The witches are back. And there's hell to pay.

Although Marguerite, Aurora, and Hazel Swan were drowned many moons ago, these wicked sisters still come back every summer to haunt the little town of Sparrow. A town where their souls will forever be rooted in because this is the town that took their lives.

These young women were accused of practicing witchcraft and drowned to death, and as long as their souls still haunt the waters surrounding Sparrow: the Swan sisters will come back every year, inhabit a body, and kill whomever they choose. They kill for what was wrongfully done to them, they kill for revenge, and they will show the same amount of mercy that they were given on that very tragic day: none.

Two centuries later...

Hazel Swan is torn, she loves her sisters, but she does not want to kill anymore. Her heart still yearns for the boy she loved, the life she never got to live with him by her side, and the places she never got to see. Hazel Swan is done seeking revenge. Instead, she is ready to forgive the unforgivable.

"Love is an enchantress--devious and wild.
It sneaks up behind you, soft and gentle and quiet, just before it slits your throat."

Bo Carter has just arrived in Sparrow with an appetite for vengeance. With no job or place to stay, Penny kindly offers him shelter by letting him reside on Lumiere island with her and her mother. Unaware of each other's dark secrets, they both are about to discover that they are the key to each other's happiness and some much-needed closure.

This is a wickedly tragic story about murder, betrayal, loss, and forgiveness. It's a perfect cross between Hocus Pocus and Tuck Everlasting. I cannot recommend this book enough, so mark your calendars because The Wicked Deep comes out on March 6, 2018.

Thanks a million to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Quotes are subject to change upon publication.

I enjoyed this so much! The plot twist came out of nowhere (literally) and it took me a couple chapters to figure out what was actually happening. I liked that it was a relatively simple story that Ernshaw added details to elaborate into something magical. I liked the characters and found them easy to read and relate to, even after the twist. I cannot wait for this to be released so I can read it again!

This is the story of three long-dead witches who come back every summer in the bodies of Sparrow girls to drown boys and the only girl in town who may be able to lift the curse.
This is an exquisitely atmospheric book. The subject matter is, of course, dark, but the way the author presents the town and its curse feels almost magical.
Even though such a curse pertains to the fantasy world and is therefore not a realistic element, I believed everything inside this story. Not once did I tell myself, ‘‘Shea Ernshaw took it too far’’. Not once.
It is a paranormal mystery. This author is smart. She knows experienced readers have encountered witches before in their reads. She knows they need more to be intrigued nowadays. I, for one, kept reading because I was curious and wanted to uncover who the possessed girls were, what Bo wanted and how Penny Talbot’s father disappeared.
But this is where it gets tricky. Because everyone is so secretive, we do not get to know any of the characters in depth, aside from the heroine herself. And while Bo is mysterious, the fact that he reveals little about himself makes him one-dimensional for a good part of the story.
So do not ask me if I enjoyed the romance. It is a categorical no. Fortunately the story of the three witches and the curse itself as well as how it unfolded during this particular summer kept me interested from start to finish.

Two hundred years ago in Sparrow, Oregon, the three Swan sisters were accused of witchcraft and drowned. Every year since then, the sisters return from their watery graves on the first of June and stay until the summer solstice. They possess the bodies of local girls and lure boys into the water to drown. In response and as a way to deal with the curse, the locals have developed their own traditions around it. Teens hold drunken parties on the shore where boys drag girls into the water for the sisters to possess and tourists flock to the town to witness the curse in action.

Seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot lives on the lighthouse island with her mother who had a breakdown after her husband disappeared a few years ago. Penny had put up an ad for help with the upkeep of the island but had given up finding someone suitable. When a young man, Bo, applies on the day before the Swan’s return, she turns him down, assuming he’s just another morbid tourist. However, when a local teen tries to drag Penny into the water at the party that night, the same young man rescues her. In gratitude, she offers to let him stay in the lighthouse.

But Penny has a secret. She can see the sisters inside the girls they possess. Worse, they know. Fearing that one of the sisters will seduce the boy into the water just to taunt her, she becomes determined to protect him. But Bo also has a secret and it may cost both their lives.

The Wicked Deep is a YA paranormal romance by author Shea Ernshaw. Having read other reviews, it’s clear I’m not alone in being annoyed by how fast Penny and Bo fall in love - I mean, it’s like a couple of days fast. Still, given the short amount of time the Swans have to wreak havoc, I suppose it helps to explain why the pair of teens would risk so much to protect each other. At any rate, if you can overlook the love-at-almost- first-sight trope, this wasn’t a bad story. It moves a long at a pretty decent clip, the two young lovers are likeable, the Swans are satisfyingly wicked in their search for revenge, and the normally bucolic town makes a nice contrast to the cruelty of the curse. Overall, I enjoyed this book but would guess that, again judging from reading other reviews, it works much better for a YA audience (14+).

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

First the obligatory disclaimer. I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Also, what follows may contain light spoilers, depending on your personal definition of what constitutes a spoiler, so read on at your own risk.

I think it is safe to say that I absolutely adored this book. I finished it in a single reading, in just over 3 hours. I could not bear to put it down. From start to finish, Shea Ernshaw drew me in with her vivid sensory imagery and haunting prose, and then entrapped me with memorable characters and a heart achingly beautiful story that left me in the best kind of pain when I finished it.

The town of Sparrow and it’s dark history is as intriguing and foreboding as the stormy sea it sits beside. The way the residents have embraced the macabre Swan Season, and the tourist industry that sprung up around the annual drowning deaths was echoed in my own desire to continue reading and learning about the story unfolding.

The love that grows between Penny and Bo is honest and difficult and tragic. While their romance comes on quickly, almost like the “instant love trope”, I believe they fall so quickly in love because they are both similar souls- seeing the same pain and scars of loss reverberating in each other, tying them tightly together yet always keeping them that little bit apart.

“Love is an enchantress- devious and wild. It sneaks up behind you, soft and gentle and quiet, just before it slits your throat.”- The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

This story is atmospheric, magical, romantic and elusive. I wish we could have spent more time developing all three Swan sisters, but the fact that I am wanting more is a testament to how great the past and present story lines wove together. In my dream would, Ernshaw will write a prequel to tell the sister’s story in full detail. A reader can dream right?

The ending was perfect. It left me torn, a little broken, glimmering with hope and wholly satisfied. It is not a traditional YA happy ending, it is streaked with sacrifice and sadness but also with love, second chances and the promise of peace.

I am definitely going to be adding the hardcover to my library when this book comes out, and I’m anxious to see what the author writes next- please be a Swan Sisters prequel, don’t make me beg!

I highly recommend sitting down somewhere cozy, with a cup of tea, maybe sometime when the rain is falling outside your window and the world is dark and washed cleaned and giving this one a read. I do not think you will be disappointed.

I absolutely loved this book. I had such a fun ride with it. It was exactly what i wanted. Dark. Gloomy. And just the perfect touch of romance too. I was completely lost into this story. I found it entertaining and fast-paced. The mystery was well-done, trying to figure out everything was engaging. The story of the Swan had me hooked from the start. And reading their parts was really interesting. I also LOVED our characters in this one. Both Penny and Bo were fantastic. I was surprised by twists too which is always a plus. The ending left me feeling a bit sad, but i still found it satisfactory.

Overall, i have to say this was a great surprise. If you’re looking for a good, dark storyline with murder and witches, this one’s a good pick.

This book reminded me a lot of Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. It creates a beautiful yet dangerous atmosphere and fills it with love, revenge, innocence and betrayal. It’s a very romantic, fanciful read that I think Alice Hoffman fans would really enjoy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw was an incredibly well written, captivating, spooky read! Atmospheric and hauntingly beautiful, even the cadence of the prose lent itself to the ambience of the witchy wickedness of the cursed harbour town of Swallow.

The story is successfully macabre, dark and, you know, old-lighthouse-on-a-small-island creepy, the teenaged characters are all well developed with (thankfully) non-angsty chemistry between the ones who matter, and though I really do get that the instalove could annoy some readers, I'm not mad at it. Honestly. I mean, he's an attractive boy with beautiful green eyes and a past full of secrets. He needs a job. She's stuck on an island with her tea-leaves-reading, not-all-there mum. The lighthouse and environs needs some TLC. It's a small town and they're young. Hell, it's written so well that I almost believe that it can, and does, happen across any of the towns along coastal Oregon. But I digress. Anyway, despite a few twists and turns, the story wraps itself up in the way you probably would expect, but the ending, eeriely enough, seems to hold on to you for a bit. I'm still not sure how to feel about my feelings...

Shea Ernshaw's The Wicked Deep was really really good! Spooky and satisfying down to the very end. It was a fantastic debut! I am wholeheartedly excited to read whatever eerie delight Ernshaw concocts for us next.