Thursday 19 April 2018

Review: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.


Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published March 6th 2018 by Simon Pulse 
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Kristine's Thoughts:
** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

Two centuries ago three sisters were accused of being witches. Their crime was making all the men fall in love with them. Stones were placed in their pockets and they were taken out in the harbour where they would meet their demise. For a few short weeks each summer the Swan sisters return to get their revenge by entering the bodies of local girls and luring young men into the harbour and to their death.

Although the story does detail some of the swan sister's lives the story took place mostly in present time over one summer. I enjoyed the tidbits about the three sisters and actually wished that there was a little more. It really added to the overall story. The book focused mostly on Penny who had the strange ability to see the sisters and who's body they were inhabiting, a secret she guarded closely. With her new friend Bo, they tried to make it to the summer solstice unharmed.

Admittedly, this type of book is not normally my cup of tea. If it can't really happen I tend to be quite critical of it. This book however was an exception. It leaned a little more towards magical realism than fantasy and I found I could get behind that. It was kept simple and not complicated by a far fetched, over the top plot like I find most in the fantasy genre are.

There were some twists and turns, none that I can mention without giving the story away. It kept me wanting to know more and the pages turning. Would Penny tell her secret? Could she save Bo? At the end I was left mostly satisfied however I did struggle a little bit with Penny and Bo's relationship. I'm not sure I fully understood or felt it or even wanted it to happen if I'm being completely honest. I was initially in their corner but events that occurred tainted my hopes for them. My rating and final feelings in regards to this book were impacted pretty strongly by my mixed feelings over Penny and Bo. I am very curious how other people felt about how it played out.

Over all The Wicked Deep was an entertaining and easy to read book that I think its target audience (YA) will thoroughly enjoy.



About the Author
Shea Ernshaw is an Oregon native and YA author. She often writes late, late, late into the night, enjoys dark woods, scary stories and moonlight on lakes. She drinks loads of tea and believes sunrises are where unicorns hide.

She lives with her two cats, a dog, a husband, and a stack of books beside her bed she still needs to read.

Connect with Shea

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