[A quick note: The thing that ultimately made me pick this one up was the cover. I mean, LOOK at it! And in person, itโs even prettier with its sliver holographic shinny look. Iโve had it on my shelf for almost two years. I finally picked it up as one of my autumn atmospheric reads and it was PERFECT.]
โ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌโ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐. ๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ญ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐๐ญ.โ โShea Ernshaw
In the cursed oceanside town of Sparrow, Oregon, three sisters were drowned two hundred years ago as suspected โwitches.โ Every year since, they come back. For three weeks, Sparrow is plunged into โSwan Seasonโ where the sisters take their revenge by possessing three young women whose bodies are used to seduce and drown the townโs young men. When Penny agrees to allow a mysterious newcomer to help out with the lighthouse on her island, she canโt help the irresistible pull she feels towards him. But sheโs hiding a huge secret, bigger than the secret of Sparrow, and it might be enough to tear them apart.
A curse, tons of romance, and the unraveling of secrets set the stage for what is best described as a twist on the popular Hocus Pocus story. Except this one much darker. The writing is stunningly beautiful. I adored the atmospheric feel and the way it was written, sprinkling in flashbacks of the Swan Sisters during their time leading up to their drowning. Thereโs also a fun but serious plot twist that occurs a little after the half way point.
One of the things I appreciated was the character transformation we see. Itโs clear that after two hundred years of death, at least one Swan sister is ready for change, ready to fix the status quo. But what must happen to ensure that the curse is broken, is a little heart-breaking. Ultimately, it is love that transcends all. It is love that opens the eyes and enacts change and prompts sacrifice. Iโm a huge fan of themes like this.
The mysterious aspect of this book was so fun. Little bits and pieces are given away throughout the story that allows the reader to begin putting together the dark details of what actually happened. It left me craving more answers that kept me turning pages. This was a quick read that was difficult to put down.
Letโs talk about the Hocus Pocus factor! I adore Hocus Pocus. Itโs my favorite Halloween movie. In this version, the three sisters werenโt actually โwitchesโ per se, not the way the Sanderson sisters were. But they were certainly malicious, known for seducing husbands and leaving hearts broken everywhere they went. But at the end of the day, they were simply women trying to make a new life for themselves.
Being accused as witches was very in line with the Salem witch hunt tactics. And once they were drowned, the curse of their death was enacted. Each year thereafter, the city of Sparrow celebrated โSwan Seasonโ like it was some exciting event. But each year, the three-week event would come with death. Each year, the sisters would possess a woman of their same age, and through that woman, seduce teenage boys to their deaths, drowning them. Every year, at least three turn up dead within the three weeks of Swan Season.
So instead of killing children, they kill young men. And instead of coming back in bodies of their own, they inhibit the bodies of young women who live in the town, and no one has any way of knowing which of these women is possessed. And at the end of the three weeks, they disappear back into the sea, giving the women their bodies back.
It was such an interesting premise! And it delivered. I loved all the dark aspects. If you enjoy curses, stories based on witch hunts, Hocus Pocus, and sea-side settings, youโre going to love this one! The only reason I didnโt give it all the stars was because I didnโt find myself overly thinking about it whenever I set it down. But it was certainly close. ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐.๐/๐โญ๏ธ
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