Witch Book Wednesday: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Welcome to my first “Witch Book Wednesday” post. Every Wednesday, during the month of October, I am going suggest which atmospheric and witchy book you should definitely add to your October TBR.

Title: The Wicked Deep
Author:  Shea Ernshaw
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

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.

---

Shea Ernshaw’s The Wicked Deep is a beautifully written and very atmospheric novel filled with heartache, curses, and mystery. The enriched storytelling is spellbinding, enchanting, and heavily saturated with thrills and chills surrounding three accused and executed witches, the Swan sisters.

You will fall in love with the town of Sparrow–a cursed city that is filled with speculation, a heightened sense of magic, and a dash of residual sorrow that yearns to be healed. Littered with twists, slowly unraveled truths, and witchery, The Wicked Deep is a very haunting narrative and love story filled with lavish prose, revenge, and sacrifice.

Waiting on Wednesday: Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Winterwood
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Publication date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance set deep in the magical snow-covered forest, where the appearance of a mysterious boy unearths secrets that awakens the enchanted, but angry, woods.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood . . .

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

♦∗♦∗♦∗♦∗♦∗♦∗♦

Witches, disappearances, and an enchanted woods?!
This book sounds like my soulmate.

Top 5 Tuesday: Naked Hardcovers

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Bionic Book Worm. 

Today’s topic: Top 5 Naked Hardcovers

Click on my photographs or book cover to be linked to my review or the book’s Goodreads page.

The UK edition of Caraval has five different mystery “under the covers,” which include a dress, clock, tent, rose, or top hat.

While trying to collect different versions of The Night Circus, I found this beauty.

I can’t find a personal picture that I have taken of the naked hardcover of The Cruel Prince, but if you ever lift up the jacket–behold the beauty!

I am currently collecting all four “under the cover” hardcovers of Legendary. My favorite so far is the Shattered Crown edition.

Once again, I cannot find a personal picture, but you guys, trust me, the naked hardcover of The Wicked Deep is beautiful. If you ever find a copy, the hardback has a moon and stars foiled into the hardback. I love it. 

Review of The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Title: The Wicked Deep
Author:  Shea Ernshaw
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

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.

---

The Wicked Deep is a very haunting and oftentimes heartbreaking read. Shae Ernshaw’s novel is beautifully written; the storytelling is spellbinding and enchantingly engaging. I fell in love with the town of Sparrow–a cursed city that is filled with speculation, a heightened sense of cursed magic, and a dash of heartache that yearns to be healed. The characters are enriched with so much emotional turmoil, making it hard not to only feel sorry for the lured victims but also feel sympathy towards the cursed “witches.”  

There are various characters strung throughout The Wicked Deep, but it was not the main character, Penny, that I was rooting for throughout the novel. Instead I really enjoyed the development of Bo Carter, Sparrow’s mysterious outsider. I liked that even though he is an outsider of the cursed town, he blurs into the setting so naturally. He creates his own firm ground and purpose in the story. Bo has a very curious atmosphere about him, but he also radiates an aura of kindness, devotion, and resiliency. 

Overall, I liked The Wicked Deep but there are some parts of the book that dwell in the back of my mind. I personally found the book’s “twist” to be predictable, but that predictability does not fault the story; instead, it’s through this twist and unraveled truths that the resolution of the story filters through a lens of heartache, sacrifice, and so much vulnerability. I was not a huge fan of the ending, but I really could not see the conclusion going any other way. The whole vibe of the ending just does not sit well with me, but I think it is because I adored Bo so much; and without adding any spoilers, I think he deserves so much more after that downpour of truth that saturates his heart and his dreams.

 

 
Note:  I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in exchange for a review. I bought this book with my own funds, and I reviewed the book at my own discretion.  All statements and opinions in this review are mine. 

Waiting On Wednesday: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: The Wicked Deep
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Publication date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal 

Synopsis

Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge—and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

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.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble