Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…
Rating: 4/5
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.
From page one I was hooked, the whole concept of old folklore tales was so captivating. We’re immediately thrown into this small town about to have the tourist season start. But it’s not just any tourist season, they come to see the curse that was placed on this small town of Sparrow, Oregon two centuries ago.
We follow Penny a girl who grew up in Sparrow as she explains the curse and what has happened every year since it was placed. However, even at the start, there are secrets withheld and we slowly see them revealed as we continue through the book. I will say the majority of the secrets were a bit obvious for me, though I was hoping to be wrong. So it still was a bit of a shocker when they were revealed.
There are secrets withheld and we slowly see them revealed as we continue through the book. I will say the majority of the secrets were a bit obvious for me...
Some of these secrets that come out, in a way, made me enjoy this story a bit less mainly the ones that come out at the end. In fact, the entire ending of this book bothers me, it felt wrong. I wished things ended differently, it just didn’t feel fair to Penny on so many levels. Besides the ending, everything about this book was invigorating and so well written. It’s just that ending really fell flat for me and is the only reason I couldn’t give this 5 stars.
From the beginning, this book reminded me of the Freeform show, Siren. The whole premise of the show is very similar to The Wicked Deep. They’re both set along the Pacific Northwest coast as well. The Wicked Deep is set in Sparrow is a small town in Oregon and Siren was set in Bristol Cove which is a small town in Washington State. Both towns are fictional but they both sound very familiar in the style of towns. In Siren, the folklore is about mermaids and the towns feed off the tourists that come in the hope to see one. The Wicked Deep is very similar as you can see. This comparison made the book a bit more enjoyable as well. I’m a big fan of the show Siren ~ I also thought the ending of the show sucked too! Another similarity!
From the beginning, this book reminded me of the Freeform show, Siren. The whole premise of the show is very similar to The Wicked Deep.
Overall despite the unfortunate ending, I truly enjoyed reading this. The entire premise of this small town’s dark past and the folklore with it is just completely captivating. All I wanted to do was keep reading this book I was so annoyed when I got interrupted! The book flows so well. I finished it in 3 days. I definitely plan on picking up the author’s other book, Winterwood. I heard it’s even better than The Wicked Deep. If you enjoy witches, paranormal, fantasy, or young adult books, you’ll enjoy this one!