The Wicked Deep
Shea Ernshaw
Penny lives on an island outside a small town called Sparrow. 200 years ago, three sisters were drowned as witches. Since then, they have returned every year on June 1st, and stay for a few weeks to possess the bodies of girls and take their revenge by drowning boys in the village that betrayed them.
This was a nice, light book that was a pleasant time-filler. I appreciated that it was short and sweet, and a book that I could read once, and move on from (instead of a larger book, or a series, where I remain invested long after I’ve finished reading). The book felt, at least to me, as if it was split into three distinct sections that each had a different feel and that I enjoyed differently.
The first section of the book was confusing for me to read. Although the blurb stated that the three sisters did exist, the book itself didn’t make that clear until around 1/3 of the way in. This meant that I spent the first part of the book unsure if it was meant to be a mystery or a fantasy novel, and as I read the two types of books differently, it was hard to immerse myself in the story.
The middle third of the book was much better than the first, as I was able to commit to the story now that I had some idea of what was happening. I don’t have a whole lot to say on this section, apart from thinking it was well-written and reasonable, although not outstanding.
The final part of the book was by far the best. The progression of events forces Penny to make difficult decisions, and I really enjoyed reading through her reasonings. That said, it felt like Penny spent a lot of time pitying herself – which wasn’t fun or interesting to read through – and the ending was predictable. The enjoyment of this third section of the book was very dependent on already having formed a bond with the characters and being invested (at least somewhat) in their romance.
The romance in this book was pretty average. It begins in such a predictable manner that I already lost some interest before it had hit full steam. The trope of ‘a mysterious person saves the main character, and they instantly have a connection’ is so overused in books that it doesn’t interest me much anymore. It wasn’t terrible, but it was predictable and not very engaging. Their relationship also felt like it moved much too quickly, going from first meeting each other to falling in love in a few weeks, with not a lot of time spent on their interactions. That said, this was a very short book, and I feel that fleshing out the relationship too much could have made the book feel bloated.
