Midnight Companion

An MM Retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Queerly Classic Collection)

By: Kit Barrie

Narrated by: Kevin Earlywine

The horseman comes for you.

Traveling schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, doesn't believe the rumors about witches and spirits haunting the idyllic village of Sleepy Hollow. The townsfolk, led by the rich Van Tassel family, are friendly and welcoming to strangers. On Halloween night, Ichabod is caught in the clutches of a frightening specter. But the Headless Horseman is not the devil he has been led to believe, and Ichabod finds himself falling for the lonely spirit.

All is not as it seems in Sleepy Hollow. Something besides the Horseman prowls the secluded woods. Upon learning the disturbing truth, Ichabod is determined to free the village from its evil curse. But, more importantly, he is determined to save the Horseman he has given his heart to, even if he loses his head in the process.

Midnight Companion is an M/M retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. It is a standalone horror-romance novella at approximately 50,000 words, with a HEA ending and no cliffhangers. It contains graphic violence. It is part of the Queerly Classic Collection, which are all unrelated standalone stories.

©2023 Avian Jangula (P)2024 Avian Jangula

Fantastic performance on a fabulous book!

I was really excited to see the pairing of Kevin Earlywine and Kit Barrie and this book exceeds all my expectations! The story is beautifully written and imaginative and Kevin gives a beautiful, emotional performance. Really really great and I encourage you to give this a listen!

Well that was…. Different

If you love reimagined fairy tales and legends,
or the story of the headless horseman,
or you need a palate cleanser after something heavy,
or a light distraction from what’s going on in your world right now,
this could be a good story for you.

This is not great literature, but it is light and fun. There is surprising tenderness and emotion, a bit of spice, some danger and suspense, a couple action scenes, and a satisfying HEA woven into the story we all remember from childhood.
The narration is not the best ever, but it’s entirely adequate. I queued up this book to be entertained, and it rose to the occasion.

A clever premise. I’m glad I listened.

Fantastic and fun retelling

“Midnight Companion” by Kit Barrie is a fun and exciting retelling of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” adding a MM romance and steam. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this. I love retold fairy tales and classic books so I was hopeful it would work and it did. It does start a tiny bit slow but once things get going they are fun and exciting and I didn’t want to stop listening. The story is plenty creepy without being scary and the mood and atmosphere are great for the characters. The action sequences had me riveted, the romance had me a bit swoony and the steamy aspects had me giggling a bit trying to picture what was happening while also finding those scenes hot.

Kevin Earlywine does fantastic work with this narration. His narration brought the characters to life and made them and the world feel more alive, real and exciting.

I highly recommend this book in any format, because it’s something special.

sleepy Hallow with a queer twist

The legend of Sleepy Hallow with a queer twist. Kit Barrie has taken this age-old ghost story and put a queer twist on it. Reiter (the headless horseman) rescues Ichabod on the fateful night he is set to be sacrificed to keep Sleepy Hallow in its set existence. The two have a slow burn romance that just works for them in a uniquely beautiful way. Yes, the haunting aspect isn't as well done as the original tale, but for me, that's okay it's a beautiful love story in the end. And Icahbod & Reiter have a simple and beautiful happily ever after all.

Audio review
Kevin Earlywine does a fantastic job in telling this tale! And wow, his Reiter voice is fantastic, such a fun , whimsical voice that I can not get enough of. I have listened to many of his narrations, and wow, does he outdo himself on this one.

Midnight Companion - Legendary Love

Midnight Companion - Legendary Love

Kit Barrie has created a uniquely romantic MM romance around Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The amazing story delves into a sinister paranormal background, beyond the headless horseman, and we are transported to the small NY village where evil lurks.

The fantastic narration by Kevin Earlywine creates the perfect setting for this sensuous tale to be retold with a delightful MM twist.

Excellent listening experience!

Better Than the Original

Extremely interesting take on this story! I actually enjoyed it more than the original Sleepy Hollow. Perfect narration and clear distinction between characters. Flawless accent narration as well. Highly recommend!

Impressive Retelling & Narration🎧 Mesmerizing!

Kit Barrie puts her own magical spin on this fantastic retelling of Irving Washington’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and she cast the perfect narrator to bring the characters and story to life from the pages to your ears, more on Kevin Earlywine’s impressive performance to follow. This is my first book written by this author, and I enjoyed her writing style, her brilliant and imaginative mind and how she built the story on the original, while keeping true to some facts and details. The story is mesmerizing, grabbing my attention immediately and holding it captive the entire time. Without giving away any spoilers, I will only say, thanks to the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow, we now know what really happened to Ichabod Crane. This novella sized horror-romance packs a lot of story and has plenty of drama, angst, light but spooky horror, some heartfelt emotions, and steamy romance. Kit Barrie, thank you for this amazing story and wild ride. 

🎧📚🎧 Kevin Earlywine’s versatility and talent truly shined as a voice artist and an entertaining storyteller. His portrayal of the characters was incredible, and I loved how he took each role and owned it, giving each a voice that was fitting, accents included and was believable in every role. He set the perfect tone for the story, spookiness included, captured all the characters’ emotions, their fear and desperation, and made you feel it all. Kevin Earlywine is a pleasure to listen to and his performance elevated this already amazing story to another level. Thank you for this exceptional listen.

MM Retelling....

Once I found out that this book was coming out it intrigued me on how it was going to go, so i was excited when it came out and I loved every moment of it. Kevin did a fantastic job with Rieter and Ichabod and this was written very well, it will definitely stick with me and I will most definitely re listen to it.

Spooky MM retelling!

It was a surprisingly spooky delight to listen to this audio. Kit’s take on the Sleepy Hollow story gave the familiar scary folk tale with a spicy twist. Kevin’s narration of this made me forget I was even listening to a book narrated by ONLY one person. He brought the characters to life and he gave them unique voices to enhance the story.

enjoyed it

📖 Story comment: likeable characters, slow-burn romance, interesting twist on the original story.
Characters are well written, bit of a slow start, but once it got going the pace was good. Not particularly "spooky", but easily entertaining. What I call an "easy listen" - uncomplicated, easy-going plot that's good to listen to while doing something else without losing track of the story.

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Kevin Earlywine's performance. He suits the characters giving them each their own voice and personality, has good timing, inflections and intonations and brings the story to life.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 5
Note to self: the disembodied head during the intimate scenes was a little "weird" for me.
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough [3⭐] • 5 enjoyed it [4⭐] • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]