THE WICKED DEEP by Shea Ernshaw
Source: Received an ARC to participate in the blog tour and give an honest review.
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 6th, 2018
Number of Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
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.
REVIEW
For as long as I can remember, I've been a ginormous super fan of witchy movies. I remember going to my grandma and papa's house and watching HOCUS POCUS every chance I got, and I remember watching PRACTICAL MAGIC and listening to the soundtrack with my mom. When I first heard about THE WICKED DEEP and saw the stunning cover, I immediately added it to my to-read list...and I jumped to get a chance to read it as soon as I could! Once I started reading, I didn't want to and couldn't put it down! :)
THE WICKED DEEP was packed full of witchy goodness, and it had that wonderful foreboding tone that all the greatest stories based on curses have. It really did remind me of HOCUS POCUS and PRACTICAL MAGIC with the premise and the way that the story unfolded. The Swan sisters also gave me serious Winifred/Mary/Sarah and Sally/Gillian vibes! I'm not sure what I was expecting going in, but I didn't really expect to see any parts of the story in the past, but I really loved that you did! The story filtered between the present and the past surrounding the Swan sisters. I really loved how the flashes into the past set up the tone of the underlying story, and how it helped the plot unfold...I thought it was wonderfully done and I loved every single moment of it!
Along with the love witchy atmosphere, I loved all of the characters! Penny and Bo were amazing! I loved Penny's best friend, Rose, and I also loved how all of the other secondary characters were introduced from Penny's mother to Rose's mother, to Penny's various classmates. I found the way that they were introduced to be really organic and it had a wonderful flow within the story. The same goes for both Penny and Bo's pasts. As the book description says, both Penny and Bo have secrets that they're keeping from one another...and I adored how these secrets were all revealed! It pulled me in and gave me ALL THE FEELS!
As for the story itself, I was hooked! I loved the idea of the curse, and I loved how more and more of the curse and the history of Sparrow were revealed as the story went on. I loved how we saw the way that the curse affected the town and how each part of the curse progressed during the Swan season. And I enjoyed seeing how Penny and Bo's relationship was affected by everything going on around them. THE WICKED DEEP completely sucked me in and it pulled me right under those deep, deep waters. I loved every single moment! I did find the ending to be a little bittersweet! It left me unsettled right after I'd finished reading, but I do think that it fits the story perfectly. I've also found that the longer I get away from it...the more I actually appreciate how this book ended,
and I think if I reread it, I'll love it even more! Coincidentally, this is also how I feel every single time I rewatch
HOCUS POCUS, so maybe it's the same kind of magic. ;)
Overall, I thought THE WICKED DEEP was fantastic! I loved the atmosphere and tone of THE WICKED DEEP were amazing, found the story to be extremely intriguing, and I thought that both the characters and the writing style were phenomenal! If you're a fan of witches, curses, and stories that take you on twists and turns, then I think you'll love this one just as much as I did! :D
GUEST POST
If your book is turned into a TV show or Movie, who would be your ideal cast?
When writing THE WICKED DEEP I often visualized the setting and characters as if they were real, as if the town of Sparrow was truly nestled on a rocky coastline and my characters lived among the fog and salty sea air. But until now, I hadn’t actually imagined who might play my characters—what fun!
For Penny Talbot, my MC, I can imagine someone like Saoirse Ronan. She was in Atonement, The Lovely Bones, and recently in Brooklyn. She’s a bit older than my MC but she has such a strong, enigmatic look. I can see a lot of Penny Talbot in her.
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| Saoirse Ronan as Penny Talbot |
Bo Carter is a tough one, there are a few actors who I think could play him wonderfully. Logan Lerman who was in Perks Of Being A Wallflower, has that captivating boy-next-door vibe, but Cole Sprouse who currently plays Jughead on Riverdale is that perfect bad boy who is totally after my own heart.
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| Logan Lerman (left) or Cole Sprouse (right) as Bo Carter |
For Rose Alba, who is Penny’s BFF, I love Rowan Blanchard and for her boyfriend Finny, someone like Skylar Gisondo. They would be such a cute on-screen couple—my heart can’t handle it!
  |
| Rowan Blanchard as Rose Alba (left) and Skylar Gisondo as Finny (right) |
Lastly, for Olivia Green, Isabelle Fuhrman would perfectly capture that fierce look and attitude. And for Gigi Kline, someone like Sasha Pieterse who plays Alison on Pretty Little Liars, would perfectly embody that detached coolness that Gigi exudes.
  |
| Isabelle Fuhrman as Olivia Green (left) and Sasha Pieterse as Gigi Kline (right) |
This was so fun, imagining the characters coming to life! :D But would also love to hear readers suggestions and thoughts on who should play the characters in THE WICKED DEEP!?
ABOUT SHEA ERNSHAW
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:
Are you a fan of witchy stories?
Do you want to read THE WICKED DEEP?
And what do you think of Shea Ernshaw's casting for her book?
If you've read it, do you think they fit?
And if you haven't, do her picks intrigue you?
