He puts his arm around me, his skin cool against my burning body, and gives me a squeeze.

“It’s a nightmare, Abe,” he says in his low, rich voice. “You’re alright.”

I try to breathe, my lungs aching and he runs his palm up and down my arm, soothing me.

“It’s alright,” he says again, resting his chin on my shoulder. “There’s nothing to fear.”

But there’s so much to fear.

All I feel is fear.

I can’t stop running from it and it can’t stop coming for me.

I turn my head to glance at him from the corner of my eye.

Crane. His name is Ichabod Crane.

The mystery man at the opium den.

He had been watching me and I had been watching him.

Wondering what he wanted with me. His mannerisms were so refined despite the smoke going into his lungs. He seemed worldly.

And it seemed he wanted me.

I hated that I wanted him.

Then tonight he got up and approached me and offered me a bath and a place to stay. Anywhere was better than the slums I had been sleeping in, even though the idea of being with him both terrified and thrilled me.

So I went with him here.

I took a much-needed bath.

And then I sucked him off and reveled in his praise.

Feeling like I was good. Worthy.

I was wanted.

I was safe.

It had been such a long time since I felt any of those things.

I’ve been running for so long.

“What haunts you, Abe?” he asks, brushing the hair off my head. I close my eyes to his touch but then stop myself, pulling away and putting distance between us.

“Everything,” I tell him though I know this man won’t leave it at that.

“That much I know,” he muses.

I lean forward and he puts his hand on my back, fingers gently brushing my spine. I hate how good it feels, hate how badly I want this man to use me again like he did earlier. That feeling of being wanted and desired so much, that urge I have inside to please.

I want to please him and keep pleasing him.

“This isn’t the first time for you,” he says. “Or is it?”

I shake my head, no. “I don’t do this often,” I say, my voice raw.

There was only Pastor Ross. That man had started off as a father figure for me, someone who I turned to because my own father acted like I didn’t exist. I trusted Pastor Ross. And I wanted him too. We only succumbed to our desires twice, knowing how dangerous and forbidden it was.

The first time we were together was the first time I had a man’s cock in my mouth.

The second time he took my virginity.

And shortly after that, I took Kat’s.

My heart squeezes at the thought of her. I left Sleepy Hollow for her. I was so afraid that the magistrate would make an example of me to the entire town, not just telling my parents that I was a product of the devil, but that Kat would find out too. I truly didn’t care what my parents thought of me, they already treated me like I was something they had to tolerate, as if I was thrown in their laps like a stray kitten they felt obliged to take care of.

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Advertisement Hollow (A Gothic Shade of Romance #1) Read Online Karina Halle http://www.books2020.com/hollow-a-gothic-shade-of-romance-1-read-online-karina-halle Mon, 02 Oct 2023 05:16:57 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/hollow-a-gothic-shade-of-romance-1-read-online-karina-halle Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Authors: Karina Halle Series: A Gothic Shade of Romance Series by Karina Halle
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Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)

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From the New York Times bestselling author of River of Shadows and A Ship of Bones and Teeth comes a smutty spooky dark academia gothic romance retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, where Kat Van Tassel doesn't have to choose between Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane, and there are worse things haunting them than the Headless Horseman.

Ever since she was a child, Kat Van Tassel knew that her parents had arranged for her to marry her best friend, Brom Bones, when she became of age. That was until Brom mysteriously vanished from the secretive village of Sleepy Hollow when he was just a teenager.
Now, at nineteen, Kat is fulfilling the tradition of attending Sleepy Hollow Institute, a shadowy and prestigious school that is run by her powerful family. There she starts to fall for her new teacher, the enigmatic, smart, and much older Ichabod Crane, whose fascination with dark magic and the occult brings out a new side of Kat—in more ways than one.
Until Brom Bones suddenly appears in her class. Her childhood friend doesn’t remember what happened to him in the four years that he’s been gone, all he knows is that he’s back in Sleepy Hollow for good. The only problem is, he’s not the same man that Kat knew. Cocky and brash as a youth, this Brom is violent and prone to bouts of madness.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

1862

Baltus Van Buren was sitting in front of the roaring fire with a stiff shot of bourbon in his hand, pretending he wasn’t waiting for his wife to leave. She took her time as she always did when she went to the school, puttering around the house as if she was perpetually about to forget something. Over the years, Baltus realized it wasn’t absent-mindedness, though that sometimes came into play, rather her reluctance to leave him and Katrina on their own. She only went to the school for the nights before, after, and during a full moon, but you’d think she had to go to the other side of the country, not a forty-minute ride into the dark woods of Sleepy Hollow.

She’s afraid, Baltus thought absently as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass. But of what?

Though he always asked the question, he had his suspicions. That was why he was waiting for her to leave tonight because he wanted a moment with Katrina alone.

She was six years old, and it was time for his daughter to finally know the truth.

“Goodbye, dear Baltus,” Sarah said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. She smelled of cloves and something earthy, like the hard, dark soil that lay under the thin layer of evening frost, rich with decaying leaves.

Baltus forced a smile and eyed her. She was looking worn, her face like parchment, the wrinkles deepening around her eyes and mouth, but she always looked this way before she left for the school. She’d look much better upon her return.

She would have said goodbye to her daughter, but Katrina was already in her bed, fast asleep. At least that’s what Sarah thought. Baltus knew otherwise.

The door opened and closed, and Sarah was gone, a blast of frigid air coming in and tickling the fire. The flames leapt and danced and then settled, and the entire house seemed to relax as if letting out a sigh.

Baltus waited a moment, had another swig of his drink, and listened to the branches of the bare trees tapping the narrow windows of the sitting room, wanting to come in. They sounded like a ticking clock.

Then he said in his loud, fatherly voice, “Katrina?”

He waited a beat, and the door to her bedroom opened a crack, and her pale face peeked through.

“I know you’re not sleeping,” he continued and gestured to the velvet chair beside him. “Why don’t you come here so we can have a chat.”

She paused in the doorway, large blue eyes, pale skin, and hair like cornsilk. “Am I in trouble?” she asked in a small voice.

“Not even a little,” he said, his smile raising up the corner of his mustache. “Come here, my child.”

Katrina walked toward him, her bare feet smacking the floor loudly, which made her father smile to himself. His daughter was never the most graceful little girl, always loud and brash and clumsy, as if her feet were too big for her body, and she had no sense of the space around her. He wondered if one day her mother would make her go to a finishing school or if she’d use her own magic to help her be more “refined.” He prayed she’d leave Katrina as she was.

Baltus was a kind and loving man, beloved all over town for his thoughtful and genial ways, but he was a coward when it came to his wife, and he knew it. Sarah Van Tassel’s roots in Sleepy Hollow were so deep that sometimes he worried he could be uprooted at any moment and tossed away with one defiant look from his wife. After all, when they married it was she who decided to keep her maiden name—Van Tassel—because of tradition on her maternal side, and passed that name onto Katrina. And though Baltus was a witch too, his magic paled in comparison to what Sarah was capable of.

When it came to Katrina, however, that was yet to be seen.

“What is it, Papa?” she asked, climbing into the chair beside him, her legs swinging back and forth. If she had been sleepy before, she was fully awake now, her bright blue eyes looking him over curiously, eagerly, for it wasn’t often she was encouraged to stay up late. “Did something happen to Mama?”

He glanced at her, bushy brows furrowed like dueling caterpillars. “What makes you say that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Your mother is fine,” he said. He shouldn’t be surprised at how observant she was. That was the whole point of this talk. “She left to go to the school.”

“I know. I heard her say goodbye. It’s just that the house feels different.”

“How so?”

“Like it was holding its breath, and now it’s not.”

Very astute, he thought. He cleared his throat. “Well, dear Kat, that feeling you have, what you’re noticing, that’s energy. And not many children your age would be able to put that feeling into words like you have, but that’s what makes you special.”

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