For the entire month of October I’ll be finding fiction for different supernatural creatures, just to see if it’s worth buying. (And maybe even beyond. I’ve discovered that I’m trash for urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. My Kindle is now loaded with a random assortment of both. They quickly outstripped the fluffy contemporaries, YA fare, and historical fiction that used to rule harmoniously.)
But even if it’s not: a tasty recipe awaits.
Last spring, Shea Ernshaw’s debut YA novel, The Wicked Deep, was all the rage.
I bought it because of the summary. It sounded like a less campy riff off Hocus Pocus and called to me like a siren’s song. But I quickly put it on one of my shelves and forgot about it, because I have a book-buying problem. But, at least I admit it. I finally read it for the sake of this column and oh my gosh. I should’ve read it as soon as I brought it home. But, I’m glad I actually, finally got around to it.
The Wicked Deep explores the small seaside town of Sparrow, Oregon. Waterlogged and drenched in a permanent canopy of fog, Sparrow would be just another forgettable tourist trap, if not for the witches. 200 years ago, the beautiful Swan sisters— a trio of enticing beauties who seduced the men of Sparrow with a look, a word, a fleeting touch— were accused of witchcraft and drowned by the townspeople for their crimes.
Every year since, their spirits have risen up from the water. They steal the bodies of three troubled, weak-hearted girls in town, and lure at least three boys to a watery grave beneath the sea. This is Sparrow’s penance for turning its back on the Swan sisters. They will continue to lose their sons at the hands of their daughters in an unbreakable yearly curse. Horrifying circumstances aside, this stuff is prime-time tourist bait. So, every summer, outsiders rush in. Some of them lose their lives.
17-year-old Penny Talbot knows the curse is real, and she can do nothing to stop it.
Living on Lumiere Island with her half-mad mother, mourning her father’s mysterious disappearance, Penny secludes herself from the rest of the town and waits each year for Swan Season to be over with. It’s a gauche spectacle nowadays. Most of the superstitious townspeople still believe. Some are unsure until it happens to them, and the tourists lap this shit up. So while most sane people would be erecting all sorts of roadblocks and KEEP OUT signs, the town actually puts on campy events and festivals to honour and remember the sisters. Weird.
Penny isn’t expecting that anything will change this year. But, an outsider named Bo Carter has come to Sparrow, oblivious to the danger just being in Sparrow brings. Both Penny and Bo are hiding their own deep, dark secrets: secrets that will be unearthed as the Swan sisters sing their seductive song. With the death tally rising and Bo in the crosshairs, Penny must make a decision. She can tell the truth and keep him safe, or keep her closely-guarded secrets, and risk losing him to the Swan sisters.
I enjoyed this novel, though The Wicked Deep is a little predictable.
Maybe it wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t been binge-watching The Vampire Diaries, but makes up for it by being engrossing. While reading, I felt completely absorbed into this wet, foggy, suspicious, regretful town. And even though I knew what was coming in some parts, I still read on just to see those parts happen. (And there were still a few good surprises!)
I will say that, even though the Swan sisters are clearly supposed to be the villains in this novel, Penny’s mom read more like a bad guy to me, and I was so frustrated. Mrs. Talbot (I forget her name, or if it was ever mentioned) knew the whole time that the Swan sisters were real, and so was the curse. She left Sparrow to go to college, fell in love, got married, and wanted to return to Sparrow, even though her family had long-since died and there was nothing pulling her back there except nostalgia.
Record scratch.
I’m sorry, but she knew the town was cursed. She knew that, whether she had a son or a daughter, they could be endangered by that curse. Even if it was a million to one shot. Don’t take the fucking shot and go back! Her husband was treated like scum on the bottom of the townspeople’s shoes. As soon as she saw how she was treated, she should’ve hauled ass back to the city, thankful for a happy, healthy life with her spouse and baby.
So, while I felt sort of bad for her, because her husband disappeared without a trace or a clue— the townspeople refused to help her search for him because he was considered an “outsider” and they didn’t want to waste their resources— and she went half-mad, shutting down because of the grief, I was just kind of like: “Well, what did you expect?” I cannot fathom having the chance to get away from a town where there are actual bloodthirsty witch spirits, not only for your safety but the safety of the man and child you love— and then you run, headlong, into trouble and can’t deal with the repercussions.
Consequences. You’re feeling them now.
But seriously. I absolutely recommend The Wicked Deep if you’re looking for a spooky, witchy, addictive read.
To go with this insanely readable novel, have some mini cauldron cakes.
This recipe is courtesy of SweetieDarlingCakes on YouTube!
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