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kindlekatiies's review
1.0
Great idea, badly executed! Would've dnf at 25% mark had it not been a botm pick for my twitch community
littlewitchreading's review
5.0
I wish I could give this a million stars. It took me a long time to make myself sit down and read for some reason but when I did I read 98% of this in one sitting. This is the kind of book that transports you to it’s setting, you will feel the breeze coming off the water and smell the salty sea air. So fantastic.
emoser_9's review
4.0
4.5 - this book was a treat. great concept, beautifully done. takes place in the summer but was perf for spooky season.
willowward's review
3.0
This book made me quite sad. When a character doesn’t deserve the life they have it honestly breaks my damn heart.
Going into this book I thought it was going to be a bit of a Hocus Pocus copycat, because of the whole ‘three witches executed in a small town and come back to haunt it’ plot line. But honestly, they really aren’t that similar. It actually reminded me a lot of To Kill A Kingdom. I really enjoyed this read, and it was a SUPER QUICK one at that. I started reading it last night at about 11:30pm and then finished off the rest this morning in about an hour.
3.5/5 ⭐️
Going into this book I thought it was going to be a bit of a Hocus Pocus copycat, because of the whole ‘three witches executed in a small town and come back to haunt it’ plot line. But honestly, they really aren’t that similar. It actually reminded me a lot of To Kill A Kingdom. I really enjoyed this read, and it was a SUPER QUICK one at that. I started reading it last night at about 11:30pm and then finished off the rest this morning in about an hour.
3.5/5 ⭐️
brianne_k's review
4.0
Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating.
*4/5*
Two centuries ago, in a small town named Sparrow, three sisters were accused of being witches and were sentenced to death. The townspeople tied rocks to their ankles and let the sister drown. Every summer since, the sisters inhabit the bodies of three unsuspecting young women, and unleash their anger upon the town. No one knows which girls are chosen or why.
“After the first night, the harmony of voices becomes undeniable. An enchanting hymn sailing over the water’s surface, cool and soft and alluring. The Swan sisters have awakened.”
This is a lovely and atmospheric novel. I loved the little asides you get before some chapters. You get to know Marguerite, Aurora, and Hazel Swan a little better.
Every summer, Sparrow teenagers have a ‘Swan Party’, which is the start of Swan Season, the time of year where the towns’ bad luck happens. This is when the sisters’ start to look for a body to inhabit. They then exact their revenge on the town by drowning the males of that are in Sparrow (not necessarily a townsperson, could be a tourist). No one sees the girls when they lure a boy out in to the ocean… so the boys deaths are ruled a suicide, or drowning.
Penny, our protagonist, lives on Lumiere Island (just a short boat ride off the mainland) with her mom who is drowning with grief. Penny’s father mysteriously disappeared a few years back and her mother has never recovered. Penny doesn’t want to go to the Swan Party, but her best friend Rose does and so Penny agrees to go along with her. Penny meets Bo, a tourist looking for work. Later that night at the party, Bo helps Penny with an unruly partygoer and they strike up a friendship. Penny gives Bo a job maintaining the lighthouse on Lumiere Island. As they grow closer, the mysterious drownings’ start, and even though the town has accepted their fate, Bo wants to figure out what to do. No one trusts anyone... and Penny has a secret she doesn’t tell anyone.
The premise of this book immediately drew me in. Legends and Curses, strange happenings… it was all well done. The writing is beautiful, Shea Ernshaw never took it too far, and she knew that there needed to be something to keep the readers intrigued, a hook. And boy, did she hook me in. I needed to know what was going to happen next, even if it was a little predictable in some points, I still needed to keep reading.
One small thing that bugged me was the insta-love.. I am never a huge fan of that.
I really enjoyed this book, and will recommend it to my friends. The writing was beautiful, the plot never dragged, the mystery was well done, as was the wrap up.
*4/5*
Two centuries ago, in a small town named Sparrow, three sisters were accused of being witches and were sentenced to death. The townspeople tied rocks to their ankles and let the sister drown. Every summer since, the sisters inhabit the bodies of three unsuspecting young women, and unleash their anger upon the town. No one knows which girls are chosen or why.
“After the first night, the harmony of voices becomes undeniable. An enchanting hymn sailing over the water’s surface, cool and soft and alluring. The Swan sisters have awakened.”
This is a lovely and atmospheric novel. I loved the little asides you get before some chapters. You get to know Marguerite, Aurora, and Hazel Swan a little better.
Every summer, Sparrow teenagers have a ‘Swan Party’, which is the start of Swan Season, the time of year where the towns’ bad luck happens. This is when the sisters’ start to look for a body to inhabit. They then exact their revenge on the town by drowning the males of that are in Sparrow (not necessarily a townsperson, could be a tourist). No one sees the girls when they lure a boy out in to the ocean… so the boys deaths are ruled a suicide, or drowning.
Penny, our protagonist, lives on Lumiere Island (just a short boat ride off the mainland) with her mom who is drowning with grief. Penny’s father mysteriously disappeared a few years back and her mother has never recovered. Penny doesn’t want to go to the Swan Party, but her best friend Rose does and so Penny agrees to go along with her. Penny meets Bo, a tourist looking for work. Later that night at the party, Bo helps Penny with an unruly partygoer and they strike up a friendship. Penny gives Bo a job maintaining the lighthouse on Lumiere Island. As they grow closer, the mysterious drownings’ start, and even though the town has accepted their fate, Bo wants to figure out what to do. No one trusts anyone... and Penny has a secret she doesn’t tell anyone.
The premise of this book immediately drew me in. Legends and Curses, strange happenings… it was all well done. The writing is beautiful, Shea Ernshaw never took it too far, and she knew that there needed to be something to keep the readers intrigued, a hook. And boy, did she hook me in. I needed to know what was going to happen next, even if it was a little predictable in some points, I still needed to keep reading.
One small thing that bugged me was the insta-love.. I am never a huge fan of that.
I really enjoyed this book, and will recommend it to my friends. The writing was beautiful, the plot never dragged, the mystery was well done, as was the wrap up.
lizarrdbreath's review
4.0
4.5 | a bittersweet book about heartbreak and what it means to be human again. I loved it and in the end when I read that Penny's mom sort of had some herself back and she was inviting people to the island again for visiting and fortunetelling, it made my heart leap. Both her and Penny deserved a good ending and I'm so glad that happened. I also love how Bo still fell in love with Penny even after everything that happened with Hazel and that he stayed there in Sparrow. I would read this again!
8lueminn0w's review
4.0
"I can't meet his eyes. He sees the same thing in me: a chasm of secrets so deep and wide and unending that it bleeds from me like sweat. We both carry it. A mark on our skin, a brand burned into flesh from the weight of our past. Perhaps only those with similars scars can recognize it in others."
Bueno, no esperaba sufrir tanto con este libro. ;______;
Bueno, no esperaba sufrir tanto con este libro. ;______;
chaoticallymaya's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
if you ignore the fifty million plot holes it's actually really good and omg some of that writing was top tier goddamn
lemonbun's review against another edition
3.0
Just as a warning, I thought this would be set in medieval times. It was not. So it was a bit jarring when the main character within the first few chapters is going to high school and some drunken parties. Though later in it comes across less young adult and is mostly set on the island the main character lives on and the town nearby.
The book had some really great twists, and overall I enjoyed reading it. Everything was really well described, I could really picture everything vividly.
There are some issues I have with the book. The romance was a bit boring. Nothing special there.
Also for those who read the book,
Overall though, a fun and short read!
The book had some really great twists, and overall I enjoyed reading it. Everything was really well described, I could really picture everything vividly.
There are some issues I have with the book. The romance was a bit boring. Nothing special there.
Also for those who read the book,
Spoiler
did it bother you that people got in the water at the party where the witches are looking for bodies to inhabit? Considering there are literally at least 3 deaths every year caused by drowning, it seems so strange that the girls wouldn't be locked up in their houses in the hopes they wouldn't have their bodies stolen.Overall though, a fun and short read!
keyeung's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5